Reviews with content warning for Violence - Cytonic

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Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson

13 reviews

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

5.0

“All people must accept that we have the potential to do terrible things. It is part of seeing our place in the universe, our heritage, and our natures. But in that acceptance we gain strength, for potential can be refused. Any hero who could have been a monster is more heroic for the choices he or she made to walk another road.”

➽ It took me a while to get around to reading Cytonic, but I'm so glad I did! The last time, I wasn't really in the mood for it but turns out now was the right time 😊 After being betrayed in the previous book, Spensa escapes into the Nowhere, the dangerous space where the Delvers live. She has the chance to go home, but after realizing how little she knows about her Cytonic powers, Spensa ends up staying and walking the 'Path of Elders' to uncover the past. I wasn't sure about the setting at first, but I found the Nowhere more interesting than anticipated. It's ruled by different pirate factions and also contains the Superiority's mining stations. People who defy them even end up being banished into the Nowhere with no way out. The danger is that this place isn't meant for any species and the longer you stay, the more you forget yourself and your memories. People either stay in groups or very rarely possess a reality icon, a physical memento that tethers you to yourself. Despite the dangers, Spensa is almost excited to embark on an adventure and finally find out where Cytonics came from and what more her powers hold in store!

“Spensa,” M-Bot said, hovering along beside me, “I am not enthused by my first experiments in self-determination. My chronometer details that since my awakening, I’ve spent a frightening amount of my time lost, pouting, or being chased by interdimensional monsters.”

➽ I loved Spensa's adventures in the nowhere and her new companion Chet! She wasn't expecting to meet another Cytonic, but she needs an ally because the Nowhere is a dangerous place. Chet has been here for so long that he's lost most of his memories, but he's still a dedicated explorer who promises to guide Spensa through the Nowhere and unto the Path of Elders. Being together with others helps keep the memories from fading, so he's also in need for a companion. I liked their dynamic, as Spensa's questioning how much she can trust him, as his appearance seems far too convenient. Chet shares her excitement for adventure and appears friendly, but the last time she trusted someone, it backfired horribly.

“See? One step at a time. You can do this. I can do this. Whatever it takes.” He nodded by wobbling his drone up and down. “Okay!” he said. “Whatever it takes. My! That feels good. To at least pretend we’re in control! I like it. Is this how you feel all the time?”

➽ Another highlight was M-Bot as always! He's one of my favorite characters in the series and I love his friendship with Spensa. In this book, he's become more self-aware and started developing feelings outside of his programming. M-Bot discovering human emotions was so funny to watch, as his self-determination is not as easy as he expected 😂

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readwithria's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Cytonic is mind boggling and thrilling from beginning to end! There’s so little I can say without spoilers, but here’s an attempt.

I loved getting more world building! The location is so cool, and it’s still a little mind numbing to think about how it works.

I loved the characters! Meeting more people was so fun, but getting the interludes with our old friends was also great.

M-Bot is such a star in this book! He deserves all the mushrooms.

I’m so excited to read the rest of this series! Hopefully Evershore will be enough to hold me over until Defiant comes out. 4.5 stars.

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Has it been three years since I read Starsight? Yes. Did I still jump into this without looking up what happened in that book? Also yes. For the most part, I found that some details came back to me while reading this one, but it didn't really seem to affect my reading of it. I mostly decided to pick this up becuase I think the final book in this series comes out this fall, so I figured it was time to catch up.

What works best about this book is the character development. Spensa changes quite a bit in this book, trying to figure out how to defeat the enemy by essentially jumping into their territory. Sort of. M-Bot also grows a lot in this book, and he's just such a great character. We also get to meet a whole new cast of characters, and each of them felt like full characters in an of themselves.

This book did feel like mostly filler for the last book, so it's kind of second book syndrome even though it's the third book. I am intrigued about how Sanderson is going to finish this series off, though, so I will definitely be picking up that final book when it comes out! Maybe this time I won't wait three years to do it.

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stuckinatimeloop's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

On it's own, Cytonic is a great book. Brandon Sanderson is great at making unique characters, which becomes a bit of a flaw in this series. Because at some point there are too many characters.

At times Cytonic felt very repetitive and quite similar to book 2. This is why it took me ages to finish. We were introduced to these amazing characters and dynamics in Skyward but for two whole books after that we don't have them anymore. You start to forget the names and all the characters before.

Cytonic and Starsight had the potential to be merged into one book, I feel. Essentially they had the same plot: Spensa goes to an alien place and makes an alien found family. It's written well every time but becomes redundant and boring.

I really hope Defiant happens all or mostly with the characters from book one because I miss them.

The part around 75% into Cytonic was really great, where she had to choose. The whole nowhere world was intriguing. Gave me goosebumps at times.

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lakinglaze's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow I learned some much from this book. What a wild ride! I loved it! I can’t wait to read the third novella and I can’t wait for the fourth book to come out!

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