I love a good Sci Fi, and this was a very good one.I haven't read any books by this author before but I will in future, I loved this it was a rip roaring space adventure with a great lead character and the peripheral characters were not bad either.I stayed up way too late reading this and thoroughly enjoyed it.I don't do spoilers but it had everything I wanted, excitement,unpredictability,and even a talking space ship! I recommended this to a book buddy before I had even finished it, some thing I rarely do but I was enjoying it so much. and I knew they would too. I really enjoyed reading this and would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for giving me an ARC.

When you’re young, it’s easy to see things in black and white. Concepts are valued as absolutes. Ice cream is good. Crime is bad. Fight for what’s right, and never run away. But with age comes wisdom and nuance, and suddenly your perceptions aren’t as easily defined. Coming to terms with these realizations can be challenging, especially without the support of family or friends. This is one of the more interesting themes explored by Brandon Sanderson’s new sci-fi epic Skyward: Claim the Stars, book one of the Skyward series. Self-described as “Top Gun” meets “How to Train Your Dragon,” it also shows its influences from Ender’s Game as well as “Flight of the Navigator.” In other words, it’s an exciting mix of mystery, adventure, and discovery with an ending that promises more thrilling material in the books ahead.

Spensa, a.k.a. “call sign: Spin” is the daughter of a traitor. This is what everyone has called her since she was a little girl. But Spin doesn’t believe a word of it and has a chip on her shoulder about proving everyone wrong. Years ago, her planet’s above-ground base was attacked by the faceless, mysterious Krell. Her father, a respected pilot, was said to have ran away when the fighting became too intense. His own flight team were forced to shoot him down to send a message to the other pilots: stay and fight, or all will be lost. Spin is the only one who has stuck by her dead father’s side over the years, fighting or threatening anyone who badmouths her family name. Branded as an outcast, the only future Spin sees for herself is to follow in her father’s footsteps, pass the flight school entrance exam, and become the best pilot in the fleet. Yet, old grudges die hard, and there are those who want to make sure that Spin goes nowhere near a ship. But Spin discovers something that could change the tides of war and either save or doom the last survivors on this arid planet...

In prototypical fashion, Sanderson’s world-building is one of the most interesting aspects to the story. He ekes out information at a steady rate as to not overwhelm the reader with massive info dumps and maintains an air of mystery as to how the circumstances of Spin’s people came to be. Skyward has all the hallmarks of a Sanderson story: mysterious prologue, likeable protagonists, curious past civilizations, new technologies, and the looming threat of a warring race. I was often reminded of Mistborn’s ‘metal burning’ magic when Skyward’s new tech abilities were showcased. Sanderson has created a system of rules for a ship’s dogfighting technology, then immediately dives into all the various strategies of how to best employ it, pushing its capabilities ever further and testing the boundaries of how far this tech can function. It’s always a pleasure spending time inside Brandon’s mind as he creates a new playground of rules and takes his characters for a ride through unchartered territories.

In addition to some of the themes discussed above, this story also explores the nature of identity, both human and artificial. Identity can be defined by how some human characters act and think, but this also applies to an AI struggling to determine whether it can create new ideas on its own. Following these character arcs helped ground the story between tense scenes of battle training and hidden agendas, and I appreciated how the story sometimes slowed down to concentrate on the consequences of our characters’ decisions. And these consequences are often dire: the violence is hardly graphic, but its repercussions are felt heavily throughout the story.

Skyward: Claim the Stars is an easy book to recommend. It contains all the main characteristics of a Sanderson novel from a writer at the top of his game. Some might consider this book YA, though I was just as engrossed as I would have been with any other of his novels. Above all, this novel is a ton of fun, and it sets up the story for some excellent ideas to explore in the next volume. Thankfully, we won’t have to wait long, as Brandon has shared that the sequel was just submitted to the publisher. I’ve grown quite fond of the characters in this story and am curious to unravel its mysteries in the series ahead.

8.8 / 10

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are nicely fleshed out, there is depth to both protagonists and antagonists; and there is growth, there is happiness, sadness, comedy and tragedy, and it all fits together. The story avoids some common pitfalls and story tropes that one might expect in a coming-of-story like this, and indeed subverts some of them in a way that works nicely.

I'm very glad I read this book, and if there's a sequel I will read it!

I have read around 70 books in this last year and a sprinkling of them have rated 5 stars. Having said that, this book, for me, rated 6 stars. It is one of the most engaging and enjoyable books that I have read in quite some time, so much so that I was "compelled" to read all 528 pages in just one day. I am now bereft and already "pining" for the sequel!!

This book is so much better than the publisher's description.

Go buy it. Go read it. I will be very surprised if you not find it to be more than worth your investment.

I know I’m behind the times here but I haven’t got to Sanderson’s previous books yet. I understand this is quite different? Either way I was completely hooked here. It had a YA feel but is completely accessible for the adult sci-fi connoisseur. Action packed, fast paced, heart pounding sci fi with plenty of humour and the staple kick ass heroine with an attitude problem, complemented by the quirky AI. Really good fun.

I have to start by being honest, I’m utterly biased. Brandon Sanderson captured my heart with the first Mistborn trilogy so I approach every book of his with excitement and hope that his books will all reach those dizzying heights. And mostly they do. But the thing is, I’m a fantasy girl at heart, and Skyward veers much closer to sci-fi than fantasy, I approached this one with trepidation. But it’s Brandon Sanderson. And I love him. And so I hoped.

I was not disappointed.

Skyward is about Spensa, a young girl whose father’s actions dictated her whole life. Spensa dreams of being a pilot and will battle the fiercest monsters to achieve her goal. Even if those monsters take on a different shape or aren’t even really monsters after all. How do you fight a whole planet when everyone has already decided who you are before you’ve even met them?

My favourite character has to be M-bot, and his amazing intrigue with mushrooms. I won’t ruin it by quoting some of his more amazing attributes. But each character is rich and deep and real, I genuinely cried several times on the tube.

This book is glorious. The descriptions, the characters, the story, the message. Late in the night (read: very early morning) I found myself gasping aloud “how?” “What?” as the twists and spins resembled that of the Skyward manurers. I am already desperate to read the next one, though I imagine it’ll feel like a long wait. Maybe I’ll just reread this one to console myself several times over.

I defy anyone to read this and not connect with the book, the battle and the hope of a whole planet. I imagine you will all end up as Defiant as me.

When I saw this pop up on Netgalley, I actually shrieked.
This should give you a good example of just how good an author Brandon Sanderson is. I hit the request button so fast I would not have been surprised if my phone screen smashed.
And, I am happy to report, it is yet another blockbuster hit for Sanderson.

I remember the first series of books by him I read, the Mistborn series. I had been unhappy with classic fantasy for a while, and had been only reading books by female authors exclusively, whilst trying to find stand out fiction that didn't fall prey to the tropes and clichés of classic fantasy - for example, Lord of the Rings having only five or so female characters in.
I was reluctant. But I picked it up at a recommendation from a friend and was blown away by Sanderson's worlds.
This love story has not yet ended. I choose to read only a few of his books at any time, so I have the delicious pleasure of knowing there are more out there for me to read for that first, magical time. Knowing this, I wished hard to be selected to read Skyward - knowing a little piece of real magic lay within.

I am not often wrong (ha), and I can happily say he's done it again! This time, in sci-fi. And I love sci-fi. What could be more alluring than imagining lives lived among stars? Aliens? The majesty of galaxies and universes, exploring and trying to become so much more than human. Its such a draw. It's also easy to get wrong - with a plethora of books about sexy space aliens that need earth men or gung ho gunslingers smashing aliens to smithereens because humans are just better, dammit!
So when an author of his calibre takes so easily to sci-fi, I know it will be a valued addition to the genre.

It has so many things to love. A normal girl, who is our central protagonist. This is standard Sanderson. Whilst the girl might appear normal to the society in which she lives, he shows the reader how any girl, any person, can be spectacular, can be superb, just by being them. I love this. He has a way of making the reader fall in love with his characters - they are flawed and imperfect, they are real and that, I think, is what does it for me. Its not always a romantic love, but a deep and abiding platonic love - Spensa became my sister as I read, and I yearned for her as she sets herself against the adventures and challenges within the book.

Often in my reviews I do not give anything of the plot away, instead focusing on what I liked, what I thought worked, and critically examining the quality of the actual text. I prefer this, as a reader might read my review, see it as positive and still have all those discoveries within the pages to find.
This review is no different. I won't tell you what happens, no more than the blurb gives you a synopsis, but I will say its another classic Sanderson, simply an excellent piece of fiction that focuses on Spensa and her dreams.

Brandon is simply a wonderful author. And if you've read him before, you'll pick this up and happily dive in. If you've never read him before, I urge you to. He includes everything that makes a book not just good, but brilliant.
His worlds are crisp and well imagined, and the cultures within are fully envisioned and almost tangible. I never feel disbelief. I never feel lost. I never wonder why on earth the character did this thing or that thing. Instead, I read and read and his books snake their way into my heart and take up residence, until I'm laughing out loud, and fully ugly crying. If a book can make you do that, it's a winner.

Authors like this win your love with their skill. Yes, I might be a fan and therefore more likely to give a positive review, but in actuality, what I am is a champion. Books that live in our hearts deserve to be read and shared. And Skyward (and the sequels, please!!) is another book that safely makes it onto that shelf.

I have read and enjoyed all of Brandon Sanderson's previous books but I did wonder if this nature might be a little too ^sci-fi^ for my tastes, I'm happy to say that I couldn't have been more wrong. I absolutely loved this book and stayed up all night to finish it, I absolutely couldn't put it down and enjoyed it even more than the others.

I really like that the main character is not only a girl, but also rather weird. Her quirky nature added depth and dimension to the story. The plot was complicated yet easy to read and the magic character was totally unique, unexpected and utterly brilliant.

This is the kind of story that I grew up reading and which inspired my love of books, but for adults (I think). That said this is one of those tales that is ageless, although some of the vocabulary might be a little complicated for younger children.

This book has really got me excited, the descriptions are fabulous, the use of language is something that is hard to find nowadays and there isn't a swear word in sight, it has the makings of a classic with a modern twist.

A fantastic read, I'm not sure that this review does it justice.

First 12% in I was hoping for the krell to win. The treatment of Spin was vile, damn Ironsides. Of course it was one of those ‘I wasn’t expecting that’. story was enjoyable, shocking and fast paced. Contains death, violence, plenty of ship manoeuvring and a little humour at the expense of Jerkface. Favourite characters were m-bot and Nedd. As always left wanting more. Looking forward to the next one.

Brandon Sanderson can truly do no wrong in my eyes - I've read many of his Fantasy works and was so excited to pick up his new Sci - Fi novel.
I read this book pretty much non stop on my commutes to and from work and at every other free moment i had.
His ability to weave immense, sophisticated worlds from the first page is extraordinary, i was utterly mesmerized by this world and its characters.

Brandon sanderson is also gifted at writing characters, especially great female characters and i was thrilled to see more of that in this book. Spensa is wonderful and i loved reading about her and the secondary characters are also great.

The plot was vast and the final plot twist was fantastic.

I can't wait to learn more about this world and its species in future books. I'll definitely be picking them up.