This is a review for books 1, 2 and 3 of the series (Skyward, Starsight and Cytonic). For some reason I was under the impression that this was a trilogy, and was frustrated when the third book did not provide closure. It turns out that I was wrong: it's a tetralogy and the last book is coming out later this year (2023), so I'm not holding that against the series.

This is a SF YA series, so if you don't enjoy YA stories this might not be for you.

What I liked:

* The characters, particularly the main character, Spensa, a teenage girl with the heart of a warrior. She has been raised with stories of ancient heroes, and she wants to fight and protect her people, even though she is not treated very well since she is the daughter of a pilot who ran away in the middle of a fight. I like that beyond her tough persona, she has flaws and vulnerabilities, and that she learns and grows as the story progressed. She is a likable protagonist.

* The plot/worldbuilding was rather interesting. As the story begins, what remains of humanity live underground in a planet called Detritus, subject to constant bombardments and attacks from mysterious alien starfighters. As the story goes on, we learn a lot more about what's going on in the galaxy and about the mysterious power called cytonics.

What I didn't like so much:

* Occasionally I felt that the execution was a bit disappointing. For example, the main character is an ace pilot, and air or space battles play a big role in the series, but that whole element feels simplistic and unrealistic. Lets say that new pilot candidates are accepted by the military, and on their first day of training, when they have only a few hours with a simulator and no real flying at all, they are called to take part in a real aerial battle. True, they are not asked to do much in the battle, but still it's difficult to maintain suspension of disbelief when trainees are given a plane and are ordered into a battle with a total of zero hours of actual flying, and only a few hours in a simulator.

Other thoughts:

* Each of the three books takes place in a very different setting and with a mostly different cast of characters (excepting our main character and her AI). That allows for more worldbuilding, but made the whole story a bit less cohesive. I'm hoping that book 4 will close the circle.

* Of the three books I read, I liked book 3 the least. I got a bit tired of that whole setting. ( )

spensa si infiltra nel governo nemico trovando alleati e il segreto dei viaggi iperluce ( )

Brandon Sanderson is a skilled writer, who creates intricate worlds full of compelling characters. Starsight, sequel to Skyward, is no exception.

The first hundred pages of the novel provide new information about the world outside Detrius. Centuries ago, the race that founded the Sovereignty used cytonic travel (basically magic used to teleport starships). But that drew the delvers, who live in the nowhere (which cytonics enter as they jump from one location to another). Once in our realm, delvers are drawn to all forms of wireless communication, and they destroy the sentients using it. This explains why Spensa, a cytonic, is hated - even if her people have forgotten the reasons for the prejudice. In addition, humans are isolated on prison worlds like Detrius because the species tried three times to take over the galaxy; and they called devlers to our realm as weapons, only to lose control of them. All members of the Sovereignty are peaceful (at least outwardly). The Sovereignty doesn't need to destroy their enemies; they have a monopoly on FTL travel, and denying it to non-members traps them on their primitive worlds.

Spensa impersonates an alien who crash lands on her planet, traveling to the Superiority to try out for the space force, secretly hoping to steal a hyperdrive. No one understands how hyperdrive technology works, but Spensa hears screaming with her cyotnic senses every time it is engaged. The mystery of the novel is well done. Small clues click into place so that the reader creates hypothesis that are similar to Spensa's (which are only made explicit near the end), but expectations are reversed as the reality is not quite what either the reader or Spena expected.

In the end, Spensa is able to divert the delvers by connecting to them as people. The resolution is quite similar to that of Ender's Game: we were at war with the delvers because we didn't realize the were sentient, and they didn't realize we were sentient. Even though this has been done before, it's still good. ( )

it’s baffling to me that Brandon Sanderson could be just as good at writing science fiction as he is at fantasy, and yet he is.
i read this book in one sitting, it was an exciting ride. i love Spensa and her development from a scrappy young girl into a strong pilot.

i do wish we had gotten to see more of the characters from the first book, but i’m sure that’s what the next one is for :) ( )

Delvers, the size of the moon, can destroy planets at will, but luckily they are in another dimension until someone calls out to them. Delvers don’t take kindly to human and alien races, but why? How do they even exist? If you read the book you’ll find out.

Starsight is the sequel to Skyward, so there’s going to be slight spoilers for both books. Humanity is trapped on the planet Detritus and their capture is the alien race, the Krell. But after the end of Skyward, humanity can make a lot of progress. Our main character, Spensa, has a ship with an advanced AI, M-Bot. Spensa is a Cytonic, which means she can fly at warp speed without a hyperdrive. After an opportunity approaches, Spensa and M-Bot warp to Starsight, a Superiority station that is an intergalactic trading station. Now Spensa is in her enemy’s station and has to find a way to fit in and find information to aid humanity.

This book puts you in the perspective of a girl, who acts on feelings, loses her temper, and has very strong opinions. Now she has to spy on her enemies, where aggression is frowned upon, and has to make sure that she doesn’t act out on feelings but to think out the best approach to the problem. And to put the cherry on top, she is the only one who can do this and she has no contact with her people.

Some people can relate to Spensa. Some people feel like they don’t fit and how Spensa uses a disguise, some people might wear a fake mask to fit in. Some people may think that if they take this mask off, they’ll be frowned upon or made fun of. Spensa made friends when she was in her disguise, but when she took it off, some of them hated her while a few still liked her.

I believe that the theme of Starsight is about growing individually. We see Spensa on enemy grounds, in a place full of aliens she has never seen before. We see her having to control her aggression. She can’t rely on her friends and allies for help. She has to pretend to be someone that she is not. Spensa can’t go full guns and blazing like she usually does, but instead, be strategic think through her plans, and be sneaky.

I recommend this book because it has tense moments and has Spensa in a multitude of problems. Although this book doesn’t have a lot of heavy action and dogfights, it makes up for Spensa’s strategic planning and amazing characters and plot twists. So, if you want to read a sci-fi where humanity is trapped and the strategic plans, Starsight is a great book for you. ( )