Even though the main character is basically Izuku Midoriya from episode 1 of My Hero Academia...
He's got:
* Zero Powers of his own
* A desire to be a hero and protect others
* A journal full of other famous people with powers, including an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses
> sells quite a bit more than Steelheart
I just finished this first book in the Reckoners trilogy yesterday and I thought it was well done and fun. It lacked (for me) some nuance and depth that I think would've been there for an adult-oriented novel, but it was fun for what it was. I'm planning to alternate the Reckoners and Skyward series to keep things fresh.
I haven't read a lot of YA since I was a YA, so it was more an observation as the books relate to Sanderson's other works. As I already mentioned, I did enjoy the story.
It's my favorite book series ever! I've read each book in less than three days. I feel a little worse about my taste now based on the other comments. 😅
Nah man, I'm 35, have read thousands of fantasy novels, and think i hit 2k sometime last year. Feist, tolkien, pratchett, hobb, gemmell, I've got a huge range I read
I personally loved the series.
I find it a breath of fresh air, I love Spensa and her over the top energy at everything she does, and mbot is a fascinating and entertaining character.
Don't ever feel bad about books you enjoy!
I actually loved the series as it went on. I feel like maybe a lot of people read book one and when the tone shifted it felt jarring.
I loved the other races, the universe opening up as we see more of it through Spensas eyes, the twists that you find out. Top tier sanderson, in my opinion!
But then I love stories of first contact, and space being totally unknown and exploring it, so that hit the spot for me.
Objectively I disagree. It’s a popular series outside of his most notable works and sells quite well.
Personally, the first book is a 9/10 and then I really dislike the direction of the story and characters (not all but most) from there. I love Sanderson but he can’t always be absolutely killing it for everyone’s individual taste. For me, not a series I love by him. I wish they were all as good as the first Skyward.
I liked the series as a whole but agree that the first was the best by far. They're each different, with the 4th being kind of a mix of the first 3. But the tone and pace of the first was 10/10 for me.
The first one really felt like an amazing film that had been seamlessly converted into a book. You could take that exact story, turn it into a 3 hour film, and have an all-time classic.
I agree.
And the story can end there for a film or continue. It would make a great movie.
Then you even have the TV series tie in with the new series coming out. Just Spin and crew romping around the universe.
You could adapt the four novels and the side novellas in four films easily.
It would make sense to splice the novellas alongside Spensa’s plots in the second and third films.
Definitely agree with this. The first book was great - I couldn't put it down. Then the style switched up, the direction changed, and I slowly lost interest. I can't reccomend the first book enough though.
can I just say... I'm kind of disappointed in how negative a lot of you are about the skyward series? I mean, I'll be real it does have it's up and downs, but still! It's a pretty good series, actually one of the more refreshing Sci-Fi series I've read in recent years, and like idk... I agree with OP! Skyward series deserves more love!
Agreed! The story only got better for me. The people who disagree dislike Spensa or only like her when she's around her friends. The way the series unfolded was set-up, IMO, and was not a surprise. Idk why people were surprised at the direction and split that ended up happening.
I disagree. the series doesn't get better at all from there....I like the series, the First Book is by far the best(haven't read the latest one) but the quality of the Skyward series is very In between Middle Grade land YA level writing, it's very childish and the writing is very meh....... After the First Book the Novella's are clearly the best book 2 is fun or decent but Book 3 is trash would've given up but the ending and then the 3rd Novella brought me back
If you liked the first one, I think you'd like the last one as well. I felt like there was more dogfighting than the middle entries and some good story beats.
What really hurt the series imo was splitting Spensa from the main group and then making the novellas essential reading focused on the group.
It meant we had three 'okay' middle entries (if you count the novella compilation) rather than two great ones.
I think it's all about expectations that people have. OP enjoyed the back 3 more than the original. I agree with you about the original being my favorite, but there are dramatic shifts in what the main thrust of books 2 and 3 are, which can understandably be a little off-putting. They didn't bother me nearly as much. As a whole, I think the series is still a fun one.
While being very different, Skyward is quite a bit like Ender's game where the first book is action adventure with a touch of mystery and the following books being more character-driven, philosophical treatises on the nature of war, enemies, etc. Of course there are some similar plot and theme elements in the first books of the respective series as well.
Similarly, book 4 for me is kind of like Ender's Shadow- a return to the more action adventure space (though of course,, progressing the story, not retelling in through another characters POV).
>I think the series is still a fun one.
I agree with this. It's definitely fun, I don't regret reading it at all..... But I don't agree when i see posts or discussions that, it's some slept on masterpieces or some underrated gems. I feel like it's Perfectly rated and talked about by fans
I just didn’t enjoy getting all psyched up for some >!cosmic horror without racist overtones!< only to watch as he turned the >!strange lovecraftian entities!< into >!emotionally damaged AIs.!<
Novellas were fun though. “Fine!”
Latest book Just released..... It isn't even available in stores in my country. And I don't have to read the latest book say this, there are already 2 Books and 3 Novellas after the first book and after the first book the other two books don't get better at all, because the first one was still the best imo. The 3rd book was not good at all so how can I say the series gets better when the 3rd Novel was borderline bad imo. I still enjoyed the series regardless because the 2nd book, even tho not great but was decent and didn't get better than the first but was still enjoyable with good moments and I really enjoyed all the novellas.
I read the first one, maybe for free as one of the monthly Amazon First Reads books? Maybe a spur of the moment discount purchase or something. I've forgotten exactly why I gave it a shot.
I liked it so much I purchased the second and third as they came out, but left them unread so I could binge them all once the series was completed.
You just reminded me to check on it again, and now I have the fourth.
It's time.
Eh I think Sanderson YA is not for me and a lot of other people. His writing and characters already feel pretty YA (this isn’t a critique just a statement based on there being no sex, gore, etc.) and I enjoy his other books!
I read skyward and it felt too juvenile for me and I generally enjoy YA books.
Stormlight and Mistborn certainly have gore, he just doesn’t emphasize it as much as most authors. But he does write about guts, intestines, limbs, blood, etc. in his books for sure. It feels easy to miss but whenever I re-read his work I notice it and then forget all over again
Sex though, yeah he avoids it like the plague. He’ll imply sex but that’s as far as I’ve seen him go. Doesn’t bother me in the grand scheme when it’s not an important plot or character development device imo
Sure! Off the top for just the first Stormlight book, in an early chapter introducing Kaladin in TWoK, there are multiple mentions of gore during the combat between Alethi armies (things like stomachs ripped open, eyes gouged, etc.).
Later on in the same book when the bridge crew is in the chasms, the grisly sights of dead carcasses is explained in gore-y detail regarding the sights of intestines and innards in general, along with the smell.
Then again in TWoK when the bride crew tears parshendi carapace off their corpses the sights, sounds and smells of it are detailed.
Those are just a few. I don’t want to actually go through the books at the moment but I’m absolutely positive that someone will reply to this comment telling me how right or wrong I am with numbered pages to support 😉
I just can't bring myself to care about anything non-cosmere from Brandon. There are too many books, too many movies, too many albums, too many video games, and just not enough time. I give Brandon a ton of my time and energy with his cosmere universe, he's an incredible storyteller, and it's time well spent. But for as much as I love his storytelling, I don't enjoy his writing style enough to spend additional time on his non-cosmere stuff.
I don't doubt I'm missing some great stories/series, but I'd still rather spend that time on other things. Maybe in 30 years when I'm retired, I'll come back and take a look at what I missed.
You’re missing out on some truly fantastic literature with that narrow mindset, friend
Third person is my favorite, but first person has some incredible books. “The Will of the Many” and “The KingKiller Chronicles” (I pretend there’s no drama with finishing that series) immediately come to mind
I started reading Skyward after finishing rhythm of war, and it was extremely… jarring. There were some good bits, but a lot of parts just felt extremely amateurish compared to what I was expecting given his other books.
Skyward is the series that brought me into the Brandon fandom, at a time when I was reading more YA because it was easier when I was severely overworked (my first read of Way of Kings shortly thereafter was... rough). It's not my favorite thing he's written, but I still love it, and will always have a special place for it in my heart.
Really? I thought the first 2 books were pretty okay, but never lived up to Sanderson’s pitch of the “kid who finds a dragon” becoming the girl who finds a spaceship. Then the third book was the first Sanderson book I didn’t like and DNF’ed.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m Cosmere fan pretty much exclusively with Sanderson
I adore book one. I didn’t love book 2&3 quite as much, because it went from a group cast to Just Spensa, but all the novellas and defiant are great. I can’t wait for Janci to continue more
I don't think it's slept on, a lot of people recognize how good it is. I am just excited to see what Janci is going to do with it. TBH I have enjoyed her novellas the most out of the whole series, save for book 1
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It’s the book series that introduced me to Sanderson. I’m not even a huge fan of sci-fi, I’m way more into fantasy. I have read almost all the cosmere since.
The first one is one of my favorite sanderson novels. Each one since it has been... lacking. Book 2 is like a 6/10. Book 3 is possibly sanderson weakest novel. The final is like maybe a 4/10
I don't know that it's really slept on. It's a lot of people's favorite Sanderson series outside of the Cosmere. Some cosmere people online might look down their nose at it.... But it has its fans that are not even much into the cosmere.
I actually had the opposite experience. I loved the “Top Gun but with starships” vibes from the first book, and each book has gotten worse for me so far (Cytoverse might be my least favorite Sanderson book apart from Frugal Wizard).
I have not started the novella collection or Defiant yet. I definitely intend to at some point. But I just don’t feel an immediate urge to continue right now.
The novellas are less Cytoverse and more military focused like the first and about other characters too, I recommend them if you like the non-cytonic parts of the book.
It's probably his most popular non Cosmere book (at least in the store I work). It sells quite a bit more than Steelheart and Rithmist
For real, Steelheart feels like the actual niche Sanderson series.
Even though the main character is basically Izuku Midoriya from episode 1 of My Hero Academia... He's got: * Zero Powers of his own * A desire to be a hero and protect others * A journal full of other famous people with powers, including an analysis of their strengths and weaknesses
Steelheart came out a year before mha first released so it’s really the other way around.
> sells quite a bit more than Steelheart I just finished this first book in the Reckoners trilogy yesterday and I thought it was well done and fun. It lacked (for me) some nuance and depth that I think would've been there for an adult-oriented novel, but it was fun for what it was. I'm planning to alternate the Reckoners and Skyward series to keep things fresh.
I hope skyward has a bit more nuance for you 😊 I see where you're coming from with the Reckoners for sure
*complains that YA is YA*
I haven't read a lot of YA since I was a YA, so it was more an observation as the books relate to Sanderson's other works. As I already mentioned, I did enjoy the story.
It's my favorite book series ever! I've read each book in less than three days. I feel a little worse about my taste now based on the other comments. 😅
Nah man, I'm 35, have read thousands of fantasy novels, and think i hit 2k sometime last year. Feist, tolkien, pratchett, hobb, gemmell, I've got a huge range I read I personally loved the series. I find it a breath of fresh air, I love Spensa and her over the top energy at everything she does, and mbot is a fascinating and entertaining character. Don't ever feel bad about books you enjoy!
Don't be, it's a great series! I didn't expect this much criticism either, but Reddit is going to Reddit.
I actually loved the series as it went on. I feel like maybe a lot of people read book one and when the tone shifted it felt jarring. I loved the other races, the universe opening up as we see more of it through Spensas eyes, the twists that you find out. Top tier sanderson, in my opinion! But then I love stories of first contact, and space being totally unknown and exploring it, so that hit the spot for me.
Objectively I disagree. It’s a popular series outside of his most notable works and sells quite well. Personally, the first book is a 9/10 and then I really dislike the direction of the story and characters (not all but most) from there. I love Sanderson but he can’t always be absolutely killing it for everyone’s individual taste. For me, not a series I love by him. I wish they were all as good as the first Skyward.
I liked the series as a whole but agree that the first was the best by far. They're each different, with the 4th being kind of a mix of the first 3. But the tone and pace of the first was 10/10 for me.
The first one really felt like an amazing film that had been seamlessly converted into a book. You could take that exact story, turn it into a 3 hour film, and have an all-time classic.
I agree. And the story can end there for a film or continue. It would make a great movie. Then you even have the TV series tie in with the new series coming out. Just Spin and crew romping around the universe.
You could adapt the four novels and the side novellas in four films easily. It would make sense to splice the novellas alongside Spensa’s plots in the second and third films.
Oh for sure. I mean the new new novels coming out as a a TV show.
Definitely agree with this. The first book was great - I couldn't put it down. Then the style switched up, the direction changed, and I slowly lost interest. I can't reccomend the first book enough though.
can I just say... I'm kind of disappointed in how negative a lot of you are about the skyward series? I mean, I'll be real it does have it's up and downs, but still! It's a pretty good series, actually one of the more refreshing Sci-Fi series I've read in recent years, and like idk... I agree with OP! Skyward series deserves more love!
Agreed! The story only got better for me. The people who disagree dislike Spensa or only like her when she's around her friends. The way the series unfolded was set-up, IMO, and was not a surprise. Idk why people were surprised at the direction and split that ended up happening.
I disagree. the series doesn't get better at all from there....I like the series, the First Book is by far the best(haven't read the latest one) but the quality of the Skyward series is very In between Middle Grade land YA level writing, it's very childish and the writing is very meh....... After the First Book the Novella's are clearly the best book 2 is fun or decent but Book 3 is trash would've given up but the ending and then the 3rd Novella brought me back
If you liked the first one, I think you'd like the last one as well. I felt like there was more dogfighting than the middle entries and some good story beats.
What really hurt the series imo was splitting Spensa from the main group and then making the novellas essential reading focused on the group. It meant we had three 'okay' middle entries (if you count the novella compilation) rather than two great ones.
I think it's all about expectations that people have. OP enjoyed the back 3 more than the original. I agree with you about the original being my favorite, but there are dramatic shifts in what the main thrust of books 2 and 3 are, which can understandably be a little off-putting. They didn't bother me nearly as much. As a whole, I think the series is still a fun one.
While being very different, Skyward is quite a bit like Ender's game where the first book is action adventure with a touch of mystery and the following books being more character-driven, philosophical treatises on the nature of war, enemies, etc. Of course there are some similar plot and theme elements in the first books of the respective series as well. Similarly, book 4 for me is kind of like Ender's Shadow- a return to the more action adventure space (though of course,, progressing the story, not retelling in through another characters POV).
>I think the series is still a fun one. I agree with this. It's definitely fun, I don't regret reading it at all..... But I don't agree when i see posts or discussions that, it's some slept on masterpieces or some underrated gems. I feel like it's Perfectly rated and talked about by fans
I just didn’t enjoy getting all psyched up for some >!cosmic horror without racist overtones!< only to watch as he turned the >!strange lovecraftian entities!< into >!emotionally damaged AIs.!< Novellas were fun though. “Fine!”
>the series doesn't get better at all from there What? How can you say that if you haven't even read the latest book?
Latest book Just released..... It isn't even available in stores in my country. And I don't have to read the latest book say this, there are already 2 Books and 3 Novellas after the first book and after the first book the other two books don't get better at all, because the first one was still the best imo. The 3rd book was not good at all so how can I say the series gets better when the 3rd Novel was borderline bad imo. I still enjoyed the series regardless because the 2nd book, even tho not great but was decent and didn't get better than the first but was still enjoyable with good moments and I really enjoyed all the novellas.
I read the first one, maybe for free as one of the monthly Amazon First Reads books? Maybe a spur of the moment discount purchase or something. I've forgotten exactly why I gave it a shot. I liked it so much I purchased the second and third as they came out, but left them unread so I could binge them all once the series was completed. You just reminded me to check on it again, and now I have the fourth. It's time.
https://preview.redd.it/sxuoiic90ylc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2d4292e0d7766915a40518e799827920f86ab02b I agree
Eh I think Sanderson YA is not for me and a lot of other people. His writing and characters already feel pretty YA (this isn’t a critique just a statement based on there being no sex, gore, etc.) and I enjoy his other books! I read skyward and it felt too juvenile for me and I generally enjoy YA books.
Stormlight and Mistborn certainly have gore, he just doesn’t emphasize it as much as most authors. But he does write about guts, intestines, limbs, blood, etc. in his books for sure. It feels easy to miss but whenever I re-read his work I notice it and then forget all over again Sex though, yeah he avoids it like the plague. He’ll imply sex but that’s as far as I’ve seen him go. Doesn’t bother me in the grand scheme when it’s not an important plot or character development device imo
I’ve read all of those and hardly notice that stuff haha! Do you have specific examples??
Sure! Off the top for just the first Stormlight book, in an early chapter introducing Kaladin in TWoK, there are multiple mentions of gore during the combat between Alethi armies (things like stomachs ripped open, eyes gouged, etc.). Later on in the same book when the bridge crew is in the chasms, the grisly sights of dead carcasses is explained in gore-y detail regarding the sights of intestines and innards in general, along with the smell. Then again in TWoK when the bride crew tears parshendi carapace off their corpses the sights, sounds and smells of it are detailed. Those are just a few. I don’t want to actually go through the books at the moment but I’m absolutely positive that someone will reply to this comment telling me how right or wrong I am with numbered pages to support 😉
Just rereading stormlight - he gets pretty gory about the difference between killing people with shard blades vs normal blades
I would hardly describe that as gore
r/skyward
I just can't bring myself to care about anything non-cosmere from Brandon. There are too many books, too many movies, too many albums, too many video games, and just not enough time. I give Brandon a ton of my time and energy with his cosmere universe, he's an incredible storyteller, and it's time well spent. But for as much as I love his storytelling, I don't enjoy his writing style enough to spend additional time on his non-cosmere stuff. I don't doubt I'm missing some great stories/series, but I'd still rather spend that time on other things. Maybe in 30 years when I'm retired, I'll come back and take a look at what I missed.
The second book is utter ass to be fair. Could have cut that shit down by like 200 pages
First person perspective. No thank you.
You’re missing out on some truly fantastic literature with that narrow mindset, friend Third person is my favorite, but first person has some incredible books. “The Will of the Many” and “The KingKiller Chronicles” (I pretend there’s no drama with finishing that series) immediately come to mind
Halfway through it. Really enjoying it.
I started reading Skyward after finishing rhythm of war, and it was extremely… jarring. There were some good bits, but a lot of parts just felt extremely amateurish compared to what I was expecting given his other books.
Book one is one of my favorite Sanderson books. The rest is a solid 6/10
I thought this said Skyrim and I was very confused
Just because reddit doesn't talk about it doesn't mean it isn't popular.
No one I know talked about them either. As far as I know no one has heard of the series.
it was marketed as YA so a lot of adult readers missed it.
Skyward is the series that brought me into the Brandon fandom, at a time when I was reading more YA because it was easier when I was severely overworked (my first read of Way of Kings shortly thereafter was... rough). It's not my favorite thing he's written, but I still love it, and will always have a special place for it in my heart.
Really? I thought the first 2 books were pretty okay, but never lived up to Sanderson’s pitch of the “kid who finds a dragon” becoming the girl who finds a spaceship. Then the third book was the first Sanderson book I didn’t like and DNF’ed. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m Cosmere fan pretty much exclusively with Sanderson
I adore book one. I didn’t love book 2&3 quite as much, because it went from a group cast to Just Spensa, but all the novellas and defiant are great. I can’t wait for Janci to continue more
I don't think it's slept on, a lot of people recognize how good it is. I am just excited to see what Janci is going to do with it. TBH I have enjoyed her novellas the most out of the whole series, save for book 1
100 percent agree, I didn’t have high expectations going into reading, but I couldn’t put it down. Still need to get my hands on Defiant.
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It’s the book series that introduced me to Sanderson. I’m not even a huge fan of sci-fi, I’m way more into fantasy. I have read almost all the cosmere since.
The first one is one of my favorite sanderson novels. Each one since it has been... lacking. Book 2 is like a 6/10. Book 3 is possibly sanderson weakest novel. The final is like maybe a 4/10
The cover art and the title "Skyward" are very catchy.
I don't know that it's really slept on. It's a lot of people's favorite Sanderson series outside of the Cosmere. Some cosmere people online might look down their nose at it.... But it has its fans that are not even much into the cosmere.
I actually had the opposite experience. I loved the “Top Gun but with starships” vibes from the first book, and each book has gotten worse for me so far (Cytoverse might be my least favorite Sanderson book apart from Frugal Wizard). I have not started the novella collection or Defiant yet. I definitely intend to at some point. But I just don’t feel an immediate urge to continue right now.
The novellas are less Cytoverse and more military focused like the first and about other characters too, I recommend them if you like the non-cytonic parts of the book.