Heading into book 3 of Skyward, I was a little dirty with Mr Sanderson to begin with. I had expected it to be the conclusion to this awesome trilogy and only to find out he has recently announced a fourth book to the series, as he felt the story would be better told this way! I should have been excited about a whole other book to indulge in but alas, I couldn’t shake that slight bit of annoyance and disappointment that I wouldn’t be finding out all the things as I headed back to Starsight.

Book 3 picked up precisely where book 2 left off. And as I’m growing accustomed to Sanderson’s superb styling, it kicked off at a phenomenal pace.

This time, we ventured into the Nowhere, home of the greatest threat in all galaxy, a place that ate your memory with each passing moment!

Right off the bat, we encountered a charismatic new character who I liked instantly. Then Spin got to live out all of her wildest story dreams as she traversed this strange terrain. She and her new crew battled pirate factions and schemed to foil the Superiority’s evil plan from across dimensions. She also learned about the history of Cytonics and came into her powers all whilst being pursued by a monster from outside space and time! Can we packed any more excitement in?

We met more species of the Superiority and they added to the existing array of interesting and impressive characters. M-Bot’s ongoing existential crisis continued to intrigue and inspire contemplation. 

There were quite a few plot twists, crazy bombshells, and gasp-out-loud moments. And we finally found out why M-Bot was obsessed with mushrooms! By the way, I love this little bot, where can I get me one of those?

Having recently binged 3 of Sanderson’s novels I can truly say his writing is superb and classes above. The world building, characters, sequencing and layering of events, twists and turns are all outstanding. The clever dialogue, good humour are delightful, and sarcasm! Actual, genuine sarcasm (an ethos uncommon outside of Commonwealth countries) was an absolute joy to behold! Sanderson is without a doubt a master of his craft and one of our greatest contemporary writers. 

I guess there had been enough plot revealed and a very juicy carrot left dangling for me to forgive Mr S for tormenting me with the long wait for the finale, Defiant, which is scheduled for the US Spring/Summer of 2023.

The countdown is on. Until then, grab your own copy of Cytonic here*.