A Sight for Sore Ears

A few months back, I wrote about how my first encounter with fantasy author Brandon Sanderson came through his science fiction book, Skyward. I enjoyed that book enough that the genre he's better known for is now certainly on my radar. But first: I had to move on to the follow-up, Starsight.

Starsight picks up the story of brash Spensa, desperate to protect her planet from attacks by the alien Krell. Much has changed for Spensa -- more than I can relate without spoiling a lot of the first book -- and the sequel picks up on all this in exciting ways while continuing to build out the intriguing world Sanderson has created here.

One of the most exciting things about Starsight is the bait-and-switch it pulls very early on. Just a few chapters in, it feels like the contours of a new book have been clearly mapped out: here's what the story is going to be, it's going to be like the first book in these ways but unlike it in these other ways, and it sounds like it's going to be another fun adventure. Then -- surprise! -- Sanderson lobs a plot grenade right into the center of that carefully built scaffolding, and then the book becomes something entirely different.

My only reservation about the direction things take is that it's a direction that doesn't get to make full use of all the fun and memorable characters that Sanderson created in Skyward. But that reservation quickly fades as he basically does it all from scratch again: Starsight introduces many new characters, presents new settings and plot threads that are just as compelling, and works out a nice blend of familiar and new in another satisfying story. Starsight ends on a more explicit cliffhanger than Skyward did, but it certainly didn't need to do so for me to be completely "all in" by the ending; I will be eagerly awaiting the publication of book three (and book four after that) to see where the tale goes next.

My wait might be a little longer than it would otherwise be, though, because I'll be waiting for the audiobook version (if it isn't released the same day as the book itself). I've never been in the position of being this attached to an audiobook narrator and series before, but I think Suzy Jackson is better than any other audiobook narrator I've ever listened to before. She picks back up all the book one characters, makes distinct and memorable the huge cast of new book two characters, and delivers Spensa's own first-person narrative with deft skill. The story is very good, but the performance undoubtedly makes it even better. (And should they ever adapt these books for film or television, Jackson will be a tough act to follow in my mind.)

Starsight gets an A- from me, with the "minus" really only reflecting my minor disappointment at not getting more of many of the book one characters I enjoyed so much. With almost every other book series I'm reading seemingly stalled indefinitely between volumes, the Skyward books might just be my favorite running series right now.