A Rejuvenating [Cy]tonic

I probably don't need to blog at great length about the third book in a four-book series. Still, it's an opportunity for me to both acknowledge that yes, I'm still enjoying the books as I continue that series, and yes, I once again recommend them to any blog readers who missed me praising them the first time around. So here we go.

Cytonic is the third book of author Brandon Sanderson's Skyward series. While Sanderson is best known for his many fantasy novels, this saga is science fiction, and the first time I've ever actually tried his writing. The books follow Spensa Nightshade, a young pilot living on a backwater planet under constant attack by aliens.

Explaining the plot of this latest in the series would give away far too much... but suffice it to say that just as with book two, I was pleasantly surprised with the new direction of this third book. Twice now, Sanderson had previously delivered a fun and exciting tale that left me wanting more, and then delightfully thwarted my expectations by serving up something completely different in the next book. Where book one was a sort of "Top Gun meets alien invasion" flight jockey story, and book two was almost a political spy thriller, book three is an intriguing survivalist tale in an unusual setting.

What has been especially rewarding about these big shifts in the story is that they've felt earned by what's come before. Cytonic does a great job of building on the first two books, even as it's changing everything up. It answers questions that didn't even quite feel like unanswered questions before. It takes one character in particular on a major arc that leaves them changed in a satisfying way. And it sets the stage well for the yet-to-be-published fourth and final book.

I have found characterization to be one of Sanderson's strengths -- at least in this series. This third book introduces several more to the overall story, but it takes only a few chapters before they become just as interesting and important as those from the earlier books. It all seems to have been set up for an exciting final volume in which beloved characters from three different volumes may all meet and interact for the first time. Then again, Sanderson has had something new up his sleeve each time so far, so far be it for me to say for certain what will come when book four is published in 2023.

What I can say: once again, I give a Brandon Sanderson book an A-. (And side note: once again an A to the narration of the audiobook version, by Suzy Jackson.) Since I have a bit of a wait now until book four, it seems like I probably should try one of Sanderson's completed fantasy series in between.