Brandon Sanderson

ReDawn (Skyward Flight

“The Superiority keeps us all in cages of different kinds. They control us and call it peace, but it isn’t peace when we don’t have a choice.”

I really wish I had read these novellas before reading Cytonic, or at least before reading Defiant because these really do give such great backstory and explanation about what was going on back on Detritus. Skyward Flight were really getting up to the most while Spensa was having her adventures, phew. This novella was really good, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Alanik and her culture and seeing how she was adopted into Skyward Flight. This novella had some really great quotes and messages about fighting oppression and not realising you're being tricked into a trap until it's too late by manipulative governments and I think a lot of what was said in this book is really important given what is going on in the real world currently.

SPOILER>>>The fact that Jorgen and his team had to basically defect to be able to help the UrDail because their own government were dragging their feet and considering siding with the Superiority was really poignant to me. They basically went completely rogue, against Detritus, against the UrDail government and against the Superiority, all because they were standing up for what they believed to be morally the correct thing to do and I loved that. Jorgen's battle with breaking the rules was also adorable. 

The conversations Alanik had with Arturo about killing people in war times were also really great, I think it's so important that armies focus on continuing to humanise their enemy and to feel bad about killing even while knowing that some death is sadly unavoidable. The quote 

"Now he could never change his mind, and there was a kind of tragedy to that."

 was so beautiful and tragic, it's so true, that difference of opinions can help you to form your own opinions and that some people just need the chance to be able to change their mind and realise they were wrong. I think the ending of the novella really hit that home too, SPOILER>>>Jeshua telling Jorgen to do better than they did was absolutely heart breaking

and ending on that cliffhanger really tore me to pieces.

The setting for this book was beautifully described, the huge trees floating in miasma of a gas giant planet on rocks of acclivity stone, the swirling colours of the gas surrounding them and the descriptions of buildings winding their way up branches and carved into the trunks was just stunning. There was a sneaky little reference to Lord of the Rings in there too that I adored. The characters in this were all great as well, and as always, the taynix were the star of the show. I did find some of the conversations a little bit tedious at some points, and it really dragged out the pacing in places, but mostly this was super action packed and I had a lot of fun reading it.

Overall, a great read that is a must read for this series, but don't make my mistake and make sure you read it in the recommended order because it will make things so much clearer. I think maybe the addition of Janci Patterson's writing in these stories might not be my absolutely favourite choice Sanderson has made but I don't think it ruins the stories at all, it just adds a slightly different vibe to them. Now I'm excited to read Evershore, and a little scared, I think this one is going to be a very sad and tough read.

Genevieve 

“The Superiority keeps us all in cages of different kinds. They control us and call it peace, but it isn’t peace when we don’t have a choice.”

4.25 ⭐

I really wish I had read these novellas before reading Cytonic, or at least before reading Defiant because these really do give such great backstory and explanation about what was going on back on Detritus. Skyward Flight were really getting up to the most while Spensa was having her adventures, phew. This novella was really good, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about Alanik and her culture and seeing how she was adopted into Skyward Flight. This novella had some really great quotes and messages about fighting oppression and not realising you're being tricked into a trap until it's too late by manipulative governments and I think a lot of what was said in this book is really important given what is going on in the real world currently.

SPOILER>>>The fact that Jorgen and his team had to basically defect to be able to help the UrDail because their own government were dragging their feet and considering siding with the Superiority was really poignant to me. They basically went completely rogue, against Detritus, against the UrDail government and against the Superiority, all because they were standing up for what they believed to be morally the correct thing to do and I loved that. Jorgen's battle with breaking the rules was also adorable. 
<<<END SPOILER
The conversations Alanik had with Arturo about killing people in war times were also really great, I think it's so important that armies focus on continuing to humanise their enemy and to feel bad about killing even while knowing that some death is sadly unavoidable. The quote "Now he could never change his mind, and there was a kind of tragedy to that." was so beautiful and tragic, it's so true, that difference of opinions can help you to form your own opinions and that some people just need the chance to be able to change their mind and realise they were wrong. I think the ending of the novella really hit that home too, SPOILER>>>Jeshua telling Jorgen to do better than they did was absolutely heart breaking
<<<END SPOILER
and ending on that cliffhanger really tore me to pieces.

The setting for this book was beautifully described, the huge trees floating in miasma of a gas giant planet on rocks of acclivity stone, the swirling colours of the gas surrounding them and the descriptions of buildings winding their way up branches and carved into the trunks was just stunning. There was a sneaky little reference to Lord of the Rings in there too that I adored. The characters in this were all great as well, and as always, the taynix were the star of the show. I did find some of the conversations a little bit tedious at some points, and it really dragged out the pacing in places, but mostly this was super action packed and I had a lot of fun reading it.

Overall, a great read that is a must read for this series, but don't make my mistake and make sure you read it in the recommended order because it will make things so much clearer. I think maybe the addition of Janci Patterson's writing in these stories might not be my absolutely favourite choice Sanderson has made but I don't think it ruins the stories at all, it just adds a slightly different vibe to them. Now I'm excited to read Evershore, and a little scared, I think this one is going to be a very sad and tough read.

ReDawn (Skyward Flight

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