2 min to read
Cytonic
- Title
- Cytonic
- Author
- Brandon Sanderson
- Published date
- 23/11/2021
- Pages
- 409
- Publisher
- Gollancz
“Cytonic” by Brandon Sanderson is the third book in YA Space Opera series “Skyward”. The review includes spoilers to the first two books, so if you haven’t read them yet, please skip it.
The book starts with an immediate tense scene, where Spensa is trying to escape from Superiority’s soldiers chasing her. But instead of hyperjump straight home to Detritus, she chooses to venture into the nowhere to learn more about the delvers to gain an advantage in the upcoming conflict. In short, once again, we get a whole new world to discover.
I missed Spensa and M-Bot’s banter. It’s hilarious and never fails to crack me up. This time M-Bot is evolving to yet another level. Thanks to bypassing his programming and to some properties of the nowhere, he is getting more sapient every minute and must deal with all new emotions range humans have. So basically, he is going a bit nuts throwing tantrums like a five-year-old and demanding explanations for what he’s feeling.
To learn the truth about the delver and her cytonic powers, Spensa must embark on a quest, like the ones from her favourite stories. She gets new friends, fights the pirates, and explores the whole new, fantastic world. But with all the glamour and excitement, the nowhere is also a dangerous place because it is easy to forget everything else there. And if you are not careful, you can completely lose not only your memories but also your own identity.
Sanderson always amazes me with the ways he plots his stories. I’ve read most of his books, and with every new one, I’m still surprised by twists and revelations that I didn’t see coming. “Cytonic” is full of action, wonder, amazingly created new world and likeable characters. Once again, we get a set of new side characters that we wish could stay with us longer than just one book. The climax scenes are epic and emotional and got me all teary. Again. The author knows precisely which strings to pull to go straight for your heart.
I also love how the author incorporated iconic stories from our pop culture but twisted them a bit to make them sound like tales told so often that their meaning changed to fit better to current society. Also, Spensa’s interpretations are just pure gold.
If you are a fan of this series already, I don’t need to encourage you to read that book. If you like action-driven space operas with great worldbuilding, you should check out this one!
*****
