Cytonic
(Skyward #3)
by Brandon Sanderson
science fiction, subadult
copyright 2021
read in September 2023
rated 7/10: well worth reading
No, the saga is not complete, there's at least one more to go. But at least the end of this one is not a complete cliff-hanger.
By itself it's 6/10, read to pass the time. As part of the series -- it is essential and worthwhile, so 7/10. Hmmm... I just double-checked my rating scale. For its subadult market, as one of a series, it could be 8/10, really quite good. Or? no. It's fun, action, adventure, imagination -- all good -- but not worth eight.
It's swashbuckling adventure set in a world with a lot of variety -- which is barely used. The adventure fits well within the series but this book is relatively narrow in scope. That said, I was constantly surprised as a new revelation was fitted neatly into the series-wide plot. Perhaps that's the problem: in order to build the series, this book is limited. Enjoyable though.
The whole book is rather simplistic: challenges set and met, sometimes met by discovering that people (and aliens etc) are all rather well-meaning. All part of the subadult genre -- and something that I enjoy as much as any subadult.
Yet many of the problems are solved by near-magic: Oh, I didn't know that you had that super-power... Not quite deus ex machina, more wish fulfilment.
And then there is the message... The heroine is constantly learning, growing and developing. As she learns, the reader is given the clear message that personal growth, understanding, helping others and so on, are all good things. Well yes they are, the message is just a bit heavy-handed. Not that I object... I agree with the messages, I am happy to see them in print. My own "moral compass" was set by reading Biggles. I enjoy a book with a positive message. Perhaps it could be by example rather than by instruction.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Action, adventure, a satisfying ending. I hope that, sooner or later, the entire series will reach some sort of satisfying conclusion.
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