”It has always seemed to me that a coward is a person who cares more about what people say than about what is right. Bravery isn’t about what people call you, Spensa. It is about who you know yourself to be."

FORMAT READ: Audiobook
SIMILAR VIBES: Ender’s Game, City of Ember (slight steampunk side)
READ FOR: intense and engaging space battles, squad goals, emotional gut punches, badass heroine

OVERALL: 4.75/5

SO. GOOD. I WANT TO SCREAM.

Brandon Sanderson’s world building does not let down! It takes some time to get fully invested but once you’re in, oh boy, YOU. ARE. IN. He always starts building from the most basic things up and I always feel like there’s more to the world that he initially introduces. He delivers ideas so well and makes it so prominent in the writing while still making it so seamlessly woven into the story. I love everything about the sky, the moon, the stars… so to find that the book took to featuring those as symbolisms made me giddy.

He paces his plots so well that everything just hits you when you least expect it AND I JUST REALLY WANNY CRY BECAUSE I AM SO INVESTED !!!

I’ve said this before but I’m going to say it again: I was still not able to guess Sanderson’s plot twists even with all of his foreshadowing. It’s the type that you won’t even dream of becoming a plot twist if that makes sense. There were scenes that left me so frustrated (in the good way) but everything wrapped up so well, that I was left satisfied!! <3 UGH. I JUST CANT.

“Fly anyway.”

The characters’ chemistry is so well written and it all just made sense, I was so invested in their whole flight team <3 I was crying and laughing in all the right parts, my heart racing and wrenching. They’re so entertaining while having the right depth and I loved seeing their character developments. They were also diverse which was a nice touch!

Spensa can be intese, dark and I always find it amusing. But I love her character so much!! It has been a while since I have loved a female MC in a fantasy and Spensa is one who deserves all the support I can give her.

The story got so much more interesting as the plot progressed. If you like exciting, intense, space battles… THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. It’s hilarious and entertaining in all the right parts. All the battle space scenes was so exciting and so well written. The feeling is just like Mistborn but without the epic fantasy side. The space action is so detailed that I can imagine myself flying a Poco. The illustrations also largely helped me, as a reader, be able to imagine the ships much better, especially in relation to each other.

As usual, Sanderson wrote a novel that I was not aware I wanted to read. I thought the whole plot was going to about how she GETS into flight school or something but it wasn’t and was about her ACTUALLY in flight school and everything else that comes with it. Which I really loved and found super addicting to read.

Sanderson’s worlds are always so much more complex than the blurbs make it out to be and I am in for the ride.

“You get to choose who you are. Legacy, memories of the past, can serve us well. But we cannot let them define us. When heritage becomes a box instead of an inspiration, it has gone too far.”

PLOT: ★★★★★
WRITING STYLE: ★★★★★
WORLD BUILDING: ★★★★★
CHARACTERS: ★★★★★(4.5)
THEMES: ★★★★★
PACING: ★★★★★
PAGE TURNER: ★★★★★

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PRE READ:

you already know that any and all Brandon Sanderson books go straight to my TBR pile

i can never keep myself from reading a brandon sanderson book... I'm coming soon Stormlight Archives