Slower than the first two books in the series, but a fun adventure in its own way, complete with Sanderson's characteristic humor and world building. Another reviewer likened this installment to The Empire Strikes Back, and I have to agree: this book sees Spensa separated from most of her friends, save her trusty sidekick M-Bot, now in drone form. Under the tutelage of a mysterious, quirky guide, Spensa must follow the Path of Elders to unlock the secrets of cytonics (insert Yoda/Luke comparison here).

Highly recommend for all Sanderson fans.

It was harder for me to get into this book for the first 30%. This isn’t my favorite Sanderson series, but it’s Sanderson so of course I’m going to read and enjoy it.

Once I did get more invested in the story, things picked up and I couldn’t wait to finish it. The area where this series really shines for me is the plot twists near the end of each book. Every time I finish the book going, “What?!?” and eagery waiting for the next installment to answer all of my questions.

With each book I grow to appreciate the characters and their uniqueness a little more. I also really like this book for its originality. Sanderson is really good at being creative and original, and that makes this book stand out even if it’s not my favorite.

Another reason I may have had trouble getting into it is because it’s unpredictable and I don’t know where the book is going. At the beginning, I was wondering what the point of the plot was and everything seemed really bizarre. I should have known not to doubt the author. Although at times certain things in this book seem random, everything always wraps up and loose ends are tied together neatly. There is always a reason for everything, even if I don’t understand at the time.

All in all, if you enjoyed previous books in the swries you will love this one! I am looking forward to the next book.

I was provided with an eARC from the publisher through Netgalley, This is an honest review.

Sanderson tells a good story. Cytonic and the story of Spensa is no different! I loved getting to go on adventures with Spensa, in places and ways she didn't even know were possible.
I was having trouble remembering where the previous book left off, but Sanderson did a great job of filling in any holes in my memory.

I was giving this ARC by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!!

Cytonic is the third installment in Skyward series by Brandon Sanderson. After infiltrating the Superiority, defeating a Delver, and being discovered, Spensa jumps into the Nowhere. Without giving away spoilers, we follow Spensa on her journey to discover what Cytonic really is and what that means for her.

I have been a massive fan of these books since they were released. And this one just fell a little short for me. I still really enjoyed it, but it didn't capture the feeling of the first book or even the second book. I wasn't a huge fan of Chet from the beginning, and M-Bot's character arc wasn't my favorite either. I loved him being the witty little spaceship. Spensa is still a badass and I still really love her character. I can't wait to see how the series concludes in the next book! I'm still a huge fan of this series, but this one was a 3/5 for me.

A beautiful follow up to Sandersons series. Another great Sanderson Sci-if not so that all readers will enjoy.

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson, I greatly enjoyed this next installment of the Skyward Series. If you are a fan of Sanderson and liked the previous books in this series, this is a must read for you!

4.5 Stars

It's fascinating to read this book and see how far Spensa has come. Her book one self is a mere shadow here, where she is truly growing into a formidable warrior, a strong woman, and a smart person.

While Starsight was fun, because it introduced more aliens and politics, it was nice to be back with just Spensa and M-Bot where now these two characters could process everything they have been through the last few books. There is a ton of character development between the two, as they grow together and individually. This is a lot slower story, in some ways, than the previous book, focusing more on Spensa and M-Bot's introspection than the conflict at large. While the conflict with the Superiority is still very much there, it's background noise to the much needed deep talks our two main characters needed about themselves, their relationship, and the universe as a whole.

I didn't find the plot twists in this to be super major stuff, and, honestly, I think that's where Sanderson works best--the slow build up that you can see coming, but having the pieces all fall into place is satisfying because you know this wasn't a moment just thrown in there to cause drama/tension. I enjoyed the increased world (galaxy?) building with the history of various events, and new species and more fleshed out information on others. As Spensa learns, so do we, and I appreciate because of her situation that it never once feels forced for us, the reader, to learn what's going on. Histories and learning about new planets and species never feel info-dumpy because Spensa is just as much in the dark as we are and, due to her inquisitiveness, we find out bits and pieces here and there without it being too much info all at once.

I genuinely appreciate all the diagrams and sketches throughout the book. Whenever discussing aliens, it's always nice to have a visual representation of what everyone looks like to better picture what they are.

All-in-all, a solid sequel and a great starting point for the conclusion of this series. It has been a blast being on this journey with Spensa and watching her grow and evolve, as well as seeing how, despite being a feisty little hero, deep down she's got a heart of gold and honestly cares for others and is more than willing to reevaluate her views on others when she's confronted with truths that don't match her beliefs. And I like that about her a lot. She's stubborn, but not to a fault anymore.

In the past few years, I've been thinking the adventure genre has few new publications. Cytonic (and the Skyward series) is just the book readers needed to know that adventure can be page-turning and full of brilliant characters. Brandon Sanderson never disappoints. Spensa's story in book three begins in a dreamscape-like space called the Nowhere, and she soon finds a valuable quest on which to embark. This book was action-packed and full of surprises.

I took a minute (two days 🤷‍♀️) to think about this book before I started to write my review. Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson so much different than I expected it to be. But after taking a beat to think about it I realized this book is absolutely necessary in Spensa’s journey. The best comparison I can make is how Luke has to leave his friends/ the main plot to study under Yoda before he can finally become a Jedi. (Everybody should get that reference🤩)You think it’s going to be boring being away from the main action but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The action continues when we enter “the nowhere”. Spensa, M-Bot, and even Doomslug get the chance to grow and mature in a really unexpected way.

I can’t wait for the novellas to come out and even worse who knows when book 4 is going to come out!

On a personal note, I’ve been really focusing on YA books recently because I’m a teacher and we have decided to make a schoolwide initiative to encourage our kids to read more. With the pandemic and lockdowns, a lot of our students are behind where they should be and reading is the best way to get them back on track. So I want to have a lot of books to recommend my young adult students. This series is it is definitely something I would recommend all YA readers especially kids who like video games and don’t normally give books a chance.

To all the Brandon Sanderson stans out there, this is a no-brainer and he hits it out of the park once again.

Thank you net galley for the ARC #netgalley #cytonic