Have you ever wondered if storytelling could save the world?
Before you roll your eyes at me for the absurd thing I say, I must tell you they can. But you’re right, stories might not change everything on their own; they’re just a good start. Where do you think money came from? Trees? Last I checked, a sheet of paper is worth less than a dollar.
That’s right, money started off as a story, not an objective reality.
Welcome to my odd review series, where I categorize how much novels question our beliefs about life, and how much they merely take them for granted.
This review might contain spoilers about themes (if you can call it that) and random world-building details.
Nothing too fancy, but you’re warned.
W H A T I S C Y T O N I C ?
The third book in the Skyward series! You can start our journey here from the first book. But for those who can’t remember it well, here it goes.
Now that Spensa is a full-fledged pilot and has uncovered the Krell’s secrets, she has to grapple with the most powerful weapon her enemies could muster; a Delver. Destroyer of entire worlds—and galaxies— in a sweep.
How is she, a mere mortal, supposed to counter them?
The thing is, she is not a mere mortal anymore.
She is… Cytonic.
F U N
Most people had trouble with this third installment because, as usual, Spensa goes off on an adventure with a completely different set of characters. The bonds we forged with any of the previous ones are missing and, somehow, we wish to go back to the familiar.
This doesn’t mean the quest-like mission was not as enjoyable or as interesting, or even as crazy creative because it was—
Yet something made it feel like Starsight all over again, but with a much weaker impact.
I’d say the quest is fun, the characters are interesting, Spensa’s character growth is compelling, and the ending continues to be good enough.
Verdict? W O R K S F O R M E
W E L L W R I T T E N
If I’ve read a book by Sanderson that has not been as well written as the rest, it would be this one.
Maybe structurally it was not as cohesive as the rest, but I can’t say for sure.
I did feel like the whole book was a side mission for Spensa to grow into herself and find the history of the cytonic, but it felt like something happening on the sidelines; different from what the real war was doing to everyone else, and… it didn’t seem as satisfying.
There was also this aspect of things being more magical than I expected, maybe because I did not read as well into the foreshadowing, or because I thought the series was less based on magic, but it made me feel like some of the reveals were disjointed.
They could make sense for some, but, in my mind, it was not a natural progression; as the slugs being hyperdrives was.
Still, it’s pretty enjoyable and does get intense by the end, if that’s some consolation.
Verdict? W O R K S F O R M E
T H O U G T - P R O V O K I N G T H E M E S
Cytonic does have the same themes as Starsight, meaning the book revolves around identity.
Now, I racked my brain to find what the difference between both was, and the difference was not as astounding. Thinking on it, this might be why they seem so similar and why Cytonic seems like a side quest.
As I said, both deal with identity, but in different ways…
I thought maybe Spensa had grown to understand her identity in Starsight, but it seems she had much more to process because Cytonic had to happen. Ha ha.
Bad jokes aside, in Starsight, the theme was reflected externally. Spensa evaluates what it means to be human and the difference between the aliens she meets and the humans she belongs with. She finds herself at war with the image of humans outside Detritus and the aliens outside her imagination.
Now, in Cytonic however, she delves more into herself. Who she is, what she likes, how she feels more like herself. Not only that, but she also gets to know about her cytonic abilities, and how they fit in the bigger picture. Spensa chooses what needs to be done—essentially going back to the conclusions of the first book.
She decides to be courageous and stand up for what she thinks is right.
Not what she wants, but what needs to be done.
A duty coming from the inside rather than the outside.
Still, I think the theme was not as well conveyed, so I’m not all that sure the dilemma shone through, so I won’t go into it either.
Verdict? N O T F O R M E
C R I T I C A L C O M M E N T A R Y
For once in the history of this series I could not find anything too critical.
Most commentaries I saw in the book were directly linked to the setting already established; how the Superiority is this absolute power that determines what goes and what doesn’t, how they oppress people indirectly, and how they fear the “otherness” present in lesser species.
I would think that the most critical could be the similarity between the DDF and the Superiority under Winzik; the hierarchical structure, the propaganda to control the masses, the complete fear of that which is different from them, and the… well, the ‘superiority’ or power they covet above everything and everyone.
I hope this description can be enough to think about a parallel to our world so I won’t mention it.
Still, nothing directly linked to the plot stood out too much to grant this star, because it all seemed to be a backdrop, perhaps to deal with in the fourth book.
Nothing wrong with that though.
Verdict? N O T F O R M E
P R O P O S E S A L T E R N A T I V E S
Cytonic does have instances where I think it pushes toward something different, then I catch myself giving it too much thought, and realize it’s something usually present in children’s books. Or books for the younger demographic.
The friends-you-make-along-the-way type of trope.
Not that this isn’t cool or important, it’s mainly because the nuance isn’t presented; it is not a theme and more like a plot device for Spensa to return to the Somewhere.
That’s why I won’t give it a star.
I will find another book to talk about this in depth.
…Sorry for being a tease.
Verdict? N O T F O R M E
To make a long story short, this book got:
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