This is a review for books 1, 2 and 3 of the series (Skyward, Starsight and Cytonic). For some reason I was under the impression that this was a trilogy, and was frustrated when the third book did not provide closure. It turns out that I was wrong: it's a tetralogy and the last book is coming out later this year (2023), so I'm not holding that against the series.

This is a SF YA series, so if you don't enjoy YA stories this might not be for you.

What I liked:

* The characters, particularly the main character, Spensa, a teenage girl with the heart of a warrior. She has been raised with stories of ancient heroes, and she wants to fight and protect her people, even though she is not treated very well since she is the daughter of a pilot who ran away in the middle of a fight. I like that beyond her tough persona, she has flaws and vulnerabilities, and that she learns and grows as the story progressed. She is a likable protagonist.

* The plot/worldbuilding was rather interesting. As the story begins, what remains of humanity live underground in a planet called Detritus, subject to constant bombardments and attacks from mysterious alien starfighters. As the story goes on, we learn a lot more about what's going on in the galaxy and about the mysterious power called cytonics.

What I didn't like so much:

* Occasionally I felt that the execution was a bit disappointing. For example, the main character is an ace pilot, and air or space battles play a big role in the series, but that whole element feels simplistic and unrealistic. Lets say that new pilot candidates are accepted by the military, and on their first day of training, when they have only a few hours with a simulator and no real flying at all, they are called to take part in a real aerial battle. True, they are not asked to do much in the battle, but still it's difficult to maintain suspension of disbelief when trainees are given a plane and are ordered into a battle with a total of zero hours of actual flying, and only a few hours in a simulator.

Other thoughts:

* Each of the three books takes place in a very different setting and with a mostly different cast of characters (excepting our main character and her AI). That allows for more worldbuilding, but made the whole story a bit less cohesive. I'm hoping that book 4 will close the circle.

* Of the three books I read, I liked book 3 the least. I got a bit tired of that whole setting. ( )

spensa si infiltra nel governo nemico trovando alleati e il segreto dei viaggi iperluce ( )

"Estelar" es la continuación directa de "Escuadrón" y comienza tan solo meses después del final de este. Aquí vemos como Spensa debe seguir tomando una y otra vez decisiones apresuradas para tratar de salvar a la humanidad y a la vez ir dilucidado como funciona su poder, sin saber muy bien que esta haciendo.

A mi parecer es un libro mucho más ágil en cuanto a acción que su predecesor, ya que no todo se basa en peleas entre cazas estelares. Se nos muestra una serie de nuevos personajes que son de lo más variados, con personalidades únicas que nos van informando como funciona este universo con infinidad de razas muy diferentes unas de otras.

Hay un claro crecimiento en Spensa (ya no es tan insoportable) y M-Bot, mención aparte sus preguntas existenciales, pero se hecha de menos a sus antiguos compañeros de escuadrón que tienen casi nula participación en este libro. El final como nos acostumbra Sanderson vertiginoso y con varias sorpresas dejando todo listo para la nueva entrega "Citónica".

En resumen una lectura entretenida con bastante humor y mucha acción. ( )

Brandon Sanderson is a skilled writer, who creates intricate worlds full of compelling characters. Starsight, sequel to Skyward, is no exception.

The first hundred pages of the novel provide new information about the world outside Detrius. Centuries ago, the race that founded the Sovereignty used cytonic travel (basically magic used to teleport starships). But that drew the delvers, who live in the nowhere (which cytonics enter as they jump from one location to another). Once in our realm, delvers are drawn to all forms of wireless communication, and they destroy the sentients using it. This explains why Spensa, a cytonic, is hated - even if her people have forgotten the reasons for the prejudice. In addition, humans are isolated on prison worlds like Detrius because the species tried three times to take over the galaxy; and they called devlers to our realm as weapons, only to lose control of them. All members of the Sovereignty are peaceful (at least outwardly). The Sovereignty doesn't need to destroy their enemies; they have a monopoly on FTL travel, and denying it to non-members traps them on their primitive worlds.

Spensa impersonates an alien who crash lands on her planet, traveling to the Superiority to try out for the space force, secretly hoping to steal a hyperdrive. No one understands how hyperdrive technology works, but Spensa hears screaming with her cyotnic senses every time it is engaged. The mystery of the novel is well done. Small clues click into place so that the reader creates hypothesis that are similar to Spensa's (which are only made explicit near the end), but expectations are reversed as the reality is not quite what either the reader or Spena expected.

In the end, Spensa is able to divert the delvers by connecting to them as people. The resolution is quite similar to that of Ender's Game: we were at war with the delvers because we didn't realize the were sentient, and they didn't realize we were sentient. Even though this has been done before, it's still good. ( )

it’s baffling to me that Brandon Sanderson could be just as good at writing science fiction as he is at fantasy, and yet he is.
i read this book in one sitting, it was an exciting ride. i love Spensa and her development from a scrappy young girl into a strong pilot.

i do wish we had gotten to see more of the characters from the first book, but i’m sure that’s what the next one is for :) ( )