BTDub Reviews: Sunreach by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson

Title - Sunerach

Author(s) - Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson

Genre - Science Fiction

Release date - 9/28/2021

Completed book on - 1/1/2023

***This review will include some spoilers for Starsight ***

Howdy, folks! My name is Brad, and I'm starting this blog with the goal of sharing reviews on all the entertainment I consume. Well, at least the ones I feel inclined to write about! I expect I'll mostly cover books, movies, TV shows, and video games, but who knows - maybe some wild cards will slip in there.

To begin, I’m starting by reviewing Sunreach, the first novella written in the Skyward series. Skyward is a YA sci-fi book series. While the mainline books are written solely by Brandon Sanderson, this time he has tag-teamed with Janci Patterson.

To Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson, I say: WELL, WELL, WELL! What a fun, bite-sized adventure that was!

First off, let’s explain where this novella falls in the series timeline. Sunreach takes place between the end of Starsight (Book 2) and the beginning chapters of Cytonic (Book 3). The story takes place on Detritus soon after Spensa travels back to Starsight with a delver . If after reading Cytonic, you had questions about what had been going on at Detritus following the attack from a delver, this novella will begin to answer those for you.

Instead of following Spensa, we catch up with Freja Marten, or FM, from Skyward Flight. It's interesting to read from the perspective of a non-Cytonic character, especially after three novels with the charismatic Spensa. While FM is a very heroic character in her own right, her personality, motivations and methods are different from Spensa. Spensa is a warrior at heart, fueled by her emotions. FM is a subtle leader, who keeps her composure in tense situations so that her team feels safe.

Fortunately, the novella also gives FM time to be vulnerable, both alone and with others. While our time with her is fairly brief in this novella, it gave a lot more context about her character and why became a pilot to begin with. With this extra information about her, it gives the reader more reasons to root for her in any future books.

Thankfully, this trip back to Detritus also benefits several other characters from Skyward Flight, particularly Rodge McCaffery, or Rigmarole/Rig, and Jorgen “Jerkface” Weight. This was refreshing for me, as we haven’t spent a whole lot of time with these characters since the first novel.

Story-wise, this novella doesn’t move the overall plot of the series forward quite as significantly as one of the mainline books. That said, it’s still an exciting adventure that answers several questions I had about the happenings on Detritus during Cytonic.. It also gives us new information about one of my favorite creatures from the series, the Taynix. I will say no more, except that this novella left me excited to see what’s next for Skyward squad and our little slug fellas.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention some of the things I didn’t love from the novella. Humor wise, it’s still lighthearted in the same way that makes the series a cozy read. However, some of the “funny” sections of the writing didn't fully land for me. At times, they felt long-winded and a bit repetitive.

But to be honest, that’s the only real critique I’ve got on this one. Ultimately, this novella moves the series’ lore forward in meaningful ways, develops characters I’ve missed since the first book, and has an intriguing and action-filled conclusion to boot.

Rating: **** (out of 5!)