Skyward (Brandon Sanderson)

Skyward
Brandon Sanderson
Delacorte Press
Fiction, YA Sci-Fi
***+ (Okay/Good)

DESCRIPTION: As a young girl, Spensa always looked up to her father, a heroic fighter pilot defending the remnants of the human race from alien Krell attackers. Even after he was branded a coward and shot down by his own wingman, turning her family into pariahs in the underground city of Igneous, she wanted to be just like him... but he always told her to reach for something higher than the debris-clouded skies over Detrius. He told her to reach for the stars - where their people came from generations ago, and to which they might return, but for the Krell.
Against all odds and prejudices, Spensa manages to make it into flight school. Here, at last, she can prove herself a warrior and restore her family's honor. But real combat is nothing like old Gran-Gran's ancient stories of warriors and heroism. Worse, she shows signs of a "defect" that may have contributed to her father's shameful final actions. But she'll do whatever it takes to get into a pilot's seat, and if the colony leaders try to ground her, a derelict discovered in an old cave near the base may be her ticket to the skies - if she can repair it on the sly. That is, unless the Krell's shifting new tactics don't spell the end of harrying attacks and the beginning of all-out annihilation...

REVIEW: Skyward starts out as a by-the-numbers young adult tale with sci-fi trappings, composed of parts that have become very familiar. There's the pariah heroine fighting an unjust system, the nasty admiral who seems to have a personal vendetta against her, the elder mentor with ties to her late father and who provides more clues about his hushed-up final flight, the supportive best friend, the enemy classmate who is not what he first seems, and so forth, all of whom feel a little flat when introduced. Even the world of Detrius and the conflict with the Krell, despite some nice ideas and the fighter pilot trappings, seem like shallow window dressing, as does the derelict spaceship and its peculiar onboard computer. This is a world so far in the future that humans have spread to distant planets, yet which still clings to stories and imagery of old Earth, among other cumulative anachronisms that kept me from immersing as I should have. It's not until past the halfway point, as Spensa slowly sheds her childish obsession with Beowulf (and her somewhat bratty attitude that does her no favors), that the tale starts to deepen, though it still feels a little shallow at times; it's an action-driven piece throughout, with many dogfights and physics-stretching maneuvers. Spensa even backslides on some important lessons to draw out tension even as her experiences in flight school mature her. By the finale, it's a decent ride, with a final twist that, while not entirely unexpected, sets up some interesting things for the inevitable next book... though even by then several peripheral characters remain fairly flat despite some effort to deepen them. Despite the reasonably strong finish, the earlier sense of flatness and overall predictability just barely held it back from a full four star rating. I might read on, though... in paperback or from the library, next time.

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