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Starsight (Skyward, #2)

Brandon Sanderson

Start date: December 1, 2019

Finish date: December 31, 2019

Discussion: Book of the Month

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What Members Thought

Nov 28, 2019 Twila rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: buddy-read, highly-anticipated, made-me-laugh, pictures, mystery, cute, could-not-put-down, great-characters, made-me-think, science

3.5
22/11/21 Update:
I'm rounding my rating down after this re-read since it made me realize how much more I enjoy Skyward over Starsight. There's just a certain charm this book failed to capture that the first did so well. It also doesn't help that I've read a a good amount of space opera since this book first came out, some incredible ones, and can't help but feel that this book isn't half as unique as I initially thought. Still an enjoyable read, of course!

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OG review:

Going into Starsight, 3.5
22/11/21 Update:
I'm rounding my rating down after this re-read since it made me realize how much more I enjoy Skyward over Starsight. There's just a certain charm this book failed to capture that the first did so well. It also doesn't help that I've read a a good amount of space opera since this book first came out, some incredible ones, and can't help but feel that this book isn't half as unique as I initially thought. Still an enjoyable read, of course!

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OG review:

Going into Starsight, there's a lot I was hoping for. I wanted the scope of the world we got to know in Skyward, from which all we knew was the singular planet of Detritus, to grow massively and to see the characters we got to know develop even more. Really, I wanted everything to get BIG. And I wanted ANSWERS.

In Starsight, I was not disappointed! Brandon once again produces a huge and detailed new setting and world that didn't fail to showcase the wide breadth of his talent. To say anything about the plot would be a spoiler since the story took such an immediate turn. But if you’ve read one of his books before, then you know of the crazy unique spins he usually does in his fantasy works where he creates species, religions, and remarkable magic systems that somehow never fail to hold my interest. To see his type of worldbuilding and character building applied in science fiction is always a fabulous experience for me.

He can be a cinematic writer when he wants to be and in Starsight, I felt like he did an impressive job showcasing in all its glory the sheer magnitude of this vibrant and unique universe he's created. I got exactly what I wanted. It was HUGE. There were more characters. There were more species of characters, more planets, and more technology. It was A M A Z I N G.

However, one downside to all the changes was that we got separated from most of the supporting characters we got to know and love in Skyward. To have the focus shift entirely away from them was a bit unsatisfying, to be honest. The new characters are wonderful, but their interactions together and with Spensa wasn't exactly as entertaining as the first group was.

Something else I felt a little lackluster was the repetitive use of M-Bot as a plot device. Spensa relied on him and his seemingly endless range of abilities way too much for my liking and I couldn't help but get deus ex machina vibes, leaving what should have felt like incredibly intense situations to feel not. That was a bit frustrating.

Overall, a worthy sequel? Absolutely. I read it in about a day and a half and it was easily one of my favourite books of 2019. And with how Brandon manages to set book 3 with the promise of even more exploration of a yet unseen part of the universe, we’re looking at some crazy stuff to come in a couple of years and I cannot wait! ...more

47 likes · Like · see review

Dec 05, 2019 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read

4.5 stars. This was really good. I thoroughly enjoyed the expansion of the world as we and Spensa know it: the different alien species, the hyperdrive, Starsight itself. I was initially sad not to have more of the characters we met in the first book, but I am very keen to see where the next books in the series will lead on from here.

32 likes · Like · see review

May 02, 2025 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-tbr

What a great 2nd book in this series. I took off one star because I was 50% into the book and it was really lagging and if my daughter hadn't read it a couple months ago I may have DNF's it. I did picked it up in 2022 and was kind of bored with it and stopped reading. I thought it was my frame of mind but it sort of lagged a bit BUT when it picked up WOW did it ever pack a punch.

I love Spensa and M-Bot. Doomslug is also still in this book and I'm so happy. We didn't get to see a lot of the last ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2022 Maddie rated it liked it · review of another edition

I almost got this read in one day! I definitely didn't love this as much as I thought I would, I get what people mean by it having such a different feel to the first one. I definitely missed the original crew, and didn't care a whole lot for the inundation of new species and the politics. I did this almost solely on audio while I unpacked the house, and it might have suffered from that, but I am glad to have continued the series and be back in the world. Hoping to read the final one + novellas t ...more

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