Sunreach by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson – Review

Published: September 28, 2021

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Series: Skyward #2.1

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Pages: 208 (Kindle Edition)

My Rating: 3.5/5.0

Synopsis:
From #1 bestselling author Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson comes the first of three Skyward series novellas, each told from the perspective of a different member of the team back on Detritus. Read FM’s story between Starsight and Cytonic.

When a planet-destroying Delver suddenly appears in the sky of Detritus and vanishes just as suddenly, FM knows that the last free human society got lucky. Her Skyward Flight companion, Spensa, figured out how to draw this Delver away, but it won’t be so easy next time.

The forces of the Galactic Superiority will be back—and if the Defiant Defense Force can’t figure out a way to escape the planet, humanity’s destruction is only a matter of time. Spensa’s mission to infiltrate the Superiority unveiled the secret to their hyperdrives—a cytonic slug species called the Taynix. Now FM’s flightleader, Jorgen, has found a large group of Taynix hiding in the caverns far below Detritus’s surface.

FM and Jorgen must work together with the engineer Rig to awaken the mysterious alien Alanik and unlock the powers of the Taynix, or humanity will be trapped. With Spensa’s friend Minister Cuna of the Superiority stranded at the outpost of Sunreach, they need to figure out how to rescue her—or the Superiority government will be in the sole clutches of those who want to wipe out Detritus once and for all.

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Sunreach was a short, fun return to Skyward flight and all the characters I’ve missed. I’ll keep this review short since this was quite a short little book. 

This whole book is basically about FM, Jorgen, and Rig trying to figure out how the Taynix slugs work as hyperdrives. It turns out there are a few different color morphs and not all of them do the same thing… as Jorgen learns the hard way. In between the amusing slug shenanigans, there’s also the very real threat of the Superiority forces attacking Detritus, and without Spensa another Delver attack would be the end of the planet. That rather sobering possibility, plus the possibility of reaching out to a sympathetic member of the Superiority makes the trio’s work even more crucial.

Of course I loved getting more time with the ol’ gang with or without Spensa present. Sunreach was a nice way to flesh out the events of Cytonic without adding 200+ pages to the main book and gave us a nice look into the lives of Skyward flight members. I need to pick up Redawn soon and then Evershore once it’s released at the end of the month so I can be fully prepared to sit around and wait for book 4. 

Also, may I just note that I always find it funny when a synopsis for a book is longer than my review for the same book!!