Skyward Books in Order By Brandon Sanderson
You get to choose who you are. Legacy, memories of the past, can serve us well. But we cannot let them define us. When heritage becomes a box instead of an inspiration, it has gone too far.
― Brandon Sanderson, Skyward
0.5 Defending Elysium (2008) – Asimov’s Science Fiction (US)/UPC Science Fiction Collection (Europe)
1. Skyward (2018)
2. Starsight (2019)
2.1. Sunreach (2021)
2.2. ReDawn (2021)
3. Cytonic (2021)
3.1. Evershore (2021)
4. Defiant (Exp. November 2023)
What is Skyward about?
Set on the desolate and ruined world of Detritus, a group of shipwrecked humans are under constant and seemingly routine attack from mysterious aliens called the Krell. We follow a 17 year old girl called Spensa who dreams of following her dead fathers footsteps to become a fighter pilot for the Defiant Defense Force (DDF).
As the story progresses through the books we learn of this almost superhuman ability that is feared amongst the humans that some of have. The people that have this ability are known as Cytonic, but is it as bad as they all fear it to be?
Who is Brandon Sanderson?
Brandon Sanderson is an American author of SciFi and High Fantasy. He was born in Lincoln, Nebraska on 19th December 1975. He enjoyed reading High Fantasy through junior high and high school, finding authors such as Robert Jordan and Anne McCaffrey. He enjoyed reading the genre so much that he gave writing a go himself. His first attempts, as he puts it, were dreadful.
He enrolled at Brigham Young University in 1994 as a biochemistry major. He took time away from University from 1995-1997, to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Seoul, Korea. When he returned to BYU, he switched to an English Major. He began working nights as a desk clerk at a hotel as they allowed him to write while at work. And by 2003 he had written twelve novels, with none of them as of yet published. But by 2005, Elantris (which became the first book of his wider Cosmere Universe, and you can check out the best reading order for the Cosmere Universe right here!), was picked up by Tor Books to some positive reviews. A year later, in 2006, Mistborn: The Final Empire was published (more info about this series and the best reading order here).
Sanderson had started to make a name for himself in the genre, and in 2007, only two years after his first book was published, he was chosen to complete the final books in Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series The Wheel of Time after Jordan’s untimely death. He was asked by Harriet McDougal, who was the wife and editor of Jordan. Sanderson turned what was meant to be one book into three.
Since then Brandon Sanderson has published over 70 books that are involved in 8 different series. From Novels to Novellas, standalones to a part of a larger series of books. And they are all to high praise, if his average Goodreads score is anything to go by (4.41 out of 5).
In March 2021, Brandon Sanderson began his “Weekly Update” on his YouTube channel. It was here that he revealed the title and cover for Cytonic (2021), the third book in his Skyward series (not in the Cosmere Universe).
And in March 2022 Sanderson broke the record on Kickstarter, becoming the all-time most successful campaign. He announced that over the previous two years he had secretly written five otherwise-unannounced books, with three a part of the Cosmere Universe . He told the world that these will be available through a Kickstarter subscription, released quarterly throughout 2023. He raised $15 million in the first 24 hours, and $20 million within three days! It ended with a total of 185,341 backers pledging $41,754,153!
Janci Patterson
Janci Patterson is an American writer of romantic comedy, epic fantasy, young adult and more. She is a friend and was a student of Brandon Sanderson and now co-author, having helped Sanderson with the Skyward Series Novellas. Providing feedback with Sanderson’s Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians novels.
Sanderson has stated that Janci Patterson has been an influence on his female characters, most notably with Vin, the protagonist of the Mistborn series, she even helped to fix a scene in The Hero of Ages, which led to Sanderson renaming a character as Lady Patresen as a cameo.
Other author’s Janci Patterson has had the pleasure of working with are James Goldberg, Lauren Hanes and Megan Walker.
And if you were to join her reader’s group on her website (we link to at the end), you get access to a free novel of hers, Searching for Super. Only available there.
A hero does not choose her trials. She steps into the darkness, then she faces what comes next.
― Brandon Sanderson, Starsight
The Order
Below you will find the best reading order for Skyward Series. We recommend that you do include reading the novellas in the order as they help build upon the previous book and add a lot of information to the next book in the series, which otherwise will give you a lot of catching up to try and do. Including but not limited to characters and plot points.
An added perk is you get to read through the POV of some of the other characters of the world.
Defending Elysium (2008) 
Skyward #0.5
14,590 words, n/a chapters, 43 pages, 1hr to read.
Published on Brandon Sanderson’s Website
4.09 out of 5 on Goodreads
This story originally appeared in the October/November 2008 Asimov’s Science Fiction (in the US) and the UPC Science Fiction collection (in Europe).
“An image came to him. An image of humankind escaping into space. An image of human merchants trading and cheating, of human tyrants capturing the Varvax, Tenasi, and Hommar. Images of wars, of fighting, of a paradise destroyed.”
Oddly enough, the ones who made first contact were an outdated, nearly bankrupt phone company. Second contact was made by the United Governments Military when they accidentally shot down a Tenasi ambassadorial vessel. The Phone Company negotiated Earth out of danger following the Tenasi incident. The Phone Company had brought FTL communication to humankind.
And Phone Company operative Jason Write has sworn to keep the galaxy safe from the barbaric humans who would ruin the Elysium that the galactic races currently enjoy.
Skyward (2018) 
Skyward #1
137,230 words, 58 chapters, 513 pages, 9hrs 10mins to read.
2,366 average words per chapter, 8.8 average pages per chapter
Published by Delacorte Press
4.49 out of 5 on Goodreads
Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.
Starsight (2019) 
Skyward #2
130,200 words, 47 chapters, 461 pages, 8hrs 40mins to read.
2,770 average words per chapter,9.8 average pages per chapter
Published by Delacorte Press
4.39 out of 5 on Goodreads
All her life, Spensa has dreamed of becoming a pilot. Of proving she’s a hero like her father. She made it to the sky, but the truths she learned about her father were crushing.
Spensa is sure there’s more to the story. And she’s sure that whatever happened to her father in his starship could happen to her. When she made it outside the protective shell of her planet, she heard the stars–and it was terrifying. Everything Spensa has been taught about her world is a lie.
But Spensa also discovered a few other things about herself–and she’ll travel to the end of the galaxy to save humankind if she needs to.
Sunreach (2021) 
Skyward #2.1
Written by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
50,400 words, 17 chapters, 208 pages, 3hrs 20mins to read.
2,964 average words per chapter, 12.2 average pages per chapter
Published by Delacorte Press
4.18 out of 5 on Goodreads
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.
ReDawn (2021) 
Skyward Series #2.2
Written by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
65,470 words, 24 chapters, 229 pages, 4hrs 20mins to read.
2,727 average words per chapter, 9.5 average pages per chapter
Published by Delacorte Press
4.21 out of 5 on Goodreads
Read Alanik’s story between Starsight and Cytonic.
“Don’t trust their lies. Don’t trust their false peace.” That is the warning that Alanik of the planet ReDawn gave the human pilot Spensa after Alanik’s ship crash-landed on Detritus. While accepting an invitation to meet with her people’s enemy, the Galactic Superiority, Alanik heard Spensa’s cry for help across the vastness of space, and she used her cytonic powers to hyperjump her ship to the source of that cry. What she found there was a shock—a whole planet of free humans fighting against the Superiority. Were they the allies her people desperately needed?
When she recovered from her injuries and met the friendly humans Jorgen and FM of Skyward Flight, she found that her warning to Spensa had gone unheeded by the government of Detritus, and they were considering a peace overture from the Superiority. Now having returned to ReDawn, Alanik is dismayed to learn that her own people are falling into the exact same trap.
The faction in ReDawn’s government that wants to appease the Superiority has gained the upper hand. With Alanik’s mentor, Renakin captured, she has no one to turn to but Jorgen, FM, and their friend Rig. An ancient technology may have the power to save both of their planets from disaster, but can they discover its secrets before it’s too late?
Cytonic (2021) 
Skyward Series #3
129,450 words, 47 chapters, 409 pages, 8hrs 40mins to read.
2,754 average words per chapter, 8.7 average pages per chapter
Published by Delacorte Press
4.09 out of 5 on Goodreads
Spensa’s life as a Defiant Defense Force pilot has been far from ordinary. She proved herself one of the best starfighters in the human enclave of Detritus and she saved her people from extermination at the hands of the Krell—the enigmatic alien species that has been holding them captive for decades. What’s more, she traveled light-years from home as an undercover spy to infiltrate the Superiority, where she learned of the galaxy beyond her small, desolate planet home.
Now, the Superiority—the governing galactic alliance bent on dominating all human life—has started a galaxy-wide war. And Spensa has seen the weapons they plan to use to end it: the Delvers. Ancient, mysterious alien forces that can wipe out entire planetary systems in an instant. Spensa knows that no matter how many pilots the DDF has, there is no defeating this predator.
Except that Spensa is Cytonic. She faced down a Delver and saw something eerily familiar about it. And maybe, if she’s able to figure out what she is, she could be more than just another pilot in this unfolding war. She could save the galaxy.
The only way she can discover what she really is, though, is to leave behind all she knows and enter the Nowhere. A place from which few ever return.
To have courage means facing fear. And this mission is terrifying.
Evershore (2021) 
Skyward Series #3.1
Written by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
65,000 words, 23 chapters, 234 pages, 4hrs 20mins to read.
2,826 average words per chapter, 10.1 average pages per chapter
Published by Delacorte Press
4.41 out of 5 on Goodreads
Listen to Jorgen’s story along with Cytonic.
With the government of Detritus in disarray because of Superiority treachery, and with Spensa still away on her mission in the Nowhere, Jorgen must work together with the alien Alanik to pick up the pieces. They intercept a strange transmission from the planet Evershore and its Kitsen inhabitants, who say they have some of Jorgen’s people and want to return them—but can the Kitsen be trusted? And can Jorgen learn to master his increasingly erratic cytonic powers before they spiral out of control and destroy all hope of forming an alliance against the Superiority?
Defiant (exp. 2023) 
Skyward #4
128,500 words, 480 pages, 8hrs 35mins to read.
Published by Delacorte Press
4.45 out of 5 on Goodreads
Spensa made it out of the Nowhere, but what she saw in the space between the stars has changed her forever. She came face to face with the Delvers, and finally got answers to the questions she’s had about her own strange Cytonic gifts.
The Superiority didn’t stop in it’s fight for galactic dominance while she was gone, though. Spensa’s team, Skyward Flight, was able to hold Winzik off, and even collect allies to help with the cause, but it’s only a matter of time until humanity–and the rest of the galaxy–falls.
Defeating them will require all the knowledge Spensa gathered while in the Nowhere. But being Cytonic is more complicated than she ever could have imagined. Now, Spensa must ask herself: how far is she willing to go for victory, if it means losing herself–and her friends–in the process.
The final book in the Skyward series will free humanity, or see it fall forever.
Bonus
Skyward Flight (2022) 
Skyward #2.1-2.2, #3.1
Written by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
180,870 words, 64 chapters, 623 pages, 12hrs to read.
2,826 average words per chapter, 9.7 average pages per chapter
Published by Delacorte Press
4.46 out of 5 on Goodreads
A gripping collection of novellas, told from the perspectives of three different characters, these superb adventures are essential Skyward reading!
A collection of novellas set in the world of Detritus (or in the skies above) comes; Sunreach, ReDawn and Evershore. From the perspectives of FM, Alanik and Jorgen respectively.
It has always seemed to me that a coward is a person who cares more about what people say than about what is right. Bravery isn’t about what people call you, Spensa. It’s about who you know yourself to be.
― Brandon Sanderson, Skyward
Overall
The Skyward series is a great collection of sci/fi / young adult books that is coming to a close later this year. They are a lot of fun, and it’s always great to have a read through all of Sanderson’s work, not just the ones that are part of his Cosmere Universe. With the great storytelling that Brandon Sanderson expertly executes, every little, seemingly insignificant detail matters and later becomes very relevant. Definitely worth picking up and reading.
The last book of this series is due out later this year, while on his website you see that he appears to have a sequel series in the works that will likely be coming out in 2025.
Don’t forget, if you want to know more about Brandon Sanderson’s epic Cosmere Univers and the best reading order for all he has currently published. Then you can check out the best reading order for the Cosmere Universe right here!
Alternatively if you are more interested in one of his best series, Mistborn then you can check out the best reading order for this series here.
If you have enjoyed any of Brandon Sanderson’s work and want to learn more about him or any other of his work, then feel free to check out his website.
And if you would like to know more about Janci Patterson and any other projects she has done or upcoming, then feel free to check out her website.
Which one is your favourite or most looking forward to picking up next?
Let us know!
Happy reading!
People need stories, child. They bring us hope, and that hope is real. If that’s the case, what does it matter whether people in them actually lived?
― Brandon Sanderson, Skyward
Skyward Books Word Count and More!
(Not Including Skyward Flight)
- Total words: 720,840 words
- Total Chapters: 216 chapters
- Total pages: 2,577 pages
- Total reading time: 48hrs 5mins
More of the same, but different:
Things to Note:
- Word count is an approximation.
- Amount of pages may differ due to different publications, font style and/or size etc.
- Time spent reading is generally an approximation based on the word count and the average reading time. The average reader will read 250 WPM (Words Per Minute).
- This is the original publisher of the books.
- The current Goodreads score at the time of writing.
Leave a Reply