Cytonic Full Book Reactions

[Lupis]

I didn't love it, nor did I hate it. It was ok. The main points of revelation, Chet, the Delvers, and the reality icon were made so deliberately obvious, long long before the actual reveals, that there was nothing shocking, or even surprising, in the book, which is very un Brandon like. I also didn't like the story, again, focussing purely on one character. It gets a bit tedious.

That's his last couple of books that haven't blown me away. Fingers crossed The Lost Metal brings things back on track.

[#1 Taln Fan]

After the initial rush of finishing is over and I’ve had more time to think about it, I do think I like this book less. The lack of tension was a really big let down. The novellas storyline is way more interesting. I think it’s good as a book, but not up to par as far as Sandersons books go

[Sparks]

I really liked Cytonic. Maybe not loved it like the SA series, but above all I like how Brandon is keeping things fresh by not just telling the story of Skyward Part 2 and Skyward Part 3 in the sequels.  Cytonic and even Starsight were about Spensa growing up from a child soldier with a limited perspective into a fully developed person with a view for the bigger picture. 

As for specifics:

- David Bowie. Lol. I’m dead! Come to think of it, you can’t convince me David Bowie was (is) not Cytonic.

- Chet’s 2nd swerve caught me off guard, and it suddenly made so much more of the first 2 Acts make sense.

- The revelation that all the delvers are the same (not a hive mind), with the same emotional trauma, was a trip. I don’t think the solution to the delvers will be to make them “real”. Looking at the pentad of Spensa, Doomslug, Chet, M-Bot, and Hensho flying into the unknown - that’s how Spensa defeats the delvers. She’s living their solution to the “noise” right now.

- So if Spensa rescues M-Bot, will M-Bot manifest in the realverse as a delver? Or something new?

- If I held up a picture of a delver, and a picture of a Cognitive shadow, would they be the same picture?

- Why can’t Cytonics Hyperjump in the nowhere again? So Hyperjumps are using the nowhere to connect points A and B in the realverse through a shortcut. Why can’t a Cytonic use the realverse to connect points A and B in the nowhere?

- Spensa popping in unexpectedly on Jorgen repeatedly is the better version of Rey doing the same to Ben in Star Wars.

- I’m glad I’m not on Spensa’s ground crew. Every book ends with her starfighter destroyed!  What is this, the Star Trek movies?

- Now I want a Wing Commander video game series based on the Skyward series. Cytonic would definitely be the Privateer game.

 

[frozndevl]

2 hours ago, Sparks said:

 

- So if Spensa rescues M-Bot, will M-Bot manifest in the realverse as a delver? Or something new?

 

My thought is that this is how we get back his ship, he would be able to manifest a shape he knows, just like the delvers manifest as big versions of the drone orb.

[Govir]

20 hours ago, Neithan said:

Things like "lines of code" and "commenting out" are human abstractions that aren't part of what a machine actually does, and the way M-Bot and Chet talk about programs just doesn't make any sense.

Maybe it's all scripting languages. **shudders**

[anna]

13 hours ago, Govir said:

Maybe it's all scripting languages. **shudders**

Oh, I just assumed Spears installed the source RPMs onto M-Bot too.

Edited November 28, 2021 by anna

[Mistborn Surgebinder]

I finished the book days ago, and I have so many thoughts, but I want to boil it down to what made this book work so well for me.  I had so much fun reading it and getting to know Chet and the pirates, that when both Chet and Peg made their offers, I wanted Spensa to accept them.  I really wanted Spensa to just stay and explore and train, because I found the world so low-stakes and intriguing.  It's the first time in any fantasy novel that I've wanted to hero to abandon their plot to become Indiana Jane.  My response in those moments was, "yeah.  Let's have more story just exploring this crazy Nowhere with these characters, and Jorgen and the others can deal with that other plot."  And it shook me a bit to realize that, that Brandon had written this story so well that it was actually a real temptation, not just for Spensa, but for me.  

Chet & Spensa gave me real Kelsier & Vin vibes.  Delvers just being super bummed-out robots was maybe my least favorite reveal in any BrandoSando book ever.  The shards are Earth is my new running theory.  The Chet reveal literally took my breath away.  Peg's reaction to Spensa trying to steal a ship and leave was absolutely delightful.  

[Szeth_Pancakes]

The first hundred pages of Cytonic were pretty bad. They just didn’t quite feel as polished as the precious books, and they lacked much of the snark and general charm that I love about this series. It took me a couple of days to get through them, and was spending more time composing a review of the book to post here than actually reading. But then, Spensa joined the Broadsiders, and my opinion of the book changed dramatically.

The rest of the book was actually quite enjoyable. When the Broadsiders were introduced, the opportunities for banter increased dramatically, and the book was just a lot more fun. Instead of the cast of three we’d had before, there was now a cast of eight, and each of them interacted in different ways. “Delving” into Maksim, Shiver, Dlllizzz, Nuluba, and Pam’s character and personality was my favorite part of the book, and without them, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot less.

“But what about Chet?” you cry. “He was interesting too!” I mean, I guess. But Chet’s character honestly felt a little flat to me. He seems like one of those characters that authors put into books that are injected with traits that are conducive to becoming the “fan favorites.” And don’t get me wrong - these characters usually turn out really well. Take Doomslug, for example. Brandon obviously meant for her to become a fan favorite, and she’s great! But Chet seems like he’s comprised of only those traits (plus the bare minimum number of other traits that move the story along). His enigmatic, dinosaur-riding personality just didn’t quite work for me. And I do know that there are reasons for why this is. It was, in fact, probably deliberate. But in my opinion, it fell a bit flat.

My second-favorite part of the book was a tie between the delver lore, and M-Bot’s exploration of his new emotions. I don’t have too much to say about either of these things, but Spensa reading a trashy romance novel in her starship while M-Bot distracts her is probably my favorite scene in the book. Not sure why. It just is.

In conclusion, great book, but like Starsight, it can’t live up to the sheer perfection that was Skyward.

[Mistborn Surgebinder]

12 minutes ago, Ookla the Confused said:

 

My second-favorite part of the book was a tie between the delver lore, and M-Bot’s exploration of his new emotions. I don’t have too much to say about either of these things, but Spensa reading a trashy romance novel in her starship while M-Bot distracts her is probably my favorite scene in the book. Not sure why. It just is.

 

This reminds me of the other thing that bugged me - I felt like M-Bot and Spensa never actually really talked about what upset M-bot, and then he forgave her, like, what felt like really quickly.  It felt very unsatisfying.  

[Szeth_Pancakes]

1 minute ago, Mistborn Surgebinder said:

This reminds me of the other thing that bugged me - I felt like M-Bot and Spensa never actually really talked about what upset M-bot, and then he forgave her, like, what felt like really quickly.  It felt very unsatisfying.  

That’s true. I did feel like there’ll be some more resolution for that in Defiant though. I think Brandon wanted Spensa and M-Bot to have a little bit of a more in-depth conversation about that mid-late Defiant, judging by the decision M-Bot made at the end.

[ftl]

Doesn’t that get resolved in the ending? M-bot “abandons” Spensa (or forces her to “abandon” him?) because it’s what needs to be done, it’s like a mirror image of what happened in Starsight. I thought that brought it full circle - showing that MBot now understands why Spensa acted the way she did, and would do the same himself.

[edit] yeah, the parallel totally works. In Starsight, Spensa leaves MBot to fight the war, leading to his body/ship being destroyed. She comes back for him later. In the finale of Cytonic, Spensa “leaves” MBot, his body/ship  is destroyed - except this time, it’s entirely MBots plan. 
 

He’s showing through his actions that he finally gets why Spensa left him in Starsight, and not only “forgives” her for it but actively thinks it’s the right thing to do and makes her do it again. 

Edited November 30, 2021 by ftl

[Xerun]

I’m surprised so many people like this book. I had the complete opposite reaction. I was so bored with the entire plot with the pirates, I only really liked Peg. The plot regarding the Path just felt like exposition dumps.
 

I was most annoyed that Spensa decided against staying in the Nowhere to at least secure the other Superiority mining sites. Cutting them off from Acclivity ring, even if it’s only temporary, should have been the first thing she tried to do. Hopefully Jorgen is able to rectify that in the next book because as it stands they are hopelessly outgunned 

i think the novellas were way better then this book and I think this is my least favourite. 

[ftl]

2 hours ago, Xerun said:

I was most annoyed that Spensa decided against staying in the Nowhere to at least secure the other Superiority mining sites. Cutting them off from Acclivity ring, even if it’s only temporary, should have been the first thing she tried to do. Hopefully Jorgen is able to rectify that in the next book because as it stands they are hopelessly outgunned

I think the stakes are escalating. The superiority is trying to weaponize the delvers, and if they succeed at that, nothing about acclivity stone production matters a single bit. So the real fight is trying to figure out how to beat the delvers, which is what Spensa is up to. Staying in the Nowhere to (maybe, eventually) cut down the Superiority's acclivity stone production wouldn't contribute much to keeping humanity alive.

Edited December 4, 2021 by ftl

[Philomath]

I really enjoyed Cytonic. I thought it was a lot of fun. I enjoyed Spensa and M-bot’s character growth. I thought the belt in the Nowhere was a fun place to explore. I loved the interactions with Jorgen. I thought the new characters were fun. The ending was so good. And all that being said, I still think I like the novellas a little more. Brandon worked some serious magic with Skyward flight and those characters are so great. I really hope we get all of (or as many as we can of) Spensa’s “flights” together for book 4 because I will miss some of these new characters. And it seems important that Spensa be able to save people trapped in the Nowhere. 

[HoidvsVoid]

I liked this book a little more than the last one I think, though I liked them all, so I am not putting down Starsight or anything. One major thing that stuck out to me though were all the parallels that this book had to another of Brandon's books, which I will hide in spoilers just in case

Elantris

. Did anyone else feel the similarities between the two narrative structures and sequence of events?

 

[Use the Falchion]

2 hours ago, HoidvsVoid said:

I liked this book a little more than the last one I think, though I liked them all, so I am not putting down Starsight or anything. One major thing that stuck out to me though were all the parallels that this book had to another of Brandon's books, which I will hide in spoilers just in case

  Reveal hidden contents

Elantris

. Did anyone else feel the similarities between the two narrative structures and sequence of events?

 

I think I can see it, if only because I felt similarly between Starsight and Shallan's arc in Words of Radiance on my first readthrough. But the book you mention is one of the few Brandon books I haven't reread since the first experience - it and Alcatraz, so I'm not really the best judge. But I think I can see it...

[Xerun]

On 04/12/2021 at 2:47 PM, ftl said:

I think the stakes are escalating. The superiority is trying to weaponize the delvers, and if they succeed at that, nothing about acclivity stone production matters a single bit. So the real fight is trying to figure out how to beat the delvers, which is what Spensa is up to. Staying in the Nowhere to (maybe, eventually) cut down the Superiority's acclivity stone production wouldn't contribute much to keeping humanity alive.

I know that’s what they’re going for. But even that seems dumb, the last time they tried to send a Delver to Detritus it got corrupted and attack Starsight. Putting all their eggs in that basket is incredibly foolish. 

[Rashekin]

I really loved this book so much, man. It was a total adventure and the revelations I did like a lot, and everything from the past of the Cytonic, Jason, the delvers, M-Bot's feelings, how funny Chet was, Spensa's personal growth... Well, it has been quite a journey reading Cytonic and honestly it seems sooo much better than Starsight, although a little less than Skyward.

Edited December 7, 2021 by Rashekin

[Rashekin]

On 27/11/2021 at 5:31 PM, Sparks said:

- David Bowie. Lol. I’m dead! Come to think of it, you can’t convince me David Bowie was (is) not Cytonic.

Certain! Now I hope that at some point Spensa comes across a lost vinyl from Let's Dance or Ziggy Stardust. 

[Necessary Eagle]

For a book that wasn't Cosmere, there sure was a lot of Cosmere with the serial numbers filed off.

[king of nowhere]

delvers started just as crazy AIs... but how did they got powerful enough to destroy planets?

is that something that any AI could potentially learn? any cytonic? the book does explain how they grew their "personality", but not their power

[Mat]

Overall I really liked this book. I think it’s about tied with the novellas and Starsight for me (yes, you read that right. I happen to like Starsight as much as the rest of the series ) But Skyward is far and away the best.

The only thing I could critique was the first 3-4 chapters felt weird to me. It was the kind of weird when recalling a particularly strange dream… like it was just poof in a jungle -> attacked by bird aliens -> Alien with melting face -> Mustachioed Gentlemen riding dinosaur and it just was off to me. And it did all make sense in the context of the Nowhere, especially looking back on it, but it was a learning curve.

But the Path of Elders and all the lore about Cytonics and Delvers was amazing even from the perspective of someone who hasn’t read Defending Elysium.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Ookla the Pianist

[Yvainnie]

I enjoyed first two books but I did not expect this third one to be so psychogically deep. Honestly, what a piece of work! I am curious about that ending and what it means for the fourth book but I really enjoyed that biggest battles and biggest progression of characters were basically stuff that happened "inside". I never would have guess such a development after first book being more or less lighter reading. I admit that I am stuck in SA Rythm of war because sometimes it is just too depressing for me to read. Brandon really knows how to describe emotions and how to make you feel them and this book is also like this but it has more positive vibe.

[Spren of Kindness]

Well, I read the whole thing in three hours, which means in a week I won't remember much of it, but anyway!  I did like Cytonic.  I was working on Words of Radiance, then read all of Lord of the Rings, so toning down the intensity of my reading material was very welcome.

1. I now picture delvers as Biblical angels who are perceived as wheels within wheels.

2. I thought I would mind a little more that I hadn't read the Skyward Flight novellas (or listened, I suppose) but because of the nature of Cytonic, that feels fine.  I'm like Spensa right now - I know what she knows.  I'll certainly enjoy it when the compilation comes out, though, I want to know what's going on on Detritus. 

3. I saw delvers being evolved AI coming, after nixing the theory that they were once cytonics.  But I was also prepared for it to be something completely different, so there was a nice little fist-pump moment when I was right.

[Requiem17]

I think this series works well for the young adult audience it's meant for! I can see it as a good intro to fantasy / sci fi. I think the broadcasting of the twists is appropriate for the age range it's meant for. I didn't think the twists in Skyward were all that shocking either, but the way the twists happened were super entertaining.  For book 2 I think that entertainment wasn't there, but for book 3 it was good again. 

Character-wise it was good to see Spensa starting to recognize her faults and start verbalizing them instead of skimming over them quickly. Very coming of age. 

When M-Bot said "Made you look" a wave of emotion hit me. I had spent the whole book thinking when M-Bot made it to the lightburst he was going to merge and takeover the Delver(s). And then he'd be a kind and benevolent Cthulhu rather than what the delvers have going on. But instead he died!  Even though it's gimmicky to "kill" him and "revive" him in two books in a row, I'm still glad he found a way to survive. I like that crazy mushroom robot character too much.