Skyward Cover Reveal

[Argent he/him]

Skyward, the first book in Brandon's next Random House series (also, not Cosmere), just got a cover reveal, and man, is it gorgeous! Take a look:

If you haven't read the synopsis for this new story, here it is:

Quote

Spensa’s world has been under attack for hundreds of years. An alien race called the Krell leads onslaught after onslaught from the sky in a never-ending campaign to destroy humankind. Humanity’s only defense is to take to their ships and combat the Krell. Pilots are the heroes of what’s left of the human race.

Becoming a pilot has always been Spensa’s dream. Since she was a little girl, she has imagined soaring above the earth and proving her bravery. But her fate is intertwined with that of her father—a pilot himself who was killed years ago when he abruptly deserted his team, leaving Spensa’s chances of attending Flight School at slim to none.

No one will let Spensa forget what her father did, but she is determined to fly. And the Krell just made that a possibility. They’ve doubled their fleet, which will make Spensa’s world twice as deadly… but just might take her skyward.

In addition to the cover, you can go read the prologue (which Brandon has read at events in the past), as well as the first two chapters over at io9.

[StrikerEZ he/him]

Ooooh, that cover is sooooooooo good. I'm actually really excited for this story. The prologue and first two chapters are so interesting and I can't wait for the star-fighter AI to get introduced. I'm really interested to see what connected universe this fits into, since it's not Cosmere nor Reckonersverse.

[Steeldancer he/him]

Cool. 

Where Stormlight 4? 

[Ammanas]

I'm not too impressed with the cover. Average looking girl, purple back ground with with what looks like trash and the remains of a satellite falling. I will still definitely read it...never judge a book by its cover!

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

Looks cool! Hearing how happy Brandon is with it makes me look forward to reading. 

[SilverTiger she/her]

I'm thinking that it's connected to Perfect State.

Edit:

After reading the excerpt, I still think it is connected to Perfect State. Also, I hope Spensa punches her teacher in the face, then vanishes into the caverns.

Edited May 10, 2018 by SilverTiger

[AC12 he/him]

1 hour ago, SilverTiger said:

I'm thinking that it's connected to Perfect State.

That was my first thought as well. Also possibly Firstborn

[Draginon he/him]

Not my favorite Sanderson cover but still a lot better than most covers out there.

It'd be pretty funny if this was far in the future of Alcatraz Earth instead of Perfect State or Firstborn

[Barbarian AL he/him]

10 hours ago, Ammanas said:

I'm not too impressed with the cover. Average looking girl, purple back ground with with what looks like trash and the remains of a satellite falling. I will still definitely read it...never judge a book by its cover!

I second that ...

[Ishar]

I can’t help but notice that Krell is suspiciously close to Trell

[Zath he/him]

As far as connected universes go: Could Skyward be a far-future Rithmatist universe?  That light-line thing could be a 3-D version of chalk lines.  (Or just advanced technology, but... Humor me.)  Also, in The Rithmatist you have (Rithmatist spoilers)

Spoiler

sentient chalk drawings (the Forgotten or whatever-the-heck-it-is that's possessing Nalizar), so what if that sentience transformed over thousands of years and became 3-D, able to inhabit, say, starfighters! What if the Krell are just sentient pieces of machinery (like starfighters!) that evolved from the original wild chalklings?  The Apparatus could also be semi-sentient.

 

...Yeah, it's a stretch.  I just really liked The Rithmatist and would love to see more books in that universe. 

Color me excited for Skyward!

[Blazenella he/him]

It's connected to Firstborn.

[AC12 he/him]

Anyone read the sample chapters yet? Sample spoilers:

Spoiler

The book seems to take place on an alternate Earth. Spensa's grandma mentions Beowulf and Genghis Khan and other people from Earth. 

I still think its connected with either Firstborn or Perfect State

[credar]

I wonder if maybe Skyward could have some connection to Legion? Could explain why Skyward's story *clicked* into place for him right during/after Legion 3 was written. Just to throw it out there and idk how it would connect exactly.

Edited May 21, 2018 by credar

[OrangeJedi he/him]

I personally think it is Defending Elysium, both it and Skyward mention Earth (I don't believe Firstborn does) and both have alien races. The ending of Defending Elysium also could easily (I think) lead to a group of humans stranded on a remote planet, being constantly bombarded by alien spaceships. I could also see Cytonics explaining how the Krell can find large groups of humans and maybe the light-line. But that is just me guessing (and wishing for more Cytonics), it could easily be any of his other books, I just don't think we have enough information yet. Guess we will just have to wait for more sample chapters to come out.

[Ammanas]

As usual the U.K cover is way cooler than the U.S. cover...

http://hyperurl.co/SkywardBook

[CrazyRioter she/her]

I find the UK covers very hit or miss. That one is a hit though.

[+Sorana she/her]

Wow I like that one.

Maybe I can change my preorder to another edition...

[Scion of the Mists]

Wow.  That's so much better.  Jealous of the Brits.  

[timasp he/him]

On 7/18/2018 at 2:19 PM, Scion of the Mists said:

Wow.  That's so much better.  Jealous of the Brits.  

They usually get better looking covers (not sorry)