Hyperthief: A Tale of the Cytoverse

Skyward #3.1

by Brandon Sanderson, Janci Patterson

It's FM's birthday, but it's not looking to be "happy." To make things worse, her boyfriend, Rig, isn't able to do much more than video chat her for lunch while he's busy working—and even that is cut short when important equipment suddenly goes missing.

Can Rig find the thief, resolve the issues, and get back in time to add a little joy to FM's birthday?

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Novella, Space

18 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2023

About the author

I’m Brandon Sanderson, and I write stories of the fantastic: fantasy, science fiction, and thrillers.

The release of Wind and Truth in December 2024—the fifth and final book in the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive series—marks a significant milestone for me. This series is my love letter to the epic fantasy genre, and it’s the type of story I always dreamed epic fantasy could be. Now is a great time to get into the Stormlight Archive since the first arc, which begins with Way of Kings, is complete.

During our crowdfunding campaign for the leatherbound edition of Words of Radiance, I announced a fifth Secret Project called Isles of the Emberdark, which came out in the summer of 2025. Coming December 2025 is Tailored Realities, my non-Cosmere short story collection featuring the new novella Moment Zero.

Defiant, the fourth and final volume of the series that started with Skyward in 2018, came out in November 2023, capping an already book-filled year that saw the releases of all four Secret Projects: Tress of the Emerald Sea, The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and The Sunlit Man. These four books were all initially offered to backers of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time.

November 2022 saw the release of The Lost Metal, the seventh volume in the Mistborn saga, and the final volume of the Mistborn Era Two featuring Wax & Wayne. Now that the first arc of the Stormlight Archive is wrapped up, I’ve started writing the third era of Mistborn in 2025.

Most readers have noticed that my adult fantasy novels are in a connected universe called the Cosmere. This includes The Stormlight Archive, both Mistborn series, Elantris, Warbreaker, four of the five Secret Projects, and various novellas, including The Emperor’s Soul, which won a Hugo Award in 2013. In November 2016 all of the existing Cosmere short fiction was released in one volume called Arcanum Unbounded. If you’ve read all of my adult fantasy novels and want to see some behind-the-scenes information, that collection is a must-read.

I also have three YA series: The Rithmatist (currently at one book), The Reckoners (a trilogy beginning with Steelheart), and Skyward. For young readers I also have my humorous series Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, which had its final book, Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians, released in 2022. Many of my adult readers enjoy all of those books as well, and many of my YA readers enjoy my adult books, usually starting with Mistborn.

Additionally, I have a few other novellas that are more on the thriller/sci-fi side. These include the three stories in Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds, as well as Perfect State and Snapshot. These two novellas are also featured in 2025’s Tailored Realities. There’s a lot of material to go around!

Good starting places are Mistborn (a.k.a. The Final Empire), Skyward, Steelheart, The Emperor’s Soul, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians. If you’re already a fan of big fat fantasies, you can jump right into The Way of Kings.

I was also honored to be able to complete the final three volumes of The Wheel of Time, beginning with The Gathering Storm, using Robert Jordan’s notes.

Sample chapters from all of my books are available at brandonsanderson.com—and check out the rest of my site for chapter-by-chapter annotations, deleted scenes, and more.

Reviews

[Zeph rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute novella 🥹

[aria ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was absolutely adorable 🥹❤️

[Shreyas · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Hyperthief: A Tale of the Cytoverse' (Cytoverse #2.4, Skyward #2.4) by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson.

"Well," FM said, "I would kill you a rat for your birthday, but I'm opposed to animal slaughter."
"Probably just as well. I'd be happy never to eat another rat again," He paused. "Do you miss the parties?"
"I don't know," FM said. "We're adults now. Those were kid things."

Rating: 4.0/5.




Review:
'Hyperthief' is a short story that takes place just after the events of the third Skyward Flight novella ('Evershore') and sometime before the end of the third Skyward book ('Cytonic'). It was originally a part of the scavenger hunt activity during the DragonsteelCon 2023 and was later made available as a part of the 'Cytoverse Origami Bundle' on the Dragonsteel store.

'Hyperthief' is a short tale that is pretty straightforward and doesn't add anything of value to the existing Cytoverse lore. Even the reveal towards the end was so predictable that you could see it coming right from the beginning of the story. So why did I end up giving it such a high rating? Well, it was such an adorable story to read during the holiday season, and it was cute enough to make me end the year with a smile.

I started 2023 with Brandon Sanderson's first Secret Project – 'Tress of the Emerald Sea'. And I'm now ending it with another Sanderson story. In terms of reading, 2023 has truly proved to be an incredible Year of the Sanderson! Happy New Year 2024, folks!

[Anna [Bran. San. Stan] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is there such a thing as cozy science fiction? Because if there is, this cute, very short story is it.

For more context I suggest you check out Shreyas‘s review. It’s extremely helpful.

[Patri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me leería mil libros de esta gente haciendo cosas normales en su día a día 🥹🥹🥹

[Marce · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️ relato cortito y adorable ☺️

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Defending Elysium” is a short story set in his “Skyward” series universe (non-Cosmere) and co-written with Janci Patterson. It takes place following the novella “Evershore” and runs about 18 pages in length.

It was initially distributed as a physical booklet at the Dragonsteel 2023 convention and then it was made available on Brandon’s website.

The story itself is not crucial to the overall “Skyward” series, but it takes a moment away from the action to focus on FM and Rig’s growing relationship, birthday traditions, mysteriously disappearing generators and food shipments, and lots of cute slugs.

I must admit that the sentimentally sweet ending was more touching than I expected, making it a worthy read for fans of this series.

A solid 3.5 out of 5-stars for this surprisingly uplifting story.

[Visfrietje · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, short and no faeries with hot bulging muscles, what more can you ask for? 🙏

[Phoebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the slugs and all their shenanigans😭

[kessa (taylor's version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute, super funny, super quick!

It was really fun seeing the daily lives of the characters and how they manage to keep things interesting outside of the main series.

[Caitlin Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aw, that was cute

[Christian Galano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute story!

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Anastasia Terendii (livie's version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

миленька зовсім коротенька історія про день народження, особливо щурики (чи, точніше, їхні імена) порадували

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nooo it was so short! I want mooooooore. I loved all the cute moments and skyward flight and the mystery. I miss everyone. The Taynix are adorble of course. Reread of the whole series anyone? (This novella was free) oh and I loooove the cover

SPOILERS and book notes:
I love how many POVs we get. FM, Rig, Alanik, NEDD (he is my favorite). It’s fm bday. This whole time things are mysteriously disappearing. Everyone is so worried bc it means the enemy cytonics have the codes and can hyperjump into their shields. But it turns out it was the Taynix! The slugs had created a surprise bday party for FM! Awwwwww so adorable! FM and Rig and some cute moments. I miss skyward flight. Does this make me want to reread all the books? Yes why yes it does.

[My (Lostinfantasybooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating 4.5 Stars for the slugs

This is is super cute. I needed this fluffy break from the seriousness of the rest of the story.

[Gizella Caicedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ayyy nooo, pero que bonito este relato, esas babosas van a acabar conmigo!

Estuvo bien pequeña la historia pero sustanciosa, siempre extraño a cada personaje y que me regalen algo de ellos por pequeño que sea es gratamente recibido en mi corazón.

Ya a puertas de leer el último libro y yo no sé que va a ser de mi vida cuando llegue el momento. Que miedo!

[Abi AC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so cute ❤️

[Lana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Chubs

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute short story.

[Ginny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so so cute, I’ve missed these characters!!! Please never stop writing this universe Brandon!

[Brittnee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short story taking place before book #4.

[Jason Rico · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Gabs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want slugs as friends too.

[Kimberlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun cute short story. A bit predictable, but what do you want of a 20 page story. Thanks Brandon and team, for making this available for free!

[Caedryn McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was super cute! I only wish it was longer.

[Mamen B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Qué historia más cuqui! No me esperaba para nada encontrarme esto y es una de mis historias cortas favoritas de Skyward. Bueno, de todas maneras, siempre que hay babosas yo estoy dentro. Muy recomendable no saltársela si se lee la saga porque se lee en 5 minutillos y es muy cute.

[Matt Lima · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gostinho de ler, mas meio previsível! O que não é necessariamente ruim ✨

[Andrii Korpalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet and nice story. I love it.

[Susan]

Fun short story.