Skyward Boxed Set: Skyward; Starsight; Cytonic

Skyward #1-3

by Brandon Sanderson

Claim the stars in this new hardcover boxed set featuring the first three books in the New York Times bestselling Skyward series! From the hit author behind the Reckoners series, the Mistborn trilogy, and the Stormlight Archive.

Skyward:

Spensa's world has been under attack for decades. Now pilots are the heroes of what's left of the human race, and becoming one has always been Spensa's dream. Flight school might be a long shot, but an accidental discovery in a long-forgotten cavern might just provide her with a way to claim the stars.

Starsight:

Spensa's made it to the sky, but the truths she learned there were crushing. 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.

Cytonic:

Spensa has flown through the sky and voyaged past the stars in her quest to save humankind from the forces that threaten to destroy it. But now she must navigate a dangerous new frontier, which not one person has returned from alive: the mysterious realm of the Nowhere. But in a place where nothing is real, the truth can be slippery--and nothing is black and white.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult

1440 pages, Hardcover

Published April 5, 2022

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

[Gloria Mattioni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Or, what YOU have to read when you have kids who love to read in the house. I enjoyed the first book and sailed more or less smoothly through the second. But I interrupted reading Cytonic halfway through. The third book is boring and definitely not a page-turner. Too bad because the series showed promise with well rounded characters and good world-building.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME

[kate :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

i think that skyward was a flawless *duology*, personally i think the third book "cytonic" was incredibly unnecessary and overall useless and very boring to read. in one, this series was pretty good, individual id rate skyward and starsight each 5 stars, i thought they were amazing, that spensa was a great main character and her story was very awesome and female inpowering. in the first two books i felt very connected to each character and the story, it was very intriguing and i was hooked, i loved everyword. whereas with cytonic, the book felt long and repetitive and as if nothing were happening. i feel like cytonic was completely a filler novel. i hope to see and actual *story* in deviant.

[Daughter Of Athena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved

This


Series

The very end of Defiant was just *chef’s kiss*
I want more Spensa and Jorgen!

Started this series when I was in 5th grade and read Defiant in 7th grade

Ok but Gran Gran didn’t need to die

Love for Spensa ❤️‍🔥

Also her threats to Jorgen and then they fall in love like AHHHH

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is from my 11-yr old niece to whom I gifted the series to.

Intriguing. A fast paced story with interesting inventive language. Couldn't put it down, sucked me in like a portal. Not for the light-hearted but also not a horror story. Loved the whole series.

[Tarot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skyward - 5/5 stars
Starsight - 4/5 stars
Cytonic - 3.5/5 stars

[Kaylan Minson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first one the best

[Margaret Thorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! It was such a fun read and and didn’t want to stop listening to it. (I read it on audible) I can’t wait to read the rest of the series! I definitely recommend.

[maven sucks 💋 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t waste your time on the third book boring af

[Maecie Harrison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Loved the first book but lost interest, the 3rd one was a dnf at page 100

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my fav series from him by far. I love the main character and how she deals with situations and I live a good sci-fi book with cool twists. These books ate and I love them sm.