What do you think?
Rate this book
Skies of Cyrna
Broken Sky
Dorian Valmont is the sorriest excuse for an aeronaut the crew of skyship Phoenix has ever seen.
Forced to flee his home to protect his magical inheritance from the machinations of his ambitious stepfather, awkward misfit Dorian finds himself poorly suited to the rigors of life in the sky. But when an exiled dragon finds him, injured and desperate for help, Dorian learns it’s not enough merely to run away. Dorian must learn to fight back.
Caught between forces that seek to use or destroy him, Dorian must train and adapt if he wants to survive. But if he can, he might just hold the key to restoring the world’s faltering magic — or destroying it once and for all.
Forced to flee his home to protect his magical inheritance from the machinations of his ambitious stepfather, awkward misfit Dorian finds himself poorly suited to the rigors of life in the sky. But when an exiled dragon finds him, injured and desperate for help, Dorian learns it’s not enough merely to run away. Dorian must learn to fight back.
Caught between forces that seek to use or destroy him, Dorian must train and adapt if he wants to survive. But if he can, he might just hold the key to restoring the world’s faltering magic — or destroying it once and for all.
- GenresFantasy
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 14, 2022
11 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 20, 2022
Read for SPFBO 8.
Broken Sky is fun; there are skyships, magic, a well-done coming-of-age story, and a diverse cast of characters. The story centers on Dorian Valmont, the sorriest excuse for an aeronaut, who joins the crew of the skyship named Phoenix. Dorian is a gentle soul, easy to like and relate to. He may lack agenda or physical stamina, but his personality makes up for it. Seriously, it's impossible not to like him, even if he does seem awkward at times.
Dorian is bonded to a demon, and as the story progresses, he also bonds with a dragon. The story gets interesting, and the pace picks up from this point on. Broken Sky gets most things right - it has memorable characters, cool (if somewhat shallow) world-building, and an interesting premise. It's about love, magic, and betrayal. Family ties play a role in the story, too.
While most things worked well for me, I didn't feel like there was much at stake. Even though it was the opposite (the fate of the world!). The thing is, the novel has this optimistic tone that suggests everything will turn out well for almost everyone in the end. Because of that, there wasn't as much tension as I would like to experience. Because of the age of the characters, their problems may not be entirely understandable to older readers. That's not meant to be a criticism; I just think Broken Sky might appeal to a YA /NA audience rather than "Adult" Fantasy fans.
All in all, it's an enjoyable book, quick to read, entertaining, and imaginative. Worth a shot.
Broken Sky is fun; there are skyships, magic, a well-done coming-of-age story, and a diverse cast of characters. The story centers on Dorian Valmont, the sorriest excuse for an aeronaut, who joins the crew of the skyship named Phoenix. Dorian is a gentle soul, easy to like and relate to. He may lack agenda or physical stamina, but his personality makes up for it. Seriously, it's impossible not to like him, even if he does seem awkward at times.
Dorian is bonded to a demon, and as the story progresses, he also bonds with a dragon. The story gets interesting, and the pace picks up from this point on. Broken Sky gets most things right - it has memorable characters, cool (if somewhat shallow) world-building, and an interesting premise. It's about love, magic, and betrayal. Family ties play a role in the story, too.
While most things worked well for me, I didn't feel like there was much at stake. Even though it was the opposite (the fate of the world!). The thing is, the novel has this optimistic tone that suggests everything will turn out well for almost everyone in the end. Because of that, there wasn't as much tension as I would like to experience. Because of the age of the characters, their problems may not be entirely understandable to older readers. That's not meant to be a criticism; I just think Broken Sky might appeal to a YA /NA audience rather than "Adult" Fantasy fans.
All in all, it's an enjoyable book, quick to read, entertaining, and imaginative. Worth a shot.
Read
May 4, 2022This was a fun romp through a not-quite-steampunk world (skyships but not actually steam) which is powered with various flavours of magic. And dragons. Although the main characters are young, the plot has a pleasing complexity which I don’t typically associate with YA fantasy.
The prose was tidy and easy to read, with only a few typos that I noticed. The characters were all distinct, though around 2/3 of the way through, certain of them seemed to switch off their brains and decide to react like angsty teenagers, which seemed out of place.
I liked that the various characters had complex (sometimes totally unknown) motivations. Presumably we’ll eventually find out what they are. That said, the repeated allusions to Big Mysterious Secrets started to feel contrived, like the author taunting the reader. Although some of those secrets did get revealed, I gave up on paying attention to them.
Broken Sky ends with a pause rather than a resolution (but not a cliffhanger), and it’s clear there is more to come.
The prose was tidy and easy to read, with only a few typos that I noticed. The characters were all distinct, though around 2/3 of the way through, certain of them seemed to switch off their brains and decide to react like angsty teenagers, which seemed out of place.
I liked that the various characters had complex (sometimes totally unknown) motivations. Presumably we’ll eventually find out what they are. That said, the repeated allusions to Big Mysterious Secrets started to feel contrived, like the author taunting the reader. Although some of those secrets did get revealed, I gave up on paying attention to them.
Broken Sky ends with a pause rather than a resolution (but not a cliffhanger), and it’s clear there is more to come.
April 8, 2022
look at that, I get to do that thing where I give my own book 5 stars. Hey, now, I wouldn't have written it if I didn't like it ;)
February 13, 2025
Airships AND dragons! who can ask for more?
This is a solid tale of a young man who, given a chance to get away from oppression, lives his life to the fullest, in a way he would never have dreamt.
His life in the palace wasn’t easy … an adoptive father grabbing and grasping for power, a ‘brother’ whose best friend was Dorian’s fiercest bully, servants who treated him as if invisible.
Then SHE arrives, the young princess who will marry his brother when she comes of age and takes over the crown she’s destined to wear. She befriends him and loves the things that he does. He helps her with deciphering some old scrolls, and the two become close. Real close. Yes, that close.
On her birthday, Dorian’s father does the unthinkable, and I don’t want to ruin the plot for you, but I will say it’s suitably dastardly, a moustache-twirling sort of dastard.
Dorian is whisked off, by his brother, to the safety of an old family friend who runs a smuggling pirate airship. The rest is the sort of swashbuckling story that is everything you’d hope it could be, complete with dragons.
The story betrays its YA beginnings with an angsty Dorian. It’s not terrifically onerous, but it’s there. It does make up for it by having a solid and diverse group of characters, a great plot, and interesting world-building. Oh, and dragons … did I mention the dragons?
This is a solid tale of a young man who, given a chance to get away from oppression, lives his life to the fullest, in a way he would never have dreamt.
His life in the palace wasn’t easy … an adoptive father grabbing and grasping for power, a ‘brother’ whose best friend was Dorian’s fiercest bully, servants who treated him as if invisible.
Then SHE arrives, the young princess who will marry his brother when she comes of age and takes over the crown she’s destined to wear. She befriends him and loves the things that he does. He helps her with deciphering some old scrolls, and the two become close. Real close. Yes, that close.
On her birthday, Dorian’s father does the unthinkable, and I don’t want to ruin the plot for you, but I will say it’s suitably dastardly, a moustache-twirling sort of dastard.
Dorian is whisked off, by his brother, to the safety of an old family friend who runs a smuggling pirate airship. The rest is the sort of swashbuckling story that is everything you’d hope it could be, complete with dragons.
The story betrays its YA beginnings with an angsty Dorian. It’s not terrifically onerous, but it’s there. It does make up for it by having a solid and diverse group of characters, a great plot, and interesting world-building. Oh, and dragons … did I mention the dragons?
May 23, 2022
The only bad thing about this book is that it ended and the next book in the trilogy isn't out yet. How am I supposed to wait to find out what happens to everyone?!
Broken Sky is a masterful and fun debut entry into fantasy literature. Pick it up! I swear you won't be disappointed.
Broken Sky is a masterful and fun debut entry into fantasy literature. Pick it up! I swear you won't be disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews