Quick-take: An entertaining ride despite not much depth.

Dan's Review

Spensa has always wanted to be a pilot. Trapped on another world, she desires to defend her people from the Krill. Unfortunately, being the daughter of a coward is a huge hurdle to clear.

90% of the book is told via 1st person from Spensa. However, for a couple segments, the book shifts point-of-view to 3rd person from another character, and I really enjoy those shifts. I wish books were more liberal with that technique. It is not a sign of writing weakness if you have to change point-of-views. It is creating a bigger impact for the story.

Anyway, this book is classic Brandon Sanderson delivering entertaining young adult sci-fi. He strayed away from pure fantasy and instead crafted a world with interesting mechanics, this time being star fighters. If you like Brandon Sanderson (I know I do), you'll like this book. However, it is nothing groundbreaking. This is not a new Mistborn nor Steelheart.

To address some concerns... at least these were what I had going in to this.

• This is book 1 in a series. Books 2 and so on are not available yet. Should you wait? I think it is fine to dive in to this one. All the main story arcs were closed. There is definitely more to the story, but the book does not end on a massive cliffhanger demanding the next book (like Mistborn 2 did).

• That said, I really wish book 2 was available now. During the big reveal phase of the epilogue, there were some important questions asked and answered. I'd like to know what happens next.

Thankfully, the slight love story that could be seen a hundred miles away (She calls the guy "Jerkface" because he is arrogant and his face is so punchable -- so dead obvious what is going to happen later) is just that: very slight. My guess is book 2 will carry it further, but I hope it stays on the back-burner.

Add this book to your reading list only after you've worked through Mistborn and Elantris. By then, maybe book 2 will be out and we will know if this new series is compelling.