Book Review: Evershore (Skyward Flight, #2.3) by Brandon Sanderson & Janci Patterson
Review copy provided by the publisher—Gollancz—in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by Sam Green
Evershore by Brandon Sanderson & Janci Patterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Series: Skyward (Book #2.3 of 4)
Genre: Sci-fi
Pages: 224 pages (Hardcover edition)
Publish date: 28th of December 2021 by Delacorte Press (US) & Gollancz (UK)
Even without Spensa, this is a return to form. Evershore is the best title in Skyward Flight omnibus.
Sunreach and ReDawn, the previous two titles in Skyward Flight, and also Cytonic are odd books for me. They were not particularly bad per se, but at the same time, they did not offer me the entertaining and page-turning experience Skyward and Starsight did. However, they are not skippable, too. I haven’t read Defiant yet, but I am sure Skyward Flight will be an essential volume of omnibus necessary for the enrichment of the concluding volume in the series: Defiant. For me, it felt like the series has been put on a halt with minimal plot progression since the end of Starsight, and it is about time the Skyward series starts to pick itself back up again. Evershore, the third, the biggest, and the final title in the Skyward Flight omnibus, did that for me.
“I couldn’t remember what it felt like to laugh. I wondered if that meant I had already drowned.”
Continuing from where ReDawn ended, Evershore is a book where Jorgen is the main character. And Jorgen’s character development throughout the small novel is incredible. It is quite a surprise that it’s only now we get to read Jorgen—call sign Jerkface—taking the central role. He has been such a prominent character since the beginning of Skyward, and out of all the available characters—with the exception of Spensa and M-Bot (okay and the slugs)—Jorgen is one of the most indispensable supporting characters in the series. After the destructive events at the end of ReDawn, seeing Jorgen doing everything he can to maintain the figure of a leader and realizing the necessity of relying on his friends was great. Duty, leadership, and trust are the key themes of Evershore. On top of these, we learned more about the Kitsen, and I finally got to feel FM as a necessary character again.
“Some things are under your control, and others aren’t. You do the best you can with what you have to work with. And that is what sets you apart—what you do with it.”
Look here. I am totally okay with FM’s budding relationship. But since Sunreach, it felt like her entire personality and actions have been reduced to a typical YA heroine falling obsessively over her new lover, and she cannot seem to think about anything else. This was the same in ReDawn. And I groaned every time she appeared in the scene. In Evershore, having FM as a supporting system for Jorgen was refreshing and needed. It felt like she has a vital role in the storyline again rather than only existing to show she is head over heels for Rigs.
“We’re all here… because we believe in what we’re doing. And we all trust you with our lives because we know that at the end of the day, Jorgen Weight is going to do the right thing. Sometimes you lose sight of that. Sometimes you get so bogged down in the rules that you lose track of what’s right for a minute. But when it comes down to the decisions you make with our lives, you do the right every time.”
There were some vivid and—surprisingly—quite epic scenes near the end of Evershore. Relatively speaking, of course. But other than that and the satisfying ending, I don’t think there is anything left to say here without diving into spoilers and the details of the events. Evershore, Cytonic, and the entire Skyward Flight omnibus may not be as engaging as Skyward or Starsight. But they made sure the critical set pieces and groundwork were prepared. All that is left is for Defiant to deliver the explosive and memorable ending the Skyward series needs. I look forward to reading Defiant next month.
Picture: Skyward Flight by Charlie Bowater
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