A review by pencilknot
Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson

4.0

But in acceptance we gain strength, for potential can be refused.

4 stars

This was the weakest book in the series for me, but still a strong story overall. The first 30% dragged and felt quite repetitive. The only highlights were learning more about the Cytonic history and the underlying tension created by memory loss. Unfortunately, I didn't feel very connected with the pirate crew. Similar to Starsight, I enjoyed learning about the new species, but the crew felt the least fleshed out out of the three groups we'd been introduced to.

What brought up my ranking was the conflict Spends has with herself about how much one could and should sacrifice for their world. It felt so raw and real, and I understood her perspective even though I hoped that she would return. I loved her realization that although stories are beautiful, you cannot truly live by staying in one - you have to fight for your happiness.

Finally, I was mindblown by the last quarter of the book. The discovery of the nature of delvers and their evolution, how it connected to characters we already knew, the climatic final battle hit perfectly. Honestly, I don't know how Sanderson comes up with these amazing concepts but I had so much fun piecing everything together.

Cytonic may have felt like a side quest in the grand scheme of things, but it was an amazing one nonetheless.