I remember as soon as I saw this book listed I preordered it as soon as I could. I can’t remember the last time I was so excited for a book to arrive. I haven’t been moved by a series like this since The Shadow of the Fox series by Julie Kagawa. The Skyward series was an amazing ride with several ups and downs but was thrilling and exciting the whole time. Defiant, Skyward #4, made for a perfect end to an amazing series.
Character Development
10/10
Spensa Nightshade, across all four books, was always a great protagonist but in this finale she truly came into her own. This story heavily referenced The Hero’s Journey both metaphorically and almost literally throughout several moments of reflection. Spensa’s constant change in how she viewed war, combat, and death changed so much throughout the story but in a way that felt natural and in character. There were moments where it seemed like she would do one thing, but through her own reasoning and growth did something that felt, well didn’t feel like Spensa. But unlike in other stories, here it made so much sense and made me happy to be wrong. Her growth and change as the story progressed was both reasonable, exciting and heartwarming to see.
The supporting cast of characters helped to really showcase Spensa’s growth as the way she interacted with them changed throughout the story. Not just how she interacted with them, but also how they reacted to her. Kimmalyn being her bright and supportive self as well as Jorgen being a figure of authority were perfect measures to see how Spensa changed throughout the story. But what might have been the most effective was Brade. She was practically a character foil to who Spensa was, a twisted mirror of who she could have become. To see Spensa struggle to understand Brade was like a self-reflection that changed as she herself changed.
Plot
9/10
The story picks up right after the end of Cytonic and the action almost never stopped. But for when the story did slow down, it allowed for Spensa to breathe and contemplate her role in this story. A lot of time was taken for her to self-reflect and really consider her actions and what to do next. It allowed for a very character-driven narrative as everything that occurred felt like it was carefully considered by the characters involved. Nothing felt out of place or shoe-horned in to make the story work. While everything did feel like it belonged in the story, parts of the plot felt very existential but in a way that was a bit confusing. It took a bit of thinking and consideration, but it didn’t ruin the overall story in any way and served to make the ending make sense.
Worldbuilding
9/10
The setting in which the Skyward series takes place, for a lack of a better word, is really quite weird. But it’s the weirdness that kept it exciting and interesting. Seeing Spensa try to understand her powers and what she can do with them, what she’s becoming, and how to save everyone helps to really understand the direness of their situation. However it runs into a bit of a problem where it’s not really concrete what some of the more nebulous concepts are. There were plenty of moments where it feels very otherworldly and uncertain but that only helped to serve the strange eldritch feeling that permeates throughout Spensa’s journey.
Writing Style
9/10
With the perspective almost completely in Spensa’s viewpoint throughout this tumultuous moment of understanding and confusion for her, the way it was written really helps to illustrate just how her views on the world change. The change in words she uses to describe the things she loves and the pacing that allows for those moments of reflection to hit harder only amplify that. Chapter lengths were a bit longer than I would have preferred, some chapters being a bit of a slog but it didn’t do anything to harm the flow of the story. The word choice and pacing made for a story easy to get lost in that finishes an exciting series.
Score
9.25/10
Raph's Cozy Musings 