Cytonic

* US Cover
* UK Cover

**Cytonic** is the third book in the Skyward series by Brandon Sanderson.

## Synopsis

**Back of the Book**

TO SAVE HER HOME, SHE MUST LEAVE IT BEHIND.

'Spensa’s life as a Defiant Defense Force pilot has been far from ordinary. She proved herself one of the best starfighters in the human enclave of Detritus and she saved her people from extermination at the hands of the Krell—the strange, distant alien species that has been holding them captive for close to a century. What’s more, she's traveled light-years from home as an undercover spy to infiltrate the Superiority, where she's learned of the galaxy beyond her small, desolate planet home.

Now, the Superiority—the governing galactic alliance bent on dominating all intelligent life—has started a galaxy-wide war. And Spensa’s seen the weapons they plan to use to end it: the Delvers. Ancient, mysterious, and extremely powerful alien forces that can wipe out entire planetary systems in an instant. Spensa knows that no matter how many pilots the DDF has, there is no defeating this predator.

Except that Spensa is Cytonic. She has faced down a Delver and she saw something eerily familiar about it. And maybe, if she’s able to figure out what she is, she could be more than just another pilot in this unfolding war. She could save the galaxy.

The only way she can discover what she really is, though, is to leave behind all she knows and enter the mysterious Nowhere. A place from which few have ever returned.

To have courage means facing fear. But this mission is terrifying in ways that even she cannot understand.'

**Premise**

Spensa has just jumped through a portal. What she doesn't know is that it leads to the Nowhere, the (non?) place where Cytonics and slugs go when they hyperjump, and where the delvers come from. If that wasn't bad enough, she can't get back home. *Cytonic* details Spensa's journey to learn about her Cytonic abilities and to get back home.

**Story**

Spensa flees the Superiority after Winzik's take over by jumping through a portal to the Nowhere. Doomslug gives her coordinates to go home, but the delver Spensa convinced to not attack Starsight tells her to continue to the Nowhere and gives her a quest to 'walk the Path of Elders'. Although Spensa doesn't know what that is, she realizes that her people need more than just a pilot to win the upcoming war against Winzik. She decides to go into the Nowhere and tells Doomslug to go home.

Spensa lands in a jungle with M-Bot, who is experiencing emotions for the first time. Trying to process his feelings about Spensa leaving him to defend Detritus, M-Bot flies off into the jungle, and Spensa tries to follow unsuccessfully. She hears another cytonic, and they have a conversation. The stranger warns Spensa to limit her use of cytonic abilities and says that they will come help her find her way around. Spensa is then attacked by pirates who capture her and find her father's pin on her. The leader, a heklo named Velp, calls it a 'reality icon'. Spensa cytonically warns the stranger that she's been captured, and the pirates take her to their temporary camp and tie her to a tree.

M-bot comes back, and after a short discussion about emotions, he tries to help Spensa escape. The only reason that they aren't discovered by the pirates is that a dione pirate is sick. It appears their face is melting. Velp eventually becomes aware of M-bot's presence, but before he can shoot Spensa, the stranger comes charging in on a dinosaur-type animal. He introduces himself as Chet Starfinder and frees Spensa. They are about to steal one of the pirates' starships, but Spensa instead grabs the reality icon and both ships fly off. Spensa realizes that the dione has been possessed by a delver, and she, Chet, and M-Bot make their escape.

After they are a distance away, Chet explains about the dinosaur, which is an energy-eating beast called a grig. He also warns Spensa to keep an eye on M-Bot, since he is now a fully sapient AI. Chet also explains why reality icons are important, and offers to be Spensa's guide in the Nowhere for one ash a day.

Just then, the grig returns! And it has been possessed by the delver that was inhabiting the dione!

To be continued when I have time to type it out.

## Characters

**Main Characters**

Spensa, M-bot, Chet Starfinder, Captain Peg, the Delvers

**Minor Characters**

Velp, Winzik, Brade, Jorgen Weight, Doomslug, Hesho