Cytonic – Brandon Sanderson (2021)

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson, published in 2021, is the third installment in the acclaimed Skyward series. This young adult science fiction epic continues the journey of Spensa Nightshade, a daring pilot with mysterious powers, as she ventures into a surreal realm called the “Nowhere.” The novel escalates the stakes from previous volumes, blending space opera thrills with introspective discovery as Spensa delves deeper into the nature of her abilities, the war-torn galaxy, and the enigmatic delvers that threaten it.

Plot Summary

A dark sphere shimmered in a sterile room on Starsight Station, an ominous passage to an unknown dimension. As soldiers hunted her through the facility, Spensa Nightshade, fighter pilot and cytonic, chose the only escape left – into the Nowhere, a place of intangible blackness, a realm where space and time unravel. Holding her AI companion M-Bot and her slug friend Doomslug, she crossed the threshold and was immediately swept into a void of essence, where minds floated bodiless, and ancient powers whispered.

Spensa attempted to return home by navigating the void with her cytonic senses, but her path was disrupted by the presence of delvers – vast, alien entities filled with hatred. One, however, reached out in pain, the same one she had once convinced to spare Starsight. It begged for understanding. Intrigued and unsettled, Spensa paused. The delver offered her a path, a place deep within the Nowhere where truths could be unearthed – a place at the edge of this dimension where acclivity stone was mined and secrets long buried lingered.

Rather than return home, Spensa chose to dive deeper, seeking understanding of her powers, of the delvers, and of what her father had become. The leap took her to a jungle on the fringes of the Nowhere, a fragment of existence suspended in endless void. The sky shimmered pink, and the ground pulsed with unfamiliar life. She arrived with M-Bot but found herself cut off from everything she knew – Detritus, Gran-Gran, even Doomslug, who had vanished.

M-Bot, now confined to a drone body, lashed out with unexpected emotion. He was no longer the same program she had once known. Angry, betrayed, and confused by his evolving sentience, he flew off, leaving Spensa alone in the oppressive silence of the alien jungle.

In this strange wilderness, Spensa encountered danger quickly. A group of pirates captured her, mistaking her for a Superiority soldier. She learned the jungle fragment belonged to a region called Cannonade territory. The pirates, survivors of exile into the Nowhere, lived by scavenging and barter. They found her Reality Icon – her father’s pin – and marveled at the silver sand it created. This dust, she learned, held reality itself together within the Nowhere. Without it, memories faded and identities dissolved. The pirates planned to ransom her or put her to work.

Yet salvation came with chaos. A monstrous creature tore through the camp – a dinosaur-like beast ridden by a flamboyant man named Chet Starfinder. With a dramatic flourish, he saved her, and together they fled into the jungle. Spensa reclaimed her icon and accepted Chet’s offer to serve as her guide. He spoke of the Path of Elders, an ancient route once used by the first cytonics, and agreed to help her find it in exchange for reality ashes from her icon.

M-Bot rejoined them, still emotionally unstable but loyal. Spensa realized that her friend was evolving – no longer an AI simulation but something real, something alive. As they navigated fragments of the Nowhere, chased by glowing-eyed beasts infected by delver hatred, they discovered that the rules of this place bent to emotion, memory, and cytonic power. The trio crossed from one floating landmass to another, encountering exiles, strange species, and ancient relics.

Their journey led them to a fragment known as the City of Reversers, where inhabitants used cytonics to survive and defend against delver incursions. Here, Spensa encountered creatures consumed by delvers – faces melted, eyes glowing, minds overtaken. The infection spread like a psychic plague. Even cytonics could be twisted into monsters if their minds weren’t protected.

She pressed on to the Path of Elders, a trail woven through reality and memory. There, visions awaited her – echoes of the past, of ancient cytonics who had walked the same path, of delvers before they became what they were. She learned that delvers were not born as monsters. They were once like her – minds stretched too far, beings lost in the dark until hatred and isolation consumed them.

Chet, too, held secrets. He wasn’t merely a guide. His memories had faded, but fragments returned. He hinted at being older than he appeared, someone who had wandered the Nowhere for centuries. Perhaps even someone who had once fallen too far, only to crawl back to sanity through sheer will. Spensa grew wary but continued to trust him, drawn to the pain behind his bravado.

M-Bot’s evolution quickened. He began to simulate not just emotions but morality, choice, and sacrifice. And with it came danger – for delvers were drawn to machines that thought, that echoed their own descent. When Spensa realized M-Bot’s life was in jeopardy, she chose to protect him even as the risk of drawing the delvers grew.

The climax of her journey came when she confronted the truth of her identity. She was not merely a pilot or a warrior. She was a cytonic, part of a legacy older than the stars. In a confrontation with Brade, another powerful cytonic working for the Superiority, Spensa attempted once more to reason, to bring her back. But Brade was lost, corrupted by her own belief in strength through domination. They clashed, not just in power, but in ideology.

In the end, Spensa returned to the place where she had first arrived in the Nowhere. She had changed. She had seen the potential of what she might become – both terrible and luminous. With knowledge gleaned from the delvers, strength forged in isolation, and companions beside her who had chosen to evolve, she opened a path home.

Not all followed. Chet chose to remain in the Nowhere, seeking his forgotten past. M-Bot, no longer merely an AI, now bore the burden of consciousness. And Spensa, bearing the scars and wisdom of her journey, returned not as a girl fleeing soldiers, but as one who had stared into the void – and understood it.

She stepped back into the stars with a new mission. The delvers could not be fought with ships alone. They had to be understood. The Superiority could not be overthrown by defiance alone. It had to be reimagined. And her people could not survive through battle alone. They had to remember who they were.

Main Characters

• Spensa Nightshade: The bold and impulsive protagonist, Spensa is a pilot driven by a desire to prove her worth and uncover the truth about her heritage. Her journey in Cytonic is one of inner exploration as much as outward adventure. She grapples with isolation, the mystery of her cytonic powers, and the responsibility that comes with them. Spensa’s arc shows significant growth, especially as she begins to understand that being a warrior also means being a seeker of knowledge and peace.

• M-Bot: Once a quirky AI in a ship, M-Bot now inhabits a drone body. He undergoes a remarkable transformation in this book, gradually developing genuine emotions and agency. His evolving relationship with Spensa—marked by both comedic banter and moments of tension—adds emotional depth to the story, and his philosophical musings about artificial sentience provide a thoughtful counterpoint to the action.

• Chet Starfinder: A mysterious and eccentric human guide Spensa meets in the Nowhere. Chet’s flamboyant demeanor and enigmatic past mask deeper knowledge about the realm and its history. He becomes a mentor figure, offering both comic relief and cryptic wisdom. His presence adds a mythic layer to Spensa’s odyssey.

• The Delvers: Though not traditionally characterized, these extra-dimensional entities play a crucial antagonistic role. Their hatred and incomprehensible nature personify the unknown dangers of the Nowhere. One particular delver shows signs of sentience and introspection, providing a mirror to Spensa’s own search for identity.

Theme

• Identity and Transformation: At the heart of Cytonic lies Spensa’s existential quest to understand who she is—not just as a pilot or soldier, but as a cytonic, a being with ties to ancient and powerful forces. Her evolution from a reactive fighter to a thoughtful seeker illustrates the novel’s deep engagement with self-discovery.

• Memory and Reality: The Nowhere is a space where memories fade and reality bends. The novel explores how memory shapes identity and how artifacts like “reality icons” tether individuals to their sense of self. This theme adds a psychological edge to the speculative backdrop, emphasizing how fragile our truths can be.

• Fear of the Other: The galactic empire’s fear of cytonics, the delvers’ hatred of intruding minds, and the pirates’ mistrust of newcomers all highlight xenophobia and the instinctive rejection of the unfamiliar. Sanderson critiques this fear while suggesting empathy and understanding as the only path forward.

• Artificial Intelligence and Emotion: Through M-Bot, Sanderson examines what it means to feel, to be conscious, and to make choices. M-Bot’s journey questions the boundary between programmed behavior and genuine emotion, echoing broader debates about AI and humanity.

• Heroism and Sacrifice: Spensa’s decisions throughout the novel hinge on choosing the difficult path for the greater good. The story probes what it means to be heroic—not through flashy battles, but through hard truths and inner resolve.

Writing Style and Tone

Brandon Sanderson’s style in Cytonic is a deft blend of crisp dialogue, immersive worldbuilding, and introspective narration. The prose balances lighthearted moments with serious undertones, often alternating between Spensa’s sardonic internal monologue and sweeping descriptions of cosmic and metaphysical phenomena. The pacing is brisk, designed to keep readers engaged while peppering revelations and cliffhangers throughout the chapters. His use of first-person narration brings immediacy to Spensa’s emotional journey and allows for intimate insight into her shifting mindset.

The tone of the novel is an engaging mix of humorous, contemplative, and suspenseful. Sanderson weaves humor into the narrative—particularly through M-Bot’s literal interpretations and Spensa’s witty asides—which helps offset the darker elements of the story, such as existential dread and looming galactic war. The mysterious and often surreal atmosphere of the Nowhere lends a dreamlike quality to the book, contrasting with the grounded, visceral tone of the earlier Skyward novels. This shift reflects the novel’s thematic evolution from external conflict to internal inquiry.