My letter “D” pick for the A to Z book Challenge was DEFIANT (Skyward Book Four) by Brandon Sanderson. This is the final (?) book in the Skyward series – the question mark is there because Sanderson has said in interviews that he may write more about Skyward flight at a later date. This book is the conclusion to the adventures of Spensa Nightshade, Skyward Flight, and the Defiant Defense Force as they battle the galactic Superiority and their stranglehold on the member planets of the Federation, and also fight for their own survival against not only the Superiority, but a race of super-powered dimension-traveling beings known as Delvers, who are also bent on human destruction.

As a wrap-up to the series, it did tie up the loose ends, gave our main characters their happily-ever-after, and gut punched us with a major loss and the impairment of two main characters. It had Sanderson’s usual snarky dialogue and humor, as well as a good mix of peril and triumphant moments. Best of all we get more of Spensa’s hilarious AI-run ship, M-Bot (in my opinion the best character of the series). My only gripe was that the true villain of the story ended up being rather one-dimensional. I had been hoping for a redemption arc for this character, and she ended up going out with a whimper instead of a bang. So it’s four stars out of five on this solid, almost-satisfying conclusion to a great series.