Skyward series reading order

A plan for the whole series

4 volumes, 1,920 pages, about 35 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 7 weeks.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 4, “Defiant” (by 38%). Plan your break after volume 3, before the series plans it for you.
• Readers scored volume 2, “Starsight”, below its predecessor (8.4 after 8.7). If you slow down there, that is on the book, not on you.

Stages

3 stages, with 2 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around December 28, 2026, 13 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 110 h13 daysby November 11, 2026

   • 1. Skyward2018 · 528 pages · 10 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 15, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 217 habout 3 weeksby December 7, 2026

   • 2. Starsight2019 · 480 pages · 9 h
   • 3. Cytonic2021 · 432 pages · 8 h
4. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 16, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 39 h12 daysby December 28, 2026

   • 4. Defiant2023 · 480 pages · 9 h
6. The end of the series

   December 28, 2026

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: best at the start. Readers scored the first volumes (8.7) above the last ones (8.3).

Best volume: Skyward (8.7, 1,314 ratings). Weakest: Cytonic (8.0). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 3 and 4: 38%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.3) scores close to the series average or above it.