This was a partial galley, but from what I read, I enjoyed! I have a complicated relationship with the Eragon series, so I didn't know what to expect with this one. It's very different, and I enjoyed Christopher Paolini's take on sci fi!

I did not grow up reading Paolini, as many of my friends did. I'm sad to say that I did not understand the hype around his books and did not appreciate his skill. However, I really enjoyed this partial galley and it made me thrilled to try the full book. While I still have not read the full book, it has remained on my TBR to this day.

-- This review is several years past the release date due to the many issues of 2020, but a huge thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early copy of the book.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an expansive and imaginative science fiction epic that takes you on a thrilling interstellar journey. Paolini's meticulous worldbuilding shines through as you are introduced to a vast and diverse universe filled with unique species, technologies, and cultures. The story effortlessly blends action, suspense, and moments of introspection as challenges arise. Highly recommended for fans of science fiction and those intrigued by the mysteries of the cosmos.

This book.....well....wow. I was on the fence between giving it 4 stars or 5. The only reason for that is I feel there were times it dragged, but I'm very pregnant and focusing is difficult sometimes for me. This is not a usual book for me, as it is definitely heavily science fiction. I normally don't do something with this much tech. There will not be any forgetting this book, in fact I think I'll be thinking of Kira and her crew for a long time. This will be a book I reread at some point and I feel I'll get things out of it then too. Paolini is an artist and I know there's a film in the works that I can't wait to see. Masterpiece.

VICTORY IS MINE. Okay, technically I didn’t finish the appendices, but I just don’t care enough to. And if I needed to read them to enjoy the book, they should have somehow been incorporated and not shoved in the end. I don’t want to read more details about a universe I don’t care about. This book was a serious struggle. It was just unbelievable boring.

There’s a muddled plot with flat characters who just kind of happen into things, which is interrupted way too often by vague and flowery dream sequences. And then once I got to the end it went 100% off the rails and not in a good way. Kira turns into some kind of crazy powerful entity, bestows ridiculous magical gifts upon her former comrades, and heads off to fight the not really vanquished baddie in future door stopper volumes. Also apparently she cures the maw? Because she leaves it in charge of her shiny new space station she made. No thanks. And aren’t we worried about the seeker or whatever the heck it was that got unleashed when they were looking for the staff? Like oops we released this ancient horror on the universe, but let’s just forget that?

Could an editor have saved this? Maybe. There are so many elements in here that I theoretically like, but it’s like Paolini put them all into a blender and turned them into one bland mushy tasteless result. I see so many people praising this book, and I just feel like we did not read the same book at all. I see people raving about all the research he put into this, but where? It just seems like a vague fantasy world with sci-fi terms thrown in. The universe and its culture and technology never felt fully developed to me, just vague glimpses.

In short, I will not be reading the inevitable sequel.

I did not know it was just a little bit of the book. But what i was given seemed very intruiging and i might be buying the book in the future.

This feedback is years late, for which I apologize. I was provided with an unfinished copy of the book to review, which I didn't read until after the book was actually published. But I did eventually read the partial pre-release copy, and enjoyed it so much that I immediately bought the book and read it from the beginning again.

If you are a Christopher Paolini fan, specifically his "Inheritance Cycle" books, of which I am, this is just a heads-up: This is not that. At all. And that is completely fine. The author seamlessly made the transition from dragons and magic to starships and aliens without missing a beat.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an epic tale told on a grand scale. The beginning of the story was immediately interesting, with the possible exception of the main character's love for and relationship with her soon-to-be ex-finance, which felt a little awkward, But it does not linger there for long and things develop quickly.

This highly imaginative story will not disappoint. There is a lot going on to keep track of, but it's a fun read. I admit that I did find myself thinking at times that the main character accepted and adapted to her situation perhaps a bit too easily and unemotionally, but that did not diminish the story in any way. The characters, their relationships, and their shared struggles, cast against the backdrop of the future of humankind and its place in the galaxy make for an entertaining and memorable sci-fi adventure.

I made it through the first third quite happily, then gradually found it more and more repetitive and superficial, gave up about 65% the way through, just plain bored.

Not all sci-fi has to be hard sci-fi, but this is too "soft" to really fit the genre at all -- the protagonist has a magic suit that discovers new abilities and exposition happens when the suit conjures up a vision to motivate a plot device. The shipmate characters are superficial and tokenistic.

It all just feels like something I could have got into as a teenager, but as an adult there are far better novels out there.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars has an alien telling her story. This future life from has an exoskeleton merged with the human one, and technology that controls her both inside and out. This is the first in a series describing the post human race.

As a fan of the Inheritance Cycle, this book had a lot to live up to, and I'd say it did well. An immersive book with am interesting plot.

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. This book should count as eight books in a Goodreads reading challenge because it was THAT long! Not that I mind long books; heck, I love them! But this one dragged on and on and on. It isn't that the storyline was bad; it wasn't. I was entertained for the first 40% of the book, but then the same thing kept happening that I became bored and dreaded reading it. Here's what I thought was interesting though: the setting (um, space! spaceships! planets!), aliens (I mean, who doesn't find aliens interesting?), the main posse (Kira is bad-ass, after all), and, surprisingly, all the politics - this book actually made me miss the show The Expanse since it was so similar. Overall, while I thought the story was interesting, it should've been edited a lot more thoroughly so that it doesn't become so predictable, as it became for me.

This was an interesting introduction to a new series. Paolini has a way with words and mastery at world building.

Christopher Paolini never fails to disappoint! I received this partial galley, a paper arc, and purchased two different finished copies of this book because I knew from this excerpt that I would absolutely love the story and love Kira. We're jumping right into a whole new fresh universe, that is action-driven with an immediately interesting and likable protagonist (which, by the way, I'm thrilled is female this time around). Can't wait to post my full review of the book soon!

This book was utterly fascinating.
The characters are well characterized, the descriptions evocative but brief - they pull you in, intrigue you, and leave you looking for the next tidbit in a wonderfully engaging manner. The building of the storyline is exceptionally well done, the highs, the lows, the increasing suspense…. Truly an exceptional read!

As a partial galley, this definitely made me want to read the entire book.It's clear Christopher Paolini put a lot of love and effort into this release. My first impressions are mostly positive - the plot so far is engaging, the main character of Kira is likeable and well fleshed out, and the world building is great. The writing is the only area I'm unsure of through this snippet of the book, so I'll withold judgement there until I read the full release.

An Epic Journey through space that you didn't know you needed until picking it up!

Readers who loved the sweeping landscapes of Eragon won't be disappointed in Paolini's next adventure.

I enjoyed this book! It was so much fun watching ti come together. The characters were decent and I loved that. It was slow in spots, but that's ok! I enjoyed it still and can't wait to see Paolini brings us next

This seems like a very interesting story from the preview I was able to read. I'm looking forward to reading the full book.

Wow. After reading this book, I simply sat in my reading chair and stared at the wall, all sorts of thoughts running through my mind. I've always loved Christopher Paolini and his writing style. This book came out of left field and I am here for it. The world building was absolutely phenomenal. There wasn't a single moment throughout the entire book where the description that left me confused. Paolini is simply a word master.
Kira Navarez was a character that was both relatable and a role model. Someone who inspired courage and bravery even through all the ups and downs she went through.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes exploring space, someone who can stand up to the thought of aliens and the massive unknown. Very well done.

This was a very entertaining book. I really enjoy reading it. I was a fan of Paolini since Eragon, and he didn’t disappoint me in this new installment.
If you like aliens, space and this kind of stuff, you can’t miss this one ♥️

I only received a partial galley but it was enough to have me absolutely mesmerized. I already bought the full book, which is next up on the reading list. Anything Paolini is SO. GOOD!