DNF at 50%

Definitely disappointed that this one is going into the DNF pile, but I honestly can't bring myself to get through the remaining 16 hours of audio because this book is just lackluster.

The plot itself was action packed. There is quite a bit of info dumping interspersed, so if you aren't paying careful attention, you could easily got lost in what exactly was going on in the pain. Our MC Kira leaves a lot to be desired. There isn't much to here to feel a connection with. She feels more like a robot than the AI Gregorovitch.

As far as worldbuilding went...there wasn't much. This is more of a space adventure with aliens, which honestly, just isn't for me.

The only redeeming thing in this book is the narrator Jenny Hale. She does a fantastic job of voicing the many characters.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing an advanced listening copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

This book. I don't have to the words for how much I loved To Sleep In A Sea Of Stars. Paolini's writing has only improved since his last book was released and I can only imagine where good writing will go from here. I need to gather my complete thoughts, but TSIASOS gets a 5 star rating and moves to the top of my best of 2020 reads list

I want to start by saying that am not your typical Sci-Fi reader. I requested to review this book because I knew of Mr. Paolini's background and I was curious because I have been wanting to read more in the Sci-Fi genre. I really enjoyed this book. I read the ebook as well as used the audio.

I HIGHLY enjoyed this book and think even if you aren't a big Sci-Fi reader, you may enjoy this also. The first 25% of the book had me HOOKED! It felt like every chapter or so had me on the edge of my seat and I even had some outward shivers/skin-crawling moments. I LOVE IT!!! From there the story took time to build so there were times where I was wanting the story to rush along, but using that slower time to build the character relationships was important. I really liked how the characters started to care for each other as friends and not just co-workers trying to make it through the galaxy and fight the alien beings. I loved the first contact moments plus others I can't talk about because of spoilers; I loved that edge of my seat feeling. I've found out I don't really care for space wars but that is of no reflection on the book. Those scenes were written in a way, I could totally picture. The ending was something I didn't see coming and while a lot of times I like nice neat endings, I'm also a fan of endings that leave some room for speculation.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillian-Tor/Forge for allowing me to review this book in exchange for an honest review. I look forward to more from Mr. Paolini in the future.

The beginning of the novel starts fairly quickly; you're introduced to a cast of characters whose mission is to research uncolonized Adrasteia and then things quickly go awry. Kira accidentally discovers an alien room and organism when the crew is about to leave the planet. What follows is a story of the discovery of intelligent life, and what happens when humans are confronted with sentient beings 200 years in our future.

I was completely engrossed in Kira's story from the beginning and was interested to learn about the alien technology as she learned it herself. After Kira leaves Adrasteia for her journey through space, I lost interest in her story. There is a lot of monotony -- tests run on her several times and Kira being shuffled from ship to ship. The cast of non-military characters introduced in this section were the only interesting developments; these people end up being Kira's companions for much of her journey. Roughly halfway through, the book begins to focus on the war and the action makes the plot exciting again.

This novel is long. It was close to being a DNF (did not finish) title for me because the middle drags on. Large chunks of this book are unnecessary and could be removed. It feels like Paolini has been working on the novel for a long time and was reluctant to give up certain parts that weren't needed. The slower sections could have been condensed to give information without drawing it out into a saga.

Admittedly, I'm not the biggest fan of hard sci-fi. Still, the overarching story here is interesting but the execution is flawed. The last large chunk of the book is addendums and appendices filled with scientific jargon that will be overwhelming to the average reader. There are entries on space combat, alien languages, timelines, technology... Does this information needed to be included to understand the story? No. It makes even less sense to include these after the story if they're needed to understand it.

Recommended for science fiction fans, especially those interested in space travel, interplanetary wars, and first contact stories.

In short, this book was epic. Events in the beginning immediately drew me in, and from there, the stakes rose higher and higher right up until the very end... And that ending... it left me with a deep ache in my chest. Somehow, it wasn't the ending I wanted for Kira, yet it was perfectly suited to the book's name.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, indeed.

I devoured this book in 2–3 days. The feeling of isolation and loneliness was all too real, the battle scenes were generous and enormously visual. All-consuming, actually. And surprisingly, there was even enough love interest to keep my hopelessly romantic heart sated.

I loved the entire crew of the Wallfish. Kira, Falconi, Trig, Sparrow... the damned cat and pig, even. But perhaps my favorite was the delightfully borderline insane ship mind Gregorovich in all his darkly snarky wit. Every one of his scenes was a delicious treat.

This book reminded me of why I love sci-fi. As a fan of other sci-fi series like Ender's Game and The Expanse, I only wished there was more... more and more and more as the Seed would say. Good thing a sequel's on its way.

To Sleep is worthy of multiple read-throughs. Thank you, Chris P.

–7/7

Harry Potter was a large SFF book targeted towards children back in the 2000's era. While waiting for other the next installments, young readers like myself at the time were looking for more fantasy books. That's where Eragon steps in, as it was a well marketed book in the bookstore-- front and center with its colorful dragon covers. It follows-up a Harry Potter book by bringing in dragons, but is different because it is a high fantasy tale, introducing a completely new world. I enjoyed reading Eragon as a young preteen, and remember it fondly, especially the first two books of the series that came out. Mr. Paolini took his time finishing the series-- the four books were published across a total of 9 years. I was in college by the time the last book came out. And the last two books I remember less fondly, as the flaws of the series started to become more apparent to me. The story moves slow and is heavily focused on description.

Paolini took several more years off (though he did publish a short story collection taking place in the Eragon universe) and spent those years researching the science that he would eventually use in his first adult novel. And after reading the novel, I must say that the research was definitely done. Mr. Paolini is doing the sci-fi genre justice in that he is using the best knowledge of scientific principles to develop his own world and technology. There is a lot incorporated throughout the novel and I think many sci-fi fans will enjoy it.

There are also instances of the book that remind me a bit of Eragon. It's not that Paolini hasn't grown as an author over the course of 2twodecades, but more so that he has some of his own style that still manages to come through. What's also nice about this book is that, like how Eragon was a good introduction to high fantasy, this book is a good first book for sci-fi, especially adult sci-fi. I think many of those preteens of the 2000s reminiscing about Eragon may pick this up today as adults and it likely will get them to pick up more in the genre.

This almost 900 page novel isn't without it faults. I also found it similar to Eragon in that it is very description heavy. There are definite times where the plot moves slowly due to all the world and content Mr. Paolini is trying to build. In the end I think it's a little too long, but I slightly came in expecting that since I've already been exposed to it through Eragon (as well as other novels and authors). There are definite times that are exciting, though, and some even caught me off guard. The character development could have also been stronger given the page count, but if I am remembering correctly, I don't think an emphasis on character development was high in Eragon either. Paolini vastly enjoys and focuses on the world building and action scenes. So if you read more so for those things, you'll likely enjoy this.

This novel is currently set as a standalone story and feels complete. But Paolini has stated that the world he created here can and will be used in other books. I likely may give them a try, especially if I know I am in the mood for a Paolini tale.

This book is long - probably much longer than it has to be, but also there's a lot that happens over the course of 800 pages of plot (and something like 100 pages of extra material). We see so many cool aliens, lots of different people (both alien and human) with all kinds of ideologies that don't necessarily play well together, different technology, lots of action and battles and spaceships and maneuvering. We're never left bored, even when we're just traveling from one place to another - the travel time is handled rather brilliantly by having characters go into cryo-sleep, so the passage of time is nearly instantaneous for them. But there's also... too much. There are so many characters, most of whom are only passing-relevant for at most 100 pages. And I don't know whether it's because I mostly listened to the audiobook (and this book requires a lot of focus), but I feel like a lot of things weren't entirely explained.

Which brings us to the negative portion of this review. There are several moments in this story where I was very much struck by the irrefutable fact that it was written by a straight man starring a woman. Kira is very casually sexualized a handful of times in the story - in a way that kind of soured my experience. The sex scenes are weird and don't feel very natural at all (using the words "embrace" and "clutching" a lot in a way that shows that the moment is being taken altogether too seriously; it felt very staged) - but luckily there are only two of those. Also, the ending was weird. It was a very classic-epic-fantasy "parting of ways" where people get gifts based on their personality/contribution to the quest. Like... not really how I would have pictured a book like this ending. Paolini, your Eragon is showing.

Epic action adventure scifi! This expansive story starts when a research team stumbles on an alien structure. But that’s just the beginning. An imaginative and moving look at how humans handle an alien species (or two) and what happens when the reality of a situation is much more complex than we thought.

3.5 stars

Special thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the free ARC I was provided in exchange for an honest review.

The protagonist of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is Kira Navárez, a xenobiologist who stumbles upon an alien artifact during a mission on an uninhabited planet, a discovery with devastating consequences. Kira soon finds herself covered in a strange, black exoskeleton with mysterious origins and terrifying abilities (not too unlike the Venom symbiote), and she learns that her discovery has also triggered a war when a previously undiscovered alien race begins attacking the human colonies among the stars. Eventually, she ends up aboard a ship with a renegade crew (not too unlike Firefly) whom she must convince to help her in her mission to end the war she has inadvertently caused.

This book is very story-driven and fast-paced; there were some parts that were a slog to get through, but for the most part, I was never bored. I particularly enjoyed learning more about the xeno suit as Kira discovers more abilities and learns how to control and wield them. I'll admit I would have liked to have known more about the race that created the suit, but perhaps this will be covered more in future Fractalverse novels.

Kudos to author Christopher Paolini for his excellent worldbuilding. He has obviously done his research in regards to science to at least make it sound plausible, and I would be interested in hearing physicists weigh in on this book once it is published. There is even an entire lengthy appendix to explain how faster than light travel works, and he goes to great lengths (perhaps too much at times) to explain the different technologies and how they work. Clearly, he cares very deeply for this new universe he has created.

I'd say the weakest part of the book is its characters. The bond Kira forms with the crew of the Wallfish early on seems rather contrived; i.e., it feels like it only happens because the plot requires it. There are also multiple occasions where other characters seem way to willing to trust Kira and go along with her plans, even when, from their point of view, there is no good reason to do so.

Having never read The Inheritance Cycle, this is the first novel by Christopher Paolini that I have ever read. I enjoyed it overall and look forward to future works in the Fractalverse.

Oof. This is a really, really, really long book. It does not need to be as long as it is, I wish I could have pulled my red pen out and knocked off at least 150 pages (of the over 800 pages...). But it's still a great story and I read it all because I needed to know how everything turned out-and the payoff was worth it. It's really long though.

3.5 stars

Sci-fi is not one of my usual genres; I am more likely to pick up a high fantasy offering. That makes the fact that this very long, very sci-fi adventure had me captivated from cover to cover all the more impressive. The characters are the most engaging element: they are well-rounded, individual, and diverse. The narrative uses many standard tropes from the fantasy field, which is to be expected, given Paolini’s previous works. However, certain plot elements feel like they are lifted directly from The Hobbit or Harry Potter. That’s a problem. Another issue is the inconsistency of voice/diction, at times highly formal and at others casual Enough to be jarring. Regardless, the book is an enjoyable read, and it is exciting to see its author growing in a new direction.

Well, written and truly an adventure to read. I enjoyed it immensely. Plenty of twists and surprises, well written, and so much adventure. Paolini's writing has matured, making his latest offering even more enjoyable than the Eragon series.

A thoroughly enjoyable space opera. There’s a scientist, a spaceship full of scruffy characters, the military and aliens of various shapes and sizes. There’s a lot going on as the various groups race from one edge of the galaxy to the other. Sometimes cooperating, sometimes fighting until they have to come together to fight an even greater enemy.

Kira is a xenobiologist finishing up her stint doing research on the moon, Adrasteia with her fiancé Alan. To prevent having to stay on different moon research projects away from each other, the two decide to settle down in the new colony. When some routine last-minute checks go bad, however, several members of her team, including her boyfriend get killed. Soon, Kira finds herself being home to an alien entity called the Soft Blade. The military ship that retrieves the remainder of her team turns her into an unwilling lab rat. Escaping and heading to Cigna-61, the alien race her suit is from begins attacking all the other ships. To save her people and Soft Blade’s, Kira will have to learn how to harness the power of her new suit. Will she succeed. This action-packed adventure draws the readers in with its cliffhangers, well-developed characters, and engaging plot. The world-building is realistic and well done. This a must-read for science fiction and Christopher Paolini fans.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an interesting book, but it was not my favorite. I will admit science fiction isn't my favorite genre, but my issues with this book were not with the subject matter, but the style of writing. The book is very long, and while the action sequences are exciting, they are few and far between.

Kira Navárez is a xenobiologist finishing up what may end up being her last mission. She and her boyfriend are considering settling on the planet they're studying, because they are tired of the constant travel and separation from each other. Kira is sent out for one last check of a drone that sent evidence of carbon life forms. She falls into a chasm and discovers a room that could only have been created by an alien race. She is unknowingly "infected" by a nano-organism, which develops a symbiotic relationship with her and appears as a black skin suit on her body.

Her discovery of this creature and its attachment to her starts an intergalactic war between humans, Jellies and the Corrupted, and Kira must find a way to save humanity and herself.

The book often drags, so much that I am writing this review before I have even finished the book; I am not sure I will finish it. Paolini is a great writer, and his descriptions of the ships, aliens, and humans do immerse you into their world. And perhaps his attention to (minute) detail will pay off in the end. But I found myself getting bored with the story and wanting to speed up the story.

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

To Sleep in A Sea of Stars is a new space opera novel written by Christopher Paolini. The book follows Kira Navárez, a xenobiologist who finds a previously undiscovered alien relic on an uncolonized planet. First contact was something that Kira dreamed of, but things aren’t what they imagined once the dust begins to move around her. Kira has uncovered much more than just a relic, and she’s the only one that can put a stop to the chaos before it’s too late.

“First contact with another intelligent species – something she’d always dreamed of – and it seemed to be happening in the worst way possible, with violence.”


This is my first book by Paolini, however, I did go into this aware that Paolini did pour a lot of time and effort into getting this story just right, and it shows.

To Sleep in A Sea of Stars delivers on everything I’d expect of a space opera. From worldbuilding to political intrigue, a touch of romance, and even some action scenes, this book had it all. For further immersion, this book includes maps, as well as an appendix, and other resources that discuss some of the technologies used in this book from the characters’ perspectives.

Judging by my other reads this month, you’ll know that I don’t mind bigger books at all. While it leads to the possibility for unnecessary information, larger books definitely make the world feel so much larger with the ability to include further details, have more scenes between certain characters, and flesh out things that would otherwise get a passing description. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars definitely takes advantage of these things, especially when it comes to the tools the characters use on their journey. This is definitely something that I prefer with sci-fi novels; while it is space opera, I do like to see some semblance of realism to a certain extent, so I appreciate these explanations. But if this isn’t your thing, just be mindful of that.

I also found the storyline and pacing to be very engaging throughout. With each part of this story there’s always new information to be discovered, different twists that alter the character’s plan of action, and other scenes that create balance with the above. I found balance to be the key here, because otherwise books with too many twists tend to be overwhelming – but I didn’t find that to be the case here.

My one main issue with To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was the characterization. While there were several scenes that served well for character development, and while this was a plot-centric story, the characters didn’t always feel fully fleshed out. Something that stuck with me for the whole novel was how the main character handled grief. Upon hearing the bad news you don’t really get any sort of reaction from her – and while denial at first is normal, we don’t even see that. There are some scenes that better display the character’s emotions, but this book could have been even stronger if this were more consistent.

All in all, I really enjoyed To Sleep in A Sea of Stars. I’d definitely recommend this one to fans of series like The Expanse, as well as those who enjoy plot-driven space operas. And if you’re new to the genre, I think this is a great pick as well; while there are some explanations of tools and technologies used, I’d definitely classify them as accessible descriptions for those new to the genre. This is definitely great for you as well if you enjoy some action and mystery in your science fiction books as well.

I don't even know where to start. If you read The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon) then you know how dense Christopher Paolini's writing is. Now, imagine it as a science fiction book and 880 pages of it. Yes, y'all. It was dense. So. much. happens! I don't know how to sum it up.

Kira is a scientist - has accident - alien form has created a skin over her body - superhero type powers - must learn control - Jellies (alien life form) attack humans - Nightmares attack Jellies and humans - humans afraid of Kira - Kira has answers but humans don't want to listen - Kira must find way to protect humans without the help of the human military.

It's worded so much better in the book, but I really can't fit it in a paragraph. This book is amazing!!! Seriously!! You want to read this. The descriptions of everything is fabulous. The science fiction is explained in a way that makes sense, but without boring me with all the details of why it makes sense. The plot is incredible. Kira wins me over from the beginning and the crew!!! Oh man! They're incredible. There is so much the reader learns about the characters which makes you love them even more. I just can't say enough good things about this phenomenal book.

Plot! YES!!!
Writing! YES!!!
Characters! YES YES!!!!!!!!

If you haven't figured it out yes, this one is getting all the stars (I feel like I'm missing an excellent opportunity for a pun here).

Originally, I was planning to give To Sleep in a Sea of Stars 4.5-stars and round up. After having some time to reflect on my reading experience, however, I can give this nothing but 5-stars. I CANNOT STOP thinking about it.

This novel is quite the accomplishment for Paolini. If I am remembering the Author's Note correctly, he worked on this project for nine years and it shows; as close to perfection as you can get.

In the beginning of the story, we meet and follow Kira Navarez, a xenobiologist, who discovers an alien relic while on a survey mission to an uninhabited planet. The relic isn't as dormant as it first appears and ends up contaminating and binding with Kira. This event has lasting repercussions, leaving her feeling responsible for some negative events that follow.

This is a story of first contact. I wasn't aware of that going in, although it says it directly in the synopsis, I missed it somehow. I love first contact stories. It's actually one of my favorite subgenres of Science Fiction. It is so well done here, you can definitely tell that Paolini is a Sci-Fi fan himself.

This story is so vast, it is hard to give brief plot points that would sum up the entirety of this novel's scope. There is so much that happens from the first time Kira comes in contact with the alien suit to the stunning conclusion. Reading this, I became so attached to her and the other characters as well. The crew that Kira travels with, defending the Universe, are the perfect rag-tag group of lovable rebels.

I loved how Paolini incorporated humor and witty banter into this story. It made the characters seem so real; they were reacting how you expect people in real life to react to such crazy and dire circumstances. I was so engaged throughout my time reading this. It did not feel like a close to 900-page story. I got through it way more quickly than I had anticipated.

I would note this is straight-up, good old-fashioned Science Fiction. If you are thinking this will be more SFF, based on Paolini's past works, you could be disappointed. If you do not normally enjoy Science Fiction, you may not like this. If you are a fan of Sci-Fi though, you will eat this up. The delicious science bits are woven throughout. Start-to-finish, the details are incredible.

Also, if you do pick this book up, be sure to read through the Appendices at the end. There's definitely a lot of interesting supplemental material there. My favorite being a timeline of events that lead up to the world as we find it at the beginning of the story. It basically fills in the blanks between our current world through Kira's time. It's not very long, but I found it to be a thoughtful addition to the story.

The audiobook is fantastic as well, if you think that would be a good option for you. At first, I was thinking, why didn't they go full cast, as there are quite a few characters. After getting into it, however, I never thought of it again. The narrator, Jennifer Hale, did an absolutely tremendous job bringing this story to life. She is such talented voice artist and I was shocked to learn that this is actually her first audiobook. Talk about coming out swinging!

I am going to be thinking about this story for a long time to come and would love to read it again someday. Highly, highly recommend!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tor Books, for providing me with both an e-book and audiobook copy of this release to read and review. I had so much fun with this story and hope Paolini continues to write Science Fiction for a long time to come!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my gifted copy. I received both the ebook and the audiobook. I'm glad I was able to get ahold of the audiobook because seeing how many pages this book has was a little overwhelming. Even the audiobook said it was over 30 hours long. I was skeptical at first but I really enjoyed this book. It made me think a lot about the Illumanae files by Jay Kristoff but an adult version. I feel the narrator did a great job as well. Despite how long it was it kept my interest.

I can’t tell you how many times I read the first 2 books of the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. I have fond memories of finishing Eldest for what must have been the dozenth time and immediately restarting it. I used to even read the three points-of-view separately all the way through and then re-read altogether. Needless to say, I am a fan and was thrilled to receive a full e-arc of Paolini’s newest book, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars! He has been working on this book for a decade and after finishing it, I am not surprised.

World-building: The best thing about the book was the incredible amount of thought that went into the laws of physics that would govern futuristic space travel and the intricacies of far flung colonization. I was utterly wow-ed by the amount of detailed universe-building that happened and it would be a shame if more aspects of it aren’t explored in the future.

Characters: I could have used more character development. There were A LOT of characters and that sometimes made it difficult to keep track, especially since I read this over a span of 3 weeks. That being said, there was still development, I just would have liked more for such a long book. It does feature a snarky, sometimes psycho Ship Mind (which is sort of like an AI but far more complicated) and I LOVED him. I also have to mention that while the main character is a pretty badass woman, it’s obvious she was written by a male author. It’s not the most egregious example I’ve seen by any means but it’s still an issue.

Plot: It’s a very plot-driven book and full of intense space battles. It has it’s fair share of slow parts, which is due in large part to the realistic space traveling laws Paolini created. It takes months to travel long distances and a good bit of time is spent on the necessities leading up to going into cryo, the actual traveling, and waking up afterward. I was intrigued throughout the whole book by the alien life forms that are encountered. Their differences were fascinating and humanities reactions were realistic. I had some issues with the timeline of the creation of the Nightmares/Corrupted but tried not to dwell on that too much. The ending had more of a scifi/fantasy type feel and made me wonder whether a 2nd book could be forthcoming.

Overall this is a 4 star read for me! It is an impressive work of science fiction and perfect for fans of more hard scifi type books like Artemis or The Martian with a touch of the extraterrestrial.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the Publisher for the e-arc!