To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

The quickest way I'd describe this book is it's a Young Adult novel. I know the jacket says it's Paolini's first adult novel but that's not the case. This is a book for teenagers. If you are a teenager, or like YA fiction, you might still enjoy this book. (Although I still think it's a bad book for YA too).

An easy way to spot YA fiction (and why I personally think its almost all shit) is because it's very, very easy to tell who's a "bad guy" or a "good guy". In even average fiction characters have some complexity of motivation and action, there is a "grayness" to the world. In fiction for children and teenagers, often the world is neat divisions of black and white.

I have a number of specific criticisms of the book. I made it to page 300 and it just became too painful to read.

*minor spoilers*

1) I have not read anything else of Paolini but he's not yet a good writer. His craft is shallow.

2) You can tell a book is bad when characters can be summed up in a single word. One character show more is summed up by being stern, another by being mysterious, the protagonist is nice. By those single descriptors you effectively know everything you need to know about each character. I don't need to describe the protagonist, Kira, beyond saying she is nice. That seems to sum up everything about her personality and drive.

3) A good chunk of the plot is a McGuffin to find, I kid you not, "The Staff of Blue". I wonder if the Sword of Shanarah popped up at the end of the book?

4) This has been said elsewhere, but the sex scenes are awkwardly atrocious. But even the relationships are 2 dimensional. The book opens with Kira and her lover Alan who is the most perfect and admirable boyfriend. They are going to start a wonderful life together. This boring perfect is of course a lazy setup for the doom to come.

5) Paolini clearly made no effort to do any sort of scientific research on space travel (theoretical or real). So the novel ends up as fantasy in space with blatantly wrong distances, science, etc. You don't need to be a science nerd to quickly pick up on the handwaving Paolini uses.

6) The book is 3x too long. By page 300 I was bored to tears and the plot was moving at a snail's pace (sorry to all snails). I can't imagine what Paolini filled the last 500 pages with.

This is the worst kind of fiction that takes lazy tropes from the genre and adds nothing in return. It's a Young Adult novel (which is fine if you're a teenager) that the publisher decided to call an "adult' novel.

The one star? It has a beautiful cover. Which fucking tricked me into buying this book! If only there was an aphorism that might have saved me... show less

DNF at 25%

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

First of all, I listened to 8 hours and 20 minutes of this book - it's a BEAST. I believe it's like 32 hours and 29 minutes total, which is simply too much for this story. I think Paolini wanted to be descriptive and really explain the world he's created (an amazingly complex universe), but I also think certain aspects of the book could have been condensed. I also wasn't 100% sold on certain parts of the story, and wish character development had been more of a priority (especially at the start), rather than extensive descriptions of planets and alien life.

Unfortunately, that's not what ruined this book for me. Oh, it's much worse than that... the main character, Kira, vomited into her alien spacesuit - where it had nowhere to go - so she basically ate and then choked on her puke. show more The author follows that by going into GREAT detail about how her barf then goes up her nose when she inhales (basically suffocating AND drowning on her own upchuck), and I just could not anymore with this book. That was too much, Paolini. Too. Much. 🤢

I also thought the author based a lot of the "alien" on Venom and the other Klyntar from Marvel. There were SO MANY similarities. How the alien attaches to her skin, how the alien can feel the pieces of itself that are no longer connected, how it functions to protect its host, how it communicates - the backstories were too alike to be coincidental. I wish Paolini's alien had been unique and something unrecognizable. I'm actually really curious if anyone else has made this connection, so let me know if you had similar thoughts while reading this one. Additionally, Kira called the alien "Soft Blade," but I always heard "Soft GLADE," which lessened the appeal for me. Neither name worked, to be honest.

Audiobook review: The narrator was PHENOMENAL. There are a ton of characters in this book, and she had a different voice for everyone. It was easy to keep the characters separate in my head, and I'm looking forward to listening to more books read by her in the future. (★★☆☆☆)

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Xenobiologist Kira Navárez knows the rules. She knows why they are in place. When you discover an alien site, don’t disturb it. More importantly, don’t touch anything. So when she literally falls into a forgotten alien reliquary while searching for a downed drone, she knows what to do, and what not to do. For the first time ever, she breaks the “don’t touch” rule. What harm could it do, right?

Except the xeno on site is now awakened, and some things can’t be undone. From that moment on, events twist out of Kira’s control, spiraling further by the day from her planned future with her fiancé and into a reality she could never have foreseen. The threat of in interspecies war looms large, and Kira will have to master her Self—the old and the new—if she is to save humanity from the brink of annihilation.

This is a non-stop, action-packed, hard science fiction space opera complete with time lags in space travel, cryosleep, multiple worlds with branches of humans show more throughout the galaxy, and all the rest. It’s incredibly intense at times, so much so that I had to put it down for a while at the (more or less) mid-point crisis because I needed a bit of a break from the tension. There is not a single moment of boredom to be found in the pages of To Sleep. I loved the science woven throughout the story, though I admit to not understanding a good deal of it. (It sounded plausible to me!) There is, however, some back matter material to explain some of the scientific details, for those who crave that sort of thing.

Yet even while the book is a page-by-page thrill ride, it’s also very character-driven with a good deal of diversity. Kira and her shipmates aboard the Wallfish are a family whose members care for, support, defend, and occasionally argue with one another. All of them grow throughout the story, ending as deeper, more defined characters than they began. I did keep hoping for a love relationship between Kira and Falconi (even though I’m not much of a romance fan), and … well, I don’t want to spoil it. You’ll have to read it to find out whether they get together in the end.

While the main threads of To Sleep are tied up nicely, there is plenty of room for a sequel. Apparently, that will be coming later this year, so keep your eyes open.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an excellent hard science fiction book with lots to love. Definitely recommended. show less

"While exploring a distant planet, [Kira Navarez] discovers an alien relic that thrusts her into an epic journey of transformation and discovery. Her odyssey will carry her to the far reaches of the galaxy. Earth and her colonies are on the brink of annihilation."
What can I say other than this was masterful. Normally sci-fi is not a genre that I gravitate towards, however, Paolini has changed me in regards to that. What drew me in immediately was the world. It is so well developed and believable. Every bit of technology, the cultural differences, and the alien species were so well thought out and rang true. I had no problems immersing myself into the world he created. Not only that, but the action scenes and space battles were so engaging and heart pounding I found myself racing through to see how things turned out.
The characters were also wonderful and multi-dimensional. I particularly love the secondary characters on the Wallfish, with Trig being my absolute favorite! Even Kira, show more who's decision making I found myself questioning with frequency, was an evolving and changing characters. Forced to face new circumstances that were ever changing and constantly thrown at her, I got to see Kira evolve and grow. And that to me was the highlight of this book. To get a character that evolves and changes dynamically was the piece de resistance!
Now there were a few things that I didn't love the first and biggest one for me was the timeline surrounding the development of the nemesis (which I shall leave un-named so as to avoid spoiling anything) that Kira and the universe face. 6 months is just not a believable timeline for that kind of development in my eyes and it was one of the few things that stopped me up short while reading with a "wait, what?!" Additionally, on occasion, Paolini did seem to go off on a philosophical tangent every now and again and while not, bad or uninteresting it distracted a bit from the main plot of the story. Lastly, while not a big deal in regards to the story or my enjoyment of it, I do wish that at least one of the original crew members on Adrasteia had been able to accompany Kira on her journey. It would have added another dimension to the story, which I would have enjoyed.
The final takeaway is that I was completely blown away by this book. A big thank you to bookishfirst for providing a first look copy as this was hands down one of the best and most immersive books I've read in a while! show less

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars blew me away. I would give it six stars if I could. This is the first book I have read by Christopher Paolini. The protagonist is Kira Navarez, a xenobiologist who is just wrapping up an assignment surveying a planet for colonization, when she discovers an alien artefact. An alien being binds with her and that is when she is thrust into tragedy, conflict and adventure. The pacing is hold-on-to-your-seat fast, but still allows for skillful world building and well-developed characters. Few people can write an 825 page novel; even fewer can write one that the reader can't put down. I love the science, technology and aliens in this future world. It is obvious that immense research and imagination went into this book and that it must have taken years to write. Spectacular, beautiful, stunning, intense and thought-provoking. Read it.

I don't usually like books set in space. As a consequence, I rarely read books set in space. In fact, I can think of only three books set in space that I've thoroughly enjoyed.* So where do I get off picking up an epic science fiction novel set in space that comes in at an impressive 880 pages? What can I say? Christopher Paolini made me do it!

This year I finished the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and when I learned To Sleep In A Sea of Stars was Paolini's first novel for adults, I requested an advance copy from the publisher immediately; such is my faith in his writing. I considered that if anyone could lure me into an interstellar battle to save humanity and hold my attention, it was Paolini. Thankfully I was right and I loved this chunkster!

Published today, To Sleep In A Sea of Stars kicks off very quickly with Xenobiologist Kira Navarez conducting a routine survey mission on a planet ahead of a planned colonisation. Kira finds an ancient alien relic and the action show more doesn't stop from that point on. There is always something happening with the only respite being when the crew are in cryo or recovering from their last skirmish.

I really enjoyed the pace and the character growth, and here's an example from Page 486:

Falconi: "So stop blaming yourself."
Kira: "I can't seem to help it."
Falconi: "Bullshit. The truth is you don't want to. It makes you feel good to blame yourself. You know why?"
Kira shook her head, mute.
Falconi: "Because it gives you a sense of control. The hardest lesson in life is learning to accept that there are some things we can't change."

The history and world building in the novel were very convincing and I enjoyed the introduction of different species and their back stories. My favourite character of the entire book was Itari and I adored the conversations between Kira and Itari. Thinking of them now brings a smile to my face.

Throughout the entire novel I was fully immersed in the world of battleships, cryo tubes, laser blasters, skinsuits, orbital rings, docking hubs and ship minds and I never felt like an impostor.

Travelling FTL (faster than light) didn't phase me, alien technology didn't confuse me and not once did I want to be 'spaced' out of the book. (That's when you're jettisoned out of an air lock to your inevitable death).

Since finishing the book, I've noticed that an enterprising Spotify user has created a playlist to listen to while reading the book. I've been enjoying it this week and it's fantastic. Just search for the book's title on Spotify to find the playlist.

Another thing I enjoyed about To Sleep In A Sea of Stars was the Afterword and Acknowledgements section where Paolini shares with the reader the way in which this novel came to life. The project ups and downs, multiple re-writes and detailed research over the course of many years, gave me an even greater appreciation for the depth and scope of the book, and respect for the author for not rushing it.

To Sleep In A Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini is a whopping epic science fiction novel bursting with adventure and I loved it! It even gave me pause to re-consider my reading tastes when it comes to science fiction and space operas and you can't ask for more than that.

Highly recommended!

* Check out my blog review for the titles: https://www.carpelibrum.net/2020/09/review-to-sleep-in-a-sea-of-stars-by-christo...

* Copy courtesy of Pan Macmillan Australia * show less

I was all set to mark To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini as a DNF after the first chapter. There is so much in the first quarter of the novel which reads like an extension of The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey. This includes terminology, anti-Earth sentiment, newly-found alien artifacts, the blending of alien and human biology, and consequences of that blending that impact the entire known universe.

A funny thing happened as I progressed to that twenty-five percent marker whereupon I would make my final decision. I started to care about the main character. A lot. I wanted to know more about what she was going to do with her Soft Blade issue. Moreover, I couldn’t tear myself away from the idea of an honest-to-goodness alien invasion and universe-wide war. And so a DNF turned into an 880-page devour.

Characters are not the heart of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. In fact, other than Kira, the rest of the cast consists of nothing but space opera archetypes with no show more character development. And there is nothing wrong with this. The near-constant action counteracts the lack of strong characters.

One of the best things about space operas, outside of the story, is how each author approaches aliens. More importantly, how each author approaches humanity’s reaction to concrete proof of aliens. In To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, that reaction is intriguing. The “shoot first, ask questions later” human traits takes a backseat to the need for adequate study and determination of threat level. In fact, it is the aliens who are the aggressors. Personally, I think this is a rather optimistic view of humanity, but it makes for interesting reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. It has everything I love about such stories, including so much space travel that it allows you to finally grasp the vastness of space. I liked it so much that I would love to see more of Kira’s story. Thankfully, Mr. Paolini left the ending open for more should he so choose. show less

4.5/5
NOTE: I won an advance copy of this book from BookishFirst. All reactions are my own.

I never read The Inheritance Cycle as a kid. I tried reading Eragon a few times and I made it partway through the film, but it was never something I could get into. I'm very picky about what kinds of fantasy books I like - the higher the fantasy and the more complex the world, the less likely I am to like it. Which is exactly what happened with Christopher Paolini's beloved books. It was a classic case of it's me not them. In that context, I was unsure what to expect when approaching To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, Paolini's first book for adults, and his first foray into science fiction. While I love a lot of sci-fi, would I like this? Would this novel connect with me in the way I wanted his others to? In short: yes. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a masterclass in genre storytelling. Intricately plotted, stuffed with multidimensional and endearing characters, and filled with enough action to make show more Hollywood jealous, it is a thrill from start to finish.

To get the obvious out of the way, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a long book. I mean, it's really long. But it manages to feel much shorter than it is. For the most part, it never feels like a moment is wasted. Paolini finds a good balance between world-building and character/plot development. It is apparent that he has created a sprawling universe in which the story is set, but he shows quite a bit of restraint in sharing that information. We learn about this world as it becomes relevant. Things may seem confusing at first, but they become clearer as the book progresses. There are plenty of exposition dumps, sure, but they are handled in ways that feel rooted in the needs of the characters and, as a result, feel natural to the reader. Plus, they’re balanced by some excellent action sequences - but more on that shortly.

So, with the novel deftly handling its world-building, you might think it has an insanely complex plot. And you'd be partially right, but not exactly. The novel's plot could fairly easily be boiled down to something simple. Something like: Kira, a xenobiologist, accidentally discovers and pairs with an alien symbiote. Then, all hell breaks loose as she finds herself at the center of a battle she is ill-prepared for. This wouldn't be an inaccurate synopsis, but it wouldn't do the book justice, either. I'd liken To Sleep in a Sea of Stars to some of the best-serialized television shows. It's a long story told over several parts. Various elements build off of those introduced early on, guiding the audience through twists and turns until eventually arriving at a resolution that takes all the threads of what's come before and weaves them into something new.

Now, sure, that could describe any and every well-told story. And you're right; it could. But what makes To Sleep in a Sea of Stars feel special is how well it does all of this. Paolini tells a complex story with a lot of moving Parts over the 800-odd pages. There is constantly a lot going on. There are few moments of true calm. But at no point does any of this feel overwhelming. At no point is it more confusing than it should be. It is expertly plotted, put together like a massive puzzle. Every piece has its place and it all adds up to the tapestry that is the whole of the narrative. It is insanely well-paced. The beginning of the book takes the requisite time to acquaint you with its world before speeding off into the meat of the story. From there, there is never a dull moment. There is a perfect blend of quieter moments where characters can shine and the narrative can be explored and big action scenes and tension-filled sequences that make you itch to keep reading. Every element of the narrative works in perfect harmony, demanding your attention.

Perhaps no element works as well as the novel's characters - and there are many of them. Our lead character, Kira, is the one whose story we follow. The narrative follows her perspective and it is her journey we track. She is both an audience surrogate, getting introduced to much of the book's crazier aspects at the same time as the audience, and a fully developed character who we immediately empathize with. It is through her that many of the novel's bigger ideas are explored - what makes us human? If given power, would we create or would we destroy? How can the isolation of space change a person? These questions, and others, are central to Kira's journey and are central to the novel. Paolini crafts a compelling story around this already compelling character and it makes for an engaging read.

Kira isn't the only interesting character, though. She's surrounded by a cast of equally interesting characters, both human and alien alike. Much of the novel is spent with Kira aboard the Wallfish, a smuggling ship crewed by Falconi and his crew. Every member of the crew is given the chance to shine, with each of them feeling multi-dimensional and as real as someone you might find on the street. Populating the novel with characters as realistic as these grounds some of the crazier elements of the books. It makes the whole universe feel lived in, which makes us more receptive to the weirder characters we meet. And we meet a lot of weird characters - from aliens to artificial intelligences to sentient technology. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is filled to the brim with creative and engaging characters, all of whom compel you to spend time with them and all of whom feel wholly unique and interesting.

As impressive as all this is, Paolini's prose is almost as impressive. As I said, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, having never read one of his novels to completion. But here, Paolini manages a good balance between thoroughly describing things and leaving things to his readers' imaginations. I, personally, am not a big fan of lots of descriptions. I like it when authors describe enough so that I get the gist of what something looks like, but leaves the rest up to my imagination. Paolini does this very well here, particularly when it comes to describing the aliens. He gives enough details that you have a good starting place but allows you to fill the rest in. The same is true with his action scenes, another element that is easy to overly describe. At no point do you ever feel lost in the action, stranded without a clue what's going on, but you're also not bogged down in endless descriptions of tactical moves. Paolini keeps everything very brisk and maintains a good tension throughout all of his prose. That's actually a good way of describing his writing here in general. For a book that's as long as To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is, Paolini manages to make it feel brisk and filled with tension and excitement. It's no easy task and it's something worth praising.

At the end of the day, I can't praise To Sleep in a Sea of Stars enough. While I didn't know what to expect from this book, I was blown away by what I read. It's a long book that feels about half as long as it is. It's so intricately plotted that it manages to be both understandable and hints at rewards to be found in subsequent rereads. It's filled with sympathetic and relatable characters who feel distinct, fully developed, and realistic. There's blockbuster-level action scenes and engaging moments of thought and philosophy. It's everything you want from a sci-fi epic, and even more. If you've never read a book from Christopher Paolini, this is the place to start. And if you're looking for a sprawling space opera, packed with intriguing ideas and an exciting story, you should absolutely read this book. show less

So when I first heard about this book, it was the story that lured me in. I had read some of the Eragon series but the author wasn't the reason I wanted to read it. I then heard some negative feedback which made me hesitate momentarily about reading but boy am I glad I took the plunge. This was a fantastic, large scale science fiction story which I have not had the pleasure of reading for some time. The characters are well written, developed and relatable.
Kira, the main character was so great getting to know. She really ended up being a real bad ass super hero!
I felt like the Matrix soundtrack could be playing while she fought aliens! LOL
I really loved the crew of the Wallfish. When Kira met up with them and got them involved with her journey I really got a "Firefly" vibe off of the ragtag crew. The characters were funny and engaging. Their relationships were believable.
Without saying anything about how it ended, well it was mind blowing. I really felt that it left an opening for show more there to be more to the story but it could easily work as a stand alone story. I highly recommend this book. show less

Poor. Started very promisingly, indeed I enjoyed the first 400 pages, but went rapidly downhill. Promising characters were not developed, the prose became repetitive and the plot became childish. If I hadn't got so far I would have abandoned it, and I very rarely do that. I kept hoping it would recover and finish strongly, but it proved to be a vain hope.

Vast sci-fi that’s packed full of info and events. It was overwhelming to read, but I enjoyed it. I’m disappointed with the ending but I also agree it had to be this way. I’m a sucker for endings and this one has me torn. Still a great story though.

For his first venture into sci-fi, departing from his earlier success in fantasy, Paolini does a pretty good job of building a world that feels unique. The book does suffer in a few places though. He introduces a few characters/concepts that have immense build up, only to be quickly written off and never acknowledged again until the end, clearly aiming for future books in the same universe. While I don't begrudge him setting up for future books, it was done in such a way that a whole chunk of the book felt like it could have been left off without changing much at all.

The other issue is that so much happens in the book, that the main character is constantly having to reexplain events to several people, leading to many instances of "Kira then explained everything that had happened" which just really killed the flow in parts.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars begins on a happy day in Kira Navárez’s life. She and her fellow pre-colonization expedition are wrapping things up after studying a planet to verify it is safe for colonization. They’re ready to leave, her lover Alan has asked her to marry him and they are even hoping to come back and help settle this planet. However, a drone saw something puzzling and she jets off to check it out. She discovers an alien artifact or, it could be said an alien artifact discovers her. From there, the story spirals into a an existential battle for the survival of humanity.

This is a massive sci-fi adventure that happens well after we have learned FTL (faster than light) technology and the use of cryogenic stasis for long-term travel. We have been colonizing planets for three hundred years with only one sign of extraterrestrial intelligence, a huge construct that was certainly created by alien life, but those who built it are long gone. But once Kira finds the artifact, show more suddenly colonies are under attack by not one but two kinds of aliens, the Jellies and the Corrupted. What role did her discovery play in this new threat to humanity.

Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an exciting and gorgeous book. I love the world-creation and the imagination that gives us aliens who are not the usual bipeds. They are truly alien. I love how different their language is and how completely different their understanding of free will and existence is. Paolini imagines such a vibrant and different species with the Jellies that I am blown away.

It was hard to put the book down and I stayed up into the wee hours more than once. I hate to tell you anything because I don’t want to spoil any of the surprises and excitement of discovery. I love that this story is very much about Kira vs. Kira as much as about Kira and humanity vs. the aliens. I loved so many characters, most of whom were far more complex than most secondary characters. Exciting plot, well-developed characters, and a strong sense of place in places we have never been come together in a phenomenal book.

I received an e-galley of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars from the publisher through NetGalley.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars at Tor/Forge Macmillan

Christopher Paolini author site
https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2020/09/15/9781250762849/ show less

Space nerds rejoice! Christopher Paolini’s space opera is a grand adventure, and you can tell that he had enormous fun writing “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars.” The book is not too cerebral or nerdy on the surface; Paolini put all the weird science in Appendices I and II so that you can take a deep dive if so inclined. You should not read this book without consulting “Appendix III, Terminology. “ As for the bizarre dream sequences, hang in there: all will be revealed.

Xenobiologist Kira Navárez hopes for a happily-ever after with her fiance as colonists on a faraway planet. Instead, while Kira is exploring her possible new home, she catches an alien parasite which bonds to her and creates a second skin or “suit” with healing powers. The “xeno” says its name is “Soft Blade,” and Kira finds herself sort of a combination Venom and Wolverine. Soft Blade doubles as body armor and also has the ability to take her into a hibernation state without the need for cryogenics, show more which is handy for space travels.

When Kira ends up on board the Wallfish with a temperamental motley crew of space smugglers, she and her symbiotic Soft Blade lead them on potentially deadly missions, fighting alien races that are hostile to humans and to each other.

This is a miniseries-ready novel. In fact, Paolini went ahead and wrote the whole miniseries. It seems overlong in parts, and there are multiple names for the same thing, even accounting for human vs. alien vocabulary. My patience with some of the slower chapters was more than rewarded by space hijinks galore: annoying bureaucracy, a sly Wodehouse reference, funny dialogue, steamy romance, epic gory battles, and artful brush-strokes of characterization that made me slowly fall in love with every last Wallfish crew member.

I particularly adored the AI Ship Mind, Gregorovich, who never says a word when 20 words will do. Gregorovich was once accidentally marooned in space for five years and is a bit. . .off.

Just when you think Kira has reached the limits of Soft Blade’s powers, she makes more discoveries, each more amazing than the last. The ending of the final mission was not at all what I expected, but I found it to be very original and moving. As it turns out, the universe can’t just be saved once and for all.

Most highly recommended for fellow travelers through this universe who don’t like to take themselves or their books too seriously.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley and was encouraged to submit a review. show less

I thought that I was going to just drag myself to finish or get through this book. When in reality I had to drag myself away from this book. I fully love this story more than I thought I would. The story as a whole had me diving head-first into this universe, but then the characters had me in a chokehold that refused to let me go. This book left me with so many emotions that I still don't know how I feel about it. I want to know so much more about Kira but mainly about the adventures of the Wallfish crew. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I wrapped up the month of March with To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini. I picked up the book solely because the author wrote The Inheritance Cycle, which were childhood favorites of mine. Little did I know that To Sleep in a Sea of Stars would become one of my all-time favorite SciFi novels! It was an epic journey that not only told a moving story of identity clashing with morality, but also included extremely loveable characters in this reader’s opinion. Not to mention that Paolini seamlessly incorporated philosophical ideas and puns, which made this philosophy major have multiple fangirl moments!

Well, I've finally decided to dnf this one at about the halfway mark. I hate to do it but it's just too darn long to slog through to the end of it when I'm really not enjoying it. Apologies to all of you who love it so much; I don't mean you're wrong to like it, just that it's not for me.

Here's why:

I do not like the main character, Kira. She goes back and forth between complaining about other people blaming her for the various things that go wrong, and blaming herself for the things that go wrong. She doesn't tell other people what's going on with her and then coerces them in various ways into going into dangerous situations with her. Dangerous not only to their lives but to the future of the human race. There's no reason they should trust her, and many reasons they should not, but they do it anyway.

The narrative goes very abruptly from discovery of the first alien artifact (or actually second) to humanity being embroiled in a galaxy-wide war between a couple of incomprehensible show more ancient alien races.

In a fantasy-like theme, these human space voyagers embark on a quest for some kind of a magic sword thingy. Really? Are dragons next? [Edited to add (10/22): when I wrote this I didn't know Paolini was famous for a dragon series.]

For no particular reason there are a pair of members of a knowledge-seeking cult traveling along with the interstellar war-quest group. Oh, I'm sure there will turn out to be some value to them but why are they there in the first place?

I rather like some of the people, in particular the ship minds, but for me the whole thing just doesn't hang together. show less

"While exploring a distant planet, [Kira Navarez] discovers an alien relic that thrusts her into an epic journey of transformation and discovery. Her odyssey will carry her to the far reaches of the galaxy. Earth and her colonies are on the brink of annihilation."
What can I say other than this was masterful. Normally sci-fi is not a genre that I gravitate towards, however, Paolini has changed me in regards to that. What drew me in immediately was the world. It is so well developed and believable. Every bit of technology, the cultural differences, and the alien species were so well thought out and rang true. I had no problems immersing myself into the world he created. Not only that, but the action scenes and space battles were so engaging and heart pounding I found myself racing through to see how things turned out.
The characters were also wonderful and multi-dimensional. I particularly love the secondary characters on the Wallfish, with Trig being my absolute favorite! Even Kira, show more who's decision making I found myself questioning with frequency, was an evolving and changing characters. Forced to face new circumstances that were ever changing and constantly thrown at her, I got to see Kira evolve and grow. And that to me was the highlight of this book. To get a character that evolves and changes dynamically was the piece de resistance!
Now there were a few things that I didn't love the first and biggest one for me was the timeline surrounding the development of the nemesis (which I shall leave un-named so as to avoid spoiling anything) that Kira and the universe face. 6 months is just not a believable timeline for that kind of development in my eyes and it was one of the few things that stopped me up short while reading with a "wait, what?!" Additionally, on occasion, Paolini did seem to go off on a philosophical tangent every now and again and while not, bad or uninteresting it distracted a bit from the main plot of the story. Lastly, while not a big deal in regards to the story or my enjoyment of it, I do wish that at least one of the original crew members on Adrasteia had been able to accompany Kira on her journey. It would have added another dimension to the story, which I would have enjoyed.
The final takeaway is that I was completely blown away by this book. I'm super grateful to Bookishfirst for providing me with a first look copy since it was hands down one of the best and most immersive books I've read in a while! show less

Spoiler-free review.

"To Sleep in a Sea of Stars" is a beautiful book. Its strengths are its world building and its characters. I read sci-fi, but I'm not the MOST well-versed sci-fi reader, so I'm sure people who are more knowledgeable or read almost exclusively from the genre may disagree, but: I thought the world building was out of this world good. I haven't felt so immersed in a fictional world in a long time. And the characters--I really liked Kira, and Falconi was SO GOOD.

Not so good things...really, it's mainly one thing. It was definitely too long. Even though I enjoyed it, it dragged in so many places. Knowing that this is just the first book in a series makes me feel even worse about this, because as book series go on they usually get longer. I'm just not as excited as I could be for the next one.

*ARC from BookishFirst

One thing I love about sci-fi is that the genre allows for so much room for imagination, thinking outside what has already been done, and really pushing the boundaries of expectations. I thought there was going to be quite a lot of these things in TSIASOS, but unfortunately, this novel falls flat in many, many ways. While the core plot (a xenobiologist in space finds and physically bonds with a strange, alien orangism) is intriguing, the originality ends there and the actual story feels familiar and repetitive. I'm just going to bulletpoint a list of pros/cons to get out my thoughts on this 800 page book:

PROS
-an alien organism that bonds with a human host à la "Venom". I genuinely love that setup and want to read more stories like that!

-the found family aspects. I'm a sucker for found family and just enjoying seeing it in books.

-the relationship between Kira and Itari, and their discussions together about culture, life, and morals. The discussions these two had were the most show more interesting parts of the book for me, and I think more of that content would have been amazing!

CONS
-the plot is SO. REPETITIVE. Arcs of action are practically copy/pasted and just rewritten in slightly different situations. This gets really bad when the crew is constantly going into cryogenic sleep as they travel back and forth between plants/space stations. After a while it really just feels like reading in circles, and makes the story veryyyy predictable and veryyyy boring.

-Kira, the main character, has zero personality. She's a xenobiologist who loves her fiancé, and she cares about her family.....and that's it. The lack of personality becomes apparent very quickly and makes the 800 pages seem even longer. I couldn't tell you what makes Kira happy, what her goals are (maybe having a house & family one day?), what motivates her, her beliefs, her emotional upbringing, her likes and dislikes (other than a drink called "chell"), just NOTHING. Kira is SO BLAND, it's like eating a piece of dried chicken with not even salt for flavor.

-Minor Spoiler here: no one major dies. Aside from the death of Alan (which happens within the first 10% so it's not really a spoiler) basically no major character we're meant to care about dies. This is especially annoying because the characters are constantly wounded/maimed/have life-threatening injuries but are all ultimately able to be saved by a vaguely defined sci-fi science. After a while of characters being saved time and time again, the story starts to feel very low-stakes.

-The idealization of the military/Marines. Holy cow, Paolini must have a thing for the military or something because there are just chunks of pages that talk about how cool Marines are, how cool guns are, how BUFF and RIPPED Marines are, how the Marines/military teach people such good values, etc. It felt like straight up military propaganda and was super weird, almost forced into the story multiple times.

-The long explanations of fictional science that add almost nothing to the story. There are paragraphs where a character or just the narration is explaining something about faster than light (FTL) travel or about the tech that makes this possible or something similar, and...for what?? These bits could have been significantly trimmed down but instead were dragged out, without ever adding anything to the plot.

-The ending. Bruh. That ending was both incredibly convoluted and way too Happily Ever After. I felt so cheated at the end of the book! Spoilers here, but essentially after the Big Bad is defeated, Kira is able to literally create this kind of utopia, followed by her gathering all her friends around (again, none of them died) and create magical, life-altering gifts for all of them in this incredibly cheesy scene that made me gag a little.
The thing that was so bad about this is that Kira basically stops becoming a human and is now a kind of god who can make or do anything. And when the story, the main character, has NO limits and anything is possible, then really nothing is possible. There are no obstacles, no challenges, nothing to actually create more of a story. It's no wonder the book ended there, because after this point, Kira can now do anything and the need for storytelling is gone.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2020, but honestly is now the biggest letdown. I don't think I'd really ever recommended it either: if you love sci-fi stories then you've probably already read something similar or just BETTER than this, and if you don't like sci-fi then TSIASOS definitely isn't the place to start trying to like it. And if you're like me and enjoyed the Inheritance Cycle as a young reader and want more Paolini? Well....maybe just reread Eragon. show less

DNF near the beginning. This is slog right from the getgo, just like anything of Paolini's post-"Eragon". And that's not just because the opening is way too many pages on the protagonist being angry at a computer.

Also, Paolini continues to just rip-off and badly reference other stories/authors. I thought the "Babylon 5" references were crass and the Heinlein reference was weird, but then this became some mash of Venom/"Mass Effect"/"Alien" that's also just a SF retread of "Eragon" and it was just embarrassing. Of course this explains why he got Jennifer Hale to do the audiobook (besides just the neatness factor of getting Jennifer Hale to record your audiobook). Who better to read your "Mass Effect" rip-off than Commander Shepard? I assume Sigourney Weaver, if asked, said no. I love "Babylon 5" but I was just grossed out by this. If you want to write "Mass Effect" fanfiction, that's fine, and crossover fanfiction is fine. But stop trying to sell it as original fiction.

I had low show more expectations. I hoped he'd improved in the couple years since 2018. Looks like he didn't. If you want fun SF that's well-written about planet exploration and invasive suits, read "The Murderbot Diaries" by Martha Wells. That's not the whole focus, but the first novella focuses a bit on it, and it's wonderful. Or just pick up most any book starring Venom. Or watch "Alien". show less

When you're as successful an author as Christopher Paolini, there's bound to be a lot of high expectations for any book that comes after a much-beloved series (see J.K. Rowling and The Casual Vacancy). Fortunately, Paolini's latest novel does not disappoint in the very least. A cross between Alien and Star Wars, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars reimagines our world in the future, when space travel is commonplace and humans have colonized widespread galaxies. However, our understanding of the universe is irrevocably changed when Kira Navárez stumbles across a mysterious alien relic, sparking an intergalactic war.

Clocking in at nearly 900 pages, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an absolute behemoth of a novel. Due to its considerable length, I assumed the novel would be a slow burn with most of the early chapters dedicated to world-building; on the contrary, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars wastes no time and leaps into the action from the start. Paolini also pays homage to the greats that came show more before him. Fans of genre fiction will recognize the elements of the story that take inspiration from classic sci-fi and comic book traditions like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Venom. For readers that may be squeamish when it comes to blood and gore, there is quite a bit of body horror in some key scenes.

It's clear that Christopher Paolini took his time with this novel, not just in terms of its length but also in terms of fleshing out the universe that he has imagined. While the story is very plot-driven, it does so at no expense to its character development or world building. The author has crafted a complex story populated with its own people, culture, history, and terminology (complete with a comprehensive appendix of terms, maps, and timelines). To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is incredibly dense--both literally and figuratively--but Paolini writes in such an easy and engaging way that makes the pages fly by. Overall, this is a fantastic start to a new series, and I already can't wait for the next installment in the Fractalverse.

Full disclosure: I received an advance reading copy (thanks Tor!) and my review is based on an uncorrected proof. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars will be available in bookstores nationwide on September 15, 2020. show less

This one took some time to read but it was so worth it, I literally drowned in this universe that Paolini wrote, it was immaculate. I didn’t feel the need to rush myself to finish this book, everything simply took its time and I enjoyed it so much. There was never too much or not enough information given and I always stayed interested. I love the way that Kira evolved and I hope that there will also be a sequel, I know that there’s a prequel coming out soon and I’ve already decided I’m going to read it as soon as I can, I really hope the fractalverse expands and that all the books are written like this, it was magical, I felt like I was genuinely floating around in space and seeing everything. Literally one of the best science fiction books I’ve ever read.

Prior to reading To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, I had not read any of the books by Paolini. Though I had been meaning to for a long time. As a lover of Sci-Fi, when this book came out I felt it was the perfect opportunity to finally read one of his books. Glad I did because it is a great story.
Kira Navarez is a xenobiologist working with a group of scientists to survey an uninhabited planet. By chance she discovers an ancient alien artifact. When the artifact bonds with her everything changes. Humans make first contact with an alien species, a war erupts, and the fate of all humanity seems to rest with her.
That is a lot for any person to take in and I loved that the author gave us this strong and tenacious main character who happens to be female. Kira for sure endured a lot and most people would have given up and thrown the towel in. Despite her personal doubts and blaming herself for the events that happened, she worked through them.
Her internal dialogue with herself hit home for show more me. It felt real and made her character not only believable but gave her a lot of depth. For me, character development is critical to a successful story and especially one that is a sweeping drama. Paolini really delivered here.
As much as I loved the character development and world building, there were places that the book dragged a bit. However, I was so invested in the story that I soldiered on because I wanted to know what fate had in store for Kira. If the story had been just a little tighter I would have given it five stars instead of four.
Despite my one complaint, this is a fabulous story and I highly recommend it to all lovers of Sci-Fi. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.
For more of my reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com. show less

There's so much to love about this epic tome. I adored the Wallfish characters, and the interactions between Kira and the family they all became were by far my favourite aspect of the book. Every scene that took place on the small ship went straight to my heart.

I was less enthused with the overly long space battles. It reminded me of why I'm not a Star Wars fan. The endless battles just bore me -- and boy, does Paolini go on and on when it comes to space battle. (If that's your thing, you'll be delighted!)

Personally, I wanted more character development, more genuine interaction between them, more banter and camaraderie. What I got was absolutely delightful, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I did find some of the plot convoluted in a way that seemed unnecessary (almost as though the author was trying to make individual plot decisions "fit" with the story he was telling), and I was less-than-thrilled with the ending, but overall I'm happy I read this.

Recommended: yessss
for big book aficionados, for a story that takes its time in unfolding, for a plot that weaves in and out and around until you're entirely surrounded in it, for adult Paolini goodness that shows how much he's grown as an author

Thoughts:
The elephant in the room is actually the book itself, because it's about as big as an elephant. It's about 820 pages of story, with another 50 or so pages of addenda at the end. Yes, if you decide to commit to this book, you need to really be ready to commit to this book.

And the obvious followup question is if it's worth it. To that, I would say definitely yes, but there will probably be times when reading where it doesn't feel it. This was a strange experience where every time I read the book, I loved it and couldn't wait for more. But in between sessions, I almost grimaced at the thought of picking it back up again because I had been reading it for so long already! I think this is ultimately a personal issue, which I navigated by show more reading a few shorter books of other genres during the month-ish time that I tackled TSIASOS. If you're the same, have a plan going in.

Paolini definitely delivered on content and story in that amount though. There was hardly a dull moment, and the story just grows and grows and grows until you find yourself amazed at where you've ended up only halfway through compared to where you started. And let me tell you, where you end is even more incredible of a journey. show less

Paolini, Christopher. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. Tor, 2020.
Yes, he is that Christopher Paolini, the wunderkind who wrote the first book of the Inheritance Cycle when he was a teenager and after that series disappeared for almost a decade. Now we have from him a massive tome of a space-opera, super-heroine, first contact story. Kira is a newly married xenobiologist on a newly colonized planet. She stumbles into an alien artifact that that takes over her body and becomes a sentient suit of armor that turns her into a superweapon. It is The Guyver with spikes—if that bit of Japanese pop culture is still in your memory banks. There are other aliens who communicate with smell. There is a spacecraft crew that will remind you of The Expanse crew. There are chapter titles in Latin for no reason I can discern. There is a big appendix that tells you how faster than light travel works. There is a timeline. Somewhere I must have missed is the kitchen sink. It wants so bad to be a multimedia show more best seller. There is a movie deal. Stay tuned. Three weary stars. show less

Holy Shiitake !!!!
That was amazing ! I just read 800 plus pages and it felt like 100. I couldn't get enough, I was so invested into his world and his characters, I was there. Yes it was like that ! This author creates worlds that are so vivid and layered, his characters are flawed, fantastically realistic and he's getting stronger with each book he writes. I could not recommend this book enough. Yes it is an alien space movie but it isn't really an alien story this is a life story. If you read Eragon you must read this next level in his work.
Please someone make a movie series from this book !!!!!

For the most part, "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars" is a rich, entertaining space opera telling an interesting story. It has the hallmarks of hipster SFF nowadays, too: a Plucky Female Lead, an Ancient Alien Artifact, a patently-alien Alien Race, a Lost Civilization, an edgy Lesbian Couple, a Mal Reynolds stand-in, lots and lots of steely Space Marines, rigid and angry Military Forces, and plenty of Spin-Off Points. Even has appendices to show the author knows a physicist. Yup. Cool, huh?

What hampers this book more than anything, however, is the crafting of it. I'm not sure how much hard-SF Paolini has read, but it's clear who his audience is. There are hundreds of pages of shoot-'em-up, KA-BOOM "oh-my-God-run!", running fire-fights and space-combat scenes in the 825 pages of text. That's not drama, that's video games. The action-film pacing took away from the Sense of Wonder I kept trying to re-establish with the story, so much so that I set the book down about 2/3 into it and did show more laundry instead. And if there'd been ONE more reference to Ctein as the "great and terrible", I'd have mulched this book, cost be damned.

Why 3.5 stars then? Because there are parts I loved. There is a scene in which Kira (the Lead) and Falconi (the ship captain) play cards for odd but high stakes and scope each other out; I found the scene gripping, expository, and entertaining as hell. It is probably my favorite scene. There's no shooting, screaming, bleeding, or acceleration in it. Didn't need it. There was enough of good story here to bump this from 3 to 3.5 stars, but the More Shooting Is Better ideal 'put a knife in the heart of wonder' and blocks higher appreciation for me. show less

I’ve read an enormous amount of science fiction over the years, from Asimov, Herbert and Clarke to more recently, Stephenson, Reynolds and Hamilton. This book appeared intriguing, so I picked it up with high hopes. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment.

If I could choose one word to describe it, it would be “bloated”, terribly bloated. The book checks in at around 900 pages. It could easily have been reduced to 600 pages. Now, I don’t mind long books. I read Peter Hamilton’s 3,000 page Night’s Dawn trilogy. This book was simply way longer than it needed to be. I enjoy reading before sleeping and can usually go through a 500 page book in 10-12 days. It took me forever to finish this book because I simply began falling to sleep after reading 20 pages or so. It dragged terribly.

In addition, it was needlessly confusing, introducing an assortment of alien races and using different names to identify them. Every race seemed to have 2-3 different names, depending upon who was show more speaking.

The world building was not bad and the science fiction was pretty hard. In fact, there are a couple of appendices with charts and tables that purport to explain the science behind FTL travel. Not being a physicist, I cant comment on their accuracy, other than to say, if they were accurate, we would have FTL travel.

I can’t recommend spending the time required to wade through this one. show less

I received this novel from Tor Books through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review: my thanks to both of them for this opportunity.

I was very curious to sample Christopher Paolini’s writing: although aware of his Inheritance fantasy cycle, I never read it, and the brief excerpt for To Sleep in a Sea of Stars that I found online, once the campaign for this book was launched, sounded very intriguing, sporting many of the elements I enjoy in Science Fiction. Unfortunately, after a promising and intriguing beginning, I felt myself progressively losing interest in the story and I had to abandon it at the 32% mark - namely at page 262 of its quite considerable 800+ pages run.

In short, the novel focuses on Kira Navarez, an exobiologist attached to a corporation conducting feasibility studies on planets marked for possible colonization. At the beginning of the story Kira and the rest of the team are preparing to leave their latest assignment when in the course of a last-minute show more survey Kira stumbles on an alien artifact: this encounter leaves her profoundly - even dangerously - changed and launches a series of events culminating in an alien invasion and a devastating intergalactic war.

Where the premise sounds intriguing - and there is no doubt that the inciting incident back at the base has a delightfully creepy Alien vibe - the execution did not meet my (admittedly fastidious) tastes. The novel leans heavily toward plot rather than characterization, and this for me is certainly a problem because I need to connect with characters to enjoy a story; moreover, what characterization there was - either concerning Kira or the secondary figures - felt flat and at times more in service of the plot than of the characters themselves.

Kira’s personality is very contradictory: she is presented as an exobiologist driven by the need to explore new worlds, to apply her knowledge to the expansion of humanity, and yet once she falls in love with one of her co-workers and he proposes marriage she’s ready to throw it all to the four winds in exchange for marital bliss, children and the dream of a white-fenced house. Then she is subjected to a very traumatic loss and even more traumatic experiences of torture and experimentation, and yet none of this seems to leave her with any permanent scars, or the remotest hint of PTSD. To top it all off, she evolves in a very, very short period of time from a mousy, lab-bound scientists into this super-hero, ass-kicking warrior without any perceivable hint of how the transformation took place.

Secondary characters fare little better, since they looked to me more formulaic than gifted with distinctive personalities, and so we have, for example, a lovably roguish ship captain; a stern, uncompromising XO; a kindly doctor; and the required gangly and goofy teenager. All of the above provided sometimes wooden, sometimes embarrassing dialogues that although set into a highly energetic but somewhat confused story made my progress through the novel an arduous slog, compounded by what looked like excessive wordiness. Still, I tried to soldier on because the angle of the alien invasion, with its hordes of weird, scary creatures, is certainly intriguing, but I was also puzzled by the overall tone which at times seemed to veer toward YA standards, although the novel is labeled as adult fiction - a prime example being the description of shipboard pets which include a cat and a pig (yes, a pig, I kid you not), both of them provided with velcro-like adhesive pads so they could move in free fall….

While I can see the potential for this story, I have to acknowledge my disappointment in the way it is delivered: it is certainly a classic case of “it’s not you, it’s me” and I’m looking forward to learning what other fellow bloggers will think of this novel, particularly when I’m aware of the finicky personal tastes I quoted above. show less

The characters in this story become real pretty quickly, and the action never lulls for long. I picked this book solely for the author as I liked the Eragon series. I was not disappointed in the book, it was creative and I don't feel like there was anything left undone. It did not end in a way that left me feeling very satisfied , but neither did it make me want more. If there's a sequel I will probably pick it up for kindle, provided it isn't too expensive but if there's never another one, I'm okay with that too. Overall, I enjoyed it and found the writing to be well done.

Wow! What a phenomenal book! When Paolini says this is his love letter to science fiction, he wasn't lying. He threw elements from all of science fiction (Alien, Firefly, Star Trek, Starship Troopers, on and on) into a huge calderon and birthed To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. Super easy 5/5 stars. More would be given if possible. It's a big book, but not once did it feel like I was reading a novel with over 300k words. I started this book not knowing what to expect, and I never would have anticipated falling in love with it by the end.

When I read that this book took Christopher Paolini 9 years to write, I realized he had put all of his creative effort into telling a story that really meant something to him. Nobody puts 9 years into something that is only a "story.'' I knew I had to read this book! I enjoyed his first books -- The Inheritance Cycle. And I love, love, LOVE science fiction. So I was hopeful that this book would really wow me....

And it did.

OMG. I got pulled right into the characters, the action, the plot. I enjoyed reading my digital galley...got half way through....and started over again with the audio book version because this was a story that I wanted to HEAR told to me. Not just that....but I can listen more than I can sit down and read a physical copy due to commuting to work, household chores...you know, adulting. The audio book let me devour this story much faster than I could have reading the physical review copy....

The basics: Kira Navarez is a xenobiologist. She is assigned a routine show more survey mission, and dutifully goes about her job. But, then it all goes wrong....or right and then wrong from her point of view. She discovers an alien relic and is overjoyed, but that joy soon turns to horror as she has an encounter with something on the planet that will change her life forever.

I'm not saying anything else about the plot! Read (or listen to) the book! If you enjoy sci-fi action or space operas -- you will love this book!

The audio is 32 hours long -- but worth every minute. Jennifer Hale does a superb job of voice acting. Very enjoyable listen! The front cover art is phenomenal, too!

This story is action packed, emotional, thought provoking and very very entertaining for this sci-fi fan! I can't wait to see what else Paolini is going to write! I hope I don't have 9 years to wait! But, even if I do, I will gladly read whatever he publishes next!

**I voluntarily read both the digital galley and the audiobook versions of this novel from Macmillan/Tor-Forge/Macmillan Audio for review purposes. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** show less

Ah, I wasn't a fan of Eragon (traveling, traveling, traveling) when I read it way back in the day, so I was hesitant to try To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. But I'm so glad I gave the audiobook (clocking in at 33 hours) a try. The narration by voice actress Jennifer Hale, on her first outing as an audiobook narration, was superb! I hope she does provide more audiobook narrations.

This space opera started out very strong for me. I enjoyed the ride.
Some parts reminded me of one of my favs, The Expanse series, by James S.A. Corey.

I wasn't sold on the ending. Is this going to be an open-ended exploration or will we be getting a sequel? It can be a standalone which would please me as well. There is a prequel, Fractal Noise, which I will try.

Not a 5 star for me because of main protagonist Kira's personality: I grew tired of the phrases "It's all my fault" and "Too slow/not fast enough". I wanted Kira to LEARN from past decisions and be ready to make better ones/stop complaining!

Narrated by Jennifer Hale.

First Contact with an alien/xeno organism with overtones of the Aliens film series (Kira seems like a ringer for Ripley to me) or maybe Venom; followed by contact with an alien civilization that was truly foreign to our own (and threatens our very existence).

This is a long a very long (30 hours) story that starts out a little rough. The narration was pretty good; however, some voices periodically had an unnatural feel to them for me (mostly with the 'softer' tone she used to represent Kira's inner voice, but I am actually quite picky in that regard). Most of it was rock solid though ... especially the action dialog. After awhile, I either got used to it, or the narrator hit her stride, because it didn't bother me much toward the end and I remain absolutely impressed with the range of voices supporting her narration.

This is a plot driven story that builds slowly as Paolini introduces each piece before settling down to tell the real story. He does this with show more the skill of a master story teller; however, the tempo may lose some readers before you get to the best parts. Be patient ... it is totally worth it. Unfortunately, the final combat scene was painfully drawn out, and once the main conflict is resolved, the story redshifts into fantasy and coasts for way too long (making the story something of a bell curve with respect to how much I enjoyed it). This is the primary reason it doesn't get 5* from me.

Character Building: Before the early supporting characters faded from the narrative, I found them to be extremely shallow, irritating and slightly over the top (obvious) in their fidelity to the stereotypes they are based on. For the most part, they did thier job in moving the plot along and providing a foil for Kira's internal conflicts, but they didn't do much after that. The main character (MC) is xenobiologist Kira Navárez who begins the story as something of a victim of circumstance, driven forward by forces not under her control after an accidental exposure to a xeno artifact. Kira seems to be the only character with any growth as she struggles to reclaim her own agency. It took me awhile to connect with her and her internal drama and self recriminations, but I eventually got there with the help of two strong supporting characters (ship captain Falconi and ship mind Gregorovich) ... both of which slowing developed into strong characters in their own right. A few other characters periodically cross the stage, but they felt more like the earlier characters that were more shallow and mostly there to move the plot along. Most of the characters in this story exist primarily to support the plot.

World Building: Flat out some of the best that I have ever encountered; but it was not so obvious at the beginning. Paolini inserts details into his story with such skill that it was not until the end, where I had a full view of his creation and how it all works, that I could see all the hard work that went into making it so believable (and on full display in the addendum). The tech was a well developed take on many of the traditional Sci-Fi tropes and left me wanting to see it all for real. Each of the three poles (Humans/UMC, 'Jellies'/Renowii[sp?] and Vanished), along with emerging the 'Nightmares/Corrupted,' have a unique perspective that was interesting to explore and reasonably drove the interactions between them. There are even a few surprising revelations that give you 'ah-ha' moments that makes you revisit some of what has already happened in a new light. All of that helped to create a nearly perfect immersive experience that pulls you through the story at break neck speed (IAW it was almost impossible to walk away from once it got moving).

I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

#ToSleepInASeaOfStars #NetGalley #JenniferHale show less

I started this book last summer but I struggled so hard to get into it. I loved the Inheritance series by Paolini and was so excited when the audiobook for his new book was listed on NetGalley. So excited!

But then I started listening and I had a terrible time trying to get past the narrator's snarky, gruff tone for Kira. Pretty much every time she said anything to anyone, she sounded like she hated them or was annoyed or pissed off. I even took some time off and thought about the actual conversations she was having and decided to cut her some slack because most of those would have called for that tone of voice. So it was the author, not the narrator, who was to blame!

I decided to give it another shot a few days ago - I was about halfway done - and something clicked. I couldn't stop listening. And I ended up absolutely loving the book. I do have to admit to skipping the vast majority of the final nearly two hours because they were appendixes about FTL and terminology and the like. I show more did listen to the afterword by Paolini and am glad I did. I enjoyed having the insight into his struggles writing the book.

This is a space epic and, even though I had a rough time of it with the narration in the first half, the narrator was really quite incredible with her voices. There were A LOT of voices and she did a different one for each character so everyone was identifiable just from her voice. I am very impressed.

With all of the drama and excitement and various characters, my favorite was Gregoravich and his regular use of the term of endearment "meat bag." I love you Gregoravich.

A huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for hooking me up! show less

Me gusta la ciencia ficción y creo que mi favorita es precisamente la de primer contacto, así que, por ese lado, he disfrutado mucho esta historia, me parece que ha sido bastante original en cuanto a lo que había leído, aunque no pude evitar comprar toda la historia con esas películas de ciencia ficción de los años 70’s pero con mejores efectos especiales, al menos en mi cabeza :D
Kira es un personaje muy complejo, claro que ya sería menos después de tantas páginas ya sería el colmo que el autor no nos hubiera dibujado de manera tan precisa a este personaje, sin embargo, si que me caía mal a ratos, eso de sentirse culpable por todo, como que hubo un momento en que me fastidiaba, de ahí en fuera, bueno es un buen personaje principal.
En cuanto a la historia es una de esas llenas de acción y aventuras, no se detiene, vamos de una a otra sin parar, uno pensaría que nada puede salir peor y ¡zaz! Nos salen con algo peor, eso la ha convertido en una historia realmente show more fluida.
Pero tengo que ser muy honesta, me ha parecido demasiado largo, si bien ha sido entretenido, para mi gusto le sobran páginas, hubo momentos en que leía y leía y sentía que no avanzaba, no es que le sobren páginas precisamente, creo que le sobran batallitas y tanta historia de Kira con sus propios pensamientos, no son aburridos, pero sobran, la verdad, sobre todo porque nada de eso nos lleva a algún lado, no nos explica nada sobre el xeno, que es o como funciona, ni siquiera como es que interactúa con Kira, así que si, como que sobran un poco.
En cuanto a la explicación del nacimiento de las pesadillas, me pareció demasiado vago y confuso, incluso incongruente, así que me costó mucho trabajo comprenderlo.
No se, en algún momento me hubiera gustado que se regresara en el tiempo y que Kira tomará otras decisiones y terminara el libro, pero pues no, era leer fracaso tras fracaso y llego un momento en que me fastidio tanta mala suerte de nuestros protagonistas.
La tripulación de la Wallfish es realmente entrañable, cada personaje tiene lo suyo y terminé por amarlos, pero sin duda el mejor personaje de todos es Gregorovich, es genial, divertido, inteligente, fue el mejor personaje de todos.
El final de la historia es tan, pero tan pero tan largo que me ha resultado algo aburrido, es un pasar y pasar y pasar páginas y nada más no se avanza en esa lucha, demasiado larga, llegado un punto me daban ganas de avanzar las páginas ya para terminar con eso, no lo hice, pero ganas no me faltaron, aquí si que me sobraron páginas, demasiados pensamientos de Kira mientras todo sucedía y creo que era innecesario tanto pesimismo, ¿es que al autor parece que no le gusta que los buenos ganen nunca? Todo sale mal siempre a cada minuto, para que de repente todo sale bien, aggghhh que desesperación me dio todo, en fin que ese final es eternamente largo.
Dicho lo anterior, el final, me ha sorprendido un poco, no era reamente lo que esperaba, aunque supongo que de alguna manera era inevitable.
no se si decir que el final del libro es abierto, no lo es totalmente, creo que más bien el autor pretende escribir una segunda parte, solo espero que no tarde mucho y que el siguiente libro no sea tan largo como este. show less

Immersive, beautifully written, complex space opera. Imaginative world building makes it more than mere space opera. Looking forward to book 2.

Vast sci-fi that’s packed full of info and events. It was overwhelming to read, but I enjoyed it. I’m disappointed with the ending but I also agree it had to be this way. I’m a sucker for endings and this one has me torn. Still a great story though.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was so incredibly excited for the publication of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars (TSISAS) - Paolini's first book in over a decade, and one of my favorite authors as a child. I knew this would be nothing like his previous books, but still, the nostalgia hyped up my interest in reading this book significantly, and I wasn't disappointed.

An epic space adventure (with almost all the elements of a classic space opera), TSIASOS is set far into the future, where you've got Kira Navárez, a space scientist who does standard science-y stuff with her crew, hopping around from planet to planet collecting samples and data. Her days are pretty routine, until one day, they aren't - and things go sideways fast. Next thing you know, you've got aliens and galactic war galore! The story follows Kira through her adventures in space, and her journey toward saving humanity.

Without spoilers, I'll say I really show more enjoyed the story. Some parts were long and unnecessary, and at times I felt Kira was a bit under-developed even though she was the main character, but overall it was solid. It made me laugh, it made me tense up with suspense and anticipation of what was coming next, and it had me rooting for the main characters almost the whole time. The thrill of space and first-contact with aliens was done well, if not predictably, and Paolini seems to have intentionally left some questions unanswered (hopefully in anticipation of a sequel!) so I'm trying not to take that personally.

My favorite part about this several-hundred page behemoth was the writing. It was gorgeously written, with so much description and detail that as a reader, I was fully immersed in not just the story, but the world. It felt real, from the physics of the spacecrafts to the interactions with the aliens. It was exceedingly well-planned and thought out, and I commend Paolini for his attention to detail.

So, rambling over, to sum up: I enjoyed this story, a lot. I think a bit more editing could have been done, but it turned out great. I think the audiobook would be even better, because Jennifer Hale narrates it and there were some bits that I would have preferred to been read, instead of reading myself. Overall, great epic science fiction novel! show less

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
by Christopher Paolini
Narrated by Jennifer Hale
Macmillan Audio
I requested this audible book from NetGalley and was unable to download despite trying everything I know to get it to work. The NetGalley app has a rating of 2 for a reason! I notified the Macmillan team, which were awesome, and they sent me the first 19 chapters and the last few chapters of the book in audible format. A large sample book!
I really feel in love with this book! I love sci-fi, aliens, main character is a woman although she is not a gun blazing bad a$$, she stands out for other reasons. Not going to spoil it.
I loved the atmosphere the book gave off, no pun intended! There is something different in this author's approach to first contact. A fresh new concept.
Wonderful characters and exciting plot. The ending was heartwarming and emotional. Loved it! Book 2?
I am definitely going to use my next Audible credit to download the full version of the book so I can enjoy the middle section show more too!
I think this will be one of those books that someday all high school or college students have to read! (And they will love it!) show less

DNF p. 238. Another TOR sci-fi offering touted for fans of The Expanse, and another disappointment of remarkable size and proportions. I appreciate the significant amount of world-building that Paolini has done for his Fractalverse, at least on its website, but barely any of it is actually in the book. While I only managed to make it about a quarter of the way through before being unable to shake the feeling of being duped, To Sleep... appears to be over 800 pages of telling without showing, and the telling itself never really told me much. Characters are archetypically cardboard and lack nuance, aliens are silly and lack nuance, and the many, many battle scenes are way overdescribed and and yet lack illustrative flair. To me, this feels like a book that was written for quick sales and film options, and both of these things indeed came to pass within two years of release. Good for Paolini.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge Publishing for letting me read and review this partial arc of this intriguing and intense story.
This took me a bit by surprise because I've read and liked Christopher Paolini ever since Eragon so I was a bit thrown when I read this partial arc and it was sci-fi. I'm so used to him writing fantasy, it was different finding this story as sci-fi, but this story took off - it's very intense and stressful to read. I had a hard time stopping reading this until I was done and I was freaking out in parts because it's so tense and it was like reading a sci-fi suspense/thriller story.
This story is about Kira, who's a microbiologist that goes around studying and exploring things with her team and what happens when she goes to explore a particular find on the planet they start on and then things go crazy and stressful from there. I don't dare say much about it because you need to read it to find out what happens.
It's a very fast-paced, intense, and show more stressful read not long after it starts and it just keeps going and leaving you with questions, all the unanswered questions and concerns trying to figure it all out, wondering what's going to happen next.
If you like Christopher Paolini, Sci-fi thrillers/suspense, and the like, you'll want to check this one out. A little note here though for those who like to have clean reads, there is some profanity in this story. show less

Loads of fun, but the longer it goes, the farther it gets from its promising start as "real" scifi. The author's afterword discussing the long process creating this book was quite interesting. I wonder if I personally might have liked one of the earlier versions?
The backdrop is great, the characters engaging. By all means read it, but I guess I was hoping for something it's not.

This is a good science fiction stand-alone novel. Kira and her team are on a planet, doing a survey to see if settling it is practical. While doing the survey she discovers an alien artifact, a sentient spacesuit/armor suit. This all happens early in the book and the discovery kicks off a whole lot of action. I thought this was done well, though maybe a bit overdone at the end.

The technology is credible, for the most part, the characters are good, the aliens are sufficiently alien and I thought the writing and plotting were good.

This was another one of my series-sampling audio listens, to see if I might want to pursue it in print someday. Right now this is the only book, and it works well as a standalone, but my impression was that sequels, or at least other books in the same setting, are intended. At 32.5 hours long, it felt kind of like I was listening to an entire series as it was. This was the longest audiobook I’ve ever listened to in my short audiobook listening career!

Audio Narration
The narrator is Jennifer Hale. For the most part I liked her narration. During an interview at the end of the audiobook, I learned this was her first audiobook. I was pretty impressed by that, because I would not have guessed, and what a long one to jump in with! I thought she voiced it in a way that fit the text, and she handled the large cast of characters really well with easily distinguishable voices.

My one complaint was her somewhat inconsistent voicing of Kira. Even though we in real life have a variety of tones show more we use in different situations, during audiobooks I have trouble if the narrator varies that tone too much for a single character because I associate a specific speaking tone with a specific character. During more intense/action/military type dialogue, Kira was voiced similarly to Sparrow which was significantly different from her normal voice. When communicating in the Wranaui language, she spoke more like Itari. In the interview she mentioned that last part was an intentional attempt to make the Wranaui language sound more formal and she tried to make Kira sound more formal while she was using it, but that didn’t come across to me while listening, it just sounded like a different voice.

Story
The story is set in the future. Humans are able to travel through space and they’ve colonized different planets, but they have not yet had any contact with aliens. Kira is the main character. She and her team are almost finished with a survey mission on a moon that is being considered for colonization, when she stumbles upon an alien artifact unexpectedly. This artifact bonds with her and causes all sorts of trouble.

I enjoyed this. I was interested from the beginning, and mostly stayed interested throughout. Sometimes it did just seem to go on and on and on, and I got frustrated at times when the situation in the story kept getting worse and worse. I also lost interest sometimes during the longer action sequences of which there are several. In general though, I wanted to know what would happen, and I really liked the characters. Gregorovitch was a favorite, very funny. I was satisfied with how the book ended, while also being curious about what would happen next.

I had some skepticism with some (ok, many) aspects of the alien artifact, but I was able to suspend my disbelief for the sake of the story. The phrasing of some things also sometimes seemed a little… I’m not sure what word to use. Flowery? Lofty? Melodramatic? Some combination of all those things, I guess. The way some things were named made me laugh, but I think that was more intentional, reflecting the tendency of humans to enjoy silly names.

This was my first time reading anything by Paolini, but I liked this enough that I’d be willing to try more of his work someday, and I’d probably revisit this series in print at some point if he writes more. show less

In the beginning, this felt like a great golden age novel. It was a page turner and fun to read, but at the end it feels more like a fantasy novel: unlikely character gets magic artifact that unleashes evil but becomes the tool for defeating the evil as the hero develops. Interactions with organizations like military commands have unlikely resolutions but overall I like the pro-humanist theme.

Review of Uncorrected Advance Reading Copy

During a routine research mission on the Earth-sized moon Adrasteia, xenobiologist Kira Navárez makes a world-shaking discovery. Exploring new worlds has always been her dream; now Kira stands astounded and, at the same time, terrified by her unexpected find. Exploring new worlds, perhaps making a monumental contribution, has always been her most treasured dream.

As Kira’s discovery transforms her in ways she could never have imagined, she finds herself caught up in the wonder and preternaturalness of first contact. But nothing is as she’d imagined it would be, leaving her feeling at odds with herself and the rapidly-changing dynamic of her relationship with the alien relic. The more she learns, the more she believes she will never find all the answers she seeks.

Around her, peace is ephemeral and war erupts among the stars, leading her to the outer limits of the galaxy where space battles may well determine the fate of all humankind. show more Will Kira’s role in this epic battle become her lasting nightmare? And what role will the alien relic play in the unfolding drama in which the fate of humanity now rests?

Well-developed characters, an intriguing, well-structured plot, and strong world-building all work together to pull the reader into the story from the first page. Camaraderie, romance, and fate all play a part in the telling of a tale in which the unfolding narrative takes readers in unexpected directions and transcends their expectations.

The writing throughout is poetic; the overarching story captivates. An underlying sense of foreboding builds tension and hints of dread permeate the story; together they create a sense of urgency that keeps the pages turning.

As Kira searches for understanding, readers share her experiences; her breathtaking odyssey spans a galaxy and creates a juggernaut of emotion for the reader as unexpected reveals pull them into this unforgettable chronicle of intrigue and wonder, all leading to the stunning, unforgettable conclusion

All but impossible to set aside, this exquisite narrative belongs on every reader’s must-read list.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this book through Bookish First show less

I was a huge fan of the Inheritance Cycle so you can imagine my excitement when I first saw that this book would be coming out! I have to say that I am not disappointed from the outcome.

Those who read the Inheritance Cycle know that is was very much a Fantasy based world. Whereas this book falls very much under Science Fiction. I know many who were nervous about this because not all authors can jump from one genre to another. Christopher Paolini you did an awesome job!

Yes, there were definitely some moments that could fall into the Fantasy genre, but overall this was a beautiful Science Fiction creation. He did such a great job with character development and story development. Everything that didn't make sense at first, he gave an explanation to. And he also left the reader with a sense of completion while also allowing for future stories if he wanted.

The character themselves I couldn't help but fall in love with, including the antagonists! There is so much action, comedy, show more mind-blowing events, and even some romance!

Now, it is a whopper of a book, but if you think you can push through 880 pages I definitely recommend giving it a shot! My only reason for giving it 4 instead of 5 stars is because there is a good amount of cussing which I prefer not to have in books. Otherwise, it would have been a 5 star read! show less

T his book was beyond amazing. I’ve read the author’s previous works and therefore wasn’t surprised that his world building could create realistic multiple universes. This story was riveting and while it was long it moved quickly and I would have been disappointed with any less. Kira is a like able and relatable character who leads the reader through the universe and a war. Science fiction is not always my go to but a good story transcends genre and this one a very good story. This book took me through an array of emotions and while the ending was satisfying it did leave me unsure of exactly how to feel. I can tell already this is a book that will stay with me and while I think it works best as a standalone novel I would definitely be willing to revisit this world. Aliens, advanced technology, war, love, and humanity, Who could ask for more?

//~The hardest lesson in life is learning to accept that there are some things we can't change…///

Name: To Sleep in A Sea of Stars
Author: Christopher Paolini
Genre: Adult Fantasy, Science Fiction, Drama, Adventure, Space
Rating: 4.8/5

Review:
To Sleep in A sea of Stars is one heck of a book. It was one of the most awaited books of 2020. The time Christopher Paolini to make comeback was definitely worth the wait. This book is a work of a lot of research, creativity, imagination and planning.

This book is set about three hundred years ahead in future, when humans have set up colonies in vast expanse of universe. Kira Navarez, a xenobiologist, discovers an ancient alien relic on one of her routine survey mission on an unoccupied planet. This discovery turns into a nightmare when it comes alive and starts moving. A xeno her into a host and kills her crewmates, including her fiancée, Alan.

A war erupts across the stars because of Kira's one mistake and now, Kira has no choice , but to show more move forward and stop this war. Kira starts her own journey to rediscovering herself, finding hope and save this universe from its impending doom.

Everything in this book is well developed, plot, scene, characters as well as the sentiments are perfectly portrayed and described. This writing style is vivid and interesting. The character of Kira has developed very well throughout the story. I felt that the character Alan should have more time in the story, he was killed too early. But his death played a very important role throughout the story. His death helped Kira to stay connected to her human side, it helped her to accept her new form yet be the same.
At some point, I felt that the story was too plot-driven rather than character-driven, unlike most Sci-fi fantasy. One thing that I really liked in this book was that there was characters from various races and background like Hwajung from Korea and Vishal from India. Overall, I really liked this book. If you are looking forward to read new, something huge, something amazing or you are just into space, fantasy, sci-fiction, this is the book you should pick up!

For Further Reading:
1. The Salvage Crew
2. The Martian show less

Kira the protagonist is an interesting and we'll developed character, but the action seemed endless and even pointless. This is a newish take on alien life involving a melding of human and alien.
My interest in the sorry rarely reached a point of excitement and there was enough tedium I considered quitting.

Finally finished. I liked it, or at least enjoyed it enough? There were aspects of it that were really well done and really interesting. The whole first half of the book I enjoyed the most. It's always interesting to see an author transition from fantasy to science fiction, and I think Paolini did a decent job of it. It would certainly make a cool mini-series. I don't know exactly why I wasn't entirely thrilled with it, but something seemed off? Some of it felt a little forced, and maybe that's it?

This is for most parts definitely entertaining and at times captivating.

Apart from that, many things were not as great as the hype had me expecting: cliche after cliche, shallow character exploration, a strong mix of fantasy and a bit of horror in the space opera. The book actually reminded me strongly of his Eragon books they way the story develops.

I finished the book, but clearly missed some depth and novelty.

Great characters, absolutely incredible audio book reading, fun action and drama, a pretty ok world, ok plot… and in the end it didn’t open my thinking much to new ideas despite featuring many. Possibly because the author emphasises action and drama over ideas.

The problem with this book is that it is primarily a fantasy adventute and only secondarily honours some of the interesting ideas conveyed in its world. The last chapters include long discussion about the background world physics but in a sci-fi story i would have expected that to be integral core of the story.

Solid 3.5. I love this genre of books and am willing to forgive a lot of faults -- and I loved this entry into it. I do feel like he lost control of the narrative halfway through, and while that's a bummer, the ride was fun.

I wanted to read this book as I kept seeing it being hyped up. I did get a chance to snag an audio copy. Which I must admit that I am happy I listened to this book versus reading it myself. At over eight hundred pages, this is not a book but a "tome".

I felt like I actually was invested in this story listening to it. If I had read it, I can admit that I probably would not have done it as much justice in my head. As I was listening to this book, I could see the movie playing in my head.

As a sci fi fan, this book really did get me excited. Although, after getting to the half way point, which did take quite some time; the story picked up but at the same time it felt like it dragged at the same time. Overall through I did like this book/tome.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini is a highly recommended science fiction space opera - based on a excerpt.

Kira Navárez, a xenobiologist,is on a routine survey mission with a small team of other scientists when she finds what indicates an alien civilization. When the alien dust begins to move and encase her, she loses consciousness. Later, when she wakes up after her rescue and time spent in recovery, she seems to be fine, but a horrific incident makes it clear that an alien organism has bonded to her body, forming a second skin. When she feels threatened and the need to protect herself now, spikes will jump out from her skin stabbing anyone around her. Kira needs to learn how to control the suits power and perhaps use it to help humanity.

The main drawback to reviewing To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is that I was provided with an excerpt of about the first quarter of the novel. This allows me to get a sense of where the story may be going and the opportunity to develop show more a theory about the narrative. Over the many years I've been reviewing books there have been numerous books where the ending has totally change my rating, so being provided with only the first part of the story only allows me to determine if I would keep reading the novel or not. I would keep reading. Paolini's novel has the start of a great science fiction space opera. I hope to finish reading the story someday.

Now, that is not to say the section provided is perfect. Prose is still a problem and doesn't always flow smoothly and he also doesn't quite pull off writing as a female lead. Now, why I would have kept reading the novel if I were able is that the storytelling and world building is compelling. I think the drama, excitement and the plot will likely overcome some of those awkward points, but I can't know for sure.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Tor/Forge.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2020/09/to-sleep-in-sea-of-stars.html

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3546522082 show less

I found this a fascinating read/listen. Interesting premise and character development. The author had me at chapter 2. The science sounds realistic and complex. The relationship-building between several of the characters is captivating.

Scientist accidentally finds and merges with an alien parasite that gives her superpowers. She spends most of the book alternately wallowing in self pity and overwhelming herself with self-condemnation, as she somehow learns how to use her powers in spite of herself.

Truly enjoyed this one. It has been a while since I've read any sci-fi, and this one did not disappoint for a leap back in. The depth of detail, and the struggles of Nevarez to discover and hold on to what it meant to be herself...just wonderfully written.

I give this book four and a half stars. The plot is pretty straightforward; however, the writing is wandering off in some places. Overall, I really liked this book. Most books lose your attention if they are too long. This is completely the opposite.

This was a great, captivating book! I'm hoping its the start of a series. It was so formulaic until the end but I didn't mind one bit. It seemed like a love story to Science Fiction by the author.

Surprisingly mature given the more youthful Eragon series. Solid world building and some depth to the characters.

This is a monster of a book that I got as an audio book to review. The book starts with a terraforming crew leaving ahead of colonists arriving when a drone goes offline. At the drone site Kira sees something unusual and checks it out. She finds alien tech that invades her and is rescued by her coworkers. They find nothing wrong with her but she is was in cryo for a month while they run tests on her and everyone that was exposed at the site. Almost as soon as she is woken up the tech awakens and bonds with her. The government ship that oversaw clearing her of infection is now testing her and the alien tech to find out about it. This doesn’t go on for too long before an unknown alien ship arrives and attacks the ship she is on. What looks like a possible rescue of the alien tech turns out to be an invasion force of still another alien. Now Kara has to convince humanity that she can help and not hurt them all while they are facing an unknown force that seems to have them outgunned show more with advanced technology.
There is a large cast of characters, but everything works well in the storyline and I would like to see more in this setting. The ending does leave room for more in this story universe with either Kara or someone else to read about.
With the audiobook being so long I didn’t lose track of any of the story. The downside doing this an audio I didn’t realize there are appendices at the end of the book but I could figure out what things were by the context of the story. There is also an interview at the end of the book between the author and the narrator. Between that and the afterward read by the writer you get some insight into the process of writing the book.

Audio review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley show less

My list of complaints
Dull plot with shallow characters.
The science is light to nonexistent, unless it’s being pointlessly detailed.
Seriously, calling these characters cardboard cut outs is an insult to cardboard, which does have at least some depth.
Frustratingly stupid behavior.
Why is this book so pointlessly long? If this book was 300 pages, I’d still be annoyed but at least days of my life wouldn’t be gone.

Don’t waste your time, don’t say nobody warned you.

I don't rate books that I don't finish. I feel that it is an injustice to the author for rating something that I only partially completed.

I actually DNF'd this and it was unexpected. I was 30% of the way through and I decided that I was going to stop. This was an odd DNF for me. I really liked it from the beginning and I was very interested in it. It grabbed me from the start. But then it started to go downhill from like page 100. Maybe I'm just not in the right mindset or something. But I kept falling asleep reading it and I was becoming disinterested. I got to the point where it was starting to be a chore to read it. I don't know why though. Maybe it was just in a lull in the book and I just hadn't got to the good part yet? But it was good so I don't know. This one is definitely one that I will try again. Most of my DNF's, I have no plans to continue later on but I certainly will with this one.

Below are my SPOILER thoughts and reactions as I read through the book:

Pg. 81: Wow, show more having an implant to replay memories with senses? That's so cool! I want one! Awe, they got engaged! It's too early for a happy ending... I feel like something bad is about to happen as she goes looking for the drone. Um, wtf? Like i can't even mentally picture what is happening with Kira and Neghar. Neghar spit up something alive? Just from coming into contact with the air? And Kira released "spikes" from her skin, killing everyone?! Like holy shit. So much is happening!

Pg. 133: Well Carr is an ass but an understandable one. And this suit/ alien thing on her skin would make a badass armor in a battle. I kind of hope she can utilize it.
Well the alien that boarded the ship sounds terrifying 😳 This suit is badass. But how is she going to get off the Valkerie?

Pg. 296: So can she urinate? Or hasn't mentioned anything like that. And if the suit is so good at keeping her alive, can it keep her satiated with nutrition so she won't starve? And why weren't the other passengers afraid of her alien parasite?
Well, that answers that then. It keeps her alive and disposes her waste.
What on earth is a ship mind anyway? Like a legit person?
Idk how to feel about the Wallfish crew. But I'm glad Kira is able to open up with them finally.

Side note: I don't feel like Alan and the team got the mourning from Kira like they deserved. Like they died then the story seemed to just move on. I almost feel like they're not dead and I keep forgetting it happened. And so much has already happened since then.

Why are the Jellies so hostile to the humans? And why did they want Soft Blade? It seemed like they were upset with it more than having desire for it. show less

I give up. 600 pages in and I give up. This book is so god damn long for no reason. I have no idea why Paolini decided to put a trilogy into one book but he did and it's boring as hell

The same plot plays over and over. The motley crew is the most cliche version of it I've ever seen and they're all boring as sin. I thought they were only gonna be there for 20 pages they were so flat

The scifi part is all generic and bland. Not an interesting idea in the bunch

The aliens are evil sea creatures. It's kinda boring

If this was a multi book series maybe it'd be better but why the hell is this 800 pages??? It is not nearly good enough to be that long. I got bored at page 250 and slogged the next 350. I don't have it in me to finish it. Too boring

So, in this book there's an AI and it calls some of the ppl it works for "meatbag"! Can you imagine? AI is supposed to be respectful and this one is snide! Wow, great stuff. That and so many more piping fresh ideas about SF in this masterpiece.

Fairly good sci-fi read.
Very well written and since this is this authors first attempt at sci-fi I will be hoping he writes another in this genre and I certainly will buy it!

Like a lot of the comments I enjoyed the inheritance cycle and I thought it was better than this book. Even thought he was younger and that's more ya, the characters were more complex and even though it was 3 books (I don't know the relative lenfeg) he uses the time to get somewhere. This is not quite that. A lot of the world building was nice but it dragged and I'm used to reading long books. The ending in particular was saccharine and I felt like I've read it a thousand times. I agree with another review is that a major difference between ya and adult books is if every character can't be summed up in one word, and this done that. Also I listened to it on audiobook and "staff of blue" doesn't work when said in a serious tone.

I wish he'd used the extra length for more character development than world building and I won't reread it but it was ok to pass the time

(A funny part was when he threw in a cross character between the witch in eragon and the "eat the path woman". I think I show more read that it was based on his sister so that was fun) show less

I'm only at p. 18 and already the female is shown as too weak to move a piece of equipment that is designed to be portable and is integral to her work, and also willing to drop what seems to be a pretty good career just to be with a man. I am not impressed.

Bailed, because the folks at SFFBC with whom I was planning to read it didn't much care for it, either.

Dec. 2021

Mostly hard sci-fi. It is a long book (309,000 words), so I sort of sped read it to finish it in the two weeks my library gave me to read it. If you like the Bobiverse books, I think you will like this one, too. Lots of plot, and battles. But other good stuff when they put down their weapons.

The audiobook was 32.5 hours and I am still sad it is over.

There is going to be a sequel! And if Jennifer Hale doesn't do the audio we revolt! Honestly, I listen to a lot of audiobooks and she may be the best narrator I have ever heard. This was her first audiobook but she has voiced all sorts of video games and cartoons.

I got half way through and realized that I didn’t care what was going to happen next. I got bored. Also, a Hutterite woman in an army? I don’t think so.

Spannende Geschichte, tolles Universum mit vielen interessanten Ideen.

To to to to to to long. It could have been half the pages and been a great book. There were some really good parts and some really bad. How would you like it if someone wrote in painstaking detail everything you did today? I liked the sci fi story just not the minutiae of detail.

Great writer, but really a young adult sci fi. Eragon fans will ove it

I don't see myself finishing this one. I entered GR Giveaway, didn't win, but it was on my "to read". My library has it so I thought I check it out. HUGE cast of characters, aliens and world. I can't keep up with all the details on audio and there's 30 hours left to go.

Started off interesting
Got boring

DNF. Terrible writing. A story with no arc. Characters with no believable motivation. Prose like lead. Annoyed about the time wasted getting 1/4 through it.

***WHO SUCKED ME IN***
Monte of itsmonteprice on Youtube in their reader, i loved this book. video published on 14 sep. 2020

He's kind of new to sci-fi, had read the authors Eragon but never finished the series. The way Monte tells it, this book can stand on it's own. Sometimes I want something that's Sci-Fi 'light' and this sounds like it is. I'm a bit hesitant about the female lead though. From what I can remember, Paolini made his females character in Eragorn a bit... too formulaic. Then again... He's older now.

Very enjoyable, I wish this were a series instead of a one-off.

8/10

Nope.