This review is based on a partial galley, which contained 145 pages.

4/5 stars

Kira is a xenobiologist working for a company that assesses and identifies worlds for potential colonization. She and her team of scientists have been working on a moon, Adrasteia, for months and are ready to wrap up their mission. For Kira, this means getting separated from her partner, Alan, until their next mission together, which may be many months away. However, during the team's farewell party, Kira's boss lets her know that a lost drone pinged organic matter before going down. Kira must go to the last place the drone transmitted and examine the area for unknown life. What she finds will change her life, and the lives of all humans, forever.

Christopher Paolini's return to fiction is a promising adult science fiction debut. While I cannot review the entire novel, the portion I received from the publisher was interesting, intense, and exciting. I enjoyed the almost domestic set-up at the beginning of the story, which lulled the reader into a false sense of security while also introducing Paolini's imagined future. It didn't take long to fall into the action, and the structure of the novel's chapters make it easy to build suspense and keep the reader invested.

I am eager to read the finished novel and see where Paolini takes us. Readers of his Young Adult work will be happy to catch up with a favorite author, and adults who have never read Paolini's work will find a worthy entry in the science fiction genre. Recommended for anyone who likes adventure, suspense, and futuristic worlds.

This partial galley arc only increased my interest and my anticipation! To Sleep in a Sea of Stars starts off so strong and I cannot wait to get my hands on the rest of the book. Counting down the days!

94 days left to go!

This took me a little bit to get into, especially with the constant use of "babe" at the end of sentences in conversations between Alan and Kira. But once I got into the story I couldn't stop, and now all I want to do is finish the book. Already preordered and am very eager for the whole story. A wonderfully immersive and believable science fiction foray.

What I got to read of the book was really good but it was only a sample so I would like to reserve my opinion until I can read the complete book.

I cannot wait to read the rest of this book. Christopher Paolini is such a masterful story builder. I loved how he introduced us to the characters and how he developed the world so seamlessly.

While I was only able to read a portion of the story, I have no doubt that I'm going to love this book.

Ok. You've gotten me interested in the book. I wish this was the whole book so I'd know what happens next to Kira. The premise of this book reminds me of Stephanie Meyer's The Host but taking place in the galaxy. Its kind of like The Host meets Interstellar. Christopher Paolini is well know for his Inheritance Cycle books showing that he know how to weave an epic tale. This book looks to be promising and if only I didn't have to wait until September to read the rest. If this is one book in another series, trilogy or cycle sign me up. I'm invested now.

I received this and as a partial eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for giving me access.

This book had me hooked. My only wish is that I was able to read the whole story.

Paolini does and amazing job of world building and creating that suspenseful atmosphere that we crave when reading.

I got huge 'Alien' vibes. The MC is similar to Ripley, yet this story is much less violent than the 'Alien' movies and books we are well familiar with.

This partial galley gave me just enough to want more, while ending at an appropriate spot. I cannot wait for To Sleep in a Sea of Stars to be published so I can continue reading this magnificent story!

Macmillan/Tor-Forge was offering a partial galley of their September 2020 release by Christopher Paolini titled To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. While I don't quite understand the concept behind offering only a portion of a book for advance reading I am an inquisitive kind of person so I accepted their offer. I based my four star rating on how involved I was in this substantial portion of the book and how interested I am in continuing the story once the novel is available. How likely would I be to purchase the full novel? Highly likely!

Paolini is a new author for me so I had no advance ideas about what style or proficiency of writing I might find once I began to read. The premise concerns a team who have been doing testing on Andrasteia, an Earth-sized moon, for the past four months to check that it is safe for the colonists who will soon be arriving to terraform this moon into an active living space. Kira Navarez is the xenobiologist on the crew so she is given the assignment to make a quick trip back to the moon's surface to check out a drone that has stopped transmitting. With their ship leaving the next day to return to base Kira isn't very happy with having to go back down for a check of what had gone wrong with the drone. At first Kira is ecstatic when she discovers an alien artifact but that quickly turns to concern when she gets hurt and needs to be rescued. Before that rescue can take place she looks down and sees her boots covered with dust - a dust that shouldn't be there.

As I said, this sample is quite a good sized portion so I do feel that I have read enough to be comfortable with the author's style of writing. What happens to Kira is not a new, never seen before science fiction circumstance but I did become invested in her wellbeing quite quickly so I'm concerned about what will happen to her next and what consequence this alien artifact will have on the existing portions of populated space. The book can go in any number of directions from the end of this excerpt and the author has written this portion so well it has made me curious about what will happen next. I'm looking forward to finding out what happens with Kira and the alien artifact.

I really got into this book. I was enjoying the main character and the wondering about the possibilities within the story to come, THEN I realized that this was not a complete novel. Very frustrating. Please do not do that to me again.

Oh man, this was so good. I'm not usually interested in space-based stories, but since this is Christopher Paolini I knew I had to give him a shot. Unsurprisingly, I loved it and am so excited for the release of the full story. Even just in the partial galley, there's a clear sense of discovery and change as the xeno develops from murderous body-stealing dust to a possible sort of ally. I am thrilled with how epic and unforgivingly harsh the world is. If I later found out this was all a secret documentation of real events... I would really consider that possibility.

I have been highly anticipating this book since I first heard about it. I was worried that Paolini wouldn't be able to replicate the feels that I got with the Inheritance series. I was pleasantly surprised that the characters hooked me early in this sneak peek. I need more ASAP

#/5

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff has ruined people for other science fiction authors. I am people.
I wanted to like this book so badly - I was so excited for it... I mean look at the cover!

Everyone in this book is so mean to each other, even though they are so called "friends". None of the characters are relatable or even likable.
I battled to feel the chemistry between Kira and Alan unfortunately. Towards the end of the galley I found myself not really caring what happens to Kira, as I just had no connection to her.
Kira's character switches between nerdy intellectual with a soft spoken demeanor, to bad-ass space combat marine and it's really confusing.
There is one character in the book that I still don't know if it was supposed to be an actual human or an interstellar AI.

A lot of unfamiliar names and terminology was passed around like there was a story before this story. I was able to imagine the setting, but I was not able to make a connection to the setting, the world around it or the colonies.

I really enjoyed this preview of Paolini's new book!

I've never read anything by Christopher Paolini, so I was cautiously optimistic when I began this preview, but I needn't have been. This partial galley was fast-paced and intriguing, and I'm dying to see where the story goes. I will definitely be reading the full book once it's released in September.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a parital galley in exchange for an honest review.

This review is for the partial galley provided to me by netgalley in exchange for an honest review. It is not a review of the complete manuscript, When the manuscript is released I will come back and edit the review.

I have been desperate to read this story since I discovered it was going to be a thing. Reading this partial galley only made me more desperate! I need this book like I need water and air! I have recommended the Inheritance Cycle to everyone I've met in a classroom or a book club, and now I am excited to be able to recommend To Sleep in a Sea of Stars to the more mature readers in my class and my book club!

The writing, you guys. It has been over a decade but Paolini still feels like Paolini, only grown up. It was amazing! The story and the characters are both already captivating, and I don't know how I am going to manage to wait for September to finish this story!

I was lucky to be able to read the First Impression of "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars" by Christopher Paolini on BookishFirst. And even more lucky once I realized that I had a bit more of a preview to read on NetGalley! I can not wait to be able to finish reading this entire book! I couldn't stop reading and can only say that I can not wait until this book is published I will be buying it as soon as I am able to! This book has a bit of everything and I think it will appeal to most everyone.

AWESOME ! Yes this book from the wee bit I read was totally amazing ! Space fantasy, intense, adventurous, dangerous with fantastic characters and world building. I read and loved this authors Eragon series this is not like that series. No this is science fiction space drama and I don’t think it is YA. I can’t wait to get the whole book

This 'sneak peek' was excellent and I'm excited for the full book's release this September. It is a brilliant start to a story I really want to keep reading and I'm now a little dismayed I have to wait another 3 and a half months to see where Kira is taken next. This feels like the beginning to an epic tale and I cannot wait to jump back in.

I was given this free sneak peak partial ARC from #NetGalley to give my honest review. Since this is only a part of the book, it is hard to rate it but I think I would give it a ⭐⭐⭐⚡(3-1/2) but I'll round it up.

I was surprised that #Paolini wrote a sci-fi book this time instead of fantasy. I realize that he has obviously matured as an individual and as a writer, considering #Eragon was started when he was 15. I would still say that Paolini has stayed within the YA genre. This was a very easy to read book. There are some great very fast paced action scenes. All of a sudden I discovered that I was turning pages like crazy, in a good way.

The story surrounds Kira a xenobiologist on some planet and galaxy that we have never heard of. Then she makes a discovery that will change her career forever. Not only does it change her career, it changes her life drastically. Shortly after that, the book preview ends. I will be very curious to see where the xeno leads her new life. Can't wait for #ToSleepInASeaOfStars full release in September 2020.

Wow! So much has already happened yet there is still so much we don’t know. Where did The Soft Blade come from? Does it have it’s own intentions or plans? How will Kira keep the galaxy safe from so many unknown factors? Where did the Grasper’s come from and what do they want with the Soft Blade?

I can’t wait until I can rad the rest of this story to find out what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for making this partial galley available. All opinions are my own.

I am very interested in being able to continue the book. The plot is very intriguing and not overly predictable, but the characters are not developed enough to become obsessed with. So far, the book is a four out of five. I can think of twenty patrons off the top of my head that would love this book, and it is definitely a recommendation for a possible book club book.