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

3.5 stars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3.5 stars

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Venom meets space opera.
If you're looking for a wonderful space journey... then look no further than this beast of a book!
Usually I am extremely intimidated by books longer than 600+ pages, so I'm glad that I did not check TSIASOS page count before beginning it. I'll admit a few times I had to trudge through the pages because the pace moved slower than my liking, but this certainly was not an issue for the entirety of the book. To be honest, the whole last 150ish pages held some amazing actions sequences.
My favorite part of this story was definitely the atmosphere and world building around this lush sci-fi. I've been on a role lately in reading novels with stunning descriptions, but TSIASOS was by far the best. I cannot recommend it enough solely for that purpose. Space is a marvelous setting for any story, and I don’t know if Christopher is known for beautiful prose, but he truly outdid himself. A great first impression!
Now I will admit that I advise readers to go into this book with relatively no information. Don't even read the synopsis if you can help it because then you're experiencing the same mystery/ confusion that Kira is. It was incredible. Since I'm saying this, I won't mention much of the plot of the novel besides galactic chaos, Jellies, and an intelligent space ship who is the greatest sass master that space has ever seen.

I have waited so long for another Christopher Paolini book, and let me tell you, he did not disappoint! I wasn't expecting a sci-fi novel, since Eragon was fantasy, but this book is still just as exciting. From the beginning, I was so caught up in this book. Paolini did a great job of building his main character Kira. She is relatable, smart and strong. You feel all her joy and sadness. She is a great character. I loved the alien storyline. It was fascinating all the twists and turns Paolinin took with the various aliens involved in the storyline. I loved how Kira's character grew and developed in the face of adversity. I also loved the secondary characters, and how her relationship with them grew and developed. I loved how a crew of smugglers turned out to be so noble. I would highly recommend this book.

Can you believe it? Christopher Paolini is back, only this time he isn't diving back into the world of fantasy! Instead, he's taking a swing at science fiction. From the moment this book was announced, I knew that it was going to be one epic adventure.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an epic and massive space opera. One that dives in headfirst into a universe full of aliens, advanced technology and so much more.

Once upon a time, Kira Navarez had a job she enjoyed, a man she loved, and a desire to settle down and make a life for herself. Then one day, everything changed. The sudden appearance of alien tech, followed immediately by aliens themselves, changed her world forever. As did it change the life of every other human out there.

This is the tale of first contact like you've never seen before.

“I am the spark in the center of the void. I am the widdershin scream that cleaves the night. I am your eschatological nightmare. I am the one and the word and the fullness of the light. Would you like to play a game? Y/N”

Warnings: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars brings with it a beautiful science fiction world, but it also has some heavier points and scenes as well. There are scenes depicting non-consensual medical procedures/torture, as well as a fair share of body horror. Consider yourself warned.

Holy cow. I can't believe that after all these years, Christopher Paolini is coming out with another book. More than that, it's a science fiction novel! I was so excited when I heard the news, and even more excited when I managed to get my hands on an early copy.

So, is it worth all the hype? Yes, a million times yes! This is arguably one of the most in-depth space operas I've read in a good long time. That probably shouldn't be such a shock, considering that To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a whopping eight hundred and eighty pages long. Yes, you read that right. This is a beast of a book.

Oddly enough, I think that's my one less than positive comment on the book. There are several points in this story that could have been the perfect stopping point. I can see it easily being two books, and having it be just as amazing.

Not that I'm really going to complain about getting two books for the price of one. I'm not that crazy. I'm especially not going to complain, because I really did enjoy Kira Naavarez's story, and every little detail (which there is a lot of) of it.

“She'd been through this before – Adra wasn't the first prospective colony the company had posted her to – and after seven years spent jetting around from one blasted rock to another and spending nearly half her time in cryo, Kira had begun to feel a serious need for...friends.”

It has been a long time since I picked up a novel I couldn't read over the course of one or two nights. Even if this book had been shorter, I don't think I could have done it. Christopher Paolini clearly did a ton of research when writing this book, and the end result is a seriously dense piece of work. Not just in page count, but in content as well. It's a book that makes you stop and think, on more than one occasion. So be sure to set aside a good amount of time for this beauty.

Having read Paolini's previous works, I can honestly tell you that I think I like his science fiction better. Mind you, that's coming from someone who liked his original works, so that statement is meant as a sincere compliment.

“Eat the path, or the path will eat you.”

I've been sitting here for the last five minutes, trying to think of what I want to say about this novel. Part of me wants to say I love it, and leave it at that. The other part of me wants to gush about it for the next five hours.

There's got to be a happy medium there, right? Let's say this: there is so much to love about To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. As a huge fan of space opera (something I had been craving recently as well), I can honestly tell you that this tale is pure perfection.

It dives deep into the world of speculative science fiction, and that isn't a bad thing. This is a tale that took an original idea, and pushed it to the farthest limits. It was not something I expected to see, but then again, given the author, maybe I should have seen that part coming?

The characters inside are wonderful. Kira is the leading lady, and she is as complex a character as they come. The supporting characters are every bit as complex and unique as she is, at times carrying the story for her.
There are subplots upon subplots, as first contact carries all of the characters onward in an adventure that they never could have expected or prepared for. It was a surprising journey at times. Sometimes it was hopeful, and other times heartbreaking. In that way, it felt very grounded.

In short, I truly loved every minute I spent reading To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. In fact, I won't be at all surprised to find myself reading it once again in the near future. No matter the time investment, it is worth it.

Going into this i should say I’ve never read this authors work before, despite his popularity as the Eragon writer. That being said

I DNF. I got to about 60% and called it quits. This book is close to 900 pages. Which is entirely too long, when most of the beginning. It’s very World building and very plot driven. It’s a huge info dump like a giant fantasy book, that’s actually sci fi.!

I can’t even explain why i didn’t enjoy this book. The main character was sort of annoying and written in a way that’s clearly s man writtng about women. He writes some weird line about the main character trying to masturbate in her skin suit and another about her cutting off some guys genitals so she can’t have sex anymore

She also kills her fiancé and half her team?? By wondering into some strange location she has no business being in in the first place?

I was super excited for this book but ugh

I was a huge fan of the Inheritance Cycle books as a kid, and I was excited to hear that Paolini was coming out with another book, this time for adults. I was less excited when I discovered it was a hard sci-fi book, as those are not really my taste, but I had so admired Paolini’s earlier work that I decided I had to give it a shot.

I should say, at the outset, that I did not finish this book. I did really enjoy it, and I have a lot of good things to say about it, but I did not finish it. I read to a point where it really seemed like the book could have ended (to make room for a second book). And, realizing that I was only 50% of the way through the book, I decided that was a good point to stop. Not that it was too long; I’ve read longer books this year. It was more that I got to a point where I had endured all I could of things going badly for the heroes, who I absolutely loved, and I needed to take a break.

So, what’s this book about? Well, here’s a short overview. Approximately 250 years in the future (our future, as humans of Earth—this becomes important later), humanity has spread out around the galaxy. We have colonies on a number of different planets in a number of systems not our own, we have faster than light travel, we have terraforming, we kind of have artificial gravity. What we DON’T have is evidence of extant extraterrestrial life. It’s a cool future world.

Enter Kira Navarez, xenobiolgist and part of a team to study a planet and confirm that it should be terraformed and made ready for a colony to be built there. On the last day of her mission to this planet, she encounters an alien artifact that affixes itself to her body, and shortly thereafter all hell breaks loose. (I’ll leave it at that to keep things spoiler free.)

I really loved all of the characters, who coalesce into a Firefly-esque, ragtag bunch of space explorers, and I found that the world that Paolini created was truly immersive and fascinating. In the Inheritance Cycle, Paolini inserted a number of nods to different real-world places and pop culture fandoms, not least of which is that Eragon is Luke Skywalker with dragons. Those references could be pretty jarring in a second world fantasy, but that’s not the case in To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. In fact, it’s really fun to read references to things I recognize in this book, because it connects readers in a direct lineage to these humans far in the future, which is super meta and very cool!

That being said, it hurt me to see bad things happen to the characters I had quickly grown to love, and I needed to take a break halfway through the book to recover emotionally from the crazy amount of plot development that took place in the first half. They’re all precious, and must be protected at all costs! Especially Runcible and Mr. Fuzzypants!!!

All in all, it’s clear in this book that Paolini let this story percolate for some time, and the result is a really delightful read. And yes, I say that as a person who didn’t finish the whole book. But I will, because Kira’s story is worth it!

"To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a brand new epic novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eragon, Christopher Paolini.

Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds.

Now she's awakened a nightmare.

During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she's delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move.

As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn't at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human.

While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity's greatest and final hope..."

Paolini has left Alagaesia behind and taken us to the stars!

As someone who doesn’t read a lot of sci-fi, I found that To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was very captivating (even if I didn’t understand all the sci-fi lingo!). The pace is great and it kept me invested the whole time. Big thumbs up and definitely recommend for veteran sci-fi readers and those who are looking to dip a toe in to the genre for the first time.