I went into this book almost completely blind. I honestly didn’t know one thing about the plot. I’m not sure I’d even read the blurb but I knew it was an adult sci-fi from Christopher Paolini and that was enough for me. In hindsight I think that that might have been the best thing I could have done. At no point in this book could I predict what was going to happen next. This year I’ve started to really hit my stride with sci-fi and I think it might have finally beaten out fantasy as my favourite genre (blame Tor entirely for that, with Murderbot, Gideon the Ninth and this book). To Sleep in a Sea of Stars hit every single one of my favourite sci-fi features. First contact? Weird symbiotic alien relationships? Snarky ships? Check, check, check.

Kira is an xenobiologist working in space and her life is forever changed after she finds an alien ruins and a lifeform attaches itself to her by encasing her in a skin suit that works with her emotions and impulses. The being/suit called "The Soft Blade" takes some getting used to and it can send its memories to Kira's brain and cause great violence both a good thing and bad. It is an interesting partnership to say the least and one that will lead her and a ragtag spaceship crew to where another alien species is threatening to take out most of the Universe. This is a bit of a mashup between Star War's Princess Leia and the rebels meets superhero spacesuit meets the mind take over of Stephanie Meyer's THE HOST. There is enough action to satisfy the space junkies, wicked good banter of a ship's intelligence ( ala Hal from 2001 SPACE ODDESY) and Paolini does a good job of world building. I don't know if his earlier fans will be disappointed that there are no dragons here (spoiler!) but he has proven that he can write for an adult audience. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

I really wanted to like this book enough to give it a higher rating. It was creative and I enjoyed and was invested in the well-being of the ensemble cast but Paolini's editor needed to cut him off about 300 pages earlier. When you are at the climax of the book wondering how long it can go on, it's just too long with too much minute description.

Paolini's foray into sci-fi is nothing short of amazing. He takes just enough time to set up the characters, then everything kicks into high gear and carries you right through to the end on an adrenaline rush. Paolini is a natural storyteller and fans of science fiction will likely be pleased with this tale.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to the ARC. The Inheritance Cycle was one of my favorite series growing up, and hearing that Christopher Paolini was going to be writing a new book made me really excited. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars follows that journey of Kira, a xenobiologist who discovers an alien life form on a planet lightyears from Earth. This discover alters human civilization as we know it and leads to an intergalactic war between multiple species. Overall, I did enjoy the story, through the story starts of incredibly slow. The real action does not truly starts till at least 150-200 pages in. Kira is an interesting character, but at times some of her actions seem to contradict her core personality. The other main characters aren't really introduced until later in the story, making character introduced earlier easy to forget and almost seem irrelevant. Even with the rough beginning, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was an excellent, action-packed read that is one that fans of space operas shouldn't miss. I am curious and hopeful that there will be a sequel.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book. It's so great to see Christopher Paolini writing books again. It felt like I was watching this whole book play out in a movie and he was able to suck readers into this story and develop a world that made it seem so real. I would definitely recommend this book to readers who enjoy science fantasy or space fantasy. I even convinced my dad to preorder this book! Thank you again. 5 stars!!!! Loved it!

During a scouting mission on a uncolonized planet, Kira finds a ancient place and is exposed to a odd dust that can move by itself. Things progress fast and furious from there, until war erupts from all sides and from beyond the stars. How can Kira make this right?

This is a action packed book full of wonderful characters that come together under a very unusual circumstances, one of which normally would not happen. Kira is a strong main character that finds a way to keep her friends safe. This is a wonderful book and a great come back for Paolini.

This review will appear on my blog on Sept 15th

After a routine survey at the end of a colony preparation mission on a planet goes wrong, xenobiologist Kira gets a first hand look at alien technology which quickly becomes a much larger issue when she can't seem to get rid of it and other parties start to take an interest.

With an overall action-heavy plot, a changing and entertaining cast of characters, and a journey that takes place across the galaxy, readers who enjoy science-fiction/science fiction-fantasy plot elements and are able to suspend their disbelief throughout the entirety of the story will find a lot to love in this book.

The book is somewhat slow at the start and the reader doesn't meet the people who Kira will be spending most of her time with until a little later in the plot, so it might be a rough start for more action-oriented readers until that point.

I think that this book gets started really, really slowly. In fact, I almost put it down because I didn't see it going anywhere and because I felt the relationship between Kira and fiance was forced and unrealistic. I also felt that no real scientist much less someone who had ever seen a dystopian science fiction movie would ever do the things that Kira does. But, if you can get through the beginning the book gets much better, Kira develops much more fleshed out relationships with other characters, and the action will eventually begin.

This is a fun, fast-paced adventure to read! As a fan of Paolini's Inheritance Cycle, I was pleased to see that his writing style has improved since that series. (Although there is still some room for improvement.) The story pulls you in and while Paolini borrows from other space/sci-fi stories (Alien, for one), there is a lot of originality. The characters are well developed and I felt really connected to them, especially Kira and the crew of the Wallfish. Kira is my favorite character, but there was a bit of awkwardness that I felt came from Paolini writing a female character (at one point she stops and sobs how ugly she is, which felt out of place), but while distracting, the plot is compelling enough to move past it and continue reading. The plot is quite action-heavy, which made it a fast read, yet Paolini was able to fit in believable character development among many of the main characters. I wasn't super happy with the ending, but I have hope that the next book will help explain why he went in the direction he did. 4 stars and looking forward to the next book.

I've never read any of this author's work, and I probably won't. I feel like it was a dud for me. It just didn't spark my interest.

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 there to be more to the story but it could easily work as a stand alone story. I highly recommend this book.

Kira Navarez has clearly never seen the movie Alien. On a survey of an unknown planet, Kira find an obviously ancient relic. It’s all fun and games until the dirt and dust around Kira starts to move, Humans have always dreamed of reaching beyond the stars, of finding life elsewhere in the vast, empty universe. Be careful what you wish for. Paolini became a household name with the publication of Eragon and its sequel, written when he was just a teenager. His newest will enchant a new generation of readers and a female heroine is just what the world needs right now