Book Review: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini, Jennifer Hale (Narrator)
(Published by Macmillan Audio, September 15, 2020)

5.0 Stars!

Audiobook narration and flow: A+. "This narration is extra special", I thought. It turns out Narrator Jennifer Hale is the world record holder for "most female video game voice" involved with Halo, the World of Witchcraft and Star Wars, the anime series, et alia.

Audiobook production and cast: A+. Superb supporting cast. The myriad voices, the cadences, the intonations, the sound effects. Both alien, and human. They mesmerize....

And what do you know: most of the "cast" is magnificently animated by the genius of Jennifer Hale!

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"Non nobis solum nati sumus." ("Not for ourselves alone are we born.") - Marcus Tullius Cicero

Island #302-01-0010 off the western coast of Legba, the far reaches of the universe. Bride-to-be Kira Navárez, Xenobiologist, investigates a disabled drone on the remote poisoned planet. She inadvertently encounters a xeno, an alien species, in the form of soft dust which creeps up her boots, her legs, her body and induces coma.

As she rouses, she discovers raw, untamed super powers - a "soft blade".

The "Soft Blade" becomes Kira, as one. Her suit, her armor, her shield, her entire being, her secret weapon.

But little did Kira know that the intrusion of the xeno into her body would have a catastrophic effect on her starship, the Extenuating Circumstances, blown out of existence. And ensue in an upheaval, an all-out war for dominance in the universe, aimed at the annihilation of humanity - the earth and its colonies.

And Kira finds out that not for herself alone was she born. But for a higher purpose. At the cost of irreversible personal losses.

"...She loses her love, loses her world, and she may have been the cause of it..."

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Seven years in writing, Christopher Paolini's 900-page space saga will appeal, I believe, to a wide audience, apart from the younger set enamored with Paolini's four-book "Eragon" YA fantasy series.

While themed fresh and original, I could feel the shadows of Asimov, Roddenberry, Frank Herbert, George Lucas, Stan Lee, even Hajime Yatate in segments. Epic sagas in varied genres come to mind, those that stay with the reader long after the last page has been flipped: Dune, Shogun, Atlas Shrugged, The Stand that.

Definitely a must-read, even for those who just occasionally dip a toe into the sci-fi pool.

Review based on an ARC from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley.

On what was supposed to be a routine mission to an uncolonized planet, Kira discovers a new alien life form that bonds and attaches itself to Kira, changing her entire being. As humans face new, terrifying enemies, and intergalactic war looms ahead, Kira might be the only one who can put an end to the destruction of life as we know it.

Because of this book, I not only have completely revised my stance on sci-fi in general, but I think I love space operas now. This book slapped so hard, I nearly got launched into outer space myself. The aliens and new life-forms were so well thought out, the high-intensity battle scenes had me on the edge of my seat, and I absolutely love the trope of found family. I'd highly recommend the audiobook because the narrator is A+. Her voices were so diverse and each character really came to life.

Oooooh goodness, reading this is turned out to be a lot more 'body horror' than what I would expect from 'young adult'. But okay! I was in this. What I really ended up struggling with was just how long the novel was. I thought the first 50 pages of House of Earth and Blood was slow, but this book puts that one to shame.

Maybe I would have been more happy with this if Kira's found family had been just a little bit queer.

In reflection, I think this book has a classic case of wanting to cover too much ground and too many themes, and therefore doing justice to none of them. At the beginning of the story is a love story, which is swiftly followed by tragedy and an alien invasion. Then we cover a period of time where the government is stereotypically torturing someone 'for their own good' after which there is a wider war narrative.

Maybe if this book had been split into a duology or trilogy it would have seemed better. As it was, I didn't feel like I could gather my feet for long enough to really get into knowing any of the characters, or liking them. The only constant was Kira and the Soft Blade and I wasn't sure of how reliable either of them were as narrator.

It is for all these reasons that I didn’t make it past the halfway mark and will therefore will be offering a midling star rating.

Really well written and epic space novel. I loved the details in this book. The audiobook is quite long, but worth the ride.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC copy of this book!

I can tell that Paolini took the time to write this novel--close to nine years!--and the care that he put into this book really shows. The writing is a lot different than his earlier works, and it's been amazing following his journey and growth as a writer.

That being said, I'm a huge fan of space opera, and this was such a fun read full of all the space opera delights that I expect from this genre. In To Sleep in s Sea of Stars, humans have spread throughout the galaxy, and we're introduced to different moons and planets all developed into a very intricate plot and world (yes, this is a long book, but in my opinion it needed this length to tell the entire story). We follow Kira, who has experienced her own traumas, along with an entire crew who stand by Kira's side. What really sets the book in motion, without getting into too much of the spoiler territory, is an alien suit that forever changes the course of Kira and her team.

I loved the technology, the twists and turns, and how the book is split into three (very organized) parts.

I was not disappointed by this book, and I'm actually considering listening to the Jennifer Hale audio version *just* to revisit the story and hear it told through the voice of Hale.

I am usually not a fan of long audiobooks since they fail to keep my attention, but I am really happy I finished listening to this book. I loved the narration and was really drawn to the way the author developed the characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this book for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book' The narration was wonderful the characters drew you in with how well they are crafted.

This was a fantastic book and a fantastic audiobook experience! Jennifer Hale does such a great job bringing the story to life. She makes the characters feel real and brings them to life, especially the main character Kira. The book is just an amazing space opera adventure! Paolini has sure come a long way since Eragon. Will definitely recommend to my customers.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this title

This book was not for me and I ended up giving up. I was hoping to gift this one to my 17-year-old but I will have to do some more research to see if that will work since I Couldn’t make it through myself as I know this is his type of book.

Wow!
Ok so I will say I throughly enjoyed listening to this book- although I do think this would be one of the rarities where I wish I could have read the book- it was 33 hours in length to listen to- which seemed to take me forever to listen. While I LOVED it I think I may have been able to fully grasp more if I read myself.

Kiara’s journey with the soft blade was an interesting story and I must say put me through the ring of being on the edge of my seat.
I love love loved Gregoravich - the ship mind. Seriously I wish he came up more I was laughing every time he uttered the phrase
‘Oh spiky meat bag’

Thank you NetGalley for this ebook!

Disclaimer: I received a sneak peek and an early audiobook from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

Author: Christopher Paolini

Book Series: Standalone (so far?)

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: f/f romance and side characters, menstruation mentioned, aids like character

Recommended For...: science fiction, Paolini fans

Publication Date: September 15, 2020

Genre: Science Fiction

Recommended Age: 18+ (language, romance, sex and sexual content, gore, violence, death, grief, aliens)

Publisher: Tor Books

Pages: 878

Synopsis: 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 . . ."

Review: Well, I'll admit it, I didn't think Paolini would be able to write something as captivating as this was for me considering that I have issues getting through Eragon but I'm so glad I was wrong. Paolini does well with his writing (he's better than JK and less problematic, let's be honest) and he does well to make a world so well developed that I see it in my dreams. The characters are also very well developed and I feel so much for Kira's pain and triumphs.

My only issue with it is that there's definitely a rhythm to the book, a bit slow then fast then slow, but it works for this book. I also had issue with humans being called 2 form when we technically have at least 3 sexes, but I think the book did ok to address that, but I still would have liked to see more. Even though I felt the book didn't do so well in that area, I thought Paolini did well to show a well developed female character with very few tropes and an accurate and loving f/f relationship. Overall, I think it's one of my favorite sci-fi books now and I think Paolini did well for his first book out of a well loved fantasy series.

Verdict: A well done and amazing sci-fi! Highly recommend!

I really really enjoyed this book, it just took quite a while to finish it, as the audiobook was 32 hours long, and finding a quiet time to listen and focus to it was quite difficult.
I am such a huge fan of science fiction, movies, books or whatever, and this hit all of my favorite things. I loved the way the world in ~2200 was set up, the way humans have traveled and settled throughout the galaxy, and, at least for this timeline, that aliens did in fact exist in shared space with humanity, and that the Jellies, or Ranowi were just as intelligent as humanity, with their own cultures and technology.
I also loved the crew of the Wallfish, a ship introduced a little way into the book, and how they were all so diverse and unique.
I never found a dull moment in this book, and loved the ending to it, (though, spoilers, I really hope we do get to see the the crew of the Wallfish again in the sequel) and I am so excited to see what happens in the next book.
Since I did listen to this on audiobook, I throughly enjoyed the narrator, and the life she breathed into this story and characters.
I also really appreciate the fact that the last 2 hours of the audiobook seem to be more world building, and deeper into the science and the math behind the specifics of humanity’s ability to space travel, but I will wait until I get my finished copy to fully dive into that section.

This audio book is one of my favorites. The narriortor they chose fit perfectly and really helped bring the story to life. I would recommend that readers listen to this at 1x speed or a bit slower if needed. there is a lot of information that is given to us in the start and you don't want to miss it.
i am so happy to have gotten the chance to listen to this story earlier. Thank you netgally and publisher!

An absolute epic of a book. A true space opera and I was so ready for it. Slow to build and wonderfully layered. The characters are rich and complex. The settings are surprisingly diverse and endlessly interesting, considering the amount of time confined to spaceships. The author finds new ways to keep drawing you back in and describing each and every little thing.

It’s definitely a book that you go into knowing it’s a bit of a long haul. That the payoff and new characters are slow to build and arrive but it’s a great journey. As we learn more and add to the puzzle of past and present, there is a great satisfaction.

I wasn’t 100% enamored with it. There were definitely moments when I started to stall out, or wished for something with a bit more flash or pizazz. But it really is the minutia that gives this story it’s true weight. And there are fun things thrown in, like a pet pig in space that gets it’s own cryo.

And last, I must comment on the audiobook experience! It. Is. Amazing. Hands down one of the best narrators in my recent memory. The voices and timing and inflection are so on point. It enhances the entire experience beyond words. I highly recommend it if you’re trying to decide how to read this book.

*I received a free audio copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Opinions: WOAH. Even waiting three weeks to write this review after finishing To Sleep in a Sound of Stars wasn't enough time to settle my emotions. Normally, 700 pages is my largest cup of tea, but the extra 180 pages only heightened my adrenaline rush. I'm still flabbergasted by Kira's perseverance and, when looking at the book thematically, her considerate number of failures. However, since Paolini is a master at development and narrative, readers get to appreciate Kira's growth and her slow build towards a successful climax (no spoilers though!). I sincerely hope that all readers feel the same rush of inspiration and power that I did when I set this one down for the final time. Without fangirling, I must also mention how in awe I am over the complex plot that, to my surprise, was easy to keep track of! A book of nearly 900 pages can easily seem repetitive, but Paolini managed to include dozens of scenes, plot twists, and changing relationships all while maintaining one coherent storyline. There is an entire series of content in one book, and I loved every second of it!

My Favourite Thing: As I mentioned earlier, I am perhaps overly appreciative of the themes presented in To Sleep in a Sound of Stars. More specifically, I was very intrigued by Kira's struggle with her needs and the greater good. Without spoiling anything, one of the most casual yet meaningful lines was, "What was Kira to do, allow the mass jellies to kill her?" Yes! Self preservation is not a priority during war, yet..... Any English Literature nerd has hundreds of pages of material to ponder over!

My Least Favourite Thing: Although I never felt bored while reading To Sleep in a Sound of Stars, 900 pages was a bit lengthy. However, finishing it felt like an accomplishment!

Recommended For and Similar Reads: To Sleep in a Sound of Stars is a realistic-fiction tale set in a science-fiction setting for fans of Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, Aliens by Robert Sheckley, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, and The Martian by Andy Weir. I strongly recommend this one to teens ready for a long, empowering read and adults interested in a read to work on a bit every day.

Note: I listened to the audiobook. Apologies in advance for any misspelled names. Additionally, spoiler alert for some small plot points.

The book takes a little while to calibrate to (what I felt was) an appropriate tone. It read more like a cheesy romance novel rather than sci-fi thriller for the beginning hour or so of the audiobook. I actually kept checking the summary to be sure I wasn't crazy and just mixing up books. After the initial plot setup, the book takes on a completely different, darker tone (and much, much improved dialogue).

At first I thought Kira didn't react appropriately to Alan's death (it seemed like she was more upset to lose her overlays than to lose her fiance)...but it comes up again later in the book, and the emotions are better written. I guess the reader is supposed to chalk it up to shock- he did die in a shocking and gruesome manner.

I'm glad the technical details went so far as to explain how Kira would pee/poop and have her period after bonding with the xenoform...because honestly I would have wondered?! No stone left unturned with the physical aspects of the suit's impact on her body! I have a high tolerance for TMI details, but there was one passage that veered into Too Much even for me. This aspect of wearing the xeno comes up sporadically through the book.

Some parts of the book were a little far-fetched. One example that sticks out to me is when somehow the entire crew of the Wallfish survives a very risky and dangerous encounter, yet tons of trained marines died. Maybe that actually makes sense in the real world (e.g. the marines would be protecting civilians or initiating attacks, putting them inheritantly at more risk), but it felt very convenient to me. By the end of the book, only one Wallfish crew member has died, and it isn't even someone I would consider part of the main crew.

Near the very end, stuff got pretty weird, but in an awesomely good way. I liked the "soft" ending; it was a unexpected outcome for such a violent and harsh plot. I think about 1 hour 45 minutes is essentially a glossary or appendix about the science (I honestly haven't finished that part yet). Now that I've finished listening, I think it could have easily been split up into multiple books. It was a bit of a beast and the plot felt epic enough, it could have probably spanned at least 3 books in terms of scope (with additional details added in a few places).

One final audiobook specific review: The voice actor is so good!!! She also voiced FemShep in Mass Effect, so I was already sold on her - but she is honestly so talented. She maintained voice consistency over 32 hours of audio and a huge cast of characters. The diversity of backgrounds represented was fairly impressive (not sure if guidance from Paolini or if she just did her thing).

DNF 20%

I tried. And my DNF is not due to the story not being interesting. It was very interesting and pulled me in. But I struggled getting past all the swearing. I enjoyed the Eragon series (well not the ending, sorry, not sorry) So I went into this thinking that I enjoyed his writing in his previous books that I've read and I'd really like to see his take on sci-fi, space fantasy, aliens and such. I liked it. But the amount of swearing was just over the top for me. I wondered at the beginning of it was just going to be there and then peter out but it didn't. As intrigued as I was by the storyline and figuring out about the alien species I just couldn't.

A quick note about the narrator of the audiobook...Jennifer Hale did a really great job. I enjoyed how she brought the book to life for me. I was very engaged with her reading.

Content: Swearing 100+ of pretty much every word, also a sex scene near the beginning (I don't know how in depth it gets as it started to get out of my comfort zone and I skipped ahead). Some suspenseful scenes with fighting, killing and peril.

I received an audiobook copy from the publisher, Macmillan Audio, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

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.

WOW, what a story. Kira discovers an alien lifeform on the planet she is sent to investigate. When she returns to her ship all seems well! But it is not well, it is far from well! This start happening pretty fast and many start dying. On numerous occasions, I though Kira died, but the alien life form has other intentions for her. This is a lengthy book , over 800 pages. I was honored to be given a copy of the audiobook from NG. I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook and feel a lot of that enjoyment was from the narrator. I lost count of how many voices she had to use, but it was many, very many! I tend to not be a lengthy book reader, so I do not know if I would have picked this book up, but I am so grateful I got the chance to0 listen to this wonderful sci-fi story. Kudos to Christopher Paolini, as I hear this book was a long time in the making and I feel well worth the time. I am giving this a 5 star review. Spot on storytelling, narration, and any author who can have me on the edge of my seat to know what is next deserves 5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this audiobook. I am providing a voluntary review. All thoughts and views are my own.

Okay, first and foremost, Jennifer Hale (the narrator) was fantastic. I think she nailed the portrayal of this story in such a way that had it not been her telling it, I'm not sure I would've enjoyed it as much as I did. Granted, there's no way to say that for sure, but I'm sticking to my quasi-irrational statement because she was just wonderful and gave this story a delightfully unique voice.

As for the story itself... clearly, I adored it. I listened to this story over quite a long period of time because, for starters, it's a long one. But I was also recuperating from major surgery and my energy levels have been next to nil lately. Yet despite having long breaks between and often stopping in the middle of chapters, I remained engaged and drawn into the intricacies of the world, characters, and their stories.

I will always remember this story as the one that got me through some pretty painful days, so it will hold a special place in my heart. But I truly believe it can—and will—do the same for anyone who loves a good sci-fi fantasy!