Member Reviews
I have been unable to download the audiobook so I am unable to provide review for this book. I hope to read it in the future.
Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 stars
This is a really, really long audio book. Clocking in at 32 hours, it is triple the average length of most recordings. I thought the narrator was excellent. I liked the characters and I thought there was a lot of interesting futuristic tech ideas. However the book never grabbed me. He tried to include too much into one book.
4 1/2 Shiny Stars...
The first thing to draw me in was the spectacular cover. I had this on my TBR before I saw the audiobook pop up and was thrilled to be able to listen to it. What I didn't realize at first was the length of this book. At close to nine-hundred pages in book form and around thirty-two hours in audio, it is quite a commitment. I gradually worked my way through it and found myself immersed in the world Mr. Paolini created. Simply put, the world building was amazing. Mr. Paolini described everything in great detail. It helped the reader to be able to completely envision the different settings and characters/creatures. There are times that it felt as if the level of detail was a bit excessive, but it's hard to say what I would omit.
The main character, Kira, is a xenobiologist who goes on quite a life journey....not by choice....at least not directly. She and her team have just wrapped up a long term assignment when she discovers an alien relic and her life as she knows it changes. Along with Kira's adjustment, there are aggressive aliens attacking different planets and outpost...all leading up to an inter-galactic war between various species.
My favorite part of the book would have to be the relationships Kira forms with others along the way. I also enjoyed how openly the author shows the weaknesses in us all. He makes all the characters more real by often giving them a sense of humor and the ability to care about each other. Likewise, he can describe a creepy alien with tentacles or pinchers and make it the stuff of nightmares...truly.
Last but not least, I have to take a moment to RAVE about the talent of narrator, Jennifer Hale. She was able to change voices with the characters in a way that never had you doubting which character was talking. She took the words from the page and gave them life with her voice. It gave such dimension to this book. For me, I think I enjoyed it even more because of her narration. She was the perfect choice!!
Thank you to NetGally and Macmillan Audio for this ARC. I chose to voluntarily review this audiobook and the opinions contained within are my own.
I had been eagerly waiting for Paolini’s next project after Eragon and the premise of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars sounded amazing! So I dived into the audiobook without thinking twice.
I loved thr concept and the characters were amazing! I was very intrigued by the ship mind and the relationship between Kira and Soft Blade but unfortunately this book didn’t quite work for me in the audiobook format. The details and all the science just flew over my head and I could only grasp a very general idea of the plot. I am planning to reread this at some point with the physical copy and my rating will probably change after that. For now, even though I loved whatever I understood from the narration, I am going with 3/5
I liked this overall, but it's too dang long, and could be shorter and still be compelling. Paolini is a talented author with a good imagination. I think most scifi fans will enjoy this one.
I really appreciate the review copy of the audio version!!
I'll be honest here, when I saw I approved for this ARC, I called my husband at work and started yelling about how I got the most anticipated read on my TBR through Netgalley. I was so excited and happy. Reality sank in and realized I'm in Med school-how. Would I find time to read over 850 pages-or since I received the audio, over 32 hours? Well, I found the time-any where I could-5 min before bed even. This book devoured me.
I somehow never read Eragon, so I came into this book with no idea what to expect from this author. This book is an accomplishment. The more I think about it, the more I love it. Not only did it hit all the markers for me, intelligent SF, well written and deep themes, but the world-building is also what truly blew me away.
I want to thank Paolini, Netgalley, and Macmillian for allowing me to review this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Look, I’ll be honest – I preordered the ebook of this as soon as it was available. But when I saw that Jennifer Hale (fem Shep from Mass Effect) was doing the audiobook, I couldn’t resist. This is a behemoth of a book – almost 33 hours (880 pages) – with a large cast of characters. Ms. Hale did an amazing job differentiating each of them, from accent to tone to speaking style. My personal favorite – and I’m sure, a lot of people’s favorite – was the shipmind Gregorovitch. Honestly, I can’t believe this is Jennifer Hale’s first audiobook, and I’ll definitely be looking for her work in the future.
Suffice it to say that a lot goes on in this book. The first part – Kira discovering evidence of alien life just as she’s about to leave the planet she’s been surveying – is just the beginning of her journey, and it’s slowly paced. Once that happens, though, the book turns into a rollercoaster of action. There’s a good balance between the action scenes and the worldbuilding exposition. This is very hard scifi, science-y as all get out but not quite as accessible as, say, The Martian. The worldbuilding is intricate and enthralling. From the different alien species to the various human colonies to the nitty gritty details of space combat, everything is described in exquisite detail.
“Because that’s what we do. We fall down, and then we help each other back up again.”
What stopped this book from being a 5-star read for me is that it’s very much plot-driven. The characters, even Kira, almost felt like an afterthought at times, and there were several times where I felt like they – especially Kira – acted out of character given what they’d experienced. It’s also glaringly obvious that it’s a male author writing a female character – some of the more supposedly romantic sections made me laugh out loud. Luckily – and I cannot honestly believe I’m typing these words – the romance isn’t a big focus of the book. I’m a sucker for found families, so I loved the crew of the Wallfish, especially Sparrow and Hua Chung, and of course, Gregorovich. We get to learn a bit about each character, even Runcible, the ship pig, but it all still felt a bit shallow. The only character I felt like we really got a good feel on was Gregorivich, and that’s mostly that he’s crazy as a loon.
“This I learned, meatbag, this and nothing more: when air, food, and shelter are assured, only two things matter. Work and companionship. To be alone and without purpose is to be the living dead.”
There’s a lot of themes explored in the story, almost to the point of being a bit too much. The one that stuck with me, though, was Kira’s continual fight for agency for herself. Near the beginning of the book, a character tells Kira to “eat the path” – basically, she means, that only through owning and accepting her actions can she overcome her circumstances. Kira spends a lot of time and energy initially fighting against the xeno, worrying about remaining a separate person from it, worrying about whether she’s still really Kira. Her journey towards accepting the xeno – and everything that means – and her strength while she did it was my favorite part of the book.
“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 – Gregorovich
No – Kira
😟 – Gregorovich”
Overall, this is a chonker of a book and totally worth it. Recommended to anyone interested in plot-driven first contact stories that span galaxies and question what it means to be human.
I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Paolini's return to publishing is definitely a triumphant one. While his previous fans may be expecting an epic fantasy, they certainly won't be disappointed with the futuristic world he's created in space. Following Kira, a scientist on a survey mission on an uncolonized planet after she's made first contact, readers are swept up in a space wide war. Kira joins up with the crew of a shipping vessel and together they race across the galaxy to stop the alien invasion and impending war. Jennifer Hale's narration was the audiobook was absolutely masterful. As with all of Paolini's books there's a plethora of characters and dialogue and she switches between voices seamlessly while also maintaining distinct voices for each. Honestly Jim Hale couldn't have even done it better and I don't know of a higher praise I say of a narrator than that. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an absolute tome but worth every page (or minute of the listen). Fans may wonder why it took so long for Paolini's next book to come out which is fully explains at the end--he was doing real research to make the scifi as real as possible. While it is a standalone and beautifully done as just that I would not hate any sort of spinoff or short story collection taking us back. I especially would love to know more about Gregoravich.
This book didn't disappoint me at all. The narrator was perfect and kept me interested. And the storyline was great.
I've never read any of Paolini's other works, so I went in with expectations of his writing. This SciFi space opera did so many things incredibly well that I love in books. Our main character Kira discovers an alien artifact on a survey mission and a story of first contact and the following war develops.
This book is very plot heavy and fast paced, with lots of well written action scenes and twists. Some of the side characters felt underdeveloped, but our main characters were detailed and interesting. This entry introduces the Fractalverse well, and I can't wait for Paolini to write more!
The audio was long, coming in at 32 hours! But Jennifer Hale did an absolutely wonderful job of bringing these characters and this story to life. Her voice acting made each character unique, and was so helpful in keeping track of all the interactions with the audio format.
I definitely recommend it to all SciFi fans! 4.5/5 stars
***Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio!***
I wanted to read this book so much. The cover is breathtaking. The author is renowned. The synopsis is striking. I wanted this book more than any book I have wanted in quite a long time. It didn’t disappoint.
Kira was a great narrator to take us through this tale. She studies alien lifeforms for a living. Popping around to different galaxies to discover what she can about different lifeforms that they run across. What she finds on this trip is not at all what she expects and it unwittingly unleashes a war that threatens to consume all of humanity. But what does it even mean to be human after what she discovers anyway? I really loved her narration and watching her evolve through the situation. She reacted much like anyone would in similar circumstances, which is something I always appreciate in a novel character.
The world in this book was just stunning. I don’t think I’ve ever read a world that was more thoroughly and entertainingly rendered. The history, dynamics, politics, all of it was there. I was quickly transported into this universe and I loved it.
The biggest problem with this book was that it was just so long. The print version is 880 pages and the audiobook is over 32 hours long. I loved the story but after awhile it all started to blend together a bit. I was no longer clear what exactly the goal was anymore. And that’s when it started to drag for me. So while I loved this story as a whole, it was just too long.
This review and more available at http://www.cometgrrl.com/book-reviews.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is the latest novel by Christopher Paolini. In it, we meet Kira, our narrator, and main character.
Kira is a xenobiologist, stationed on a remote planet as part of a small crew. Their job? Getting the planet approved and ready to be colonized, and become one of the next human habitats. Something unexpected happens, and Kira loses her fiancé and all of her crewmates.
This is all pretty interesting, and I liked the world-building. However, the story is advancing at a snail’s pace. After listening to about 9.5 hours of the audiobook, we reach a point where Kira has uncovered some amazing information and possibly a mini-climax in the novel. I feel that this could potentially have been the end of one story arc, making this book into a trilogy. However, there are 23 more hours to go in the audiobook.
I realized at this point, I just didn’t care enough to invest that much more time listening. I can listen to several other books in that amount of time.
The writing is excellent and the narrator is great. I wanted to love this book. It’s been a while since I’ve read a really great space opera, and I had high hopes for this one. Ultimately, though, the story is moving at such a slow pace that it didn’t capture my attention enough to finish.
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This book is amazing! Paolini departs drastically from fantasy (although if you read all of the Inheritance Cycle, apparently there's a very subtle reference to something in this very scifi book. This very epic and astounding and deep, deep, deep story of multiple (50, according to the interview with the narrator at the end of the book) characters, all with their own backstory. Space ships, planets, stars, ship-minds, and other far out things populate this dense and incredible account of Kira, a xenobiologist, and all she experiences because of a single chance encounter. The world is vast, the characters are in-depth, and go through extraordinary transformation as the story develops.
This is the kind of book that I will re-read at least once, and that says a lot coming from someone who rarely gets beyond the first book of a series and NEVER re-reads.
Loving this audiobook! It is hefty in length, but the story is well worth it. The narrator, Jennifer Hale was wonderful. Her voice was perfect for telling the story and really brought it to life!
The story is amazing and such an adventure. I feel like some of the content could have been left out in order to shorten the length, but that would be my only criticism. I am sure I will end up listening to this again and/or may even grab a copy of the book to read!
The writing of this book is strong and the world is complex and imaginative, but the story itself was very, very long. It was hard for me to sustain my engagement. I think I might have had an easier time with a hard copy for this one.
I received an AudioARC in exchange for an honest review.
I've already been recommending this book to everyone. I'm completely addicted.
Ms. Hale did a fantastic job of reading it. She's does some great accents and puts the perfect emotion into every scene. I look forward to looking for more books read by her!
Paolini knocked it out of the park. I was immediately pulled into the story and was listening every chance I got. He built a really cool world and made all the characters very human. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone gets to be a little bit of a hero at times. You don't really know who the good guys or the bad guys are and he has you questioning whether humanity should "win" or if we are the real threat to the universe.
Sigh. I don't even know where to start. Excellent premise. Less than stellar execution. I found myself zoning out throughtout this book, and I didn't care about the characters.
This book is out of the realm of what I typically read, and I did choose it for that reason. I really wanted to read something in this genre. I want to give a fair review, but these are, like any review, only my own thoughts. If you love science-fiction perhaps you’d feel differently.
I really enjoyed the beginning chapters of the book. I thought the writing was creative and exciting and I was so interested in what was going to happen to Kira (and the entire universe, really). I started to feel bogged down with the length, not because I don’t enjoy long books (and this is LONG), but because to me it just seemed like “too much” for the story. There were a LOT of character, locations, and new vocabulary, and I found it hard to follow in an audio version. If I had the physical copy, I know I’d be looking back to remember or reference previous passages, and would also have been able to look at the appendixes. I think easier access to the appendixes would be super beneficial. I was really not a fan of how things turned out in the end, and as much as I don’t want that to impact my ratings, it always does.
The narration of the audiobook was excellent. I really enjoyed the way the audio was done.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
A compelling sci-fi adventure, ideal for fans of authors like Sylvain Neuvel or Nicky Drayden. I never read Paolini's wildly popular early novels, so I don't have them as a frame for comparison like many other readers do. That said, Paolini is clearly a practiced and immensely capable writer, and although I agree with other reviewers that To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is not the most original narrative, it is a compelling novel nonetheless. Kira is a well-crafted character, and viewing the universe through her eyes made this such a pleasant read.
Wow. This book was amazing!
First off, I will say that I've read a few reviews that were shocked by the "content" of the book and I can understand that. This is an adult novel versus a YA novel. Personally, I could have done without the language and references to sex, but understanding that it is an adult novel I suppose I'm not surprised? Either way, if you don't like these things in books, you may not enjoy this novel then.
But, once I got past the more adult themes, I was able to really enjoy the book for what it was. An epic first-contact novel that created a new world in my mind and the beautiful ability the author had of describing that world so that the reader could experience it. It's an epic tale and yes - it's long -but I felt like it was worth the words.
Let's put it this way: I got a free audiobook copy of this book and I STILL bought the book to have on my shelves.