This is an epic. No question about it. I was so happy to get a copy of the audiobook and the narrator did a great job of giving the characters different voices to keep everything straight. And there is a lot happening here. Kira doesn't know how much her life will change when her fiancé asks her to check out something on a far away planet. Suddenly, she is in the middle of a war and she is vital to the outcome.

Really, this was mostly about how Kira changed and adapted to the way her life was changing. She went from scientist to fighter. It wasn't quick. Did I mention this was an epic? In this case, regardless of how great the narrator was at doing her job, I wish I had read it myself. I didn't internalize it as much as I normally would a book this vast. It was by far the longest audiobook I have ever listened to and it took up a lot of time. But I would have been more invested if I had read it myself, I think.

Regardless, if you like sweeping tales, multiple galaxies, colorful characters (almost like the crew of Serenity if they were a little less likable), then you will absolutely love this.

Epic in scope, thrilling in minute. A wonderful return to form for an author who tasted greatness at the youngest of ages. A compelling, compulsively listenable story that just never lets up. A well-done take on the first contact story.

Jennifer Hale as the narrator is perfect, and will take many listeners into the perfect head space after her time as a space commander in a different form of media. A true all-star in the field.

What an absolutely stunning, fabulous book!! The story was exciting, action-packed, and amazing! I loved the characters, even the computers were wonderful. Every time the ship called the humans "meatbags" I just laughed hysterically.

This is a perfect story for readers that enjoy sci-fi, but also character development. It's got aliens, sci-fi tech, space ships, new worlds, and still maintains that human aspect that we can all relate to.

The audio was perfect. The narrator did a fabulous job, and kept me engaged the whole time!

Full review will be on my blog soon!

I was provided a gifted audio copy of this book. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

I’ve got to be honest here and admit that I was never a big fan of Eragon or any of the rest of the books in the Inheritance Cycle when I was growing up. So I was a little bit surprised at just how excited I was when I found out earlier this year that Paolini was going to be releasing a science fiction book. I’ve been trying to read more of the genre these days so I knew I was going to have to give this book a try and boy am I glad that I did. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini was a fantastic read that I was unable to put down once I had started listening to it.

So once of the things I’ve discovered over the last couple years is that it’s not science fiction that I’m not really a fan of but more specifically “hard” science fiction. So I was glad to find that To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was fairly light on the science aspect of the genre and instead focused more on telling a fun and interesting story. While I don’t have many preferences for the genre one of the things I really do enjoy reading about is first contact and how humanity might respond to discovering they weren’t alone in the universe. Add to that great characters like Kira Navarez and some really great worldbuilding and it’s like this book was written just to rope me in.

I do think that one of the reasons I was so excited to receive this book is because it’s one of the first audiobooks I’ve been sent to review. I don’t think I’ve listened to anything narrated by Jennifer Hale before and I’m going to have to remedy that quickly because I thought she was fantastic. She really managed to bring this book alive for me by somehow giving every character their own unique voice and breathing a lot of life and emotion into them with her narration. I can easily see her becoming one of my favorite narrators.

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to anyone looking for something new to read or listen to and I’m really hoping that we get more books like this from Christopher Paolini in the near future.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Christopher Paolini (author), Jennifer Hale (narrator), and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to read To Sleep in a Sea of Stars in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads book blurb: "It was supposed to be a routine research mission on an uncolonized planet. But when xenobiologist Kira Navárez finds an alien relic beneath the surface of the world, the outcome transforms her forever and will alter the course of human history.

Her journey to discover the truth about the alien civilization will thrust her into the wonders and nightmares of first contact, epic space battles for the fate of humankind, and the farthest reaches of the galaxy."

I listened to the audiobook version of this novel, and the narration is fantastic. The listening time is approximately 35 hours, so it is not a quick read, and some of the space science aspects of this book can be a bit overwhelming when I am not actually looking at the words. That aside, this NetGalley Audiobook experience was far superior to my previous experience. This book saved my place and downloaded perfectly on the first go! I could listen to this while I was cleaning, grading, or driving to and from work, which was awesome!

To emphasize the beginning of the book a bit more, Kira basically gets this strange suit that is actually an alien entity. She can communicate with it and it protects her from outside threats and even heals her if needed. This isn't exactly the way she wanted to encounter her first alien species, but as she gets to know the "jelly", a word used to refer to the alien species, she finds there is a lot to learn and there might just be a huge misunderstanding between the jellies and the humans.

This book is quite the space odyssey with just a dash of romance. Ther's a vibrant cast of characters with a militaristic feel to it as Kira finds herself transported through space to tackle different missions because of her xenosuit/symbiotic relationship with this strange alien lifeform.

Large as it is, this was a fantastic space adventure. While it's no Eragon (can we get Inheritance Book 5 next please?), it is still a well-developed, well-written work of art. I would recommend this book to more die-hard sci-fi fans for sure.

Rating: 5/5 Space Pigs

Format: Audiobook. I’d like to thank the author, Macmillian audio, and FierceReads for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What it's like: This is a classic space opera, so I’d recommend it to fans of The Expanse, Ender’s Game, and The Illuminae Files. Note: This is not Eragorn! Paolini has clearly grown so much as a writer and it is very evident in this adult sci-fi. It is complex, thought-provoking, and nerdy as hell where the science is concerned.

To sum up: Kira Navárez, a xenobiologist, is on a routine mission to investigate an uncolonized planet when she finds an ancient alien relic. What happens next will send Kira on an epic journey across the galaxy to defend herself and her crew, and ultimately the fate of humanity will rest on her shoulders.

What I enjoyed: WOW. There is really so much to love about this massive book. First of all, although it’s massive, the PACING is really excellent. The plot is action-packed, the characters diverse and interesting, and the MC relatable and admirable, so the pages (or the hours in my case haha) really flew by! The narrator, Jennifer Hale, is absolutely fantastic so I highly recommend the audio experience! There is also a Q&A convo at the end between Paolini and Hale that is so sweet, I loved hearing them chat about their experience writing and performing the book.

The WORLD-BUILDING is absolutely top-notch. Paolini himself claims in the afterword that he never went to college, but he could have fooled me. His whole world is built off of complex scientific concepts that he clearly researched methodically. Every element of his sci-fi world feels purposeful, thought-out, and interesting and I truly appreciate that! He even has an extensive appendix at the back where he goes into detail about the “science” of his world, text-book style! If that isn’t the nerdiest thing ever I don’t know what is and I am HERE FOR IT lol.

Lastly, I thought the overall MESSAGE of the book was really beautiful. The takeaway I got, was one that inspires hope, growth, and knowledge and how those things can overcome fear, violence, and ignorance. That is such a powerful and much-needed message right now, so I felt really touched and teared up near the end!

What was meh: Honestly nothing? The things I had trouble with were format and genre-specific and no fault of Paolini’s. Keeping some of the locations straight was tricky and keeping a 3D map in my head difficult, BUT if I had the physical version I am told there is a map (I think?) and there is definitely an in-depth glossary at the back for referencing all the specific names and places! I believe the audio will come with a pdf of this material upon release!

Overall, I HIGHLY recommend this book to fans of epic, space-opera style sci-fi! It’s science-based, it’s nerdy, it’s passionate, it has beautiful writing and fun characters, and as my rating suggests, THERE’S A SPACE PIG. So read it for the space pig if for nothing else!

To be clear before you continue reading this post, I have not yet finished TO SLEEP IN A SEA OF STARS. That being said, I WILL BE FINISHING IT! And ASAP because I need to know all the things. I just know I will not be able to complete it before the end of tomorrow (I have 19 hours left to consume, which is about 60% of the book) and I want everyone to know about this book so you can go out and buy it on release day!

With that disclaimer….

I am in love with this book. It is so incredibly original and I absolutely love space operas! This is the first Adult Sci-Fi I have read in quite some time that I know will leave a very long lasting impact on me. I don’t know of another that has really ever had this kind of impact. This might be due (at least in part) that the book has so much space to really flesh out the plot, characters, and world. Like seriously, 800+ pages and over 32 hours of listen time.

Kira is fantastic and totally relatable. And her banter with the other characters makes me smile every time (and even laugh aloud on occasion). I do have to say that my absolute favorite character is the AI. He reminds me of the robot from HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. Honestly, many aspects of the book does. But much more intense.

So much has already happened in the 40% I’ve listened to and there is SO MUCH MORE that needs to happen because there are so many questions. I will say that the pacing is slow, but I really appreciate being able to really get to know the characters. I am also not left wondering about the world. It is all explained seamlessly as the story goes on.

Additionally, Jennifer Hale is the perfect narrator for Kira. She has such a soothing voice that is overflowing with emotions. If you have an Audible membership, this is definitely one worth getting on audio! Although it’s like $60 at base price compared to $20 for the hardcover. The link to the Amazon page is here, and also has the Audible version.

Have you read this? Do you plan on it? Did you fly with Saphira and Eragon thanks to Paolini?

I wanted to like this book. I really, really did. And there were parts of it that I really DID like, but overall, this one just didn't do it for me. I'm not sure if I was listening to a pre-edited version of the audiobook or the real deal. If it's the real deal, then I'm even more disappointed because the editing is definitely sub-par. There were several instances where the narrator went back to re-record something, but they didn't cut it together right, so she just repeated the same sentence (or couple sentences) twice. It really upset the flow of the book. Additionally, there were other spots where you could tell she was narrating at a different time/different place. All of a sudden, the tone, background noise and her voice (i.e. - closeness to the mic, pitch, etc.) would be completely different. It was very distracting.

I did love the way the narrator voiced Nielson (I could be spelling that entirely wrong; I was listening, not reading, remember.) But I loved that character. She sounded just like Helen Magnus from Sanctuary, and I went nuts for her. Actually, most of the female voices were done quite well. I also liked her voice for the shipmind, Gregoravich. I didn't care for the other male voices she did, though. They were too forced and fake.

Additionally, the story itself was good in theory, but in practice, it was WAY TOO LONG. It just dragged and dragged and dragged on, and I was so tempted to stop a few times. Honestly, if I hadn't been reading this for Netgalley, I probably would have stopped. It was just much too long and drawn out, and it could have lost about 250 pages (maybe even more) and still had everything it needed to have in there to be a good, complete story.

All in all, this one just wasn't for me, despite the fact that I wanted so badly to like it.

“O happy day that we should be reunited, my bothersome little meatbags!”

Ohhh Paolini, I am in LOVE……. with this book! This is what sci-fi reads are all about to me. Excellent character depth, immersive action, feelings (oh all my feels) and vast amounts of technical sci-fi jargon that make you feel just a smidge smarter when you’re done. Or possibly like you’re leaving your science class a little glazed and confused.

Yes, this was a massive book and I’m honestly thankful I was also blessed with the audio or I may not have made my deadline. I found myself reading slower than normal just to savor the writing style and nuances of the scenes. Hands down all I have for this novel is praise. The size is daunting but if you enjoy massive books that take you on journeys across the vast expanse of the stars you will not be disappointed.

Characters
Kira makes an excellent MC. She is flawed and doesn’t progress quickly in her growth. The length of this novel gives readers time to watch her emotions and decisions draw the course for her instead of having an MC that is quickly penned to become a heroine. She has some of the most realistic human reactions as well as some of the most eyebrow raising ones. Though Kira is our MC I could not help but fall head over heels for the ship mind, Gregorovich. Each side character just made me feel all the warm and fuzzy character connections right down to Mr. Fuzzypants the cat and Runcible the pig. They all have background and depth to the point you can see yourself on the Wallfish laughing at the inside jokes. There are a lot of characters in this book and it can get confusing at times. This is one reason why I didn’t rush this read. If you happen to grab the audiobook, Jennifer Hale did an excellent job keeping all of the character voices distinct throughout the narration. This is probably why Gregorovich became my all-time favorite in the end. Serious props to Hale for each persona she created in my head.

World building
You’re in space. Not only is this unbreathable void the backdrop to the fears and unknowns it is also the unfurling mystery of what Paolini unleashes on those pushing past scientific boundaries. The planets, cosmos, ships and intricacies in between are beautifully penned. You feel like you’re there. Some of the technical aspects can make the reading go slower. There are pages that lend to scientific thought, inner ship workings and lengthy history to name a few. Honestly, this is expected for a read like this. By the end you don’t even feel like you finished over 800 pages. Is it huge? Yes. Does it have slow parts? Yes? Will you remember that by the time you read the final line? Probably not unless you’re just not into sci-fi.

Plot
Dive in. Do it. Don’t expect what happens in the first 100 or so pages to be the true plot of this novel. This is not Alien. Keep going. Expect highs and lulls. For me this played out like The Fifth Element had a baby with an alien hoard set on annihilation. Add a bit of a Guardians of the Galaxy vibe and that just about hits the nail on the head for me. I loved it. Little tidbit for audio listeners. The final 2 hours are the Appendix, author letter and interview.

Thank you to Tor, Bookishfirst, Libro.fm and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to and read this novel.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an ambitious first contact story, clocking in at over 800 pages. This seemed like exactly the type of book for me, but I didn't love it. The length of the book is a sticking point - if I'm reading a book that is epic length, I really need more heart in the story. This book is straight-forward, cold and clinical Sci=Fi. If that is your thing, I think you will love this book. I prefer this type of storytelling in smaller doses. I didn't connect with the characters and their interactions often felt forced. What it does have is plot. A lot of plot. It is action driven and full of detail, especially around the science being used. I thought it was especially interesting to think though the next stages of human evolution and what that might look like. It was the most fascinating part of the story. It definitely kept it from being a complete bust for me.

Everything starts with falling in love. We are told that Kira Navárez is in love with her fiance Alan, but I am not sure I believe that based on the lack of evidence. They decide that they don't want to have a long distance / interplanetary relationship, so they sign up to be colonists on a new planet. Kira is a Xenobiologist, so you know that is going to get her into trouble. Surveying her new surroundings, she basically wanders into the Fire Swamp and gets eaten by lightning sand. She quickly becomes the center for an interplanetary war and may be the best hope for the survival of humanity.

The audiobook is very well narrated, and I actually enjoyed it in this format. Given that it is so long, it helped to keep my focus - I imagine I would've put it down 100x if I was reading the print edition.

Thank you to Macmillan audio and netgalley for providing an advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a huge departure from Paolini’s earlier books, but it is still full of the rich world-building and complex characters that Paolini is known for.

I want to hangout with the crew of the Wallfish!

4/5 stars for some slower pacing in the middle, and overuse of the words “ichor” and “carapace.”

My thanks to Macmillan Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of the audiobook edition of ‘To Sleep in a Sea of Stars’ by Christopher Paolini. It is narrated by Jennifer Hale.

This is an epic work of science fiction with the book consisting of 939 pages, including a number of useful appendixes. Likewise, its audiobook edition has a running time of 32 hours, 30 minutes at 1x speed.

“Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds.
Now she's awakened a nightmare.”

The year is 2257 and thanks to FTL travel humankind has begun to colonise the galaxy. The lead character is Kira Navárez, a xenobiologist, who during a routine survey mission of the moon Adrasteia finds an alien relic. Now as we know from the Nostromo, this kind of discovery could lead to tears before bedtime and indeed, Kira’s initial delight turns to horror when the ancient dust around her starts to move.

First contact takes on a whole new meaning and before long Kira is caught up in a galaxy-wide war as Earth and its colonies stand on the brink of annihilation.

I felt that Christopher Paolini balanced his plot and characters well. Kira is an appealing lead with a strong will to survive. There is a fairly large cast including crew members and the like, though I found them easy to keep track of.

While there is plenty of action, including some epic space battles and hand-to-tentacle fighting, Paolini also includes humour and playful repartee between his characters demonstrating that even in the darkest situations, humans will crack jokes.

I could go on and on about my favourite bits though in terms of this review, I want to just underline that I found this a well written and highly engaging space epic. In his Afterword, Paolini writes that he envisioned ‘To Sleep’ as a love letter to the genre.

This resonates with me as while I don’t read a great deal of hard science fiction, I did read a fair amount when younger of the classics like Clarke, Heinlein, and Asimov. So this was a treat and am certain will appeal to readers who enjoy science fiction set in outer space.

In terms of the audiobook, this was Canadian-American actor and singer, Jennifer Hale’s first audiobook. I felt that she did a wonderful job, individually capturing the voices of its 50 characters, as well as the breathtaking action sequences and the novel’s quieter moments.

At the end of the audiobook there is a 30 minute conversation between Hale and Paolini about various subjects including the challenges in bringing a 900 plus page novel with a large cast to audio and a hint that he might eventually return to write more of this world. There is certainly scope for it, though ‘To Sleep’ stands perfectly on its own.

There has been a great deal of prepublication anticipation about this novel and I certainly feel that it is warranted.

Highly recommended.

Note: that as I also received the eARC for review I combined reading and listening for an immersive experience. My review for Goodreads and for Amazon, to be posted on publication day, combines my thoughts on the novel in general along with audiobook specific ones.

4.25 Stars

Rating this book is hard. I've waivered for days since finishing it.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is author Christopher Paolini's first foray into adult fiction, specifically science fiction. His well-known YA series The Inheritance Cycle was a fantasy series and magical worlds demand very different things from an author than science fiction. As he points out, you are really limited by "believable" science if your story is to hold together, especially if you're writing an almost 900-page novel. The amount of research and effort he has spent on this novel is evident to the reader and the worldbuilding that results is impressive.

Xenobiologist Kira Navárez's life was on the brink of a happy change. She was newly engaged to her co-worker Alan, a geologist, and they were planning to settle on Adrasteia, the moon of Sigma Draconis, where they have been working together for several months. She is overjoyed when, with the prospect of their mission ending and another of the several separations they've endured on the horizon, Alan proposes they settle down instead. On her final mission, on her final day, she finds an unusual rock formation, with a chemical composition that is unique. In exploring it, she triggers a terrifying series of events that leaves her bound to an alien... artifact? entity? machine? With her world in shambles she must escape from the military and intelligence branches of the League of Allied Worlds and hide her identity when she finds passage on a civilian ship, the Wallfish. In short order, an alien species, the Wranaui, makes its presence known and it is clear they are looking for Kira and the mysterious symbiotic alien she calls "The Soft Blade" bound to her. Only the aliens appear to be at war with each other, as well, in part due to an evolving threat that faces both humans and the alien species.

As I mentioned above, the worldbuilding is beautiful, robust, and in some respects creative and fascinating. The character development, beyond Kira and a few secondary characters, was not always satisfying. I'm mindful that this is the first book in a new series and we may see some of the characters better explored in future books. The relationship between Kira and Alan in the first couple of chapters felt awkward. Is "babe" still going to be popular among humans in the 23rd Century? And honestly, more character development would have meant a longer novel and the novel is, as mentioned, already just under 900 pages. That said, one of my favorite characters was Gregorovich, the Wallfish shipmind. I hope to see more of him in the future. The pacing of the novel was also jarring at times because things start out slowly, then develop rapidly, then slow considerably, then the action happens very quickly and dramatically, then the pace slows again. Yet still, the nature of the aliens, especially Itari, the one that Kira comes to know well, was fascinating and thought-provoking. Paolini manages to capture the simplicity of the human perception of life, freedom, self, duty, purpose, and how those things may be impediments to understanding or embracing an alien culture that is built upon completely different biology, and philosophy. The book comes with helpful Appendices and a full glossary for readers prone to getting lost in the complexity of this story. All in all, I can definitely say that Paolini has grown as an author. I will look forward to the next book in the Fractalverse series.

I was fortunate to listen to an advance review copy of the audiobook, beautifully narrated by Jennifer Hale, whose voicing of various characters, including Gregorovich and Itari is really terrific. This was a 32.5-hour audiobook that flies by with her narration.

I received a paper review copy and an audiobook review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for the reviews copy of this audio book!

Christopher Paolini broke all the way from fantasy with this one. This is honest to god 100% pure science fiction, and he did a great job with the transition.

Kira, our main character, took a bit to grow on me. But once she did, she was as firmly attached as that xeno. Paolini did a great job assembling a cast of characters. I was worried because Kira's basically alone for a good part of the beginning, but once she joins forces with a rag tag crew I knew we were in found family territory. I loved each and every one of them, even the slightly unhinged ship mind.

Humor was so expertly woven into the story here, which is good because it's so serious a lot of the time. It kept the story from feeling too heavy.

The ending was phenomenal, and even at a dense 880 pages (32 hours!), I hope we're able to see more from this story. I do feel like it could've been a bit shorter, but I still enjoyed the experience.

The narration was fantastic. and Jennifer Hale did and amazing job giving each character their own unique voice. I was so impressed every time she threw a new accent into the mix, making sure I was never confused on who was speaking.

Definitely recommend!

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars // by Christopher Paolini // narrated by Jennifer Hale

I have a lot of thoughts about this book and I have been dreading writing this review because I was worried I would not be able to put my thoughts into words as eloquently as I have seen so many other reviewers do over the last view weeks. But tomorrow is pub day (SO EXCITING) so it is time to get this done!

I LOVE THIS BOOK.

Ok. Now that I’ve gotten that out, I can go into the actual details of why. I don’t think there was anything I would’ve wanted differently about this book honestly. The writing, the world-building, the character development, the science, the audiobook production, you name it – I love it all. This book is about space settlement and exploration, relationships, deeply personal human strength, wonders, politics, war, and nightmares. It has so many different topics it touches on in amazing detail yet it does so without drowning or overwhelming you with it. It is a long story – or rather experience, especially if you are listening to the audiobook – but when it is over, you find yourself missing your crew and the adventures you went on together.

TSIASOS is split into into three parts: Exogenesis, Sublimare, and Apocalypsis. The last of these takes up the most room in the story. He sometimes writes rather lengthy chapters but if you are not a fan of that, he does split up his chapters into parts as well so it never feels like you’re stopping in the middle of something where it will make be difficult to orient yourself later.

While this book is not written as a first-person narration, it is written from the point of view of one character: Kira Navarez. Sometimes I am rather skeptical when a male author writes such a large book from the view of a female character. If you read enough books, eventually you may understand why. It can feel really awkward sometimes. But that is not the case with Paolini. I know not everybody agrees with me but for me he created a wonderful character that drew me in right away! Kira is such a strong female role model that was really easy to picture in my mind. A biology nerd! In space! Yes please! What I really loved about her though was that she was not a perfect person. Not at all. She could be scared, indecisive, doubtful, stubborn. Hell, she brought a whole alien species down onto humanity! But she was also loyal and loving and daring and brave and determined and sincere! And all that together created a character that was perfect for this mission.

But this was not just about Kira. Paolini also created a wonderful crew to stand by her side. I loved all the characters that he sent with her. They were such a variety of personalities that brought so many different kinds of relationships to this story. What I liked a lot was that this was not a story about romantic love. Yes, there were bits here and there, of course, because every good epic has relationships of all kinds in it, but there was no romantic love interest of Kira’s that was the focus of this book. This was about Kira’s love for humanity as a whole and that made this book that much better. But back to the others! Not only does Paolini give us a beautifully developed main character, he also gave us a crew and worlds full of people that are so well thought out that it is hard to believe they are not real. Every single one of these people I could imagine in real life because their thoughts and actions and emotions just made so much sense in these situations. They felt so natural.

Now, I have to be honest, I would not be able to tell you how diverse this lineup is overall. I very much struggle with remembering little details in my reading that are not repetitive (talk about a challenge at a job with lots of regulations and protocols!) and that is exacerbated when I am listening to an audiobook since I am not looking at the words myself. So I would not be able to tell you the race, nationality, etc. of each character specifically or how many of each are represented, but I did enjoy listening to how certain nationalities would tend to settle in specific areas or the times when a crew member spoke in Korean. I also liked the fact that LGBTQIA+ characters were mentioned but that their existence was not something that was controversial, just a part of life like it should be.

So the length of the book is something else that has been a topic of disagreement among reviewers it seems. Whether you will like that or not will depend on what kind of books you enjoy, in my opinion. I loved it and would have loved to have several hundreds more pages but that is because I love the kinds of details he put in this story. There was a lot of action going on that is obviously very exciting, but there are also sections that are rather slow. This is where the relationships are built, where we learn about the science and technology, the backgrounds of the characters, the details about space exploration and colonies. This is what makes a good book a great one to me. It is what makes it possible to imagine the world that he built as if it was real and tangible, a place you and I could visit. Characters that we may meet someday. So if that is what you are looking for in a good book, then this will be just right for you. But if you prefer action-packed and fast-paced all throughout, then this is probably a little too drawn out for you.

Since obviously just having this giant book is not enough, Paolini blessed us with a great addendum as well. Here you get to enjoy a lecture from the UMC Naval Academy on ship-based combat in space, an excerpt from the Entropic Principa on space travel, a terminology section (I see what you did there, Paolini! ~~~), and a timeline. This us helpful throughout the book if you need a refresher on a certain term. I have to be honest, I am bad about not reading afterwords and acknowledgements, but I am glad I did this time. He gave us some interesting bits about his writing life that just made me so nostalgic for Eragon again. What rounds out the book so well after all of that is the beautiful cover as well as the artwork throughout the book. There is just so much work that went into this book and I appreciate every little detail of it.

So if you are ready for an epic space opera about aliens and artifacts, love and hate, trust and betrayal, science and new religions, triumphs and incredible heartbreaks, civilian and military combat, and politics and humanity – then this is the book you do not want to miss out on!

About the Audiobook:

Jennifer Hale – wow. She deserves more than just a sentence tacked onto the end of a review about her being a great narrator. Jennifer Hale is

I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E.

There really is no other word for it. As soon as the audiobook was over, I tweeted about how I had to find every other book that she has narrated because I just needed them all in my life. And you know what she said? (Yes, she answered me and I totally fangirled over it) This was her first ever audiobook narration! WHAAAT?!? I know she has great experience with narrating shows and video games and the like, but it still blows my mind that her first ever audiobook was more than 32 hours long and that she did had me mesmerized the entire way through! I know y’all probably think I’m exaggerating but I really did enjoy her narration that much. She pulled me into the story so deeply that it was disorienting to leave it sometimes. She has an incredible range of voices (50 characters!) and her little sound effects were so fun! I have been listening to other audiobooks on a faster speed lately but I listened to this one on normal speed the entire way through because it just would not do it justice otherwise. It would have been a shame to miss out on her talent by rushing through and to be honest, this book also had way too many details for me to listen faster. A nice bonus with the audiobook was that we got an interview between Christopher Paolini and Jennifer Hale at the end.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This is truly now one of my all-time favorites and I am so glad I was allowed to be a part of this before publication. What a dream come true after growing up with Eragon. Also, after several weeks of wondering, I finally found out the other day that this will be a series and that we will get many more stories set in the Fractalverse. I cannot wait!

I was absolutely unable to put this down. I’m not always a sci-fi fan, but this had me hooked. Kira was an amazing heroine and the cast of characters was so exciting. I HAD to know what happened to Trig!!

One negative: some of the language was extremely repetitive: ichor, carapace, chalk and chaff.

The narrator was wonderful.

I was provided a copy of the audiobook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is fantastic, I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could! Why not 5 stars you ask? My only real issue is the length of the story. When the description says that this is an epic space opera, it means EPIC. This is vast and covers alot of ground, well space. The print book will be almost 900 pages and the audiobook was 32 and a half hours long. That is a huge commitment for an audiobook (I normally opt for the print version of such long tomes), however I found myself opting to listen to the audiobook instead of reading traditionally over and over because I was so invested in the storyline. The characters and plot suck you in and keep you invested. I do feel like there were a few parts that could have been condense or were a bit repetitive, but they were also necessary to transition the story or move a plot point forward. We almost get two endings in this book. I thought the book had ended and we'd get an epilogue, but it kept going with the promise of more potential books in this world, which I would happily devour.

I highly recommend the appendix as it has tons of reference material to the science used in the creation of the book as well as a glossary that explains some of the characters, concepts, and terms used. While this adds quite a bit of length to the audio, I appreciated that this was included as often these parts are left out of audio versions. I learned so much from this section and it will be invaluable to readers, and would have been a great reference while listening. I also loved the author's note and the interview at the end between the author and the narrator. It was a treat to get some insight into the creation of this book as well as the recording of the audiobook. It helps the reader to understand where the book started why it ended where it did. We also get a bit of a teaser that there may be more coming in this universe. Jennifer Hale is a fantastic narrator, it is hard to believe this is her debut as an audiobook narrator. I hope she continues narrating books! There are quite a few characters in this book and she did an amazing job giving life to all of them. I plan on purchasing a copy when this is available as the author mentions some amazing artwork in the print copy.

If you are a fan of Paolini's previous work in the [book:Eragon|113436] series, as I am, you won't be disappointed. This has his wonderful writing style and great world building. I loved all of the characters. He dreamt up this amazing sentient alien race and they all look a bit different though they feature qualities of earth's sea life and have a unique way of communicating. He describes them in such detail that you can really begin to envision what they look like. The same goes for the spacecraft, the other characters, and the action scenes. The action scenes can get a little violent and gruesome, so reader be warned. He doesn't hold back when it comes to the fighting, some of the scenes are like a horror novel. Because the book is lengthy we get tons of character development and backstory on all of the side characters, which is something often overlooked in books. I loved that the author took the time to give each of the characters personality, a backstory, and they all played a role in Kira's journey. We get to watch Kira evolved from a human, to a human invaded by this xeno organism, to something else entirely.

I really appreciate that Paolini tried to keep to actual science (he mentions this in his afterward). He had a vision for what he wanted the space travel to look like without breaking all of the rules of science to make it work. While he takes his liberties with the science to make it fit his vision, it isn't all a figment of his imagination. You can tell that he really put time, research, and effort into the creation of his sci fi universe from the tech the humans use to assist in their day to day tasks and military efforts, the space travel, the religions, and the creatures. It makes for a really enjoyable journey.

If you are a fan of space operas, sci-fi, or Paolini's previous books, I 100% recommend this! I'm so honored to have gotten a chance to read this early. This will take you on quite the journey of unbelievable science, action, creatures, and emotions. I just finished it and I want to reread it because I miss the characters already.

⭐️⭐️⭐️?
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This book was exhausting to read. So. Much. Happens! The poor characters and the poor reader hardly get a break from the action. 😂 Never in my life have I wanted to take a nap after ever reading (listening) session. This book was almost too long. I feel like 100 pages of editing could have been beneficial. But, it was still an entertaining read and an interesting experience.
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The narrator of this audiobook was amazing! Her tone and inflections for each character were spot on. (Expect for one character who’s accent grated my nerves lol)
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If you are looking for a THICK first contact sci-fi book to pick up this autumn, I would definitely give “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars” a shot.
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For full disclosure, my reading experience might have been hampered by current events. Hurricane Laura is really putting me through the ringer. It’s a good thing I’m in a bit of a slump, because I have little time to read anyway. So while I thought this book was a bit long for me, if I had read it at literally any other time it very well might have been a four or five star read.
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Thank you NetGally and Tor Books for lending me the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. Release date September 15th, 2020.

This was fantastic and the narrator really added to it and brought it to life. She was excellent!! I am still lost in the world that Paolini created! Sci-fi thriller at its best!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced audiobook copy. I can not wait for the book to release and plan to dive back in and start the adventure once again.

I had to DNF this one which made me really sad. I really want to give this book another shot in the future and will update my review when I do.