Now a New York Times and USA Today bestseller! Winner of Best Science Fiction in the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards!To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a brand new epic novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eragon, Christopher Paolini. Kira Navárez dreamed of life on new worlds.Now she’s awakened a nightmare.During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. … 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 . . .
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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/ 4 stars
I am not typically a sci-fi, space odyssey reader but this cover is gorgeous and the author caught my attention so I bought a copy when it was first released.
I decided to do the audio rather than read my hardcover copy and I really liked it. Jennifer Hale did a tremendous job with the narration and I found the characters and storyline to be well written and thought out.
Lots of adventure, a kicka$$ heroine, aliens, and a space traveling pig all make for one epic journey through the pages.
For what I believe was his first venture outside of YA, Christopher Paolini knocked it out of the park with this massive Adult Sci-fi.
Just finished this big boi, took me 67 days to read it and man was it an amazing adventure. What a great SciFi novel, totally get a Starcraft + Venom-like vibe…which I love since I’m a big fan of those franchises. Follow Kira and the relationships she gained along the way were just an amazing experience along with some world-building that kept the book really interesting. Getting little sound bits of Lore in this Fractalverse really keeps it interesting and makes you go “oh, i want to learn about that more”.
5 stars for Mr. Paolini, this was my first read by him, and look forward to more of this series if he plans on making them!
It’s a rare gift to be able to jump genres and tell a great story all the while. Really it is a statement of how good a writer Chris Paolini has grown to be. All the Eragon series and this new one are great books.
A great couple of evenings reading.
This was an entertaining story that kept me reading although some of the events were a bit too made up and, for me, the ending was a let down.
I wrapped up the month of March with To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini. I picked up the book solely because the author wrote The Inheritance Cycle, which were childhood favorites of mine. Little did I know that To Sleep in a Sea of Stars would become one of my all-time favorite SciFi novels! It was an epic journey that not only told a moving story of identity clashing with morality, but also included extremely loveable characters in this reader’s opinion. Not to mention that Paolini seamlessly incorporated philosophical ideas and puns, which made this philosophy major have multiple fangirl moments!
This book is so well written that I often found myself lost in the story. The characters are so well developed that I often felt a part of the crew. I highly recommend this book to anyone that LOVES science fiction and books that keep you up late at night!
Mmmmm…
I felt a little bit disappointed when reading the 500 first pages. I mean, the “universe” that the author created seemed so interesting and promising, but I felt that the story did not reach my expectations in the sense that it does not deal with certain aspects I’d have enjoyed knowing much about.
I was expecting more elaboration or description of the other planets, galaxies, or whatever, or more explanations about the political/social turmoil. I felt the story fell short in this. All we have are extensive -and sometimes boring- descriptions of what Kira does when the crew is traveling. Yes, I got it in the first chapters, and I do know that they are meant to show how Kira somehow develops her own abilities, and how she gradually grasps the functioning of everything, but much of that made the reading tedious.
And then, the last 200 pages are full of action, and everything happens very quickly.
Also, I did not sympathize or it was hard to “connect” with several characters.
He caught me off guard with some of the books twists and turns. The prose is equivalent to his Eragon series, though this book is nothing like “INHERITANCE SERIES”.
Listened to the audio book; the narrator did an excellent job.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is the longest book I’ve ever listened to, and while at times it did drag a little, the story line was intriguing and kept me engaged. I do think it could have been been parsed down a bit, or even split into a duet, which I think would make it more palatable for more people. There was a lot to digest and if you aren’t/weren’t able to listen to it for hours at a time, it had the potential to take you out of the story. But overall, I was entertained.
The world Christoper Paolini created in this story was pretty incredible- I love the idea of living up amongst the stars.
I really enjoyed the narrator of this book, Jennifer Hale. She did a wonderful job of bringing the world Christopher Paolini created to life, and what a world it was! With all the characters she had to voice, she really did a phenomenal job. I will have to seek out more books narrated by her.
Paolini’s works are always immersive and To Sleep is no exception. The best way I know how to describe this book is like a benevolent Venom meets the crew of the Serenity from Firefly. But better and bigger.
“An exciting story set in a beautifully-crafted world, marred only slightly by pacing issues—4.5/5”
While Christopher Paolini first drew attention for his Inheritance Cycle series, which was first published when he was only 19 years old, it’s clear that he has grown and matured as an author since. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars takes everything that was exciting and fantastical about his previous work and scales it to a realm of infinite space.
The world is masterfully crafted—no great surprise, for Paolini—and the characters are fascinating, if a bit archetypal. For me, the highlight is the way in which the “fi” aspect of “sci-fi” is handled: The book is clearly set in an evolution of our current world, rather than a new universe entirely.
The only downside was some trouble with pacing, which is perhaps due to Paolini’s faithfulness to the realities of space travel. Long segments of the story’s timeline are spent traveling or drifting through space, and while Paolini has done his best to fill these segments with development and intrigue, they still fall a bit flat. In addition, the book goes to great lengths to explain what happens to each of the main characters well after the story has ended, rather than leaving anything to the reader’s imagination. (This was also true of Paolini’s “Eldest,” and may appeal to some readers more than others.)
At 878 pages (apparently that’s 309,000 words), this space epic from Paolini was a very entertaining and thrilling ride through the galaxy amongst warring factions of humans and aliens. There were moments that dragged on a bit, but it was never dull. I only wish I knew that there was a glossary at the end of the book which would have cleared up some things for me. So if you do read this, be aware of that glossary! Safe travels!
I did not see that one coming. This is my first science fiction novel ever. I chose it because it was a Goodreads 2020 book of the year winner. I was not disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Plenty of action, plot twists, and stunning developments make this a thriller in (far off) outer space. I highly recommend this book for people who enjoy science fiction of who just want to stick their toes in the genre. (Although I would caution those who have a dislike of foul language. It is not pervasive but it is present.)
Oi! Where to begin with this beast of a book? Let’s start with the pros: it’s incredibly well written, most of the characters are delightful, and Gregorovich! The cons: it’s too long, there are dated references that pulled me completely out of the story, the main character wasn’t my preferred voice to follow, there’s no real sacrifice or danger or fear of death, and ship pig.
What can I say, I love Chris and his style. Great read
Excellent story. I love Christopher Paolini’s writing. I didn’t expect a sci-fi story, but I was drawn in from the first. The world was incredibly complex and the story line so intriguing. I listened to the audiobook and the reader did a wonderful job. Highly recommend.
I went out on Tuesday to 4 different stores to try and get a copy of this book; and I finally managed to snag one! I’m a little sad it’s not an arc, but I was in love with it anyway!
I have not read Eragon, but my boyfriend did and loved it, so I’m hoping I share the same feelings only for this book. I’m about halfway through and I love everything happening. The characters are amazing; the plot is keeping me reading, and I know I’m going to finish it soon!
I’ve finished and I’m sitting here, jaw open. I did really love this book, and even though I just read it, I’m looking forward to giving it a reread very soon! The space exploration was fascinating, the world was beautifully crafted and I found myself enjoying it throughout!
When I heard that Christopher Paolini wrote a Sci-Fi book I was on the fence. I really liked his Eragon series and I wanted to give it a chance; however, I have never been interested in space opera books before. Then I watched a live stream of an interview and when I saw him talk about the book I just knew that I had to give it a chance. I preordered my physical copy and then later found the audiobook on Netgalley and I just had to get it.
When you look at this book it is very intimidating but be assured it is well worth it. This book is a standalone so no worries that by picking this one up you are committing to something bigger. This book is a slow burn story. Yes, there are some action-packed scenes however, for the most part, the story stays at the same pace. Personally, I really enjoyed that I am this is a 32-hour audiobook so the constant pacing was welcome. Plus Jennifer Hale was an amazing narrator.
I felt that this book gave me everything a book this size should: serious content, humor, companionship, and everyday life. I never felt like I was missing something.
Now in regards to Sci-Fi tropes and themes, I can not help you there. This is the first “space” book I have ever picked up so I can not tell you if they are done with new spins.
All in all, I really liked this book and it is something I can see myself going back and picking up again.
If this book interests you in any way bite the bullet and pick it up. I think you will enjoy it.
Epic soap opera with a plethora of characters. Loved it but found it too long. Difficult to sustain the interest to the end.
This was my first book by Christopher Paolini. I really enjoyed reading about Kira and her adventures through space. Some of the scientific terms lost me a little but it is a genre I do not read as often. I will also be reading this author’s backlist.