Title: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
Author: Christopher Paolini
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Tor Books an imprint of Macmillan
Publication: September 15th, 2020
Read: August 2020
Format: Audiobook
Length: 32 Hours & 29 Minutes
Rating: 4 Caffeinated Stars
Content Warning: Death, Violence, Men Writing Women, Loss of a limb

Goodreads Summary:

“To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a brand new epic novel from New York Times bestselling author 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. 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 . . .”

My Thoughts:

I have to admit that it took me quite some time to formulate my thoughts on this book. When I was in High School, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon was taking over. Christopher Paolini was a household name, and I enjoyed the first of the Inheritance Cycle series. So, when I saw this book was offered up on NetGalley as an Audiobook, I knew it was for me. I requested right away and slightly regretted it when I saw how long this audiobook was. I tend to have a maximum of 15 hours when it comes to length, and at 32 hours & 29 minutes, this book was very obviously over that 15-hour max.

Science Fiction and I have a weird relationship. I hated how logical it was, but I’ve found that I can enjoy it with the right author. Luckily for me, Christopher Paolini was the right author. Christopher Paolini knows how to write characters. I loved seeing the different personalities mesh. Though, I have to admit there were a few scenes that made me do a double-take. I primarily read women authors, so it was incredibly apparent, with a weird almost masturbation scene & the constant fear of being unlovable, that a man wrote this book.

The plot itself was fascinating and kept me completely immersed though it did drag at times. I personally feel that this book would have been better chopped up into three books. The plot was incredibly intense, it was constant action, but there were a few places that would have been the perfect place to end the book. The one thing that kept me going was the narrator, though. Jennifer Hale was phenomenal and genuinely acted out each character with precision. Her narration is the only reason I kept going after the 32% mark (which should have been the end of book 1).

All in all, this was an immersive book that was a little too long for my liking. The plot and characters were incredibly well done, but it definitely should have been cut into smaller books. I will say I loved that the author researched so much about the book’s science. Christopher Paolini truly stretched himself and grew as an author. I recommend this book to anyone who wants an EPIC (and I mean epic in content and length) science fiction.

Did my review peak your interest? Well, here are the buy links!

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