To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

Christopher Paolini

Sep 2020 · Fractalverse Book 1 · Sold by Tor Books

About this ebook

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. 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 . . .

The Fractalverse Series
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
Fractal Noise

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Ratings and reviews

First things first: I do believe this is a good book. It is clear Paolini devoted a lot of time to research and that he came to understand the guiding principles of physics in space, which make this book not only entertaining, but also one that helps expand the reader’s mind and mindset. Additionally, I love the way it is structured, as it makes the story really easy to follow as the characters jump from system to system in the universe. That being said, I believe it’s longer than it needed to be; which causes it to not really maintain its pace and, therefore, become slow, dull or boring at times. Finally, while the setting is entirely different from that of the Inheritance Cycle, this is clearly a book by Paolini, and readers familiar with him will not miss his writing stile and certain type of characters he used before and does use again.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a beautifully written book. It tells the story of a woman who discovers proof of sentient beings on a planet her team is preparing for colonization by humans. After her discovery, she is thrust into a whole new world where she must ultimately save the universe from destruction. The story is dense and there is a lot to get through, but it is also a fascinating world created by beloved fantasy writer Christopher Paolini. The characters are interesting and diverse and the journey they embark on is one that will stick with me for years to come. This novel has everything you want in an epic novel: adventure, fun and interesting characters, emotional depth, and gorgeously written prose.

Pretty good. Some interesting new ideas, intense action and moral dilemmas keep things fresh. However, heavy borrowing from other sci-fi properties, fairly weak and stereotypical characters, and a main character that felt exactly like a woman written by a man hold it back. A few heavy-handed references/homages to sci-fi greats break immersion and add some cringe. The ending just dragged and dragged. Overall a good time but nothing extraordinary.

About the author

Christopher Paolini was born in Southern California and has lived most of his life in Paradise Valley, Montana. He published his first novel, Eragon, in 2003 at the age of nineteen, and quickly became a publishing phenomenon. His Inheritance Cycle—Eragon and its three sequels—have sold nearly 40 million copies worldwide. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is his first adult novel.