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To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
by
Listening time: 32 hrs 29 min
A brand new space opera on an epic scale from the New York Times bestselling author of a beloved YA fantasy series.
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 h ...more
A brand new space opera on an epic scale from the New York Times bestselling author of a beloved YA fantasy series.
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 h ...more
Audible Audio, Unabridged, 33 pages
Published
September 15th 2020
by Macmillan Audio
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Samantha Wright
JENNIFER FLIPPING HALE, VOICE OF COMMANDER SHEPARD HERSELF. Hell yeah.
Community Reviews
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Start your review of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

Nov 19, 2019
Stephanie L
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2020-publications,
exclusive-goldsboro
But the real question is, will there be space dragons?

I read this book as part of my "Giving authors a second/last chance" challenge...
I read Eragon as an adult after hearing so many rave reviews but it personally didn't work for me so I wanted to give the author a second chance.
While I overall like the story, the writing didn't work for me and I couldn't finish the book. I put it down at 56%.
First contact with aliens is one of my favorite premises but the book felt too long and the pace couldn't be sustained.
It just wasn't for me! ...more
I read Eragon as an adult after hearing so many rave reviews but it personally didn't work for me so I wanted to give the author a second chance.
While I overall like the story, the writing didn't work for me and I couldn't finish the book. I put it down at 56%.
First contact with aliens is one of my favorite premises but the book felt too long and the pace couldn't be sustained.
It just wasn't for me! ...more

Annnd here's my original reaction to this book!
Just released my Top 10 Books from 2020 BookTube Video - now that you know this one made the list, click the link to find the rest!
The Written Review
I am overwhelmed. I'm overjoyed. And I Vlogged the Reading Experience.
Kira Navárez has always been fascinated by the outer worlds - specifically, life on other planets.
She's spent her life traveling to the edges of the known universe to categorize and learn from the microbes and other creatures. ...more

Upon first finishing To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, I leaned toward rating it 4.5-stars, maybe rounding up, maybe not.

There were some aspects I didn't love; some areas where it dragged a bit for me.
However, after having time to reflect on this story as a whole, it is absolutely a 5-star book.

I CANNOT STOP thinking about it!
This novel is quite the accomplishment for Paolini. If I am remembering the Author's Note correctly, he worked on this project for nine years and it shows.

In the beginning, we ...more

There were some aspects I didn't love; some areas where it dragged a bit for me.
However, after having time to reflect on this story as a whole, it is absolutely a 5-star book.

I CANNOT STOP thinking about it!
This novel is quite the accomplishment for Paolini. If I am remembering the Author's Note correctly, he worked on this project for nine years and it shows.

In the beginning, we ...more

Jul 22, 2020
Mary S. R.
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
plot-driven, hard sci-fi thriller fans
(4.5 ★’s) No, there are no space dragons—there are space squids instead. And my general reaction to this mammoth is:

Christopher Paolini has been sitting on this book for about a decade and man, it shows. No, I don’t mean a glorious Paolini-sized dent in the physical copy but on everything sci-fi and epic and action about To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, which is the majority of it. This man just killed it—seized it by the throat and throttled it, to quote ...more

“Eat the path, or the path will eat you.”
Christopher Paolini has been sitting on this book for about a decade and man, it shows. No, I don’t mean a glorious Paolini-sized dent in the physical copy but on everything sci-fi and epic and action about To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, which is the majority of it. This man just killed it—seized it by the throat and throttled it, to quote ...more

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini, narrated by Jennifer Hale.
Winner of Best Science Fiction in the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards.
When I saw the To Sleep in a Sea of Stars title, I wasn't sure about tackling 880 pages. Then I saw that the book was narrated by Jennifer Hale and the fact that the narration is 32 hours and 30 minutes, mattered not one iota. Because I've played as Commander Shepard, in the Mass Effect games, more times than I will ever admit. I'm also familiar with Hal ...more
Winner of Best Science Fiction in the 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards.
When I saw the To Sleep in a Sea of Stars title, I wasn't sure about tackling 880 pages. Then I saw that the book was narrated by Jennifer Hale and the fact that the narration is 32 hours and 30 minutes, mattered not one iota. Because I've played as Commander Shepard, in the Mass Effect games, more times than I will ever admit. I'm also familiar with Hal ...more

Just some little name drops that remind me of Alien and Alien VS Predator: Weyland, Hendriksen, Bishop. And I’m okay with it 😉

I love this book so much!! 😫

I can’t say enough how much I love this book!

I love sooo many characters:
Kira
the Soft Blade
Falconi
Trig
Sparrow
Gregorovich
Nielsen
Hwa-jung
Itari
and so many ...more
Horror welled up inside Kira.
She clawed at her forearms in a desperate attempt to rip off the alien organism. Even with their hard veneer, her nails couldn’t cut or break the fibers.

I love this book so much!! 😫

I can’t say enough how much I love this book!

I love sooo many characters:
Kira
the Soft Blade
Falconi
Trig
Sparrow
Gregorovich
Nielsen
Hwa-jung
Itari
and so many ...more

Highly ambitious of me to start this year off with a genre I avoid like the plag- ..... Perhaps it's a bit too soon to say that given our current situation.
If this goes badly.... Pretend you never saw this
___
well hello there new Christopher Paolini book. I don't even like reading sci-fi but I'll make an exception for you 😉
...more
If this goes badly.... Pretend you never saw this
___
well hello there new Christopher Paolini book. I don't even like reading sci-fi but I'll make an exception for you 😉


Feb 19, 2020
Charlotte May
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
500-page-plus,
sci-fi
This was an absolute mission to complete but I finally got there.
“To search and seek among the outer bounds, and when we land upon a distant shore, to seek another yet farther still.”
Sci fi is always a mixed bag for me. Sometimes I think it’s great like the Wayfarers or Red Rising series, other times it’s just weird. Too weird even for me.
I picked this mainly because I loved the Eragon series and Christopher Paolini’s world building can’t be faulted.
I liked a lot of the characters, how the ...more
“To search and seek among the outer bounds, and when we land upon a distant shore, to seek another yet farther still.”
Sci fi is always a mixed bag for me. Sometimes I think it’s great like the Wayfarers or Red Rising series, other times it’s just weird. Too weird even for me.
I picked this mainly because I loved the Eragon series and Christopher Paolini’s world building can’t be faulted.
I liked a lot of the characters, how the ...more

It having been much more than a decade since I've read anything else by Paolini -- his dragons were pretty okay -- I came to the idea of reading his adult space opera with mild anticipation.
I mean, sure, it's often true that many writers of fantasy who decide to jump the fence into SF do so brilliantly, so a part of my mind kept thinking of, say, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and I wondered. I wondered hard.
After getting my hands on this book and having started it, I began comparing it to Becky Chambers w ...more
I mean, sure, it's often true that many writers of fantasy who decide to jump the fence into SF do so brilliantly, so a part of my mind kept thinking of, say, Adrian Tchaikovsky, and I wondered. I wondered hard.
After getting my hands on this book and having started it, I began comparing it to Becky Chambers w ...more

I received a limited edition proof copy of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Christopher Paolini and Tor Books.
In To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, we follow the third-person perspective of Kira who is a xenobiologist. We join her towards the end of an assignment on the Earth-sized moon of Adrasteia. On the final excursion to the moon, Kira uncovers a mysterious relic. What was hidden there was placed away for a good reason and Kira's discovery of it will have d ...more
In To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, we follow the third-person perspective of Kira who is a xenobiologist. We join her towards the end of an assignment on the Earth-sized moon of Adrasteia. On the final excursion to the moon, Kira uncovers a mysterious relic. What was hidden there was placed away for a good reason and Kira's discovery of it will have d ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Super epic space opera!!!!
I haven’t looked at too many reviews of this yet, but went in knowing:
- It was written by Christopher Paolini of Eragon (Inheritance Cycle) fame. I enjoyed that series but did have some varying opinions on it. So, going in I wasn’t sure if I might come out having some varying opinions here, too.
- It was the winner of the Goodread’s Choice Award for Science Fiction in 2020
So . . . how did it end up for me? Worthy of the award?
My answer . . . it’s very good and worthy of ...more
I haven’t looked at too many reviews of this yet, but went in knowing:
- It was written by Christopher Paolini of Eragon (Inheritance Cycle) fame. I enjoyed that series but did have some varying opinions on it. So, going in I wasn’t sure if I might come out having some varying opinions here, too.
- It was the winner of the Goodread’s Choice Award for Science Fiction in 2020
So . . . how did it end up for me? Worthy of the award?
My answer . . . it’s very good and worthy of ...more

Mar 09, 2020
Nenia ✨️ I yeet my books back and forth ✨️ Campbell
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
I was wondering what the Eragon dude has been up to. I guess in between rolling around on piles of money, he found time to write a new book.
I like sci-fi, soooo
I like sci-fi, soooo

Sep 17, 2020
Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
for-review
A decent sci-fi. I didn’t hate it. But I do have some thoughts.
Paolini has definitely blossomed as a writer. He always had the storytelling basics, but time and experience has done his craft well. I particularly liked his character construction. So many different personalities and a great dynamic between all of them. I’d be hard-presses to pick a favorite, and I love that.
I wouldn’t say the book was particularly original – I feel like I’ve read many different versions of at least the first 25%. ...more
Paolini has definitely blossomed as a writer. He always had the storytelling basics, but time and experience has done his craft well. I particularly liked his character construction. So many different personalities and a great dynamic between all of them. I’d be hard-presses to pick a favorite, and I love that.
I wouldn’t say the book was particularly original – I feel like I’ve read many different versions of at least the first 25%. ...more

Well it is certainly very long and the paperback version is very awkward to read in bed, but it is also enormously entertaining and worth any hardships. I found it hard to stop reading and, when I had to do other things, I was always thinking about it and wanting to get back to it. Sure signs of a really good book.
I am a scifi fan from way back and To Sleep in a Sea of Stars frequently reminded me of Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of the Seven Suns, one of my favourite series. There was a similarity i ...more
I am a scifi fan from way back and To Sleep in a Sea of Stars frequently reminded me of Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of the Seven Suns, one of my favourite series. There was a similarity i ...more

DNF @ Pg 536 (61%)
I think it's time to review this monstrosity.
Paolini is a fantasy author and nowhere is that more apparent than in this, his sci-fi debut. Stick to fantasy, buddy.
Let me just start with a list of my complaints and go from there.
- Dull and slow from the get-go
- Science is generally pretty light on, unless it's going into pointlessly detailed explanations of something
- Characters are annoying cardboard cutouts
- Frustrating behaviour
- The plot is almost non-existent
- The alien ...more
I think it's time to review this monstrosity.
Paolini is a fantasy author and nowhere is that more apparent than in this, his sci-fi debut. Stick to fantasy, buddy.
Let me just start with a list of my complaints and go from there.
- Dull and slow from the get-go
- Science is generally pretty light on, unless it's going into pointlessly detailed explanations of something
- Characters are annoying cardboard cutouts
- Frustrating behaviour
- The plot is almost non-existent
- The alien ...more

Excuse me, a new book by Christopher Paolini? High school Cece is thriving.

I love anything mind bending, flabbergasting Paolini writes! He is one of the greatest complex, extra brilliant, smartest minds who presents us remarkable sci-fi works! ( Normally I don’t keen on dragon fantasy novels but when he writes one of them, I learn how to enjoy them eventually! )
I did a first, I read only two chapters and voted for this book as best sci-fi for goodreads choice awards. I read most of the other books who were nominated before and maybe it wasn’t so fair to decide to fal ...more
I did a first, I read only two chapters and voted for this book as best sci-fi for goodreads choice awards. I read most of the other books who were nominated before and maybe it wasn’t so fair to decide to fal ...more

Xenobiologist Kira Navárez is part of a survey crew studying a moon called Adrasteia, many light years from Earth.

When Kira was a child, humans found the first known alien artefact, called The Great Beacon. Kira, who was thrilled by the discovery, decided the study of alien life forms would be her future occupation.
Kira and the rest of the survey crew is about to finish its work, after which its members will be assigned to separate projects elsewhere in space. In an effort to stay together Kira ...more

Plenty of ink has been spilled about Christopher Paolini's dreadful/wonderful fantasy series (depending on who you talk to). When I was a teacher, I read everything my junior high and high school students read. The younger ones in particular loved Eragon--to them the clunky prose, cliche characters, and undigested swathes of various popular movies plus Bruce Coville's work were invisible. Though I couldn't make it through the first book, I knew that if I'd encountered it as a kid, I too would ha
...more

Sep 27, 2020
Claudia
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
utterly-disappointing,
sci-fi
DNF at 30% - my biggest dissapointment of the year. Maybe the tons of cliches wouldn't have bothered me had it been well written, but it's not. The characters' behaviours are not credible, the dialogues are the same - the author is trying too hard to make them cool and utterly fails.
Every gesture, every action, every emotion is explained - he leaves no room for you to raise a question and it has a single narative thread in a story over 900 pages.
From the beginning I guessed it will be a light an ...more
Every gesture, every action, every emotion is explained - he leaves no room for you to raise a question and it has a single narative thread in a story over 900 pages.
From the beginning I guessed it will be a light an ...more

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is Christopher Paolini's first novel for adults and first sci-fi novel and....it's a bit of a mixed bag. Clocking in at nearly 900 pages this book is a tome, and it really didn't need to be. Part 1 of the book is fantastic. It's tightly plotted with big twists that kept me riveted, clearly very well edited with the feeling of a sci-fi thriller. After that, things begin to meander a lot more with bloated writing and uneven pacing that detracts from the very interesting
...more

Y'all...
I'm going to be very honest here, I didn't really think I was going to like this book as much as I did. I had vague memories of Eragon from my youth, a series that I never finished and it wouldn't have been the first time this year that I'd been burned by Tor, a book as long as this one. That said within the opening chapters I was immediately hooked, invested in the book and our main character in a way that hasn't happened nearly as often this year as I would have liked.
There was also a ...more
I'm going to be very honest here, I didn't really think I was going to like this book as much as I did. I had vague memories of Eragon from my youth, a series that I never finished and it wouldn't have been the first time this year that I'd been burned by Tor, a book as long as this one. That said within the opening chapters I was immediately hooked, invested in the book and our main character in a way that hasn't happened nearly as often this year as I would have liked.
There was also a ...more

Sep 15, 2020
Montzalee Wittmann
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorite-series-1st-book,
favorites
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
by Christopher Paolini
Narrated by Jennifer Hale
Macmillan Audio
I requested this audible book from NetGalley and was unable to download despite trying everything I know to get it to work. The NetGalley app has a rating of 2 for a reason! I notified the Macmillan team, which were awesome, and they sent me the first 19 chapters and the last few chapters of the book in audible format. A large sample book!
I really feel in love with this book! I love sci-fi, aliens, main char ...more
by Christopher Paolini
Narrated by Jennifer Hale
Macmillan Audio
I requested this audible book from NetGalley and was unable to download despite trying everything I know to get it to work. The NetGalley app has a rating of 2 for a reason! I notified the Macmillan team, which were awesome, and they sent me the first 19 chapters and the last few chapters of the book in audible format. A large sample book!
I really feel in love with this book! I love sci-fi, aliens, main char ...more

Sep 26, 2020
Tucker (TuckerTheReader)
added it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
adult,
science-fiction

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review
Kind of a DNF at I forgot where percent.
This started out well enough. It was very intriguing and mildly spooky but it got tiresome the further I got into it.
I had been going strong with the book... I read a solid 8 hours of the audiobook but that was over the weekend and when I paused, I completely lost motivation. I tried to restart it multiple times but I just couldn't get hooked.
I skipped to the end and wa ...more

Oct 15, 2020
Valliya Rennell
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of Bobiverse and (movie) District 9
3.5 stars
Christopher Paolini is one of the people who turned me into a writer, and the sole man who got me into the world of high epic fantasy. For this I will be ever grateful to him. Although looking back on Eragon, I now see that it had a lot of faults, I still think it one of the most influential novels for me. Needless to say, I was hyped for To Sleep in A Sea of Stars. This book is very very different from Paolini's previous works, so if you're coming in and expecting something similar, th ...more
Christopher Paolini is one of the people who turned me into a writer, and the sole man who got me into the world of high epic fantasy. For this I will be ever grateful to him. Although looking back on Eragon, I now see that it had a lot of faults, I still think it one of the most influential novels for me. Needless to say, I was hyped for To Sleep in A Sea of Stars. This book is very very different from Paolini's previous works, so if you're coming in and expecting something similar, th ...more

Holy Casaba Howitzer!
I’ve always loved science fiction but there are definitely better and less groundbreaking books / movies. This, I’m happy to have found out, is definitely groundbreaking.
I remember reading the fantasy series this author is known for and not being half as infatuated with it as the people around me. As it turns out, this might be due to the fact that Paolini’s strength is not fantasy but sci-fi.
Welcome to a universe in which humans have spread through the galaxy. We are living ...more
I’ve always loved science fiction but there are definitely better and less groundbreaking books / movies. This, I’m happy to have found out, is definitely groundbreaking.
I remember reading the fantasy series this author is known for and not being half as infatuated with it as the people around me. As it turns out, this might be due to the fact that Paolini’s strength is not fantasy but sci-fi.
Welcome to a universe in which humans have spread through the galaxy. We are living ...more

This better not be like what I've had to go through with his other series or I'll have a talk with little Christopher.

Ohhh update y'all: we have a cover! ...more

Ohhh update y'all: we have a cover! ...more

Oct 20, 2020
Dannii Elle
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction-sagacity
These 800+ pages contain a potentially insane AI, a pet spaceship pig, mismatched found friendship, space jellyfish, and a somewhat sentient unknown matter called soft blade. What's not to love there?
I'm still hesitant to dive into a new science fiction read as I always think my initial understanding will be lacking. I need not have feared as I found this an instantly accessible read which sucked me in with its fast pace, continuous new developments, and lovable cast of characters. ...more
I'm still hesitant to dive into a new science fiction read as I always think my initial understanding will be lacking. I need not have feared as I found this an instantly accessible read which sucked me in with its fast pace, continuous new developments, and lovable cast of characters. ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bookish First Rea...: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini | 6 | 33 | Feb 15, 2021 01:34PM | |
Beyond Reality: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars (12/20): finished reading (spoilers!) | 6 | 49 | Jan 17, 2021 09:52AM | |
How Video Games Can Help With Staying Fit | 1 | 3 | Jan 07, 2021 02:50AM | |
Nerds & Encrenque...: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars (Jan/2021) | 1 | 16 | Jan 03, 2021 05:05PM | |
Beyond Reality: To Sleep in a Sea of Stars (12/20): roll call and first impressions (no spoilers) | 5 | 32 | Jan 01, 2021 02:11PM |
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.
Visit Paolini.net for ...more
Visit Paolini.net for ...more
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If you love the fantasy genre, this is the season for you! Some of the biggest books out this fall promise to be epics full of magic, adventure,...
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“The path to our goal is rarely straight. It tends to turn and twist, which makes the journey far more enjoyable than it would otherwise be.”
—
13 likes
“I’ve seen a greater share of wonders, vast
And small, than most have done. My peace is made;
My breathing slows. I could not ask for more.
To reach beyond the stuff of day-to-day
Is worth this life of mine. Our kind is meant
To search and seek among the outer bounds,
And when we land upon a distant shore,
To seek another yet farther still. Enough.
The silence grows. My strength has fled, and Sol
Become a faded gleam, and now I wait,
A Viking laid to rest atop his ship.
Though fire won’t send me off, but cold and ice,
And forever shall I drift alone.
No king of old had such a stately bier,
Adorned with metals dark and grey, nor such
A hoard of gems to grace his somber tomb.
I check my straps; I cross my arms, prepare
Myself to once again venture into the
Unknown, content to face my end and pass
Beyond this mortal realm, content to hold
And wait and here to sleep—
To sleep in a sea of stars.
—THE FARTHEST SHORE 48–70
HARROW GLANTZER”
—
10 likes
More quotes…
And small, than most have done. My peace is made;
My breathing slows. I could not ask for more.
To reach beyond the stuff of day-to-day
Is worth this life of mine. Our kind is meant
To search and seek among the outer bounds,
And when we land upon a distant shore,
To seek another yet farther still. Enough.
The silence grows. My strength has fled, and Sol
Become a faded gleam, and now I wait,
A Viking laid to rest atop his ship.
Though fire won’t send me off, but cold and ice,
And forever shall I drift alone.
No king of old had such a stately bier,
Adorned with metals dark and grey, nor such
A hoard of gems to grace his somber tomb.
I check my straps; I cross my arms, prepare
Myself to once again venture into the
Unknown, content to face my end and pass
Beyond this mortal realm, content to hold
And wait and here to sleep—
To sleep in a sea of stars.
—THE FARTHEST SHORE 48–70
HARROW GLANTZER”