When you're as successful an author as Christopher Paolini, there's bound to be a lot of high expectations for any book that comes after a much-beloved series (see J.K. Rowling and The Casual Vacancy). Fortunately, Paolini's latest novel does not disappoint in the very least. A cross between Alien and Star Wars, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars reimagines our world in the future, when space travel is commonplace and humans have colonized widespread galaxies. However, our understanding of the universe is irrevocably changed when Kira Navárez stumbles across a mysterious alien relic, sparking an intergalactic war.
Clocking in at nearly 900 pages, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an absolute behemoth of a novel. Due to its considerable length, I assumed the novel would be a slow burn with most of the early chapters dedicated to world-building; on the contrary, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars wastes no time and leaps into the action from the start. Paolini also pays homage to the greats that came before him. Fans of genre fiction will recognize the elements of the story that take inspiration from classic sci-fi and comic book traditions like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Venom. For readers that may be squeamish when it comes to blood and gore, there is quite a bit of body horror in some key scenes.
It's clear that Christopher Paolini took his time with this novel, not just in terms of its length but also in terms of fleshing out the universe that he has imagined. While the story is very plot-driven, it does so at no expense to its character development or world building. The author has crafted a complex story populated with its own people, culture, history, and terminology (complete with a comprehensive appendix of terms, maps, and timelines). To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is incredibly dense--both literally and figuratively--but Paolini writes in such an easy and engaging way that makes the pages fly by. Overall, this is a fantastic start to a new series, and I already can't wait for the next installment in the Fractalverse.
Clocking in at nearly 900 pages, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is an absolute behemoth of a novel. Due to its considerable length, I assumed the novel would be a slow burn with most of the early chapters dedicated to world-building; on the contrary, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars wastes no time and leaps into the action from the start. Paolini also pays homage to the greats that came before him. Fans of genre fiction will recognize the elements of the story that take inspiration from classic sci-fi and comic book traditions like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Venom. For readers that may be squeamish when it comes to blood and gore, there is quite a bit of body horror in some key scenes.
It's clear that Christopher Paolini took his time with this novel, not just in terms of its length but also in terms of fleshing out the universe that he has imagined. While the story is very plot-driven, it does so at no expense to its character development or world building. The author has crafted a complex story populated with its own people, culture, history, and terminology (complete with a comprehensive appendix of terms, maps, and timelines). To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is incredibly dense--both literally and figuratively--but Paolini writes in such an easy and engaging way that makes the pages fly by. Overall, this is a fantastic start to a new series, and I already can't wait for the next installment in the Fractalverse.