To Sleep in a Sea of Stars clocks in at around 900 pages, but I don't think I noticed the heft at all as I flipped page after page. Just like in his other books in the Inheritance Cycle, Paolini spared no expense in his world building – from the details of specific fauna on a colony planet to the inner workings of an intergalactic space ship – and the intricacy pulled me in. I am typically not a reader of science fiction, especially if the plot requires some technical understanding of astrophysics, but To Sleep was a whirlwind of an adventure into which I was glad to jump. It is definitely a more plot-driven novel, jumping from action to more action, but I thoroughly enjoyed following along. It did seem like some development of the characters suffered from the hurtling pace, but I don't think it detracted too much from the main narrative.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was an extremely exciting and fun read – a worthy first for Paolini's debut adult novel.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars was an extremely exciting and fun read – a worthy first for Paolini's debut adult novel.