Thank you to NetGalley, Tor and Pan Macmillan for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads Synopsis
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 . . .
Review
This is by far the longest book I’ve read this year, coming to just under 900 pages and one of my newfound favourites. This epic Sci-Fi was everything I wanted it to be and if you’re a big Sci-Fi lover then this is going to be the book for you. Don’t let the sheer size of this book put you off from reading this book because after reading it I found that I would have happily read more.
This book ticks everything I look for in a good Sci-Fi book, it was action packed with first contact with different species, artificial intelligence, detailed, epic battles and an amazing range of new gadgets and devices! You can tell that Paolini put his heart and soul into this book, especially consider he spent nearly 9 years on this book. It is detailed and the world in To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is brilliantly built up and I found myself captivated at every new location.
Whilst I must admit this book was very plot-driven I did find myself loving the characters and what we got to learn about them. I would have definitely liked to have learnt more about them but found myself easily able to love all of them and come incredibly attached to the crew on the Wallfish. I loved their banter and how much they supported each other. They were the perfect crew for this story.
Kira was a great character and one I felt incredibly attached to. As our main character Kira goes through so much during this book. Her whole world is turned upside down but throughout it all she remains strong. I think what I liked the most about this book was that Kira didn’t just adapt to the changes straight away, she struggled to control her emotions and come to terms with the fact that her life has changed forever. She made reckless decisions because she didn’t know what she was doing and it helped make her incredibly realistic as a character.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a book that hasn’t left my head. I think about it constantly and it will be one of those books that just lives with me forever. I’m even considering getting Audible again just so I can listen to it in audio format (which is over 35 hours!) just so I can devour the book again. Paolini has put so much thought into this book and it shows by how mind-blowing To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is. The characters, the world and honestly the level of detail that is in every page just makes this book incredible.
So if you’re looking for an epic space opera filled with aliens, new friendships, loss, heartbreak and coming together in an attempt to save the world then this is the book for you.
Rating: 5/5 stars