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bookishlucy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I feel like this book changed me.
It was the first book I read about first-contact and space travel and it was a little intimidating at first, but this book was easy to read and get into. The pacing of the plot was perfect. There wasn't a single moment where I felt a scene was dragging on too long or passing too fast.
Kira was a very relatable and interesting character to follow through this story. The way she handled the Soft Blade and how they had to figure each other out slowly was very rewarding.
The crew of the Wallfish quickly grew on me and I'm so glad they stuck with Kira until the end.
I feel like all the loose strands came together so perfectly at the end. All 800+ pages of this book felt necessary and finishing this book felt like saying goodbye to a friend. I don't think I'll get over it any time soon.
It was the first book I read about first-contact and space travel and it was a little intimidating at first, but this book was easy to read and get into. The pacing of the plot was perfect. There wasn't a single moment where I felt a scene was dragging on too long or passing too fast.
Kira was a very relatable and interesting character to follow through this story. The way she handled the Soft Blade and how they had to figure each other out slowly was very rewarding.
The crew of the Wallfish quickly grew on me and I'm so glad they stuck with Kira until the end.
I feel like all the loose strands came together so perfectly at the end. All 800+ pages of this book felt necessary and finishing this book felt like saying goodbye to a friend. I don't think I'll get over it any time soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror
astrangewind's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
After reading Fractal Noise, I was excited to read To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. I'm not big into science fiction, but I loved how Paolini's universe came to life, human life, in Fractal Noise. So when I expected the same level of fiction in To Sleep, I was sorely disappointed.
Where Fractal Noise focuses on the fear of barren things, the unknown and unknowable, To Sleep focuses on... an alien spacesuit and intergalactic war. Really? I could read infinitely many other scifi books with an identical plot. That said, I know that there are many people out there who are into that kind of thing. I get that. But I feel like a lot of scifi authors tend to overdo their world-building; once you start describing the scary thing, it becomes worlds less scary. And having an alien supersuit that saves your life, stops you from feeling pain, heals people, grows plants, fixes machines, et cetera, becomes incredibly rote after the first dozen times it happens.
Speaking of rote, this book did not need to be 800+ pages. How many times do they scoot from one system to another, sometimes for no reason? How many times do the alien ships descend on them from "out of nowhere"? How many times is there an issue with the ship? a "serious" instance of cryo sickness? a life-threatening injury of one of the crew members that they "miraculously" live through? a member of the imperialist, beaurocracitc UMC acts like an imperialist beaurocrat until Kira expresses herself clearly and honestly, and then they throw all caution to the wind to believe her in total? (More than once, I'll tell you that much.) Paolini's editors needed to hit this one harder, I think.
Kira's relationships with others convinces me that Paolini has never been in love or had a sibling. Kira's sister doesn't come up often, but when she does, the interactions are stilted. (I have never once called my sister "sis." I do, however, call her "bro" roughly once per day.) Sibling dynamics aside, Kira's relationship with Alan is not well-defined and very awkward. (Who the hell uses "babe" as a term of endearment when you're both crying in a serious, terrifying moment? So weird.)It becomes even more weird given the frequency with which Alan and his death are mentioned in the remainder of the book, as though I cared about him from the start, or believed that they cared about each other. That relationship - and Kira's relationship with her family - feel so separated from her that I don't empathize when she talks about missing them. They never mattered that much to me as a reader.
In the first half of the book, I found it hard to understand why people trust Kira. She causes repeated problems- and it's not a secret that there's blood on her hands - yet the crew of the Wallfish continues to trust her with no second thought. To Paolini's credit, the second half of the book smooths this out a bit, but it doesn't mean that I ever found Kira particularly likable.
I'm for sure ragging on Paolini because I'm comparing this book against a more recent, obviously better book of his. His strengths do appear in this book, too. To Sleep ends in the only way it could have. He is not afraid of leaving questions unanswered.I did find the gift giving part a little bit silly, though. Things become much less interesting if you can solve any problem at the press of a button. And, like Angela in Inheritance, Gregorovich and Inare, both bizarre and cryptic, are a strength of Paolini's.
Ultimately, I don't regret reading this book, but the additional context did kind of ruin Fractal Noise for me, it should have been half as long, and it was generally mediocre.
Where Fractal Noise focuses on the fear of barren things, the unknown and unknowable, To Sleep focuses on... an alien spacesuit and intergalactic war. Really? I could read infinitely many other scifi books with an identical plot. That said, I know that there are many people out there who are into that kind of thing. I get that. But I feel like a lot of scifi authors tend to overdo their world-building; once you start describing the scary thing, it becomes worlds less scary. And having an alien supersuit that saves your life, stops you from feeling pain, heals people, grows plants, fixes machines, et cetera, becomes incredibly rote after the first dozen times it happens.
Speaking of rote, this book did not need to be 800+ pages. How many times do they scoot from one system to another, sometimes for no reason? How many times do the alien ships descend on them from "out of nowhere"? How many times is there an issue with the ship? a "serious" instance of cryo sickness? a life-threatening injury of one of the crew members that they "miraculously" live through? a member of the imperialist, beaurocracitc UMC acts like an imperialist beaurocrat until Kira expresses herself clearly and honestly, and then they throw all caution to the wind to believe her in total? (More than once, I'll tell you that much.) Paolini's editors needed to hit this one harder, I think.
Kira's relationships with others convinces me that Paolini has never been in love or had a sibling. Kira's sister doesn't come up often, but when she does, the interactions are stilted. (I have never once called my sister "sis." I do, however, call her "bro" roughly once per day.) Sibling dynamics aside, Kira's relationship with Alan is not well-defined and very awkward. (Who the hell uses "babe" as a term of endearment when you're both crying in a serious, terrifying moment? So weird.)
In the first half of the book, I found it hard to understand why people trust Kira. She causes repeated problems
I'm for sure ragging on Paolini because I'm comparing this book against a more recent, obviously better book of his. His strengths do appear in this book, too. To Sleep ends in the only way it could have. He is not afraid of leaving questions unanswered.
Ultimately, I don't regret reading this book, but the additional context did kind of ruin Fractal Noise for me, it should have been half as long, and it was generally mediocre.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Colonisation
Minor: Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Cannibalism
benmor0213's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Confinement
lestie4short's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The only way I can think to describe this book is if Alien and Firefly meshed together. It's more serious than Firefly, but not as Horror-driven as Alien. The world that Paoloni has built is fascinating and in-depth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Genocide, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and War
yomireads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A thrilling story that spans a universe, literal an metaphorical. In spite of a setting that's as alien as the literal aliens, the story is at once inviting in the familiarity of the characters. Encompassed in this behemoth of a read is so much, and is somehow not overcrowded for it: the delicate and yet ferocious nature of life, the complexities of finding common ground with those who hold fundamental philosophical differences from our own, and who we are in the face of tragedy and hope alike. This was a layered story on so many fronts, allowing for our protagonists growth to take center stage without sacrificing the nuances of foreshadowing and plot development. Absolutely worth every page of the read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and War
bookishchef's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
kfergey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and War
Minor: Infertility, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Torture
juureads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and War
raerae123's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I have always loved Christopher Paolini’s books, but this novel challenged that. The story itself is interesting and the world building is ✨immaculate✨, but the book lacked unique characters. The MC, Kira, lacked a personality and wasn’t a strong narrator. She wasn’t a character a reader can connect with. When her fiancé was murdered, she barely mourned him. She seemed to forget about him as soon as she entered the Wallfish. I think this book had too many characters. In almost every chapter, a new character is introduced. The addition of new characters took away from the character development of characters who had already been introduced. This also forced the author to include lengthy descriptions for the new characters that felt rather unnecessary. A good writer should show and not tell. There was only one character that had any personality: Gregorvich. He helped to make up for the boring characters who seemed to just exist instead of taking an active part in the plot. The other character seemed to just lie in wait for something to happen to them instead of trying to change their fate.
This book also contained a 💩 ton of filler. This book could’ve easily been 600 pages without losing any key plot points. This may be a failure of the editors, but the novel simply had too many unnecessary details discussing minutia that wasn’t plot related.
What To Sleep In a Sea of Stars lacked in character development, it made up in world building. The setting of this story was developed well and helped to keep me reading even with the bland characters. However, I think it should included more detailed description of how certain mechanisms work in the main part of the novel. There is some detail contained in the appendicies, but not enough to help understand key concepts like entering ports with a ship and basic rules for the universe.
Overall, I rated this book a 2.25. It had an interesting and engaging plot, but the writing made it hard to get through. I really struggled to finish it, but I’m glad I did. If you love science fiction, this book will prob leave you thinking for a few days. It contains some really interested concepts that haven’t yet been tested in the real world. It’s quite fascinating.
This book also contained a 💩 ton of filler. This book could’ve easily been 600 pages without losing any key plot points. This may be a failure of the editors, but the novel simply had too many unnecessary details discussing minutia that wasn’t plot related.
What To Sleep In a Sea of Stars lacked in character development, it made up in world building. The setting of this story was developed well and helped to keep me reading even with the bland characters. However, I think it should included more detailed description of how certain mechanisms work in the main part of the novel. There is some detail contained in the appendicies, but not enough to help understand key concepts like entering ports with a ship and basic rules for the universe.
Overall, I rated this book a 2.25. It had an interesting and engaging plot, but the writing made it hard to get through. I really struggled to finish it, but I’m glad I did. If you love science fiction, this book will prob leave you thinking for a few days. It contains some really interested concepts that haven’t yet been tested in the real world. It’s quite fascinating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Medical trauma and Abandonment
Minor: Mental illness and Xenophobia
bluelaceagate's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
Minor: Chronic illness, Genocide, and Excrement