Title: To Sleep In A Sea of Stars

Author: Christopher Paolini

Publisher: Tor

CAWPILE: 8.86 (4 Stars)

Release Date: 15th September

I am truly having difficulty expressing my thoughts on this coherently, and without spoiling it for those who’ve not read it. As with his Inheritance Cycle – the first of which, Eragon, was published over ten years ago now – Paolini has created an intricate, vibrant, fascinating world that still has a fantastical feel to it, despite being a science-fiction novel. The world building is amazing, and the writing – although I didn’t always follow the scientific elements within it – created an incredible atmosphere, and so descriptive that it generated vivid moving images within my mind (which not a lot of science fiction novels do for me personally) – mostly tear-jerking and heart-wrenching, unnerving and terrifying, but also mesmerising and mind-boggling. That being said, I did feel like some of the “scenes” within a few of the chapters did go on a bit, in terms of what was happening and such, and could maybe have been a little more condensed so that we got to what happened next a little faster, and would have felt less…not repetitive, but less drawn out.

I liked Kira, and felt deeply for, and grew rather attached to and protective of her after what she goes through in the book. I just wanted to wrap her in a blanket and give her a big hug before giving her some tea and a plate of cookies, because she really does go through so much, and though there were other wonderful, vibrant colourful characters in the novel I think she really is my favourite of them all.

The complexity of the aliens within this world is truly astounding to me as I personally haven’t read a sci-fi novel with ones like these; the descriptions of them pulling a sort of horrified fascination, a terrified awe from me whenever and wherever they appeared. 

I sincerely hope that I haven’t given away any spoilers with this review (I don’t think I have, having looked back through it but I’m still going to leave this sentence in haha.)

You have wings. Believe in them and yourself, and you will fly.

Kath xoxo

P.S. If you’re a sci-fi novel fan and haven’t pre-ordered this yet, what are you doing? Go do it, it’s amazing.