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forthesanityof1's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Quarantine read!
I was super excited to read this since it was from the dragon god himself, Christopher Paolini. I pre-ordered my copy so far in advanced I actually forgot about it and almost bought it twice by accident. The premise sounded so interesting I was beyond happy to finally have the motivation to tackle it.
However.
While the world building was amazing, that was largely the only positive point I had for the book. I found all the characters to be one-dimensional and had a difficult time sinking into the story. It feels like it lacked emotional depth the entire way through except maybe the last 100 pages. I only maintained interest because I got to the halfway point and the plot finally gave me something interesting to hold onto with the Jellies. The character interactions themselves were superficial and did not inspire feelings of closeness between them to me. This led to me not giving a shit about any of the characters. The only ones I cared about were the entropists and Gregorovich. Everything else felt disjointed. There was a single section where the author added in a half page of dialogue about some politics that had literally never been mentioned before that point (think it was about 500 or 600 pages in) and was never mentioned again. Even in the beginning before plot occurs, Kira and Alan don't feel close or connected. I dont know, it might just be me. My other huge problem revolved around Kira herself. I love selfish characters or ones that choose to do things for reasons other than "what is morally right" but I could not get a read on Kira's motives at all. I didn't understand why she did what she did. She didn't come off as much of a scientist, either. It's like she has no personality, and yes, I know that's an issue with female narrators, I'm very aware of it; but the fact remains that Kira didn't matter to me. I felt no connection, no empathy, for her experiences. In addition, there were moments with Kira that took me completely out of the narrative. One example is whenKira first looks at herself in the mirror after obtaining the Soft Blade and is so repulsed by her form that she wonders how someone will ever love her "in that way." That being the first thing a female character thinks after enduring an alien parasite attaching itself to her, murdering her fiance and crew, and being tortured by some government doctor seems a little male-gaze centered to me. In addition, the Soft Blade actually being a life-giver and being called the "Seed" literally made my skin crawl when it was revealed. . Additionally, there were some weird moments of bullying and body-shaming that occurred for seemingly no reason at all,, which bothered me immensely when they happened. Overall, not super happy with this but I will still give his next book in the series a shot and hope for something a little more complex regarding the characters.
I was super excited to read this since it was from the dragon god himself, Christopher Paolini. I pre-ordered my copy so far in advanced I actually forgot about it and almost bought it twice by accident. The premise sounded so interesting I was beyond happy to finally have the motivation to tackle it.
However.
While the world building was amazing, that was largely the only positive point I had for the book. I found all the characters to be one-dimensional and had a difficult time sinking into the story. It feels like it lacked emotional depth the entire way through except maybe the last 100 pages. I only maintained interest because I got to the halfway point and the plot finally gave me something interesting to hold onto with the Jellies. The character interactions themselves were superficial and did not inspire feelings of closeness between them to me. This led to me not giving a shit about any of the characters. The only ones I cared about were the entropists and Gregorovich. Everything else felt disjointed. There was a single section where the author added in a half page of dialogue about some politics that had literally never been mentioned before that point (think it was about 500 or 600 pages in) and was never mentioned again. Even in the beginning before plot occurs, Kira and Alan don't feel close or connected. I dont know, it might just be me. My other huge problem revolved around Kira herself. I love selfish characters or ones that choose to do things for reasons other than "what is morally right" but I could not get a read on Kira's motives at all. I didn't understand why she did what she did. She didn't come off as much of a scientist, either. It's like she has no personality, and yes, I know that's an issue with female narrators, I'm very aware of it; but the fact remains that Kira didn't matter to me. I felt no connection, no empathy, for her experiences. In addition, there were moments with Kira that took me completely out of the narrative. One example is when
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Torture, and Violence
plantbasedbride's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
When Kira discovers an ancient alien relic while on a scientific mission, the xenobiologist's life is forever altered.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars started off strong. In fact, the first few chapters were my favourite of the entire novel and immediately drew me in. Sadly, with a few exceptions, it was all downhill from there.
I'll start with the good.
The discovery of the xeno and the early development of its nature and abilities. I loved how we learned of the xeno and I was intrigued by its purpose and origins. I couldn't wait to untangle the mystery! Sadly, the more we learned the less I cared. Paolini took the xeno in a decidedly fantastical direction that was at odds with the setting and expectations set forth by his work.
Gregorivitch. He is the star of this novel. I pretty much only finished it because of him. He is 100% responsible for at least one extra star in my rating. I would let him call me his spiky meatbag anytime! The only way I'd consider reading a sequel is if it's all Gregorivitch all the time.
The narrator of the audiobook. They did a fantastic job.
And... oh. I guess that's it for the good.
And then there's the bad.
Kira. She's our protagonist, and yet we know very little about her. She's incredibly one dimensional and not particularly interesting outside of the circumstances she has found herself in. I would much rather read a book about Gregorivitch (as previously stated).
The oh-so predictable romance between our self-insert protagonist and the roguish captain of a ship with a ragtag yet lovable crew.
The awkward dialogue where everyone starts each sentence with "[my name], here..." and ends every other sentence with "..., also." This got seriously irritating after several hundred pages.
The many space battles that bled into each other after a while and added nothing to the plot or character development.
The "our MC is actually basically a God/chosen one and is the only one who can save the entire universe!" trope, which I hate with a burning passion.
And an added dose of victim blaming (of a character being bullied by fellow crewmates) and body shaming (in regard to scars).
Oh, and it was easily 500 pages too long.
Listen, despite all my issues with this one I did enjoy it, for the most part. There were some interesting ideas (though none were fully developed), there were some loveable side characters, and I love sci-fi enough that I just enjoyed being in space for a while. But this is certainly not one of the better sci-fi novels I've read, and I don't plan on continuing with the series (if it in fact becomes one).
VIDEO REVIEW: (coming soon)
You can find me on...
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/plantbasedbride">Youtube</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elizabethturn/">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ElizabethTurn">Twitter</a>
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars started off strong. In fact, the first few chapters were my favourite of the entire novel and immediately drew me in. Sadly, with a few exceptions, it was all downhill from there.
I'll start with the good.
The discovery of the xeno and the early development of its nature and abilities. I loved how we learned of the xeno and I was intrigued by its purpose and origins. I couldn't wait to untangle the mystery! Sadly, the more we learned the less I cared. Paolini took the xeno in a decidedly fantastical direction that was at odds with the setting and expectations set forth by his work.
Gregorivitch. He is the star of this novel. I pretty much only finished it because of him. He is 100% responsible for at least one extra star in my rating. I would let him call me his spiky meatbag anytime! The only way I'd consider reading a sequel is if it's all Gregorivitch all the time.
The narrator of the audiobook. They did a fantastic job.
And... oh. I guess that's it for the good.
And then there's the bad.
Kira. She's our protagonist, and yet we know very little about her. She's incredibly one dimensional and not particularly interesting outside of the circumstances she has found herself in. I would much rather read a book about Gregorivitch (as previously stated).
The oh-so predictable romance between our self-insert protagonist and the roguish captain of a ship with a ragtag yet lovable crew.
The awkward dialogue where everyone starts each sentence with "[my name], here..." and ends every other sentence with "..., also." This got seriously irritating after several hundred pages.
The many space battles that bled into each other after a while and added nothing to the plot or character development.
The "our MC is actually basically a God/chosen one and is the only one who can save the entire universe!" trope, which I hate with a burning passion.
And an added dose of victim blaming (of a character being bullied by fellow crewmates) and body shaming (in regard to scars).
Oh, and it was easily 500 pages too long.
Listen, despite all my issues with this one I did enjoy it, for the most part. There were some interesting ideas (though none were fully developed), there were some loveable side characters, and I love sci-fi enough that I just enjoyed being in space for a while. But this is certainly not one of the better sci-fi novels I've read, and I don't plan on continuing with the series (if it in fact becomes one).
VIDEO REVIEW: (coming soon)
You can find me on...
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/plantbasedbride">Youtube</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/elizabethturn/">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ElizabethTurn">Twitter</a>
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Gore, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, and Confinement
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