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A review by pewter
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a fun, engaging sci-fi/fantasy which boasts a number of merits, as well as some unfortunate flaws, which leaves my review at a solid 3.6 stars from this picky reader. The main plot, the point A and the point B, are really excellent concepts, but the journey between them is a little bumpy.
To begin with, Stars lovingly builds a wide, multifaceted world. It's the type of sci-fi that is speculative and jargony enough to suspend the reader's disbelief and convince them of the sciencey-whatsits without completely abandoning them. The world-building thankfully avoids cringeworthy exposition and instead favours organic conversations and context that bring the reader up to speed. The writing and dialogue feel mostly natural, though there are times where the writers voice is definitely coming through the characters.
After reading other titles in the genre (recently, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet), the personalities don't really leap off the pages, but they're not flat by any means. The protagonist, Kira, is likeable and her journey and motivations are reasonable and exciting.
The plots quick departure into the unknown, and the eventual conclusion to the main challenges, are by far the strongest parts of this book. Terry Moore's "Echo" graphic novel, or K.A. Applegates "The Ellimist Chronicles" (as well as her 50+ other YA Animorphs books) are incredibly comparable, concept wise. Some of the similarities are absolutely staggering. There were some clear nods to classic sci-fi tropes as well; Paolini was clearly inspired by established sci-fi, and the bio-alien-sci-fi-fantasy aspects really fit in to todays popular media. So, I really enjoyed the beginning and the end of this book.
However, the journey between is a little bumpy. There are definitely (lengthy!) story arcs in here that could be entirely missing and the plot would remain mostly intact. Unnecessary space gallivanting, paired with occasionally pretentious writing, make this chunky book a little wearisome in places. That being said, I was still engaged entirely. Interestingly, Paolini admits in his acknowledgements that the beginning and end was developed first, but he struggled intensely with the middle plot and revised a lot.
Paolini has certainly come a long way since Eragon. I didn't finish his Inheritance series, so I was a little tentative for this book. But he's earned my trust back.
To begin with, Stars lovingly builds a wide, multifaceted world. It's the type of sci-fi that is speculative and jargony enough to suspend the reader's disbelief and convince them of the sciencey-whatsits without completely abandoning them. The world-building thankfully avoids cringeworthy exposition and instead favours organic conversations and context that bring the reader up to speed. The writing and dialogue feel mostly natural, though there are times where the writers voice is definitely coming through the characters.
After reading other titles in the genre (recently, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet), the personalities don't really leap off the pages, but they're not flat by any means. The protagonist, Kira, is likeable and her journey and motivations are reasonable and exciting.
The plots quick departure into the unknown, and the eventual conclusion to the main challenges, are by far the strongest parts of this book. Terry Moore's "Echo" graphic novel, or K.A. Applegates "The Ellimist Chronicles" (as well as her 50+ other YA Animorphs books) are incredibly comparable, concept wise. Some of the similarities are absolutely staggering. There were some clear nods to classic sci-fi tropes as well; Paolini was clearly inspired by established sci-fi, and the bio-alien-sci-fi-fantasy aspects really fit in to todays popular media. So, I really enjoyed the beginning and the end of this book.
However, the journey between is a little bumpy. There are definitely (lengthy!) story arcs in here that could be entirely missing and the plot would remain mostly intact. Unnecessary space gallivanting, paired with occasionally pretentious writing, make this chunky book a little wearisome in places. That being said, I was still engaged entirely. Interestingly, Paolini admits in his acknowledgements that the beginning and end was developed first, but he struggled intensely with the middle plot and revised a lot.
Paolini has certainly come a long way since Eragon. I didn't finish his Inheritance series, so I was a little tentative for this book. But he's earned my trust back.