To be rated upon release
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Publisher: Tor
Publish Date: 15 September 2020
Page Count: 878 pages
The Inheritance Cycle had a huge influence on me as a teenager and helped ignite my love of dragons, fantasy and reading in general. So after a bit of radio silence from Christopher Paolini, I was incredibly excited to read early chapters from To Sleep in a Sea of Stars.
In a recent Reddit AMA Paolini described this book as his “love letter to Sci-Fi”, and it does contain many elements that will be familiar to hard sci-fi fans, one highlight being his thoughtful consideration of the physics related to spaceflight. However, Paolini’s character-centric writing makes his first adult novel appealing to a wide range of readers, not just those who’ve turned up for the aliens and laser guns.
One danger in writing love letters (I also recall from my teenage years, somewhat less fondly) is being seen to rely on clichés. In this short excerpt from what Paolini confirmed is going to be a big read, he sets up some promising world-building that I’m excited to see develop, his action sequences are awesomely cinematic, and the plot so far is dark, thrilling and a li’l bit scary. So I hope that Cupid will be on Paolini’s side!
Judging by the tantalising blurb and the decision to release a partial review copy, I’m guessing that TSiaSoS has some decent surprises in store, so I’ve deliberately not elaborated on the story. Suffice to say that this book stands completely separate (and perhaps across the galaxy) from Paolini’s previous work, but fans can remain confident in his imagination.
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars will be released 15 Sep 2020 and is available for pre-order.
Congrats to Mr Paolini on his new book (and perfect track record of awesome book covers)! Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
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Jake is Reading 
I was lucky enough to read the early chapters too! I fell in love with Eragon years ago, and have since re-read the series via audiobooks (yay libraries). They’re massive books, so it was something that easily filled the time. I really wanted to like the movie adaptation, especially since Jeremy Irons was in it, but it was ridiculous. I kept yelling at the screen saying, “THAT’S NOT WHAT HAPPENED IN THE BOOK!” My husband has since banned me from watching it. 😉
It does sound like this one might be a little darker, although the Inheritance series had its moments. I’m not usually a fan of stories set in space, or ones that have a space theme, but it’s Paolini.
Also, your blog looks great! It’s simple, but effective. ❤
Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬
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It sounds like your husband is very supportive haha! It’s a shame about the film, though I know Paolini felt the same. Which was the better adaptation though – Eragon or The Last Airbender? 🧐
I love dark so I’m all in, a couple of scenes from the book really shocked me!
Thanks for the feedback about the blog!
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So jealous that you got to read some early chapters from this – I am a big fan of the Eragon series too. I can’t wait for his latest book (and I agree, the cover looks amazing!) 🙂
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