Christopher Paolini blossomed in the already fertile world of fantasy fiction in 2003 with his novel Eragon. That book would kick off what would come to be known as The Inheritance Cycle which, as of 2021, stood at four novels in total. In 2020, Paolini broke free from the fecund soil which produced his series of best-sellers to try something a little different. To Sleep in a Sea Stars became not just the author’s first novel not set in the familiar landscape of his cycle, but also his first novel aimed directly toward an adult readership. Which is not to suggest, of course, that none of his previous works had never been read by an adult for themselves.
Of course, it might also be of some benefit to readers to actually be an adult not just for the content, but for the simple ability to hold onto To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. This is the kind of novel for which laptops, audio books, and dedicated virtual readers was built: 880 pages. Some critics would add a further caveat: 880 pages of fantasy merely masquerading as science fiction, but that determination shall be left to each individual reader. Let it be understood, however, that this novel is firmly categorized as the author’s inaugural entrée into science fiction rather than the fantasy genre which quite easily configures to the world established in Eragon.
Apparently the blurred lines which have bothered some official reviewers did not exactly intimidate the mass of good old-fashioned fans. To Sleep in a Sea Stars took home the big prize for science fiction at the 2020 Goodreads Readers Choice Awards. And if those hardcore fans are satisfied that Paolini slaps this ball right out of the park, who is anyone else to disagree? What more could a fan want from a work of science fiction than a story set in 2257 with plot elements touching upon nanotechnology and xenobiology and featuring a malevolent villainous force known simply as the Maw?
While more than a few reviews have suggested that the story told in To Sleep in a Sea of Stars could very easily have been told in less than 880 pages and possibly better told, those who might reconsider lugging an actual printed version into their arms should keep in mind the proverbial truth about good things: one very often takes absence from an engaging story wanting more, but very rarely wanting less.
