To Sleep in a Sea of Stars

I know I said that I'm going to be stricter about 5 star reads, but I really have just been reading incredible books this month.

This is one of my first big explorations into sci-fi. My only other experience is probably “Ender's Game” and Sanderson's “Skyward” series. I've always thought that I wasn't into how complex sci-fi gets. Boy was I wrong. This book is a masterpiece. It also got me obsessed with learning more about space and I've already checked out 5 books from my library to learn more.

This book follows Kira, a scientist who studies different planets. Her world, and the entire universe, are turned upside down when she discovers an alien species. We follow her on a path where she tries to quell what she has released.

Because of the release of this alien species, we explore so many emotions with Kira. We explore deep grief, confusion, elation, curiosity, among so many more. The explorations of grief were the most poignant to me. The longer Kira takes to learns more about this alien species, Paolini really doesn't shy away from creating consequences for this time taken. The relationships she creates, and loses, on this journey are so profound and meaningful, and they fully impact the story throughout.

The worldbuilding is fascinating. It's apparent that Paolini really did his research on astrophysics and astronomy. He's created this huge, expansive universe of settled space that is so in depth and so technical without being overwhelming. The worldbuilding alone had me falling down multiple wikipedia holes as I tried to learn more about how space works.

The ending was satisfying and bittersweet. I think it was a fitting ending for such an epic tale. I look forward to reading what Paolini writes in the future, and I recommend this book to sci-fi fans, and non-sci-fi fans alike.