While this could be viewed as a challenge, Paolini - who will start a virtual tour on Sept. But amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a virtual book tour - usually with online discussion or readings - is quickly becoming the new normal. “With this book, I was attempting to capture the sense of awe and wonder that I feel when I look up at the stars at night and think about what it would be like to go out into the rest of the universe.” A book tour during a pandemicįor most authors with a new novel, a book tour and in-person book signings are the traditional way to promote their work.

“I love thinking about the future of humanity and what we might be able to do as we move out among the stars,” he says. “I grew up reading it as much as fantasy.”Ĭiting works like “Hyperion” by Dan Simmons and “Dune” by Frank Herbert as some of his inspirations, he says that writing “To Sleep” was his way of “daydreaming” and thinking about some of the larger themes of science fiction. “I love science fiction as much as fantasy,” says Paolini. The sci-fi setting of “To Sleep” is a departure from the fantasy world of “Eragon,” but for Paolini, the change of genre wasn’t that much of a leap. Sequels and a movie followed, as well as a short story collection in 2019. The first novel of the four-volume “Inheritance Cycle” - which he began writing at age 15 and originally self-published with the help of his parents in 2002 - quickly became a bestseller. It is also the first novel that Paolini has published outside of the “Eragon” universe. Paolini will be discussing “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars” with those readers during a virtual, COVID-19-era book tour - which includes an event later this month hosted by The King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City, where he will appear with Utah author Brandon Sanderson. “So that’s a long time to have a story live in your head.”īut soon, that story will be living in the heads of readers, as well. “I’ve been working on this book for over seven years, and I got the idea for it back in 2006, 2007,” he explains. Though Paolini has published four novels in the “Inheritance Cycle” series, as well as a short story collection last year, he admits he is still “a little nervous” about his new book being published. “It’s a big epic story full of alien planets, heartache, spaceships, adventure and then the occasional tentacle - as one has to have in science fiction,” Paolini jokes. While Paolini’s bestselling “Inheritance Cycle” was set in a world of swords, magic, and - of course - dragons, the setting of “To Sleep” is quite different.

The “Eragon” author is turning from fantasy to science fiction in his new novel, “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars,” out Sept. Christopher Paolini’s latest novel may not have any dragons, but it does have spaceships.

Christopher paolini