14 must-read SFF releases that will make your September magical

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars – Christopher Paolini

Author Christopher Paolini, who penned Eragon and the rest of the bestselling YA series known as the Inheritance Trilogy, returns with a brand new epic science fiction novel this month. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is Paolini’s adult fiction debut and the book is positively massive, clocking in at almost 900 pages and bursting with worldbuilding, lore, and the possibility of discovery.

The story follows Kira Navárez, a scientist doing research on an uncolonized planet who discovers an alien relic. Upon touching the artifact, she finds herself covered with a strange black material that forms a strange suit around her body, complete with spikes that attack her fellow scientists. Kira will have to understand – and eventually, control – this relic and the powers it can bestow, or humanity itself could be in danger. This is a super vague description of the novel’s events, but there’s not much that can be explained here without giving away twists best left for readers to discover on their own.

The official synopsis also describes the story in what are fairly basic terms, but ones that hint at larger secrets to be discovered

"During a routine survey mission on an uncolonized planet, Kira finds an alien relic. At first she’s delighted, but elation turns to terror when the ancient dust around her begins to move. As war erupts among the stars, Kira is launched into a galaxy-spanning odyssey of discovery and transformation. First contact isn’t at all what she imagined, and events push her to the very limits of what it means to be human. While Kira faces her own horrors, Earth and its colonies stand upon the brink of annihilation. Now, Kira might be humanity’s greatest and final hope . . ."

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is available on September 15.