Fractal Noise

DNF. Too many moments where the writing dumped me out of the story with a “that's not right” realization, and the characters I found to be very cardboardish (if that's even a word) and not very believable. The premise was interesting and was what caused me to pick up the book in the first place, but soon I decided I didn't care to slog through the angst to find any sort of revelation. Or even just a resolution.

While I greatly enjoyed “To Sleep in a Sea of Stars”, this story was interesting but I had issues with the characters, mainly I didn't really like any of them.

The mystery on the planet was interesting but nothing really gets discovered and it ends up being sidelined, much of the time, while four pathetic characters make stupid decisions and mostly complain to themselves.

The main character is going through grief, sure, but he seemed unusually stuck in it. Doesn't his company do psych evaluations? He wallows in his grief so much that it eroded the sympathy I might've otherwise felt.

The expedition leader became an extreme zealot; and seemed too much of a military type than an astrophysicist. Yes, the two aren't mutually exclusive but there didn't seem to be any evidence of the astrophysicist.

The chemist ended up a weak willed and incredibly boring character. First physically incapacitated, later completely useless. Why was he even in the story?

Finally, and perhaps the worst case was the geologist, how was this man even assigned to an expedition with such a hostile personality? It's hinted at that he has connections; that might've made his character more interesting. None of his behavior was a surprise; and I hated him from the start.

The ending was also rather abrupt, it could've used an epilogue.


Audiobook
Jennifer Hale's reading was superb; and while I generally don't like sound effects in non-dramatized audiobooks, in this particular case it was very effective.

I enjoy this for the bit of detail it gave about the universe. It's an interesting enough character story, but I'm not sure how much I really recommend it, and if you're not already a fan of the series than I'm not sure it'll do much for you.

Did not expect Paolini to write horror, but here we are. I'd love to see him fully commit to the genre in the future.

I got strong Andy Weir vibes from this (maybe emo Weir). This is ultimately a story about grief couched in a sci-fi setting but I think it worked well. Like the characters, I felt oddly compelled to tear through this one.

I didn't love this book, which is unfortunate because To Sleep In a Sea of Stars was brilliant. I've really liked all of his books. To be fair I didn't hate it either. I just got tired of Alex whining all the time. I hope that in some future book we get some answers, and maybe some smarter explorers.

Fractal Noise was 3.5 ⭐s for me. Loved diving back into the world of the Fractalverse.

This story gave me a sense of dread and anxiety about the story's past and unknown of the future for our characters.

The inner dialogue of the main character was hard to read in a good way as it dealt with real world issues of deep loss and existential pain.

THUD

Rating: 3.95 leaves out of 5Characters: 3/5 Cover (plus art): 4.5/5Story: 4/5Writing: 4.75/5Genre: Scifi/FantasyType: AudiobookWorth?: YeahHated Disliked It Was Okay Liked LovedWant to thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to read this book.I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book since SciFi isn't really up my alley and getting into it was kind of so so. It never really drew me in to continue reading until maybe the 60-ish%. Christopher was great and describing a lot of scenery and creatures. I was also intrigued by some of the elements and what Alex gets to see. Alex was your average guy who went hard on the mourning side, so much so I had to kind of roll my eyes. Yes, I get losing someone hurt. Been there, done that... but I also know that you shouldn't drag others down because of it.Either way, I found myself all in all liking it.

This is the prequel novel to To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, or Book ‘0' in the Fractalverse, and it was long awaited for me for sure. I received the audiobook via NetGalley, and I was so stoked to get it early. 
This was definitely a story meant to deepen the lore that's within TSIASS, but what I liked the most was that it's also a full story on its own. A small team of scientists leave the Adamura in 2243 after discovering the Anomaly—a 50km, circular pit found on Talos VII. The pit appears to be by design, not nature, and wouldn't it be incredible to be the first to ever step foot there? Find out when this drops this month! 
Jennifer Hale does a fantastic job with the audio performance. She brings personality and style to each character, bringing them to life. The author does a great job also creating a diverse cast that highlights the universe and lore he's already created. The science reads as believable, and that's always my favorite kind. The emotional thread the author uses throughout also does a fantastic job to draw you in and hold you tight. 
My only nitpicks are that some of the thuds the production added in kind of sound like someone literally just tapping a microphone. Then the other one is that I did find the ending to leave a bit to be desired. It's by no means bad, I just wish for more. 
Personally a 4/5*. I can definitely see this stuff being turned into film.