Fractal Noise: A Fractalverse Novel

Christopher Paolini

May 2023 · Fractalverse Book 2 · Macmillan Audio · Narrated by Jennifer Hale

About this audiobook

This program features sound design and special effects to enhance your enjoyment of Fractal Noise. Listen out for the sounds of the anomaly at the center of Talos VII and original music evoking the barren landscape.

"Narrator Jennifer Hale's outstanding performance brings this story of alien invasion to life....every unique voice enhances the listening experience." AudioFile, on Earphones Award winner, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars.

"Jennifer Hale's narration of this sci-fi novel is exemplary work. Her variety of voices and characterizations, as well as her grasp of the intense drama, is stunning. And just when you think she can't get better, she sings in character, and it transforms her entire performance into art. The combination of Paolini's gripping drama and Hale's voice acting should not be missed."- AudioFile on Fractal Noise

"Narrator Hale’s performance backed by immersive sound effects, elevate this science fiction audiobook about a small team of scientists on the precipice of a major discovery."- Booklist

A new blockbuster science fiction adventure from world-wide phenomenon and #1 New York Times bestseller Christopher Paolini, set in the world of New York Times and USA Today bestseller To Sleep in a Sea of Stars.

July 25, 2234: The crew of the Adamura discovers the Anomaly.

On the seemingly uninhabited planet Talos VII:a circular pit, 50 kilometers wide.

Its curve not of nature, but design.

Now, a small team must land and journey on foot across the surface to learn who built the hole and why.

But they all carry the burdens of lives carved out on disparate colonies in the cruel cold of space.

For some the mission is the dream of the lifetime, for others a risk not worth taking, and for one it is a desperate attempt to find meaning in an uncaring universe.

Each step they take toward the mysterious abyss is more punishing than the last.

And the ghosts of their past follow.

The Fractalverse Series
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars
Fractal Noise

The audiobook is read by Jennifer Hale, a prolific and highly acclaimed Canadian American voice actress and singer, who has performed an impressive array of characters for video games, audiobooks, and animated television shows. Hale is renowned for her portrayal of Commander Shepard in the Mass Effect series and as Rivet in Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, for which she was nominated for a BAFTA. She made her audiobook debut with Christopher Paolini’s To Sleep in a Sea of Stars.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.

Ratings and reviews

If you liked "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars", don't expect anything similar. I like Paolini a lot, but this book was excruciating. The characters awful and boring journey across the desert is the perfect analogy for how it felt to get through this book as the reader. The only thing keeping me going was my stubbornness and a misplaced hope to find something worthwhile at the end. Unfortunately, there is virtually no payoff in the end, making this book only appropriate for masochists or burgeoning Fractalverse completionists.

This was an adventurous read full of colourful characters from all different walks of life. It was challenging and emotional as a small crew sets off into the unknown on what could be a lethal adventure. Meeting, for the first time, another being and uncertain of the consequences. Full of charged situations, this was definitely a book to keep you on your toes! The audiobook was done so well, with special effects, it felt so lifelike.

Pretty good, to sleep was the reason I got this one and I see where he's going with it but I don't know maybe it was the thuds. I enjoyed it but at the same time was getting aggravated by it. I liked how the thud would make a point of some of the dialouge / inner monolog. The narrator was fantastic, really brought the characters to life.

About the author

Christopher Paolini, firstborn of Kenneth and Talita. Creator of the World of Eragon and the Fractalverse. Holder of the Guinness World Record for youngest author of a bestselling series. Qualified for marksman in the Australian army. Scottish Laird. Dodged gunfire . . . more than once. As a child, was chased by a moose in Alaska. Has his name inscribed on Mars. Husband. Father. Asker of questions and teller of stories.