Yeah... I've been seeking out and reading found family stories for a long time, it's my favourite sub-genre within any genre of story (fantasy, sci fi, historical fiction, "literature", dystopia, whatever). To Sleep is not a found family story, in any sense of the term. They're not a family. They're barely even friends. At best they are reluctant coworkers.
A good writer could definitely make "found family on board an interstellar transport vessel" work, regardless of the other elements of the story (first contact, colonisation, interplanetary war, whatever sci fi trope you want). Unfortunately, Paolini is not a good writer, and he can't write believable interpersonal dynamics.
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Date: 2025-05-24 02:44 am (UTC)Yeah... I've been seeking out and reading found family stories for a long time, it's my favourite sub-genre within any genre of story (fantasy, sci fi, historical fiction, "literature", dystopia, whatever). To Sleep is not a found family story, in any sense of the term. They're not a family. They're barely even friends. At best they are reluctant coworkers.
A good writer could definitely make "found family on board an interstellar transport vessel" work, regardless of the other elements of the story (first contact, colonisation, interplanetary war, whatever sci fi trope you want). Unfortunately, Paolini is not a good writer, and he can't write believable interpersonal dynamics.