Christopher Paolini’s “Fractal Noise” Review – A Surprisingly Intimate Exploration Of Grief Mashed With A Tense, Paranoid Sci-Fi Thriller

What do you get if you combine the claustrophobic paranoia of Alien with the painful isolation of The Martian? Put simply, you get something like Christopher Paolini’s Fractal Noise. All at once a prequel to his 2020 sci-fi epic, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, and a wholly stand-alone story, Fractal Noise is a tense, unsettling read. One part first contact story, one part painful exploration of grief, Fractal Noise is as vague and frustrating as it is gorgeous, tense, and enthralling. Whatever you’re expecting, think again.

Surprisingly Introspective

After the death of his wife, xenobiologist Alex joins the crew of the Adamura as they explore the distant planet of Talos VII. On a routine scan of the planet, the crew discovers a mysterious, giant creator. An artificial construction of some kind, and one that seems to be broadcasting a message. But why? And from whom? A small crew from the Adamura heads down to the planet, hoping to solve those mysteries. But they’re nowhere near as prepared for the harsh realities of Talos VII as they thought. Is the search for answers, the possibility of finding proof of intelligent extraterrestrial life worth all of this? Is it worth potentially dying for?

Fractal Noise is a totally different beast than To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, and that’s both a positive and a negative. On the one hand, Fractal Noise feels far more focused than To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. The world-building takes a backseat to the character work, and the world feels a lot more lived-in and real. But on the flip side, despite being 500 pages shorter, Fractal Noise feels much longer than its predecessor. It starts off fairly strong but quickly grows vaguer and more stretched out as the story progresses. The plot feels like it was meant for a much shorter story, and Paolini refrains from exploring some of the more nuanced aspects of his characters with the depths they deserve. So, you’re left with a lot of half-finished character arcs and a plot that never goes anywhere. But despite that, the book works far more often than it doesn’t.

A Genuinely Moving Exploration of Grief

Much of Fractal Noise revolves around Alex’s grief over his wife, Layla’s, death. The very memory of her consumes him; haunts him. Not a moment goes by where the icy sting of grief fails to make its presence known. In fact, that grief informs almost every action Alex takes. He joins the Adamura because it’s what Layla would’ve done. He volunteers to explore Talos VII because Layla would’ve jumped at the opportunity to investigate an alien artifact. Everything Alex does is in response to his grief; a vain attempt at clawing himself out of the void he’s trapped in. It informs who he is, what he wants, and how he interacts with the world.

Because of that, Fractal Noise ends up being as much a rumination on overcoming grief as it is a tense, sci-fi thriller. How do we pull ourselves together after such a terrible loss? Is there really any way to feel whole again? And, perhaps most importantly, do we even want to feel whole again? Is there any point in overcoming our grief or should we just let it consume everything? These are the questions Paolini seems most interested in exploring, and he does an excellent job doing so. Alex isn’t always likable, but he never fails to feel deeply, painfully human – with all of the joys and pains that come with that. Alex’s struggle with his grief makes up the bulk of the narrative, and it’s easily Fractal Noise‘s best aspect.

Far Too Vague and Shallow

Unfortunately, the rest of the book doesn’t quite work as well. While the main cast of characters all feel well-defined, their respective arcs never go much of anywhere. Paolini hints at Talia’s dark past and religious zealotry, at Pushkin’s all-consuming nihilism, and at Chen’s complete lack of conviction. But he never properly dives into the nuances of these characteristics. Everything feels very vague and shallow; far too wishy-washy and under-explored. And that’s such a shame as there’s a lot here that could’ve been mined. It just feels like a collection of character arcs that are started but never completed. We understand each character’s motivation and we understand the gist of their backstories, but it feels like Paolini never figured out where to go from there. The characters exist only so far as they serve either the plot or Alex’s character arc, and that’s a pretty big bummer.

That vagueness carries over into Talos VII’s mysteries too. If you’re coming into Fractal Noise expecting Paolini to answer any of the central narrative’s main mysteries, then brace yourself for disappointment. Fractal Noise is all about the journey, not the destination. In that regard, it’s a pretty frustrating read – especially the closer you get to the ending of the novel. Paolini sets up a lot of mysteries for the crew of the Adamura to solve. Where did this hole come from? What is its purpose? Who built it? But instead, the crew’s time on Talos VII just keeps stretching out longer and longer, folding back on itself like a sort of fractal pattern. It makes for an intriguing and tense read, to be sure. And Paolini definitely plays up that tension to great effect. But I wouldn’t say Fractal Noise ends up being a wholly satisfying read.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, Fractal Noise delivers a wholly unexpected experience. Outside of being set in the same universe as its predecessor, Fractal Noise feels completely separated from To Sleep in a Sea of Stars. And on the one hand, that works very well. It makes the book immensely more approachable and far easier to digest. But on the other hand, if you’re looking for more of that story, or even something like it, Fractal Noise isn’t gonna give you that.

What it does deliver is a surprisingly effective rumination on overcoming grief mixed with an immensely tense, deeply paranoid sci-fi thriller. The plot’s far too vague and a lot of the character arcs ultimately don’t go anywhere. But when Fractal Noise works, it works very well. It’s not the most original piece of science fiction, but if you’re a fan of this world or of Paolini’s writing, it’s well worth a read.

Fractal Noise is available in Hardcover, eBook, and Audiobook formats from Tor Books/Macmillan.

DISCLAIMER: A review copy of Fractal Noise was provided by the publisher. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.