From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world—a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, … lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.
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These books just aren’t for me.
What a wonderful combination of realism and fantasy! A book about books and stories and reality and whimsy and fate and love and maybe video games, who knows? It’s clever and well-written, with embedded clues strewn throughout. Its images and word combinations are startling in their originality and aptness. The motifs are artfully incorporated into all levels of the story/stories. A great read!
Holy Moly I loved this book, maybe even more than I loved Night Circus, which I really loved. I did not want it to end, I already miss the characters… pleeeease tell me this is going to be a series!
Just take me away to fantasy land!
I absolutely loved the Night Circus, but I was really disappointed in the Starless Sea. I found it extremely long (in fairness, I did need to read the large print edition all 700+ pages) but I felt the story could have been faster paced and the characters where not as involving. Over all, I would not recommend this book to any of my book clubs.
This is an exceptional book, spellbinding. The writing is exquisite. A must-read!!!!
First book I’ve read by this author and wow! It’s beautifully written and wildly imaginative, reminiscent of Chronicles of Naria and YA fantasy. Each character had a story to tell and was woven well together & thought out.
There are many truly wonderful books in the world, but very few of them are perfect. The Starless Sea joins the ranks (IMO of course) alongside The Last Unicorn, The Princess Bride, The Book Thief, and The Night Circus (also by Morgenstern–two for two, dear lady!)
It’s a topsy-turvy book that takes the reader on an Alice-like quest that, strangely enough, makes perfect sense bit by enthralling, perfectly executed bit. The prose are lovely, when you notice them; there’s so much to see their subtle beauty can be overlooked–the mark of a truly talented writer.
This is one I’ll take out and read again knowing, with each re-read, I’ll find something new to ooo and ahhh over. I already bought the audiobook in anticipation of experiencing the story all over again, as if it’s the first.
This was epic! Everything I live for in a book was in this story.
Normally I review a book right after I read it. I had to sit on this a few days and I feel I can’t do the book justice in a review. Like her other book, this one is magical. We’re given several small stories that slowly come together, to weave a perfectly magical experience. It’s a bit of bliss in a book you don’t want to put down and feel that you can never do it justice, so you just recommend everyone reads it to experience the magic for themselves.