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Anchor Books

The Starless Sea: A Novel

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Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the 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, 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. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (August 4, 2020)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 592 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 110197138X


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 83


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.14 x 1.04 x 7.9 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #11,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #86 in Historical Fantasy (Books) #215 in Paranormal Fantasy Books #547 in Romantic Fantasy (Books)


#86 in Historical Fantasy (Books):


#215 in Paranormal Fantasy Books:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • One of my favs
I was blown away by this book. Surprised By the twists and turns and couldn’t wait to read more. This book is stories within stories within stories. The past, present, and future. It’s mind blowing to me that the author was able to write such beautiful, meaningful stories that were part of something even bigger. I would definitely recommend this book. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2024 by Michaela
    • A Complicated Wonderland
It’s been quite some time since Erin Morgenstern graced us with her fantastical masterpiece, The Night Circus. Eight years later, we have now been gifted with The Starless Sea. I might not love it as much as The Night Circus, but I do love it for its ability to capture stardust on the page. I believe that it is an indisputable fact that Morgenstern is a masterful writer. Her prose is lush and vivid, nuanced and elegant. Her words roll and glide on the page, coaxing her readers into the ebb and flow of her lyrical style of storytelling. Her newest book is reminiscent of the enchanting nature of The Night Circus as she skillfully guides her readers into a gripping tale of magically enticing impossibilities and what-ifs. This story is a story about stories. A book about books. A choose your own adventure that compels and disorients. It is a book lover’s gilded dream drenched in honey, a dream that spirals into endless hallways ending in multiple doors that challenge one’s sensibilities. Morgenstern creates a kaleidoscope of dreams and eerie tales, all weaved together to form a larger picture that comments on the nature of the dream and the dreamer, the creation of stories and the telling of them. I can wax poetic all day about the quality of Morgenstern’s writing, so I’ll try now to focus on the quality of the story. It’s an ambitious one, to be sure. And if I were being honest, it can be a bit of a chore to try to understand. Morgenstern’s strength lies in her world-building. The world she has created in this book is so omnipresent that it in of itself becomes a character. So much so that the actual characters get lost in the midst of it. I’d be hard-pressed to give specific details about Zachary Ezra Rawlins. Much of what happens in this book has been impressed upon him. He is a reactionary character that walks along an uncertain path that has been constructed by creatures of a cosmic origin. I can’t really describe much of who he is without the Starless Sea and its Harbors, and I can say much the same about Mirabel, Dorian, the Keeper, and many of the other characters. Usually, I’d be a bit put off by the lack of character development and proper character arcs, but the setting is so potent and captivating that I’d be making an exception just for this book. I do have one issue in that the romance between Zachary and Dorian isn’t very hard-won and it relies entirely too much on the personality of the narrative, which is overwhelmingly poetic and fantastical. It comes along too swiftly and isn’t very convincing by the whole. The Starless Sea is an intricate, wonderland of experimentation that guides readers through a journey outfitted with doors and keys, liquor and gold, honey and dreams. It is sweet and smooth, and very hard to understand. The miniature stories within the larger story are easy to connect, but the story outside the dividing paths can be a bit harder to grasp. Which is why I can see why this book might not be for everybody. It can get a bit tiresome by the end to try to hold on to and understand such a multi-dimensional narrative frame. I can’t say that I comprehended every little detail. But I appreciate the work that went into constructing such a vast world of rational irrationality. The creativity of The Starless Sea, the language, and the imagery are delightful, aesthetic treats of expression. And for that alone, I love this book. It’s not an easy thing to lose oneself to, but once you’ve fallen into this rabbit hole of pure literary madness, you have nothing to do but climb back out, slowly and surely, admiring all the twisty pathways and visual feasts Morgenstern has provided along the way. At times it may get tedious, repetitive, and even pretentious, but when you keep the focus on the setting and the overall magical nature of the prose and not think about the specifics, you can disappear for a bit and just let yourself dream. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2019 by Azia
    • The Starless Sea
This book is like an opium dream but far more addictive. I could not put it down. Just wave after wave of surreal magic.
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2024 by RODNEY DEMOTT
    • "A boy at the beginning of a story has no way of knowing that the story has begun"
Overall: I have very mixed thoughts on this book. I felt completely absorbed in it and absolutely loved the writing. The author writes like a painting, everything is so descriptive and lyrical it is hard to not be enthralled. That being said, I wanted more plot and more character depth and found both to be lacking. Still, an enjoyable read but would give this a 3.5/5 or a 6.5/10 overall. Summary: “A boy at the beginning of a story has no way of knowing that the story has begun.” Zachary Ezra Rollins is a fortune-teller's son, gay, a bibliophile and lover of cocktails, and a graduate student studying video games when he comes across a book called Sweet Sorrows. The book includes a passage intimately describing a moment from his actual childhood that Zachary becomes obsessed with it and reads it compulsively. He becomes obsessed with the need to reach the Starless Sea, a mysterious otherworld that he failed to enter as a child when he turned away from a painted door. The story follows Zachary’s adventures of getting to and once he is in the Starless Sea. The Good: “It doesn't look like anything special, like it contains an entire world, though the same could be said of any book.” The writing in this book is exquisite. The different fairytales and fables that intersperse the novel are lovely and this book really lives up to the power of storytelling. I felt completely engrossed in the writing and found myself rereading sections just to experience the beautiful writing again. This book succeeds in capturing you, transporting you to another world, and holding you in. I also loved the mystery and how most things come together by the end. For all those reasons, I loved it. The Bad: Very fragmented and disjointed throughout the whole book. I think the author may have tried a bit too hard to make this unique and I felt it suffered as a result. There are a dozen or so narratives all interspersed into one book and every chapter is different so you never know where it may lead. My other major issue with this book were the characters, and Zachary especially. Zachary Ezra Rawlins (and his entire name is used in the beginning of every chapter about him just in case we forget who he is… which you can’t!) is the star of “The Starless Sea” but only because he is fated to be. I did not feel that I grew to know or love him, and was surprised by this given the amazing writing. I did not feel connected to Zachary or really any other character and this may have been a result of too many narratives competing with one another. Favorite Quotes: “Strange, isn’t it? To love a book. When the words on the pages become so precious that they feel like part of your own history because they are. It’s nice to finally have someone read stories I know so intimately.” “Everyone is a part of a story, what they want is to be part of something worth recording” “Not all stories speak to all listeners, but all listeners can find a story that does, somewhere, sometime. In one form or another.” Everyone wants the stars. Everyone wishes to grasp that which exists out of reach. To hold the extraordinary in their hands and keep the remarkable in their pockets.” “We are all stardust and stories.” “Be brave,” she says. “Be bold. Be loud. Never change for anyone but yourself. Any soul worth their star-stuff will take the whole package as is and however it grows. Don’t waste your time on anyone who doesn’t believe you when you tell them how you feel.” “But the world is strange and endings are not truly endings no matter how the stars might wish it so.” “This is not where our story ends, he writes. This is only where it changes.” ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2020 by bill greene

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