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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: #21,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #203 in Historical Fantasy (Books) #519 in Action & Adventure Fantasy (Books) #835 in Paranormal Fantasy Books


#203 in Historical Fantasy (Books):


#519 in Action & Adventure Fantasy (Books):


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • layered storytelling
Such a hard book to describe. The characters are incredibly rich and the world building is impeccable. I can feel the warmth from the various fires in the book and hear the cold snow crunching beneath their boots as they walk under the moon. Truly a phenomenal book and world to discover.
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2025 by Amazon Customer
    • Absolutely beautiful and enthralling, even if it doesn't always work
It's been a while since I vacillated as much on how to review a book as I am with Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea, her follow-up to the much-beloved (myself included) The Night Circus. I spent so much of The Starless Sea absolutely in love with the world that Morgenstern created here - a series of nesting stories that combine in unexpected ways, revolving around a college student who discovers a volume of disjointed tales and realizes that he appears to be in one of them - and that maybe all of them connect to each other? From there, The Starless Sea keeps evolving and changing in front of you, becoming a fairy tale - no, a tale of a magical world - no, an allegory with shifting meanings - no, a beautiful piece of magical realism - no, maybe a love story - and just keeps changing, all while revolving around a love of books, stories, storytelling, and imagination that's undeniably intoxicating. But the problem with a story like this is that, as Morgenstern continually lets it become something new and evolve, it starts to feel like some of the pieces just don't work as well as others, including a villain role that feels a little shoehorned in (and abruptly discarded), layers of reality that seem to be known by the characters but thrust upon us without warning, and a final act that moves beyond cryptic into actively befuddling. Mind you, it's hard to do an ending about an intangible, magical world beyond human understanding; by the very definition of it all, it would be a cheat to make that too clear, but there's a difference between feeling like the meaning is just out of reach (think Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell) and just being a bit confusing, and The Starless Sea ultimately falls a little too far into the latter. And yet, did I spend almost every page enthralled by the beautiful visions Morgenstern was creating? I did. Did I love every moment and every detail of this world? Undeniably. Does it all work? No, definitely not...but none of that means it's any less magical or beautiful, either. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2024 by Josh Mauthe
    • A universe to get lost in…
I can see why this book wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’ve always loved stories and books and find yourself longing for fictional worlds then you should love this book. I loved all the short stories that intertwined and even those that didn’t. I loved the magical mom and all of the cats and the kitchen. I couldn’t put it down and bet I will love it even more when I read it again soon. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2025 by Kristi R.
    • a bit nonsensical
This book was like an ornately written odd dream the author had one night and decided to put to paper. I tried to follow the poetic metaphors to find the deeper meaning hidden within the story, but it just felt like trying to piece together the fuzzy chaos of a drunken night out. There was so much left unexplained and unanswered that I finished the last page feeling frustratingly unsatisfied. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2025 by Lindsay Livings
    • Artful storytelling
This book is wonderful. You will want to savor it like a truffle- sweet then bitter and then sweet again, and oh so rich. I'm certain I will re-read it soon after I'm finished. I love Erin Morgenstern
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2025 by C. W.
    • Looks great
I'm yet to read it. I got it cause it's the same author as Night circus. Right now, I can only speak on it's appearance and it arrived well.
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2025 by Mphazi
    • 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

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