The Starless Sea
Reviews
This book was a joyous read. It was like a puzzle that came together piece by piece to make an immensely satisfying picture by the end. There will always be a special place in my heart for this magical story and it’s central character, Zachary Ezra Rawlins.
I really loved the magic in this book. The characters were charming and the mystery was whimsical.
All the little anecdotes filled with magic and wonder coming together in this boy’s journey was beautiful and satisfying
enjoyable but I kept getting lost
Beautiful and fantastical writing, but a lot slower than I am used to reading. It took me quite a while to finish this but I enjoyed the whimsical style.
ive been trying to prossess for like an hour now and i still cant wrap my mind around everything that happened. This book is such an adventure and i loveed discovering it
Unfortunately, my first DNF of the year.
The Night Circus is in my top 5 favourite books of all time, so I went in really looking forward to this. Once again, Morgenstern exhibits her strength in beautiful prose that is incredibly descriptive and vivid, sucking you into her world. As a black person who has always been a fan of fantasy and magical realism, the main character being an intelligent black nerd, who has actual depth, who also happens to be gay, is incredibly worthwhile to note, and important, which I commend her for. The plot in itself tends to go all over the place, with odd pacing, especially in the middle of the story. Overall it is a great read, and worth picking up!
POPSUGAR 2020: Main character in their 20s CoronaQuaranRead #1 Wow! This is such a feat to read, I can't imagine even writing this beast. The world building was amazing. The story was very intriguing. I was hooked at the beginning, and was pretty much fully on board the whole story apart from Part V (Hunnyyy, let me tell you I had no idea what was happening). Mz Morgenstern, please write a sex scene between Dorian and Zachary because that would be... hot!
One of my favorites. Like eating chocolate cake with wine, so many beautiful passageways and stories. The ending got a little rocky, but still loved it. I wish there was more to read from this author.
it’s hard to figure this one out. i felt less attached to it than i do to the night circus, but it doesn’t feel fair to compare the two, even though “stories within stories” seems to be a favorite concept for miz morgenstern. i think that this is a book that’s meant to be reread, and i think that that’s not a bad thing.
erin morgenstern… save me… erin morgenstern save me erin morgenstern save me
I don't know, it was an average read, maybe even disappointing as I was expecting more at the beginning. Unfortunately not for me.
ERIN MORGENSTERN OWNS MY ASS. HELLO NEW FAVOURITE BOOK. The vibes of this book first immaculate. Zachary is such a wonderful main character.
mixed feelings for this, to be honest. as a fans of fantasy genre, i would like to give it five stars. the way erin morgenstern described the magical atmosphere through the third point of view is magnificent. however, my final rating is four stars. i feel like it took long enough to conclude and was too slow-paced ... ? the first half of the book, for me, was fun to follow, but when the story started to unfold, you need to pay more attention on the details, or else you would be lost—who is who, which timeline is it, and what is actually going on. overall, i enjoyed reading this book
Overall Starless Sea is full of beautiful turns of phrase and interesting takes on story telling. But it suffers from pacing issues especially early on. It takes too long to settle on Zachary's story and then when it does, he's too much like Quentin, who might as well be made from cardboard. http://pussreboots.com/blog/2021/comm...
This has become my favorite book💜 I recommend it without any hesitation
The writing and atmosphere was so beautiful, I couldn't stop reading. It was so intriguing and mysterious from the beginning. The story was so abstract that it frustrated me, but I guess that's the whole point of the book. It made me want to continue reading for the answers. However, I didn't understand most parts, and the characters truly felt flat. I enjoyed it, but it was so confusing. I don't know if it's because I genuinely don't understand it or it's because I read this during my hectic schedule so I wasn't really focused on the story. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it, and I might reread it soon when my schedule is free to understand it better.
its so poetry outside 3.5 stars
I can’t believe this has not above 4 ratings. The way Erin has woven this story can’t be put into mere words. Every page, every sentence, every word filled me with so many emotions, I felt I was transported to a safe, warm and, comfortable place while reading it. Everyone needs to experience the magical and lyrical world that this book takes you in.
Stunning story, beautiful prose
[updated 30/11/2022] penso neste livro 24/7 e não sou a mesma desde que acabei de o ler não quero saber se é no plot just vibes. As vibes que eu quero. É um 5 estrelas. 4.5⭐
this is my favorite book of all time
Spent 500 pages waiting for something to happen and then it didnt
Highlights
You open a door.
What happens next?
I’m going to find out.
He’s calm again. Relieved to have his Max back and even though he knows they both have other people they belong with there is still this room and this dance and this moment and it matters, maybe more than any of the others.
I think the best stories feel like they’re still going, somewhere, out in story space.
She gave me an opaque plastic cup identical to the one I’d abandoned inside but with better bourbon in it, on the rocks.
I accepted because mysterious ladies offering bourbon under the stars is very much my aesthetic.
“This story can’t end yet,” Zachary says to the bees.
Why Mister Rawlins why not it is time for the end now the story is over the key is here it is time.
“Fate still owes me a dance.”
What happens now? he thinks but almost immediately the question leaves his mind. It doesn’t matter. Not right now. Not here in the depths where time is fragile.
For right now this is his entire world. Starless and sacred.
Then I baked cinnamon sour cream cookies and mixed myself a clover club since I had the eggs out already and started a comfort replay of Dark Souls and now I feel a little better about life and myself and existence.
Every time the screen says You Died I feel better.
You Died.
You Died and the world keeps going.
You Died and it wasn’t so bad, was it? Have a cookie.
And so the son of the fortune-teller finds his way to the Starless Sea.
Everything is too hot and too cold and Zachary’s entire world is an imagined kiss in brightest darkness that tastes like honey and snow and flame.
Through time and fate and past the moon and the sun and the stars.
Somewhere there is a door, marked with a crown and a heart and a feather, that has not been opened.
The son of the fortune-teller sits in a chair surrounded by keys in the middle of a starlit forest talking to a woman made of snow and ice.
Dorian takes his arm again, pulling him closer, leaning his forehead against Zachary’s. He feels warm yet cold and real yet not real, all at once.
This person is a place Zachary could lose himself in, and never wish to be found.
“I am so very tired of the romance of the dead girl,” she says. “Aren’t you?”
“It’s important to you, isn’t it?” Eleanor asks.
“Yes, it is.”
“Important things hurt sometimes.”