I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from Doubleday via Netgalley.

If you love to read--no, truly feel as though you were put on earth to read--Morgenstern has created a fantasy world that you'll deeply wish you could find a portal into, perhaps more than you ever wanted to hop a train to Hogwarts or crawl through a wardrobe to Narnia. If avid readers and librarians were Tolkien's elves, their Further Shore would be the harbor of the Starless Sea, with its innumerable books, cozy reading nooks, gigantic ballroom, and endless possibilities for world-building and perusing.

With sympathetic nerdy characters and engrossing (if sometimes perplexing) interpolated chapters from the three books within the book, the novel spins toward a satisfying ending. Our hero is Zachary Ezra Rawlings, gamer and graduate student in Emerging Media Studies. Our other hero, conceived outside of time in the Harbor so that no rules really apply to her, is Mirabel. Romance abounds: Mirabel and Zachary each have a love interest in the Harbor, and there is also an epic love story along the lines of "Somewhere in Time" or "The Time Traveler's Wife." Zachary also has a feisty buddy named Kat in Emerging Media Studies who turns detective when he goes missing.

As for villains, some guardians of the Harbor have gone rogue in the attempt to keep the riffraff away from the books out of fear of pedestrian traffic and (shudder) hashtags. They are armed with paintbrushes and firearms and they aren't messing around.

If the novel has a weakness, it's that there are so many characters, symbols, and subplots that it's easy to get lost if you stop reading, or even if you don't: I'm still not clear about how some mythical elements relate to the overall story. "The Starless Sea" is a worthy follow-up to the masterful bestseller "The Night Circus" and should delight librarians, gamers, and bibliophiles everywhere.

This book was pure magic! The most beautiful metaphors and language. It was lyrical and totally engrossing. I can't wait to read it again!

I have never read The Night Circus, but after reading The Starless Sea, I will definitely add it to my tbr pile.

It honestly took several chapters for my head to truly wrap around this story and figure out that I was completely hooked. Like nothing I've read before.

Morgenstern is a master at pushing the narrative to new places. Lyrical and exciting. Deep and thought provoking. Everything you want in a great book!

Every once in a while, you read a book that feels like it was written just for you. When I was eight, I genuinely thought that Lucy Maud Montgomery had written Emily of New Moon just for me, it was so completely the book I needed in the moment that I read it. It doesn’t happen very often. There are books we love and books that we connect to but on the rare occasion that a book seems purpose-written for us, it’s magical. That’s how The Starless Sea was for me. The Night Circus remains one of my all time favorite books, so I was equally nervous and vibrating with excitement to receive the ARC for Erin Morgenstern’s new book. How would it compare?

One of Morgenstern’s gifts is her ability to weave seemingly unconnected stories together in complicated, unexpected ways and she excels at that here. Every time I felt like I was just about to loose the thread, when the stories were getting too tangled, a connection was made or a story was wrapped up or redirected, and I was sucked in even deeper to the tapestry of the book.

As with The Night Circus, it’s hard to say definitively who the main character is, but it all starts with a little boy who doesn’t open a magical door and a grad student in a library in Vermont who finds a very old book with no author and himself (literally) written in the pages of the book- setting in motion the hunt for The Starless Sea-a world built of stories. Except there are already people looking for it, and others trying to keep them from looking, and then there are the stories of those who have already found The Starless Sea. Their stories overlap and interlock in a love story about the love of stories. I haven’t longed to jump into a book world this much since the first time I read Harry Potter. It felt like a world built just for me.

The Starless Sea is a fantastical suspension of belief or, does it require fantastical belief? Thank you for Zachary and Dorian.

From the author of The Night Circus, Morgenstern is has written a fantasy of many things I love...the sea, ships, books, libraries, adventure, and, most importantly

I really wanted to like this book. I loved The Night Circus, but this book I just couldn't get into. I'm not even really sure what the plot is. The writing is lovely, but the plot is very slow with a number of side stories that I'm sure connect together at some point. I wasn't interested enough to finish the book, so the pace may have picked up later on in the story.

This book had me from the start with a mysterious book, clues, and a secret library. A pure delight, a magic-soaked fairy tale that traverses through underground tunnels and discovery of secrets and love. I would recommend this book to readers who love mystery, magic, and discovering new worlds. It's amazing!

The Starless Sea
By Erin Morgenstern


Zachary Ezra Rawlins was a regular college student until one day he stumbles upon a mystifying book… featuring him as one of the main characters. Determined to discover how this could be, he quickly gets caught in between the plots of a secret organization, a subterranean library, and many, many stories.

Erin Morgenstern, previously known for her best selling work, The Night Circus, captures our imaginations once again in The Starless Sea. She seamlessly weaves short stories, poems, and myths throughout the novel, each one laying a seed that adds substance and richness to an already riveting plot. The reader is both engrossed in the plot while also awaiting the next fantastical interlude. The book combines romance, magic and mystery in a way that feels fresh, and Morgenstern transports you in a way that will have you hungry for more long after you’ve turned the final page, making it the perfect choice for any library collection.

Release date: November 5, 2019
Rating:
Review by: Thomas Beheler, Maker Associate, Arlington Public Libraries

This book is beautiful and extraordinary and unlike anything else I've ever read, aside from The Night Circus, of course. The author has a masterful way of creating such a magical ambiance that a plot is almost unnecessary. Just drop me in the middle of an Erin Morgenstern novel and let me float in it like a lazy river.

It's difficult and almost unfair to try and write a review of this book and judge it like any other novel. The Starless Sea is more of an immersive experience. The reader reads the book along side the protagonist, Zachary, occasionally separating from him to watch from afar as he interacts with the book and the adventure it catapults him into. The book-with-the-book is full of fairy tales, adventures, romance, and loss, all elements that invade Zachary's story, too.

If you're not reading Erin Morgenstern's novels, you are seriously cheating yourself.

For fans of / you may also like:
The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

arc received from the publisher

Another dreamy, mystical book from the pen of a master. The story was more complex than her previous book, which felt like a natural progression for the author and for the reader. There was a side character that was underused, but that is a minor complaint. Overall, I very much loved this story.

This is the perfect follow up to Morgenstern's 2011 beloved The Night Circus. Fans of her previous work and fans of reading, in general, will enjoy this book. I don't know how to begin to describe the plot, and honestly, I think that this is one of those stories that it is better to enter into with as little known about the plot as possible. I was fortunate enough to avoid reading any synopses before I dove in, and I am so glad for that experience. I will say that the book links a modern-day story with several shorter linked fairy tales/myths/legends that all tie together. These stories contain cherished and familiar tropes like castles with intimidating moats, pirates, star-crossed lovers, a looming king, and a striking setting.
This book requires patience. Clocking in at over 500 pages, I found myself sometimes getting a little exasperated with the story, but I realized that it was all worth it. Each word is meaningful and each description adds to the overall ambiance that this story invokes. The described imagery was ideal and the elements of magic and fantasy will be perfect for reading this book in the fall and winter, cozied up by a fire with a warm beverage. This is that book that readers search for when they search for the all-encompassing cold-weather cuddle-up read. It's daydreamy, otherworldly, and velvety and it is such a lovely reading experience.
This is a book meant to be read by readers. This was a wonderful reading experience, and the only negative thing I can say is that I have now read it and I can't un-read it, and read it again for the first time.

Terrible syntax, first of all. Second, I was unaware this was going to be obnoxiously meta. I hate stories within stories. This book was also obvious and convoluted, and an ode to awkward nerds. I hate awkward nerds. I couldn't deal with it after 50 pages. Such a letdown.

Erin Morgenstern has such a unique way of describing whimsical scenes with fantastic characters. I was enthralled from the start. The Starless Sea is a world i'm sure many people wish was real. The last time I wanted a place to be real this badly was when I first read Harry Potter. My only gripe is that I think the plot got away from itself toward the end of the story.

Beautiful epic story that anyone who loves books would enjoy. The world the author created was so fantastic I've not wanted to live in a book since HP and Hogwarts. The first I've read from this author, but definitely want to read her first book as well.

The Starless Sea
Breathtaking. Stories within stories with stories. A reflecting ball of possibilities. A multitude of 'onces' upon a time. A magical Russian Matryoshka doll filled with interlocking adventures. There is no simple way of describing Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea, her dazzling love letter to the art of storytelling. It is dazzling and unforgettable, filled with powerful narratives and eloquent observations on life, love, death, romance, sacrifice and so much more. A verbal feast! The flawless second novel by the author of the much celebrated The Night Circus.

There is not nuch that one can say without spoiling the adventure which awaits the reader. A young man searches for meaning and purpose in his life and in this novel. Characters fall in and out of love. Time plays games. Locked doors take you nowhere, others take you somewhere magical (or maybe not). There are secrets to keep and some that need sharing. There are lies to be told and truths that need telling. It is a difficult novel to explain, yet a joy to experience; most likely through repeat readings. The book needs a warning label: Do not assume anything. Nothing is at it appears, or maybe it is.

I read The Starless Sea courtesy of NetGalley and Doubleday Books, the book's publisher in exchange for an objective review. If it is not clear by now, I love this book and think it is a true masterpiece of fantasy fiction.

I was so excited to get my digital hands on this title. I was also a bit fearful because I had enjoyed The Night Circus (2011) so much and I had been waiting so long for another book from Erin Morgenstern. The only disappointment here is that I've finished the book. However, I will definitely be listening to it on audio the second that is available. What a wonderful mix of fairy tale, fantasy, romance, and dystopian angst. She also gives a shout-out to Lev Grossman fans.

The writing was so lush, I could wrap myself in it and fall asleep. The story is so entrancing, I read the book in 12 hours. A stunning second book from the Author of the The Night Circus

I don’t read a lot of fantasy. I lean more toward sci-fi, particularly the more literary iterations. Neil Gaiman is my exception. He writes stories that at first seem fanciful, but I can hear him read his own words in my head, both of us savoring each passage, with a tiny smile or barely perceptible frown coloring the words.
So, I’m not one for fantasy in general, but I found something of Gaiman in Morgenstern. Not the voice, but the tenor or shade, maybe the unadulterated joy about words and stories that they’re both able to convey. I was drawn in by Morgenstern’s Zachary, the grad student who feels guilty about reading books that strike him as “story-like”. And that phrase is precisely where Morgenstern hooked me. I’m a sucker for a good metafiction, and they just don’t write those like they used to. Or, the “meta” grew so all-encompassing that the concept imploded.
But, that’s a concept for serious critics, and I’m a happy dilettante. The Starless Sea presents Zachary, the guilty reader aided by helpful librarians (aren’t we all?), and Morgenstern had me. And if you’ve read this far through my meandering comments, then likely she’ll have you, too, you fanciful little reader, you.
Morgenstern follows the collapsing “meta” all the way down. Since I read an uncorrected proof, I can’t quote from the book, but trust me when I say that the author explores deep notions about storytelling in an accessible way that is full of all the fantastical stuff - love, adventure, loss, growth, rebirth. You know, the stuff of fairy tales, and real life.

I’m sorry. I wanted to love this book. The Night Circus is one of my favorites and I couldn’t wait for her next one. The premise is so cool but I just didn’t fall in love with any of the characters. There are a few parts where it just drags on for me. It was getting to be a chore reading about the layers and layers of what’s behind the doors. I wasn’t looking forward to getting back to it while reading and that isn’t good. I will go back to it at some point. I’m such a picky reader and maybe it was just not the time for it.

A mythical book world where every lover of books would want to go. The main story is interwoven with shorter tales, fables, and myths, which keeps the reader captivated and intrigued throughout the entire story. Each time a tale is told a new connection is made to the main storyline, and blending of these stories are seamless. This is a book that re-reading it would definitely lead to discoveries not seen the first time. For my book club that read The Night Circus, this will be one that we will be reading this coming semester.