The Starless Sea: A Novel

Category: Book
By (author): Morgenstern, Erin
Subject:  FICTION / Contemporary Women
  FICTION / Fantasy / Historical
  FICTION / General
  FICTION / Romance / Fantasy
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Published: August 2020
Format: Book-paperback
Pages: 592
Size: 7.96in x 5.15in x 0.97in
Our Price:
$ 22.00
Availability:
In stock

Additional Notes

From The Publisher*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, 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.
Review Quote*National Bestseller
New York Times Bestseller
A TIME Must-Read Book of 2019
A Guardian Best Book of 2019
An E! News Best Book of 2019
An NPR Best Book of 2019
A Real Simple Best Book of 2019
A Good Housekeeping Best Book of 2019
A BookPage Best Book of 2019
A Bustle Best Book of 2019

"A sprawling tale bursting with books-within-books and a multi-level underground fantasy space that's basically a bibliophile paradise come to life. In The Starless Sea, Morgenstern finds magic within the pages of books and climbs shelves of the most mesmerizing of libraries. . . . The Starless Sea is a door to another world-one just waiting for readers to open it." -Entertainment Weekly

"A mystical adventure in an enchanted universe. . . . The novel is not simply a quest narrative-it's also a meta-examination of stories that demands the reader's patience-and then rewards it. . . . Morgenstern's elegant, poetic prose keeps the pages turning as she begins to draw connections within a web of tales that reads like an ode to stories, themselves, and celebrates the distinct pleasure that comes from engaging with a text." -TIME

"Assuredly beautiful. . . . The novel reads like panel after panel of mythic illustrations." -The Guardian

"A high-wire feat of metatextual derring-do [and] a stunning array of linked fables, myths and origin stories. . . . It is exquisitely pleasurable to watch the gears of this epic fantasy turn once they're set in motion. As in The Night Circus, Morgenstern is at her best when she imagines worlds and rooms and parties in vivid detail. . . . This novel is a love letter to readers as much as an invitation: Come and see how much magic is left in the world. Fans of Neil Gaiman and V.E. Schwab, Kelly Link and Susanna Clarke will want to heed the call. An ambitious and bewitching gem of a book with mystery and passion inscribed on every page." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Morgenstern's new fantasy epic is a puzzlebox of a book, full of meta-narratives and small folkloric tales that will delight readers. . . . Morgenstern uses poetic, honey-like prose to tell a story that plays with the very concept of what we expect and want from our stories. . . . She trusts her readers to follow along and speculate, wonder and make leaps themselves . . . giving the book a mythic quality that will stick with readers long after they put it down. The massive legion of readers who loved Morgenstern's debut will be clamoring to recapture the magic of that reading experience." -Booklist, starred review

"A magnificent quest, a sense of unfolding adventure and danger, gold-wrought fantasy, and endless provocation on what storytelling really means." -Library Journal, starred review

"Enchanting. . . . Morgenstern's tale has shades of detective fiction, magical fantasy and even Gothic mystery . . . but her ambitious 512-page novel is really an ode to stories and storytelling itself, and the joy of reading. . . . Once fantasy fans open its covers and let their eyes rest on the sparkling words inside, they are in for a treat." -Independent (UK)

"This love letter to bibliophiles is dreamlike and uncanny, grounded in deeply felt emotion, and absolutely thrilling." -Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A page-turner. . . . It's unlikely [The Night Circus fans] will be disappointed by this sweeping follow-up, which unfolds an epic romance within a secret underground world of lost cities, handsome pirates and endless puzzles to be solved." -Entertainment Weekly

"[A] gorgeously written epic love story, filled with magic and mystery." ⁠-Popsugar

"Deep . . . wholesome . . . moving. . . . You'll float away on the warm waters of The Starless Sea. . . . It's a book that's a pleasure to dwell in, a delicious experience." -NPR

"Extravagantly imaginative. . . . The intricate world-building is nothing short of fabulous, the prose lush and filigreed." -Minneapolis Star Tribune

"The Starless Sea functions as both an ode to those who love books and an engrossing fantasy epic. Morgenstern balances multiple stories, some of which are set in an entirely fantastical universe, others in a world that is very familiar to our own." -Bustle

"A timeless love story" -The Nerd Daily

"A spellbinding novel. . . . I could not put it down, and when I finished, I turned immediately back to the first page so I wouldn't have to leave this magical world. If you believe in the power of stories to transcend time and space, to marry love and fate, read this book!" -Angie Kim, author of Miracle Creek

"A wildly fanciful lark that has all the hits: mystery, love, libraries, Harry Potter references and pirates. It's a complex, darkly beautiful story with some of the most inventive storytelling we've read all year." -Good Housekeeping
Biographical NoteERIN MORGENSTERN is the author of The Night Circus, a number-one international bestseller that has been sold around the world and translated into thirty-seven languages, and The Starless Sea. She has a degree in theatre from Smith College and lives in Massachusetts.