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The Starless Sea
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman, full cast
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
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The Starless Sea
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Publisher's Summary
From the New York Times best-selling 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 by Dominic Hoffman, with a full cast:
Dominic Hoffman reading the Zachary Ezra Rawlins storyline
Dion Graham reading the Sweet Sorrows storyline
Bahni Turpin reading excerpts from the Secret Diary of Katrina Hawkins
Fiona Hardingham reading The Ballad of Simon and Eleanor
Allan Corduner reading Fortunes and Fables
Jorjeana Marie reading Another place, another time
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What the critics say
"Erin Morgenstern has magic to make...the author returns with a new fantastical fairy-tale for grown-ups.... Comparisons to the likes of Tolkien, Carroll, and C.S. Lewis abound. The Starless Sea poses big questions about stories - the ones we read, the ones we live, and the ones we tell ourselves. And at the heart of her work lies the themes that have provoked those comparisons: redemption, sacrifice, fate, time, reincarnation.... We’re willing to bet the embrace of this deeper, darker, more complex follow-up novel might be close to a sure thing. As Morgenstern posits, The Starless Sea is a door to another world - one just waiting for readers to open it." (Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly)
"Anyone who’s read Erin Morgenstern’s wildly successful fiction debut, The Night Circus, knows how meticulously she crafts her imaginary worlds...the reader [is] immersed in a multitude of stories, the threads of which gradually weave together to a haunting conclusion." (NPR)
"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)
What listeners say about The Starless Sea
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2021-03-27
Starts off well
I was excited to read the Starless Sea as I enjoyed Erin Morgenstern's Night Circus so much, but I was struggling with getting to the end of the Starless Sea. Found the ending lacking. The first 3/4's of the story I really enjoyed and looked forward to listening. I ended up getting the book as the chapters are not easy to breakdown for an audiobook; it was hard if you wanted to go back to reread or check something. The main male narrator was enjoyable to listen to but I found one of the women to have a hard time with the characters voices, especially male voices.
In the end I am glad I listened/read the Starless Sea and look forward to any future books by Morgenstern.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Merryn
- 2020-02-03
A New Favourite
This book had everything I never knew I was looking for in a story. Other reviews said it isn't for everyone and I totally agree. You have to be patient, have a good imagination, and love beautiful, drawn out imagery, and stories for the sake of stories. I wish there had been a little bit more differentiating between the characters voices, and the switching of narrators for the different parts I could've done without, but those are very minor complaints.
This is a book for anyone who dreamed about their very own letter to Hogwarts, or checked the back of the wardrobe for lamp posts, or followed a white rabbit. It's creative and imaginative and magical, like the Night Circus was, but I think this one is better.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lizzy
- 2022-04-21
lovely but I don't know what happened
lots of interweaving storylines and stories within stories. beautifully written but I literally just finished it and couldn't tell you what happened
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jadd Kosub
- 2019-12-19
Perfect for bedtime listening
Super dreamy plot and audio narration, loved the soothing quality of the full cast. I think this is my new favourite book. I cried twice and I am not a crier
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gabriele
- 2023-01-05
Wonderfully Amazing
Magic, love, life, time, adventure, wonder, connection, moon, stars, bees, keys, swords, hearts, feathers, crown, owls
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-03-08
Please read this!
The short version of how I feel about this book, because I can't cover it all, is that it made me laugh. It made me cry in the best ways, and it made my heart yearn for somewhere I cannot truly go, but I can visit it whenever I wish through this book. This book is fantasy, love and adventure and everything in between. Truly a jewel in literature!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Rae
- 2019-12-12
Intriguing storyline
Storyline pulls you in but it's sometimes hard to follow due to the switching narratives and choppy timelines. but definitely a great fantasy read
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jean Pierre Londono
- 2020-07-12
Amazing!
I’m crying but I don’t know if I’m feeling joy or sadness because the story ended. Lately, I feel my life is more buoyant in the pages of books, in the stories of other people... I loved every moment of this book! Thank you, Ms. Morgenstern for creating such wonderful tale
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ariana
- 2024-06-25
Lovely
Peaceful, unique, and engaging. A lovely take on the 'entire reality hidden in plain sight' trope.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- I say
- 2020-06-12
Awesome to experience as audiobook
This is a great story and I really enjoyed having different voices performance different parts. Not like actress performing rules but reading different sections of the book. It was really well done.
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1 person found this helpful