---
product_id: 219809546
title: "The Starless Sea: A Novel"
price: "€ 27.37"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 13
url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/219809546-the-starless-sea-a-novel
store_origin: BE
region: Belgium
---

# The Starless Sea: A Novel

**Price:** € 27.37
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- **What is this?** The Starless Sea: A Novel
- **How much does it cost?** € 27.37 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.be](https://www.desertcart.be/products/219809546-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. "[A] gorgeously written epic love story, filled with magic and mystery." ⁠—Popsugar 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: Don't expect "The Night Circus," but you will never read another book like this one - "The Night Circus" is one of my favorite books of all time - completely perfect in my eyes. This is NOT "The Night Circus," and if you go in expecting it to be perfect, you will be disappointed. It is NOT perfect. However, it was perfect for me. If you are fascinated with stories, with myth and folklore, with magic and mystery, with puzzles and surprises and the best kind of confusion at the beginning, then you may love it as well. There are stories within stories within stories, and the way they come together, I found to be brilliant. If you sit around and ponder the meaning and power of story, of beginnings and endings, of reality within the myths and folklore of different cultures, you will love this book. It is a fairytale of the very best sort, with homages to most of my favorite books. I intend to go back and read it soon when I have the luxury to read it slowly and taste each word on my tongue and examine the structure and symbolism more closely now that I know the outcome. Did this book have flaws? It did. I do agree with other reviewers that certain elements of the story could have been expanded upon and the book would have been even better for it - the owls, for example. But ultimately, for me, the conflict and price of protecting something magical to the point where no new beginnings are possible, and what others would sacrifice to find that new beginning were absolutely mind-boggling and horrifying and beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. I can honestly say I have *never* read a book like this - and unique stories that pull me in until everything around me disappears are my favorite stories. This one accomplished this on the very first page. Therefore, despite its minor flaws, it's a 5 in my book.
Review: 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.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #13,531 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #80 in Historical Fantasy (Books) #506 in Romantasy (Books) #617 in Romantic Fantasy (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 19,846 Reviews |

## Images

![The Starless Sea: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/A1IP8SPAdkL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Don't expect "The Night Circus," but you will never read another book like this one
*by L***Z on November 20, 2019*

"The Night Circus" is one of my favorite books of all time - completely perfect in my eyes. This is NOT "The Night Circus," and if you go in expecting it to be perfect, you will be disappointed. It is NOT perfect. However, it was perfect for me. If you are fascinated with stories, with myth and folklore, with magic and mystery, with puzzles and surprises and the best kind of confusion at the beginning, then you may love it as well. There are stories within stories within stories, and the way they come together, I found to be brilliant. If you sit around and ponder the meaning and power of story, of beginnings and endings, of reality within the myths and folklore of different cultures, you will love this book. It is a fairytale of the very best sort, with homages to most of my favorite books. I intend to go back and read it soon when I have the luxury to read it slowly and taste each word on my tongue and examine the structure and symbolism more closely now that I know the outcome. Did this book have flaws? It did. I do agree with other reviewers that certain elements of the story could have been expanded upon and the book would have been even better for it - the owls, for example. But ultimately, for me, the conflict and price of protecting something magical to the point where no new beginnings are possible, and what others would sacrifice to find that new beginning were absolutely mind-boggling and horrifying and beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. I can honestly say I have *never* read a book like this - and unique stories that pull me in until everything around me disappears are my favorite stories. This one accomplished this on the very first page. Therefore, despite its minor flaws, it's a 5 in my book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Absolutely beautiful and enthralling, even if it doesn't always work
*by J***E on September 12, 2024*

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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Starless Sea
*by H***. on January 31, 2020*

Hey guys👋🏾 I'm finally back from my long adventure with The Starless Sea & here is my book review! 🍯 This was a wild, fascinating, artistic, bizarre, eccentric adventure and I had a BLAST. I absolutely loved this book. First read of 2020 and let's just say I started this year off with a bang💥 by reading this book. 🦉 Zachary Ezra Rawlins, a young boy, is walking home from school one day and finds a door in the alleyway by his house, he's never seen the door there before, he wonders who painted it? He goes up and observes the door, wonders if it is real? Where would it take him? Is this a fantasy? Or is it just a regular painted door? He decides that it is just a painted door and continues home, an opportunity missed... 🐝 Years later while Zachary is in grad school he discovers a book at the library called Sweet Sorrows, this story sweeps Zachary off his feet. He investigates the story behind Sweet Sorrows and what he discovers will forever alter his future. He discovers doors that takes his story into unforseen places, he goes on many quests to see where his fate will lead him. 🌜 This fantastical, whimsical, adventurous novel will take you places that your intellectual brain can't even wrap around. Oh, this book gets deep, I found myself reading and rereading pages to make sure I understand the storyline correctly but I LOVED that. Time traveling, fairytales, doors that lead to the unknown, multidimensional worlds that I'm still trying to understand, and on top of that romance that'll make your heart go numb 🖤 🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌘 The best part about this complex book is the character development and all of the whimsical storytelling. I did a poll on my story a few days ago to see who all has read this book and surprisingly not many of you have and I am hoping this review will change your mind. If you are looking for a warm adventure during this cold winter then go buy/rent this book and give it a try. 🐝🗝🗡

## Frequently Bought Together

- The Starless Sea: A Novel
- The Night Circus: A Novel
- The Midnight Library: A GMA Book Club Pick: A Novel

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*Product available on Desertcart Belgium*
*Store origin: BE*
*Last updated: 2026-06-30*