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sirrydactyl's review against another edition
5.0
This books contains everything I love, wrapped up in ribbons and time and all things magical.
annekdotes's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
This book felt both marvellously original and intensely nostalgic to me, which is a great combination, it turns out. The writing is gorgeous (as I expected based on The Night Circus) and the entire novel is an ode to storytelling. The final 100 pages or so felt a bit more haphazard and hazy, but I did love this story until the end.
ashction's review against another edition
5.0
So... I just finished this book and I'm completely at a loss of what to do with myself now.
I. Adore. This. Book. Like, I kind of feel like someone took my heart and threw it across all these pages in the form of words and said here, this is what is inside you, please accept and enjoy and cherish it. There's so much here that is wonderful for me - the impossibleness of the worlds below the world, the quiet mystery that tumbles into the end of an epic, the characters who quickly root into you heart as only the best characters know how to do.
There's just so much here that works. I'm sure there are people who think some things don't work, but I'd be hard-pressed to find a single thing to complain about. I loved the diversity of the characters, the ebb and flow of Morgenstern's prose, the simplicity somehow elegant when mixed in with odd fantasy. I think that's the only way to describe this book, genre-wise. It falls somewhere between magical realism and odd fantasy, a balance of just the right amount of quirk and wonder with reality.
The best part of this book, however, is reading each shorter story or tale and watching as it links and coincides with the main story. The experience of reading The Starless Sea is so incredibly meta that it brought out the English major tendencies I haven't yet forgotten; I was tempted to underline and circle and note in the margins all the connections as they were made. The book itself is a commentary on storytelling and books as much as it is an actual story, which I think is what makes it so fun and also what makes it a book I want to go back to again and again. And what's so wonderful is the book teeters on the line of a story being told and of pure fate; you never know exactly which is true, or if both are true, or if neither really applies at all. The book tells you as much in the end; it informs Zachary that the storyteller is Fate, and Fate the storyteller.
That being said, this book isn't just some charming fantasy romp. It's serious, and thoughtful, and - at times - positively devastating. The amount of work that went into crafting a book like this must have been daunting and time-consuming. This book feels like art as much as it feels like a part of me, something I've just been waiting to come into existence.
I can't wait to buy this book. (I'll be buying both the US and UK editions, I think, because how can one not have both. They're so gorgeous.) I can't wait to reread this book again someday. And I hope that everyone who gets to read this book, for the first time, enjoy it in their own way as much as I have.
P.S. This may be a bit of a spoilery note, but I find it funny how, when I was first reading the book, I told my friends that it read like honey - slow, sweet, dripping - only to discover the Starless Sea is made of honey itself! There's so many subtle things I thought to myself while reading that further played into my experience of the book between a story or fate or something altogether different.
I. Adore. This. Book. Like, I kind of feel like someone took my heart and threw it across all these pages in the form of words and said here, this is what is inside you, please accept and enjoy and cherish it. There's so much here that is wonderful for me - the impossibleness of the worlds below the world, the quiet mystery that tumbles into the end of an epic, the characters who quickly root into you heart as only the best characters know how to do.
There's just so much here that works. I'm sure there are people who think some things don't work, but I'd be hard-pressed to find a single thing to complain about. I loved the diversity of the characters, the ebb and flow of Morgenstern's prose, the simplicity somehow elegant when mixed in with odd fantasy. I think that's the only way to describe this book, genre-wise. It falls somewhere between magical realism and odd fantasy, a balance of just the right amount of quirk and wonder with reality.
The best part of this book, however, is reading each shorter story or tale and watching as it links and coincides with the main story. The experience of reading The Starless Sea is so incredibly meta that it brought out the English major tendencies I haven't yet forgotten; I was tempted to underline and circle and note in the margins all the connections as they were made. The book itself is a commentary on storytelling and books as much as it is an actual story, which I think is what makes it so fun and also what makes it a book I want to go back to again and again. And what's so wonderful is the book teeters on the line of a story being told and of pure fate; you never know exactly which is true, or if both are true, or if neither really applies at all. The book tells you as much in the end; it informs Zachary that the storyteller is Fate, and Fate the storyteller.
That being said, this book isn't just some charming fantasy romp. It's serious, and thoughtful, and - at times - positively devastating. The amount of work that went into crafting a book like this must have been daunting and time-consuming. This book feels like art as much as it feels like a part of me, something I've just been waiting to come into existence.
I can't wait to buy this book. (I'll be buying both the US and UK editions, I think, because how can one not have both. They're so gorgeous.) I can't wait to reread this book again someday. And I hope that everyone who gets to read this book, for the first time, enjoy it in their own way as much as I have.
P.S. This may be a bit of a spoilery note, but I find it funny how, when I was first reading the book, I told my friends that it read like honey - slow, sweet, dripping - only to discover the Starless Sea is made of honey itself! There's so many subtle things I thought to myself while reading that further played into my experience of the book between a story or fate or something altogether different.
feyasyl's review against another edition
I loved the night circus by Erin Morgenstern but this book just isn't for me. At least not right now. Maybe it is due to the audiobook. I might try to read this book again physically..
I love the writing style and the main plot is intriguing, but I don't care for a lot of the subplots/ side stories and the book overall just doesn't feel cohesive.
I love the writing style and the main plot is intriguing, but I don't care for a lot of the subplots/ side stories and the book overall just doesn't feel cohesive.
raelynn8's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
archerb's review against another edition
5.0
Erin Morgenstern continues to amaze me with how detailed and sensory her complex worlds are. Her stories have smells and tastes and textures and feelings. Layers of myth and magic and beautiful characters and places fill this book, a hero's journey to re-read indefinitely.
ljp817's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
keen23's review against another edition
175 pages or so in to it, I quit. There's no real story yet. I can't follow the timelines. Nope, not for me.