The Starless Sea
Ratings313
Average rating4
15
Ratings313
Average rating4
Far beneath the surface of the earth, upon the shores of the Starless Sea, there is a labyrinthine collection of tunnels and rooms filled with stories.
The entryways that lead to this sanctuary are often hidden, sometimes on forest floors, sometimes in private homes, sometimes in plain sight. But those who seek will find. Their doors have been waiting for them.
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is searching for his door, though he does not know it. He follows a silent siren song, an inexplicable knowledge that he is meant for another place. When he discovers a mysterious book in the stacks of his campus library he begins to read, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, lost cities, and nameless acolytes. Suddenly a turn of the page brings Zachary to a story from his own childhood impossibly written in this book that is older than he is.
A bee, a key, and a sword emblazoned on the book lead Zachary to two people who will change the course of his life: Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired painter, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances. These strangers guide Zachary through masquerade party dances and whispered back room stories to the headquarters of a secret society where doorknobs hang from ribbons, and finally through a door conjured from paint to the place he has always yearned for. Amid twisting tunnels filled with books, gilded ballrooms, and wine-dark shores Zachary falls into an intoxicating world soaked in romance and mystery. But a battle is raging over the fate of this place and though there are those who would willingly sacrifice everything to protect it, there are just as many intent on its destruction. As Zachary, Mirabel, and Dorian venture deeper into the space and its histories and myths, searching for answers and each other, a timeless love story unspools, casting a spell of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a Starless Sea.
Reviews with the most likes.
“These doors will sing. Silent siren songs for those who seek what lies behind them. For those who feel homesick for a place they've never been to. Those who seek even if they do not know what (or where) it is that they are seeking. Those who seek will find. Their doors have been waiting for them.”
I read this book in December and it's February now and I'm still thinking about it (and all the confusing things that happened near the end). Safe to say, that a lot of the things that confused me earlier have started to make sense now after some deliberation over time.
I loved the story, the characters, the recurring bey-key-sword symbolism. But I have to say this, I am not a fan of the UK hardcover because I have a phobia of bugs (anything with more than 4 legs) and drawing a big-ass bee on the damn cover DID NOT HELP! Even if the bees in the story were polite.
This book was a love letter to books and readers. Even with all the confusing stuff, having characters that loved books so much that they followed the story in them to unknown places was very mesmerizing.
“Having a physical reaction to a lack of book is not unusual.”
Got too surreal for me about 75% through. Didn't really get what was happening and couldn't be bothered to figure it out. The first half was so promising but it really lost the plot, literally.
From the moment I opened this book I knew I would love it. Stories within books within books is my absolute favourite thing. This idea that stories in any form are important precious things is lovely and I feel like I found that place here where this weight is shared.
I will probably be thinking about Time & Fate and the Pirate metaphor and the Moon & the Innkeeper for a while. I feel like this book was a little bit made for me. I enjoyed it so much I am sad I finished it but the ending was perfect.
uh... sorry?
i guess i just don't get it. while the writing was immersive and beautiful, i just didn't really understand enough of what was going on, and wasn't lost enough to just vibe. i found the jump between the fantastical and real world to be really jarring throughout the book, and as we dove deeper into the fantastical world, i missed the boring (and honestly irrelevant) real world part of the book (seriously, what was the point of the first like 100 pages?)
perhaps i wasn't in the mood for this but man do i feel catfished lmao
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