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The Starless Sea

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The Starless Sea

By: Erin Morgenstern
Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman, Dion Graham, Bahni Turpin, Allan Corduner, Fiona Hardingham, Jorjeana Marie
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

The magical new novel from the best-selling author of
The Night Circus.

Are you lost or are you exploring?

When Zachary Rawlins stumbles across a strange book hidden in his university library it leads him on a quest unlike any other. Its pages entrance him with their tales of lovelorn prisoners, lost cities and nameless acolytes, but they also contain something impossible: a recollection from his own childhood.

Determined to solve the puzzle of the book, Zachary follows the clues he finds on the cover - a bee, a key and a sword. They guide him to a masquerade ball, to a dangerous secret club, and finally through a magical doorway created by the fierce and mysterious Mirabel. This door leads to a subterranean labyrinth filled with stories, hidden far beneath the surface of the earth.

When the labyrinth is threatened, Zachary must race with Mirabel, and Dorian, a handsome barefoot man with shifting alliances, through its twisting tunnels and crowded ballrooms, searching for the end of his story.
You are invited to join Zachary on the starless sea: the home of storytellers, story-lovers and those who will protect our stories at all costs.

©2018 Erin Morgenstern (P)2018 Penguin Audio
Fantasy Fiction Magical Realism Heartfelt Carnival
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Critic reviews

"The Starless Sea rejects older stories: it makes its own.... Rather than a traditional fantasy novel, this is an artificial myth in its own right...the novel's scope and ambition are undeniable." (Natasha Pulley)

"Erin Morgenstern’s fiction radiates with the excitement of someone discovering a magical world within the pages of a book. The Starless Sea...[is an] enchanting read...an ode to stories and storytelling itself, and the joy of reading." (Martin Chilton)

"A unique, mind-boggling fantasy." (Kate Saunders)

What listeners say about The Starless Sea

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magnificent

Magnificent in every way. Easy to get lost in. Beautifully written and superbly narrated. I highly recommend this book.

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Wow. Just Wow.

What a great story. Magical, different and completely original. Narration was excellent. I don't know where Erin gets her ideas from. This and the Night Circus are two of my favourite books of all time.

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  • Overall
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Wonderful epic dreamlike

I love this novel. It is mesmerising and dreamlike. What an imagination Erin Morgenstern must have. I really really enjoyed this listen. The narrators are excellent.

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beautiful dreamy book

I adore this book, from the narration to the glorious descriptions through the dreamlike tale.
Discovering new delights with each listen

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Dream-like modern fantasy classic

The sea is a metaphor. The stars (or lack thereof) are also a metaphor.

This is a beautiful tale that looks in a variety of ways at the meaning and nuances of storytelling. On its face, it tells of a young man who finds himself pulled into a world of magic and intrigue, and his trials within it. But it deftly intertwines an exploration of the concepts around stories at the same time.

The performance(s) was/were excellent - the different readers gave their own emphasis to their own sections and, unlike other reviewers, I had no issues keeping track of who did what. Overall a very enjoyable and thought provoking yarn that quickly drew me into the world and kept me enthralled throughout.

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A bit of a wild imaginative meander

I adored the night circus, but I found that this book was generally way too long for the core story and rather disappointing after the heavenly night circus; Erin Morgenstern has a wonderful way of cunjoring imaginative images to mind but the storyline just wasn’t strung together enough for me to remain gripped solely by the imaginitive descriptions, which were delightful. I would love to spend time delving into the authors imagination but I think she got a bit carried away and lost track of the storyline wandering off into wild imaginative descriptions. I felt it was a bit frustrating and had a rather unsatisfactory ending. I was also irritated by one of the male narrators who was so monotone in contrast to the images being conjured by the words, it’s testament to the writer that the images endured over the narrator. I did keep going to the end but I really only managed because of the original imaginative description rather than the story.

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Amazing!!!

I'm already wanting to listen to this again. Excitement, intrigue, and wonderment. I loved it.

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A magical journey

beautifully told. the story takes the reader on a wonderful adventure, didn't want it to end.

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Beautiful

A magical story, so beautifully interwoven. I’m having a little weep of joy now that I’ve finished it.
Echos of Alice in Wonderland & the Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe but for grown ups.
A great cast of characters.
I loved the Night Circus but I would find it hard to choose between them.
I would love to see them both made in to films - although I would fear a film of either would be a disappointing snippet on fast forward, the visions described are so beautiful I just long to see them in front of me.

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Amazing

Amazing story. I've listened to this twice now! Great storyline and storytelling. Will definitely be listening again soon.

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