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The Starless Sea

A Novel

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The Starless Sea

Written by: Erin Morgenstern
Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman, Various
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About this listen

 From the New York Times 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.

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 Classics Fantasy Fiction Historical Romance Women's Fiction Heartfelt Tearjerking Magic
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lots of interweaving storylines and stories within stories. beautifully written but I literally just finished it and couldn't tell you what happened

lovely but I don't know what happened

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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

Perfect for bedtime listening

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Magic, love, life, time, adventure, wonder, connection, moon, stars, bees, keys, swords, hearts, feathers, crown, owls

Wonderfully Amazing

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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.

Starts off well

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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.

A New Favourite

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