A graduate student finds a library book that tells a story from his own childhood, and follows it to a hidden world of stories
A door he did not open
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont who loves books and video games. One day, in the university library, he finds a strange, unlabelled book of stories. Among tales of pirates, lovers and an underground sea, he discovers something impossible: a description of an event from his own childhood, when he found a painted door on an alley wall and chose not to open it.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who loved The Night Circus and enjoy lush, dreamlike fantasy about books, stories and secret worlds, and do not mind a puzzling structure.
What you will get
A lush, dreamlike fantasy about a book-loving student who follows a mysterious volume to a hidden underground world built from stories.
The Starless Sea Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Fantasy · Hidden library · Stories within stories · Quest
Length
592 pages · ≈ 17 h
More about this book
Determined to understand the book, Zachary follows a trail of clues, including a symbol of a bee, a key and a sword, to a masked party in New York, where he meets a pink-haired woman named Mirabel and a handsome, guarded stranger named Dorian. Soon he finds his way to a vast subterranean harbour of stories, the Starless Sea, a place of libraries, candles and endless corridors that is slowly falling apart.
Morgenstern's writing is gorgeous, and the book is less a conventional plot than an immersive experience. Chapters of Zachary's journey alternate with fairy tales and fragments that only gradually connect, rewarding readers who enjoy puzzles and patterns. The romance is tender and understated. However, the meandering structure and deliberate vagueness frustrate readers who want clear rules and a driving story.
If you love books about books and do not mind getting a little lost, it is an enchanting place to wander. Readers who give themselves over to its rhythms often describe it as a love letter to stories and to the people who keep them alive, and its imagery lingers long after the last page. About 592 pages in the Anchor paperback.
The Night Circus
The Shadow of the Wind
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
The Name of the Wind
The Eye of the World
The Two Towers
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
The Fellowship of the Ring
Circe
The Once and Future King
Sabriel
A Feast for Crows