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blairextraordinaire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Torture, Violence, and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy and Gun violence
chalkletters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
As befits a book about a magical world full of books, The Starless Sea also delves interestingly into metafictional discussions about what makes a story, and what makes a good story. The characters of The Starless Sea would make an interesting book club. Within Erin Morgenstern’s narrative, there are smaller stories-within-stories, none of which were recognisable as retellings, but most of which had an effective archetypal fairytale vibe. Unfortunately, the overarching plot doesn’t hang together quite as well. The story was hazy, never quite coming into focus, which made it difficult to build up (or understand) the stakes. Erin Morgenstern’s prose is so lovely that The Starless Sea was still enjoyable, but it didn’t have as much impact as it might have done if the narrative had set things up on a slightly firmer ground.
A reread of The Starless Sea would be interesting, to see whether the stories-within-stories knit together with the main narrative to make the whole thing feel more grounded and immediate. If you like reading about reading (presumably you do, since you’ve read this…) it’s definitely one to add to your TBR!
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
jelliestars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
i_llumi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
i quite enjoyed the scattered stories and books, but sometimes they felt a bit too random or irrelevant to the main plotline imo.
im writing this block of text at 4am after said two long flights + excessively long airport lines so needless to say my brain is fried atm
in sum tho
this books is pog + dorian best boy dorian ily
Minor: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Violence, Death, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Fire/Fire injury
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
The writing is beautiful and very detailed and descriptive. But can be overly descriptive and slows down the story quite a bit for me. I know it's to give the reader a lot of vivid imagery and create a certain atmosphere, but if you are like me and suspect you might have a level of aphantasia, it doesn't add to the story and kind of hinders/slows your reading progress if you read every word. I can't picture what is being described so I would've just preferred some of the minor details that were just to describe rooms or scenery taken out.
Lots of switching perspectives and little stories intermixed with the "main" story so if that's not your jam, this might not be it for you.
I feel like this is the sort of book you would reread to pick up on little things (hints or details that apply to something further along in the story) that you might miss like how you might rewatch certain shows to find easter eggs or when you realize an anime opening/ending was telling you everything before you got far enough along in the anime.
I think this book is for a certain aesthetic of reader so it's not as good as the people who hyped it up said it is. But it was still a worthwhile, enjoyable read. I can get the hype and would recommend it to one of my friends who fits into a part of that certain aesthetic, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol
decklededgess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I didn't particularly like Nigh Circus but my experience reading this has given me a better understanding of what I missed in my reading of NC. Erin Morgenstern's books require that you put in effort to carve out the plot for yourself from the layers and layers of stories that she frontloads. And after you put in the effort to map out your understanding of the book she rewards you with incredibly gratifying reveals that knit the book together into one seamless plot. As someone who has like 2% understanding of symbolism, I was rather proud of myself for understanding this book but I'm sure rereads will reveal dozens more layers.
This is a book for your whimsical dark academia aesthetic book lovers. It's a book about books for the bookish folk who long to disappear into the story itself.
Incredibly immersive and easy to get lost in.
Moderate: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Gore
hazychapters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Stalking, Suicide, and Blood
norwegianforestreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Death, Alcohol, Body horror, Confinement, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
falltumn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Stalking
Minor: Animal death