"How are you feeling?" Zachary asks.



"Like I am losing my mind, but in a slow, achingly beautiful sort of way." (p.288)

The Starless Sea is almost a retelling of Alice in Wonderland... except that Alice had an end goal and didn't need to fall in love to get there.

What are you doing? a voice in his head asks an he doesn't have a good answer for it. Doesn't know what or why or even where, exactly, because he forgot to check the street sign on the corner. He could keep walking, hail a cab, return to his hotel. But he wants his book back. And he wants to know what happens next. (p.87)

The purpose of this story was to get to the end. I'm not kidding!

"I remain here because it is my job, Mister Rawlins. My calling, my duty, my raison d'etre. Why are you here?"



Because a book said I was supposed to be, Zachary thinks. Because I'm worried about going back... Because I feel more alive down here than I did up there.



"I'm here to sail the Starless Sea and breathe the haunted air," he says. (p.234)

There needed to be something more to this book than beautiful descriptions of a magical world.

I know people have been waiting like 8 years for another book by Morgenstern, but come one. I'm struggling with calling this a book!

None of these characters, despite journeying through this magical world, change. There is no personal growth or enlightenment. They don't even come across many challenges other than ignorance and bewilderment.

"I need you to know that what I feel for you is real. Because I think you feel the same. I have lost a lot of things and I don't want to lose this too." (p.312)

Funny, I felt the exact same way while reading this book.So, Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea is the highly anticipated follow up to The Night Circus (which, I admit, I haven't read). I won an ARC of this book from my library's summer reading program and, after reading the synopsis, I could not wait to jump in.I think that most people who read The Starless Sea will love it because it's a love letter to storytelling. If you like literature, there is a good chance you will enjoy this book.I wasI would enjoy it too. I mean, The Starless Sea seemed like it was written just for me. We have a protagonist who studies video games and reads a lot and is near-sighted. There are books and cats and keys and bees and so many stories...But, sadly, I am here to say I was incredibly underwhelmed and disappointed by this book.Here's why:I do not feel that this is due to my own ineptitude. But rather, I didn't know what was going on in this book because nothing was going on. People who love Morgenstern's writing and love works that pay homage to literature might overlook this. Unfortunately, I could not.The Starless Sea starts with a fascinating inciting incident. This guy named Zachary finds an old book at his library that tellsstory. On a quest to discover why this book tells his story, Zachary soon finds himself in this magical library/world with some magical people. What follows is a series of seemingly endless fish-out-of-water scenes as Zachary bumbles along, trying to make sense of this magical place.But even when things started to "come together" in the last 100 pages or so, I still felt like I had no idea what was going on. I constantly asked "but what is the point?" while reading this book and never, even at the end, got a satisfactory answer.But seriously. Imagine if Alice fell down the rabbit hole into Wonderland then never tried to get back home because she was too busy just looking around and fantasizing about the Mad Hatter. And there you have the "plot" of The Starless Sea.I'm confounded by this book, and not because of the richly imaginative world it is set in. I'm confounded by the lack of any narrative structure. THIS BOOK IS A LOVE LETTER TO STORYTELLING THAT FORGOT TO HAVE THAT WHICH EVERY STORY NEEDS: A PLOT! The only thing propelling Zachary forward in this story is the story itself. His motivations are unclear and his actions are minimal at best.Here is the closest thing we get to an explanation as to why Zachary didn't just go home from the start:So Zachary goes down the rabbit hole just because he wants to see what happens next?? Ok fine I guess. I was on board with this for the first 100 pages. But then 200 pages roll around and then 300... And eventually I got 400 pages in and honestly considered throwing the book out the window. A purpose other than "to see what happens next" is NEVER revealed.At one point, this conversation occurs:While this might sound beautiful, there is nothing behind it. Zachary is compelled forward in this story by destiny and curiosity and I hate to say it, but that just isn't enough.I kept waiting forto happen. And things happened I guess, but they all seemed circumstantial and nonsensical. Zachary is the most passive protagonist I've ever come across. He kind of just wanders around marveling at the strangeness of the world he is in. Everything felt incredibly contrived and convenient. I can only suspend my disbelief for so long.Again, I'm utterly confounded. What publishers and editors read this book and agreed to print it?? Without a plot and without a conflict, what do we have?? Dreams. Fragments.There is this "bad" lady named Allegra but she has like two scenes in the whole book and isn't really a threat. And as far as conflict goes, the biggest "problem" is that Zachary (and me as a reader) has no idea what is going on. He has nobody to defeat and nothing to overcome. So what is the point of his "journey"?? TO FALL IN LOVE?? GET TF OUT OF HERE!!So this book alternates between Zachary's main quest line and these little flash-fiction-like stories. Later in the book, the main quest is broken up by perspective shifts. I get why all this stuff was there and I did appreciate it, but it was so overwhelming. It was very hard for me to keep everything straight in my head.I thoroughly enjoyed some of the stories but, my god, there was just too much. Zachary's story was interesting in the beginning, but once I realized there was no plot and everything that happened was just a series of events, I began to lose interest. I would forget where I left off with Zachary, so it made it hard to want to continue reading. With 100 pages left out of this 500 page book, I honestly thought about not finishing it.Zachary Ezra Rawlins is kind of a blank slate. I get that readers are supposed to relate to him and even insert themselves into this story through him, but the guy is just kind of... dull. Mirabel, Dorian, The Keeper, Allegra... they were all dull. I didn't care about any of them. There was better characterization in some of the interrupting stories than there was in the main quest (notice I'm not using the word "plot" here because THERE WAS NO PLOT.)The only character that kind of has a character arc is... well shit. None of them.I have a confession. I was so sick and tired of this book that I began skipping the paragraphs that described the setting in the last 100 pages. And, you know what? It got incredibly more readable. I didn't realize it until then, but all of these overlong descriptions were basically purposeless. They were there to be aesthetic and to look cool.I think this book would have benefited from having like 200 pages trimmed out of it. Get rid of all these endless descriptions and remove like half of the interrupting stories and perspective shifts. Add in some character development and a whole lot of plot... Then there might be something to work with. In all honesty, this book could have been amazing.I didn't buy Zachary and Dorian's relationship for a second. They kind of saved each other's lives once or twice, but never had any time to develop a deep connection. They spent an evening drinking wine and reading together, (and by "reading together" I mean reading different books in the same room together) but had no other significant interactions. They never flirted or talked to each other more than a few sentences. Then all of a sudden Dorian grabs Zachary's head and whispers:Uh, what??!? At this point in the book, I wasn't even sure that Dorian was gay andZachary, let alone was in love with him. It is hinted at that Zachary and Dorian are meant to be together because of some prophetic nonsense, but my god. Throw some scenes of them getting to know each other so that I believe they are in love. This is also the sexiest moment between the two in the whole book and that's pretty sad.I wholeheartedly resent this. It was hard enough for me to finish this book the first time. I will never read it again.So, in order to be fair, I guess I should mention the good things about this book. Some of these "positives" are going to end up being backhanded compliments, but I'm over worrying about it. I DIDN'T LIKE THIS BOOK THAT MUCH, so I'm grasping at straws here.I loved the aesthetics of it. This book is full to the brim with fantastic imagery. I loved that this world of stories was filled with keys, cats, books, and a boatload of mystery. It was such a goddamn shame that all this cool imagery was overused and purposeless.If you can get past all the highfalutin metaphors, similes, and imagery, there is a very interesting, unique world made up of stories. How freaking cool to have a world that is basically a perpetual story? Like, the stories end, but one follows to take its place.Morgenstern's prose is very dreamlike and poetic. It is too bad what was written lacked an overall purpose, message, and plot. I think this book needed a heavier editing hand and maybe a bit more time in the oven. It is clearly undercooked.I rated Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea 3 out of 5 stars.**Update** So I've been thinking about this book for like a week or so and I'm dropping my rating to 2 stars. My frustration with this book really got to me. While finishing up the last 100 pages of The Starless Sea, I realized that I was incredibly grumpy. It was negatively impacting my life and I should have gone with my gut and thrown the damn thing out the window.I ended up finishing this book, despite my urge to chuck it into the bushes, because I felt it was important for someone to be the voice of reason. I wanted to point out the flaws and problems. I have a feeling this book will end up being very highly rated here on Goodreads for 2 reasons:1: This book panders to its audience by having a protagonist that is designed to appeal to readers. He is nerdy, near-sighted, part of a minority group, and he likes video games, books, and cats. This book also panders to its audience by referencing literary works.2: The Starless Sea will ride the coattails of The Night Circus. People who loved TNC will love TSS.I don't recommend this book.**I read an ARC of this book, so quotes and page numbers might end up being changed in the final product.**