The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern: A Masterful Tale of Deep Connection and Atmospheric Wonder

Deeply embedded in their lives, the characters' relationships are woven with the history that they have there, making it so nothing feels like an instant connection. The story of Zac, our main character, is also one of a gay man, adding depth to his narrative and love interest. I enjoy stories where all the characters feel like they have a deep love and respect for one another, and this tale delivers on that promise. All the interacting characters feel connected and care deeply for each other, creating a sense of community and warmth.

One aspect of Morgenstern's storytelling that I particularly appreciate is her ability to make antagonists feel more sympathetic. In this story, as in The Night Circus, the antagonists are not mustache-twirling villains, but rather characters with their own depth and motivations. This nuance makes them all the more interesting and complex, adding layers to the narrative. It's a reflection of life itself, where sometimes the people we perceive as villains can have our own complexities and flaws.

The plot of The Starless Sea is a complicated web of stories within stories, with multiple threads that intersect and overlap. This is particularly evident in the way that Morgenstern weaves together the main narrative with those of other characters, creating a sense of depth and history. As one reads through the book, hints are dropped about certain events or plot points that are not revealed until later. These slow reveals are expertly done, adding to the sense of wonder and discovery.

One of the most striking aspects of this book is its atmosphere and pacing. While some readers may find it slow, I believe that Morgenstern's focus on character development and world-building makes for a deeply immersive experience. The story is both atmospheric and engaging, with a perfect balance between action and quiet moments. The ending, in particular, feels earned and purposeful, yet still leaves room for mystery and interpretation.

I appreciate the way that this book can be re-read and re-experienced, with new insights and connections made each time through. The sense of a story continuing beyond its own pages is also beautifully done, making it feel like these characters and their world are existing outside of the narrative itself. As Morgenstern herself notes, "the best stories feel like they're still going somewhere," and The Starless Sea certainly delivers on that promise.

For readers interested in purchasing a copy of this book, I've been considering various editions. While there are several interesting UK editions with bright covers, I don't feel that they entirely capture the essence of Morgenstern's world as I envisioned it. In contrast, the US edition is more to my liking, and I may choose to attend an author signing to acquire a copy.

Overall, I was thoroughly captivated by The Starless Sea, and I gave it five out of five stars without hesitation. If you're interested in reading this book, I'll definitely be posting a gush about its many details and connections in the near future – but for now, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the story! Do you have any questions or insights from reading The Starless Sea?

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey guys it's Sam and this is my spoiler free review of the starless C by Erin Morgenstern I am filming this video back in July I actually read this book in June and I've been putting off the review because I originally was thinking that I might reread it before it actually comes out or around the time it comes out I still think I will do that but I wanted to get my first original thoughts without a reread reaction for the review and that I might be filming a spoilery gush after a reread to really get all the gushy feelings so this is just going to be a review at this time later on you might also get a gush as well so as many of you know if you watch my channel but if you don't know me I will tell you now the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is my favorite book of all time this is a book I picked up at BA this year and it was my most anticipated book of almost all time I mean it was just there's there's no words to describe my level of excitement for this book and I immediately read it as soon as I got the chance to and I can say that this book does live up to all of my feelings about the Night Circus it felt like it was written by the same person where sometimes you get books and favorite books and someone writes something new and it doesn't feel the same they still felt the same but expanded and I have a lot of feelings about this the Night Circus is still my favorite book of all time because I read it in 2013 it sat in my feelings over multiple rereads but I do feel that the star listy is also going to be up there after the years go by this Vanja main character of Zachary and when he was a child he discovered this painted door and he felt like he could have gone through it but he ended up ignoring it and years later when he's in college is actually in graduate school he discovers the book and he reads that encounter with this door in the book and discovers that he's in this book and everything kind of goes from there so first off we talked about the world-building this book has the intricacies of the Night Circus and that atmospheric setting expanded into a whole world while the Night Circus was a lot more focused and the magic and stuff was mostly occurring within the Night Circus this is just so much more expansive but still has that feeling that flavor of an atmosphere and just being immersed in it the same way that it was with the Night Circus these are not related books by the way just to make sure that everyone's aware at this both books are stand-alones the Night Circus has nothing to do with the starless city etc so at its core this is a book about stories and storytelling so that part of the atmosphere is also open into the plot and things like that but this is just a story about stories this is a story about symbols this is a story about folklore and legend and just the love of stories in all of its different mediums this atmosphere just feels raw and magical in a way that I just can't describe means similar to the Night Circus but even just this feels like raw magic in a way that is different than the Night Circus but still has that you know the setting and the magic is a character within the story like I said there's a lot of symbols and there's a quote in here that says symbols are for interpretation not meaning and that is a theme that comes up within the story as well so there's a lot of symbols in here there's a lots of things with cats and owls which really appeals to me because those are two of my favorite animals and there's like some Fox stuff too I think at some point so there's a lot of things with that and just there's just the symbolism and because it's so intricate with the atmosphere really with everything throughout the story you are going to be able to find so much new material upon a reread because it is so intricate and there is so much next I talked about our characters Zachary as our main character is actually in graduate school studying games and video games specifically when I say that this book appeals to me on so many levels the video game part I was like holy because there's all of this talk of stories on multiple different mediums you guys know that like my channel is basically about my love of stories I talk about not only books but also video games and TV and movies and stuff but he really does talk about video games a lot so there's all these themes of games as a valid story about side quests and life having a series of side quests and they're the part of this book feel like okay this is a side quest this is the main quest things like that there's also talk about that with relationships he makes a reference at one point about like needing to do one more side quest with this person so that we can get more like approval points almost but not in like a blatant way like that it's obviously more like lyrical and beautiful with her writing but I'm just like yes talk about games more there's also a number of different love stories woven into here but in a way that it's not the main part of the plot at all then Serkis was similar where there was some like there's a love aspect to it and a love story in there but it's definitely not the main point of the plot I would say this has even less of that romance but there are multiple different romantic relationships happening and because it's not a main part of the plot erin morgenstern is a beautiful thing and that she allows you to feel the depth of the emotion that these characters are feeling for each other in so few words so even though you don't get to see a ton of these characters interacting or things like that you still feel how deeply their relationship is embedded in their lives and the history that they have there and things like that in a way that makes it so nothing feels like if characters are just freshly meeting nothing feels like insta-love or anything like that there's just like deeper connection conveyed in very very few lines Zac our main character is also a gay man and so his story and his love interest so good I also just enjoy stories where all of the characters feel like they have a deep love and respect for one another and I do feel that with this story that all of these characters that are interacting and stuff they are connected and they also really love and respect and care deeply for one another within this story another thing I really love that Erin Morgenstern does really well because she also did it in the Night Circus is that the antagonist in here are antagonists and not villains so because of that they feel more sympathetic they also happen in the Night Circus they are doing things that are bad maybe or they're doing things that are antagonistic to our main characters but they are not themselves mustache twirling villains they definitely have a level of depth that I don't see in a lot of other stories and that makes the story just more interesting and almost kind of vague in a way too because it's like there's no real villain here and that's kind of a lot more about how life is and some of the characters are villains at some points to other characters and it's just a very interesting way of doing things when a lot of stories especially fantasy stories have a very typical villain type character next we talk about the plot there are so many threads here such a complicated web of story because not only are you getting the main story with Zach but you're also getting stories within stories because that will discover these books have to do with the starless see and those will be stories that'll be sniffed in as well you also see those characters in the main story so overall it's just this complex web of narrative and with all those interweaving threads you get these very slow reveals and their touches so well so many things that like you get hints of things you're not sure then they get revealed later it's so beautiful and masterfully done this at no point felt slow to me but I can see that some people might feel like it's slow because it is so atmospheric and character-driven more so than action but there is also a lot of action as well this book also has an ending that feels earned so all the things that happen really feel purposeful but there's also a sense of mystery with the ending there's still things left not solved and this is a standalone so it's not like we're gonna get more in a series or anything and I do kind of like those bittersweet endings where not everything is completely explained and again more things might be explained or I might be able to decipher things a little better upon reread as well so it really does have that value of being able to be reread and reacts perience over and over again there's also this sense that this story continues which I really love so this book definitely feels like these characters this world is existing outside of this book and not just because I'm reading it it also has a life of its own outside of the story which I really love there's a quote in here that's I think the best stories feel like they're still going somewhere out in storage space and that's exactly what this is so obviously I loved this story and I gave it five out of five stars erin morgenstern did not disappoint me I didn't think that she would but she did not disappoint me I've gotten some questions on what book cover that I think I will buy for this book because there's a lot of very interesting UK editions coming out with the feelings I got from this book I don't feel that the UK editions and how bright they are match the way that I pictured and viewed this world so I don't think I'll be going for the UK editions as interesting as they are I don't completely love the US edition but I like it more and I will probably go to a signing with her and have to buy a copy there so I most likely will be getting a US Edition for those that asked because I a lot of people asked that question so I obviously love the story aired more concerned of not disappoint I gave it five out of five stars like I said I will probably post a gush at some point after we read so I can really so can a lot of the details Mabel make those connections and things I'm not sure if I will or not but I if I do I will I don't post that so comment below but let me know what you thought of the starless see thank you all for watching and I'll see all of you guys soon byehey guys it's Sam and this is my spoiler free review of the starless C by Erin Morgenstern I am filming this video back in July I actually read this book in June and I've been putting off the review because I originally was thinking that I might reread it before it actually comes out or around the time it comes out I still think I will do that but I wanted to get my first original thoughts without a reread reaction for the review and that I might be filming a spoilery gush after a reread to really get all the gushy feelings so this is just going to be a review at this time later on you might also get a gush as well so as many of you know if you watch my channel but if you don't know me I will tell you now the Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is my favorite book of all time this is a book I picked up at BA this year and it was my most anticipated book of almost all time I mean it was just there's there's no words to describe my level of excitement for this book and I immediately read it as soon as I got the chance to and I can say that this book does live up to all of my feelings about the Night Circus it felt like it was written by the same person where sometimes you get books and favorite books and someone writes something new and it doesn't feel the same they still felt the same but expanded and I have a lot of feelings about this the Night Circus is still my favorite book of all time because I read it in 2013 it sat in my feelings over multiple rereads but I do feel that the star listy is also going to be up there after the years go by this Vanja main character of Zachary and when he was a child he discovered this painted door and he felt like he could have gone through it but he ended up ignoring it and years later when he's in college is actually in graduate school he discovers the book and he reads that encounter with this door in the book and discovers that he's in this book and everything kind of goes from there so first off we talked about the world-building this book has the intricacies of the Night Circus and that atmospheric setting expanded into a whole world while the Night Circus was a lot more focused and the magic and stuff was mostly occurring within the Night Circus this is just so much more expansive but still has that feeling that flavor of an atmosphere and just being immersed in it the same way that it was with the Night Circus these are not related books by the way just to make sure that everyone's aware at this both books are stand-alones the Night Circus has nothing to do with the starless city etc so at its core this is a book about stories and storytelling so that part of the atmosphere is also open into the plot and things like that but this is just a story about stories this is a story about symbols this is a story about folklore and legend and just the love of stories in all of its different mediums this atmosphere just feels raw and magical in a way that I just can't describe means similar to the Night Circus but even just this feels like raw magic in a way that is different than the Night Circus but still has that you know the setting and the magic is a character within the story like I said there's a lot of symbols and there's a quote in here that says symbols are for interpretation not meaning and that is a theme that comes up within the story as well so there's a lot of symbols in here there's a lots of things with cats and owls which really appeals to me because those are two of my favorite animals and there's like some Fox stuff too I think at some point so there's a lot of things with that and just there's just the symbolism and because it's so intricate with the atmosphere really with everything throughout the story you are going to be able to find so much new material upon a reread because it is so intricate and there is so much next I talked about our characters Zachary as our main character is actually in graduate school studying games and video games specifically when I say that this book appeals to me on so many levels the video game part I was like holy because there's all of this talk of stories on multiple different mediums you guys know that like my channel is basically about my love of stories I talk about not only books but also video games and TV and movies and stuff but he really does talk about video games a lot so there's all these themes of games as a valid story about side quests and life having a series of side quests and they're the part of this book feel like okay this is a side quest this is the main quest things like that there's also talk about that with relationships he makes a reference at one point about like needing to do one more side quest with this person so that we can get more like approval points almost but not in like a blatant way like that it's obviously more like lyrical and beautiful with her writing but I'm just like yes talk about games more there's also a number of different love stories woven into here but in a way that it's not the main part of the plot at all then Serkis was similar where there was some like there's a love aspect to it and a love story in there but it's definitely not the main point of the plot I would say this has even less of that romance but there are multiple different romantic relationships happening and because it's not a main part of the plot erin morgenstern is a beautiful thing and that she allows you to feel the depth of the emotion that these characters are feeling for each other in so few words so even though you don't get to see a ton of these characters interacting or things like that you still feel how deeply their relationship is embedded in their lives and the history that they have there and things like that in a way that makes it so nothing feels like if characters are just freshly meeting nothing feels like insta-love or anything like that there's just like deeper connection conveyed in very very few lines Zac our main character is also a gay man and so his story and his love interest so good I also just enjoy stories where all of the characters feel like they have a deep love and respect for one another and I do feel that with this story that all of these characters that are interacting and stuff they are connected and they also really love and respect and care deeply for one another within this story another thing I really love that Erin Morgenstern does really well because she also did it in the Night Circus is that the antagonist in here are antagonists and not villains so because of that they feel more sympathetic they also happen in the Night Circus they are doing things that are bad maybe or they're doing things that are antagonistic to our main characters but they are not themselves mustache twirling villains they definitely have a level of depth that I don't see in a lot of other stories and that makes the story just more interesting and almost kind of vague in a way too because it's like there's no real villain here and that's kind of a lot more about how life is and some of the characters are villains at some points to other characters and it's just a very interesting way of doing things when a lot of stories especially fantasy stories have a very typical villain type character next we talk about the plot there are so many threads here such a complicated web of story because not only are you getting the main story with Zach but you're also getting stories within stories because that will discover these books have to do with the starless see and those will be stories that'll be sniffed in as well you also see those characters in the main story so overall it's just this complex web of narrative and with all those interweaving threads you get these very slow reveals and their touches so well so many things that like you get hints of things you're not sure then they get revealed later it's so beautiful and masterfully done this at no point felt slow to me but I can see that some people might feel like it's slow because it is so atmospheric and character-driven more so than action but there is also a lot of action as well this book also has an ending that feels earned so all the things that happen really feel purposeful but there's also a sense of mystery with the ending there's still things left not solved and this is a standalone so it's not like we're gonna get more in a series or anything and I do kind of like those bittersweet endings where not everything is completely explained and again more things might be explained or I might be able to decipher things a little better upon reread as well so it really does have that value of being able to be reread and reacts perience over and over again there's also this sense that this story continues which I really love so this book definitely feels like these characters this world is existing outside of this book and not just because I'm reading it it also has a life of its own outside of the story which I really love there's a quote in here that's I think the best stories feel like they're still going somewhere out in storage space and that's exactly what this is so obviously I loved this story and I gave it five out of five stars erin morgenstern did not disappoint me I didn't think that she would but she did not disappoint me I've gotten some questions on what book cover that I think I will buy for this book because there's a lot of very interesting UK editions coming out with the feelings I got from this book I don't feel that the UK editions and how bright they are match the way that I pictured and viewed this world so I don't think I'll be going for the UK editions as interesting as they are I don't completely love the US edition but I like it more and I will probably go to a signing with her and have to buy a copy there so I most likely will be getting a US Edition for those that asked because I a lot of people asked that question so I obviously love the story aired more concerned of not disappoint I gave it five out of five stars like I said I will probably post a gush at some point after we read so I can really so can a lot of the details Mabel make those connections and things I'm not sure if I will or not but I if I do I will I don't post that so comment below but let me know what you thought of the starless see thank you all for watching and I'll see all of you guys soon bye\n"