Fantasy

The Starless Crown

The Starless Crown

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  • Create Date：2022-01-14 09:51:39
  • Update Date：2025-09-13
  • Status：finish
  • Author：James Rollins
  • ISBN：1250816777
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Summary

An alliance embarks on a dangerous journey to uncover the secrets of the distant past and save their world in this captivating， deeply visionary adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling thriller-master James Rollins。

A gifted student foretells an apocalypse。 Her reward is a sentence of death。

Fleeing into the unknown she is drawn into a team of outcasts:

A broken soldier， who once again takes up the weapons he’s forbidden to wield and carves a trail back home。

A drunken prince， who steps out from his beloved brother's shadow and claims a purpose of his own。

An imprisoned thief， who escapes the crushing dark and discovers a gleaming artifact - one that will ignite a power struggle across the globe。

On the run， hunted by enemies old and new， they must learn to trust each other in order to survive in a world evolved in strange， beautiful， and deadly ways， and uncover ancient secrets that hold the key to their salvation。

But with each passing moment， doom draws closer。

WHO WILL CLAIM THE STARLESS CROWN？

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Reviews

Steve Donoghue ，

Popular thriller writer James Rollins returns to epic fantasy with this first volume of a series starring a young woman whose cloudy vision doesn't impair her visions of the world's possible ending。 There's a handy exposition-dumper， a virtuous simp of a prince， a living statue with energy-casting abilities， and a charismatic young thief， and Rollins mixes it all together in a plot that's definitely enjoyable despite feeling at times intensely derivative， even lazy， if that word could possibly b Popular thriller writer James Rollins returns to epic fantasy with this first volume of a series starring a young woman whose cloudy vision doesn't impair her visions of the world's possible ending。 There's a handy exposition-dumper， a virtuous simp of a prince， a living statue with energy-casting abilities， and a charismatic young thief， and Rollins mixes it all together in a plot that's definitely enjoyable despite feeling at times intensely derivative， even lazy， if that word could possibly be applied to this author。 Fantasy fans will be interested enough - just - to look forward to the next volume。 My review is here: https://openlettersreview。com/posts/t。。。 。。。more

Keegan Campbell ，

First off， I adore this cover。 I knew I was going to tear through this book to see if it lived up to its presentation and， for the most part， it did。From the description and even early chapters I thought we would be getting a magical school story （one of my soft spots） with some soft sci-fi。 While it did start off strongly in that direction I was kind of disappointed when at about the 1/3 mark it changed course。 It had set up an interesting science fantasy concept but then for the most part lean First off， I adore this cover。 I knew I was going to tear through this book to see if it lived up to its presentation and， for the most part， it did。From the description and even early chapters I thought we would be getting a magical school story （one of my soft spots） with some soft sci-fi。 While it did start off strongly in that direction I was kind of disappointed when at about the 1/3 mark it changed course。 It had set up an interesting science fantasy concept but then for the most part leaned pretty hard into the fantasy with only little glimpses into the science aspect。 I did enjoy the story as told， tropes and all， but I can't help but wonder what might have been if it had stayed in that lane。 I might have enjoyed the story more if I didn't have these set expectations。I did connect with the characters and well developed world and will be looking forward to the follow up。 I expect that the next book will hit 5 stars now that I know what to expect。I was provided an ARC of the audiobook for review。 The reading speed was good and the narrator was clear and voiced the characters and plot excellently。 At times the narrator would slow down or speed up for dramatic affect， even dropping to a whisper at times。 I get what they were going for but as I had the playback speed and volume right where I wanted them it did take me out of the story somewhat。 A minor complaint to an otherwise well directed audiobook。 。。。more

deborah s kellerman ，

The main character does not have an arch。Quite an adventure but the ups and downs are predictable。 The main character seems to have nothing to learn。。。no room for personal growth， only for learning to maximize her power， which she does quite easily， with no real work。 I Will not read the rest of the series。

Juliano Dutra ，

The most generic， vapid， Fantasy book i read in a long time。I think this book would be the result if you put an Artificial intelligence machine to learn what people wrote in the fantasy genre and make one。I would give one star， but the narrator "Nicola Barber" is amazing。 The most generic， vapid， Fantasy book i read in a long time。I think this book would be the result if you put an Artificial intelligence machine to learn what people wrote in the fantasy genre and make one。I would give one star， but the narrator "Nicola Barber" is amazing。 。。。more

Jena Schopf ，

Started slow for me， but then I couldn’t put it down！ Love this author and can’t wait for book #2！

Simeon Tsanev ，

After the “not like other fantasy authors” spiel in the introduction， I expected something at least attempting originality。 Instead， it seems that James Rollins simply isn’t aware that “distant future Earth” is as old a trope as the genre itself， and even “tidally locked planet setting” isn’t much fresher。 What’s worse， the book goes into the nastiest type of traditional epic fantasy I’ve read in years， with a Chosen One that is blandly bleeding heart about everything， even when she has zero rea After the “not like other fantasy authors” spiel in the introduction， I expected something at least attempting originality。 Instead， it seems that James Rollins simply isn’t aware that “distant future Earth” is as old a trope as the genre itself， and even “tidally locked planet setting” isn’t much fresher。 What’s worse， the book goes into the nastiest type of traditional epic fantasy I’ve read in years， with a Chosen One that is blandly bleeding heart about everything， even when she has zero reason to care。 Everyone instinctively is ready to die for her within minutes of meeting her， and does so on a regular basis。 Meanwhile， we are introduced to SCORES of characters - at least five POVs， each with a large support cast of mostly interchangeable blank canvases。 Then there’s the tone。 The story opens with creepy promises of sexual violence， then opts out of any sexual aspects （other than the creepy sexualization of a statue for most of the book） in favor of motivationless villains that are just EVER。 SO。 ANNOYINGLY。 EVIL。 Side characters are mowed down as if Rollins derives personal satisfaction from it， animal cruelty is rampant， and overall the book ends up being a mean-spirited， melodramatic， violent read that just left me utterly unsatisfied and unmoved as to the future fates of its surviving characters， of which it STILL somehow has too many by the end…That said， the writing is competent， and Rollins gives us a few emotional moments that would have really hit in a different story。 But the structure remains too derivative - the first half is endless journeying， the second is comprised of entirely too many action sequences full of TRAGEDY and EVIL。 It feels like this book was published on the strength of the author’s name and competence， with little consideration of where the genre is today， and how far even traditional epic fantasy has evolved in the decades since the type of writing this book so heavily reminded me of。All in all， this was unsatisfying and unpleasant， which is too bad because the world building and overarching story definitely had promise。 。。。more

Chole ，

I have always enjoyed James Rollins other books。 I am looking forward to experiencing Rollins journey through this world。

Nancy ，

Did not like his story being in the "fantasy" world。 Did not like his story being in the "fantasy" world。 。。。more

Kimber Powell ，

This is a true gem。。 Thrilling to have James Rollins writing a great fantasy adventure。 The world and characters have a great depth to them。 This book has all that I love in a fantasy adventure。 I am so looking forward to the next installment！

Joebot ，

3。5 stars on this。 I should have loved this。 The world was intriguing， the characters were solid。 The plot was fun。 But it just。。。。didn't grip me。 There were so really cool parts; which made me interested to read more in this series。 Something said on one of the last pages， though， made me sigh hard。 If he does with that I think he will。。。。not my thing in fantasy at all。 Sorry for being vague， but I don't want to spoil。 To sum up - it's a solid book。 Not great， but worth a read if you want somet 3。5 stars on this。 I should have loved this。 The world was intriguing， the characters were solid。 The plot was fun。 But it just。。。。didn't grip me。 There were so really cool parts; which made me interested to read more in this series。 Something said on one of the last pages， though， made me sigh hard。 If he does with that I think he will。。。。not my thing in fantasy at all。 Sorry for being vague， but I don't want to spoil。 To sum up - it's a solid book。 Not great， but worth a read if you want something with it's own world building feel 。。。more

Jennifer Dawson ，

#1 New York Times Bestselling Author James Rolling has a stunning new book in a brilliant new series。 The Starless Crown is the first volume of The Moonfall Saga。 It's an epic story with rich world-building and wonderful characters。 Abandoned as an infant in the swamps of Myr， Nyx is mostly blind and needs help with her studies at the Cloister。 Jace failed his fifth year， but assists Nyx in her seventhyear by reading her texts aloud and writing for her。 Despite this handicap， she excels at her s #1 New York Times Bestselling Author James Rolling has a stunning new book in a brilliant new series。 The Starless Crown is the first volume of The Moonfall Saga。 It's an epic story with rich world-building and wonderful characters。 Abandoned as an infant in the swamps of Myr， Nyx is mostly blind and needs help with her studies at the Cloister。 Jace failed his fifth year， but assists Nyx in her seventhyear by reading her texts aloud and writing for her。 Despite this handicap， she excels at her studies and the other students bully her。Fleeing from one such barrage， Nyx is attacked by a Myr bat。 The creature’s deadly venom brings terrifying visions of the world's end。 Nyx wakes nearly a full turn of the moon later， her vision restored and with conviction that she has seen the future: Moonfall。The Starless Crown is a true fantasy saga， where characters from different backgrounds collide。 They grow “into a makeshift alliance， united by blood， grief， and purpose， all centered on one word。 Moonfall。” I enjoyed the book so much that I purchased the audiobook version for my collection via Audible， and started listening to it immediately after its release。 。。。more

Tamika ，

what a happy surprise Please see the full review on my blog:http://tamikamichelle。com/index。php/2。。。Quick Thoughts below:This book is one for the ages。 I did not have high expectations because the synopsis blurb really didn’t catch me， but thanks to Netgalley and Tor for receiving this ARC edition for an honest review because I was sucked in within the first chapter。 I loved it so much that I bought the ebook so I could follow along and make my own notes。 The author weaved together a fascinating what a happy surprise Please see the full review on my blog:http://tamikamichelle。com/index。php/2。。。Quick Thoughts below:This book is one for the ages。 I did not have high expectations because the synopsis blurb really didn’t catch me， but thanks to Netgalley and Tor for receiving this ARC edition for an honest review because I was sucked in within the first chapter。 I loved it so much that I bought the ebook so I could follow along and make my own notes。 The author weaved together a fascinating original story with a vibrant and even more complex set of characters that I care about and rooted for。 I can't wait for the next installment in this story。 It's nonstop brutal action that you will love every minute of！ 。。。more

Tami ，

This is an epic tale and the first in a new series by James Rollins。 It's over 500 pages long and extremely detailed both from the constructs of the place and time but also in the multitude of characters introduced。 To say I was overwhelmed is not an exaggeration。 The good: the basis of this book involves a prophecy that a young girl born to an exiled couple will bring about an apocalypse。 The main storyline is intriguing and I enjoyed most of the characters。The parts that gave me pause: it's di This is an epic tale and the first in a new series by James Rollins。 It's over 500 pages long and extremely detailed both from the constructs of the place and time but also in the multitude of characters introduced。 To say I was overwhelmed is not an exaggeration。 The good: the basis of this book involves a prophecy that a young girl born to an exiled couple will bring about an apocalypse。 The main storyline is intriguing and I enjoyed most of the characters。The parts that gave me pause: it's difficult to connect with multiple main/minor characters and alternating viewpoints。 Even with the large amount of world building in the beginning of the book， I felt like more and more background kept being added。 At times it was overwhelming。 To be fair， I listened on audio and this isn't a story you can miss any part of。 You have to be tuned in at all times because otherwise it's easy to get lost。In the end， Rollins introduces us to a large new world with lots of perspectives。 It's an adventurous novel， which I can only hope will get better with each next installment。 I believe those who love epic fantasy （aka Tolkien and Lord of the Rings） will enjoy it。Many thanks to Net Galley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC。 Thanks for introducing me to a new world and the mind of James Rollins。 。。。more

Doug Wise ，

OutstandingCharacters are interesting and developing， and story is original。 Well written as always and I can't wait for book two！ OutstandingCharacters are interesting and developing， and story is original。 Well written as always and I can't wait for book two！ 。。。more

Thomas Wagner ，

It’s a mile wide and an inch deep， but The Starless Crown， James Rollins’ first foray into epic fantasy in about 15 years， gets the job done if all you’re looking for is pure escapism that doesn’t demand too much from your brain cells。 The story takes place on a tidally locked world （and why not， those are all the rage these days）， whose inhabitants live in a region they call the Crown， consisting of a few small continents along the day/night terminator。 We follow the adventures of a ragtag grou It’s a mile wide and an inch deep， but The Starless Crown， James Rollins’ first foray into epic fantasy in about 15 years， gets the job done if all you’re looking for is pure escapism that doesn’t demand too much from your brain cells。 The story takes place on a tidally locked world （and why not， those are all the rage these days）， whose inhabitants live in a region they call the Crown， consisting of a few small continents along the day/night terminator。 We follow the adventures of a ragtag group of heroes from disparate backgrounds， brought together under dangerous circumstances， to prevent an apocalyptic event that will see the moon itself crashing down from the sky in only a few short years。If there were some kind of epic fantasy Costco where authors could buy discounted genre tropes by the pallet-load， Rollins would have cleaned the place out。 We have our Chosen One protagonist， a child of prophecy upon whose shoulders the fate of the world rests。 We have the black sheep prince who must prove himself， if only to himself。 We have a disgraced knight grasping at the chance to right a past wrong。 We have dark academia， thieves with hearts of gold， brother pitted against brother， deadly forests and fearsome monsters， and an ancient artifact of unknown origin that holds the key to all the mysteries。 But I have to give Rollins credit， because at least he totally owns all of these choices and makes no pretense that he’s producing deathless literature。 If a popcorn book it shall be， then fine。 Here comes all the popcorn you could possibly eat。Nyx was born in a swamp to a fugitive mother who was having a very bad day。 Spending the first few years of her life raised by a species of giant bats， Nyx was eventually discovered and adopted by a farmer， and now， as a teenager， she’s attending the local Cloistery where she is excelling at her studies despite being poor and nearly blind。 （continued。。。） 。。。more

Steve ，

The first book is what is certain to be an entertaining and fantastical new series。

Joyce ，

I don’t like to buy books because that’s what the library is for。 I’M SO GLAD I BOUGHT THIS ONE！ The plot was excellent and well written， and I can’t wait for the next book。

Peter Nielsen ，

A total change from James's bestselling Adventure/Thriller books that I was a little leary of reading as I don't normally read Fantasy but after a confusing start I couldn't put the book down。 It is definitely a good read and I am looking forward to the next in the series！ A total change from James's bestselling Adventure/Thriller books that I was a little leary of reading as I don't normally read Fantasy but after a confusing start I couldn't put the book down。 It is definitely a good read and I am looking forward to the next in the series！ 。。。more

MICHAEL BALLARD ，

I've enjoyed every Rollins thriller I've read。 This is the first time I've found a fantasy by him。There are a lot of characters to keep track of and the viewpoint character changes with almost every chapter。 I came to care about the characters so much that I had to set the book down in certain places to wipe my eyes before continuing on。It is the first book of a series but it comes to a good conclusion and invites the reader to find the next book rather than leaving the principal characters in a I've enjoyed every Rollins thriller I've read。 This is the first time I've found a fantasy by him。There are a lot of characters to keep track of and the viewpoint character changes with almost every chapter。 I came to care about the characters so much that I had to set the book down in certain places to wipe my eyes before continuing on。It is the first book of a series but it comes to a good conclusion and invites the reader to find the next book rather than leaving the principal characters in a cliff-hanger and forcing the reader to find the next book。 。。。more

Donna ，

Where did I stop？ 8% inWhy？ Usually I’ll give a book a much bigger chance than this， but I couldn’t。 I was struggling so hard just reading what I did read。 It would have been an unkindness on me to keep reading and I didn’t want to end 2021 suffering like that。 It was mostly the worldbuilding that killed it for me。 Wholly unoriginal and completely lazy， it takes place on Urth where we’re just getting around to heliocentrism but there’s alchymy and pyrites and a school run by nonnes。 It’s a very Where did I stop？ 8% inWhy？ Usually I’ll give a book a much bigger chance than this， but I couldn’t。 I was struggling so hard just reading what I did read。 It would have been an unkindness on me to keep reading and I didn’t want to end 2021 suffering like that。 It was mostly the worldbuilding that killed it for me。 Wholly unoriginal and completely lazy， it takes place on Urth where we’re just getting around to heliocentrism but there’s alchymy and pyrites and a school run by nonnes。 It’s a very false sense of worldbuilding。 Plus the misogyny。 Penetration of the vagina in any way will get a woman shunned for life， irrespective of whether she consented to the act or not。 Of course， the same rules don’t apply for boys。 Because why not？ This IS the only way to build fantasy worlds， isn’t it？ Ugh。 I was bored and unimpressed with what I read。 I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Kristin Sledge ，

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an AudioARC in exchange for an honest review。The Starless Crown is the beginning to a new grand epic。 It follows a girl without sight， a prince on the run， and a cult of people with hidden agendas。 It is action packed and a thrilling （but long） tale expertly read by Nicola Barber。 Things I love about this book- WEREBATS！！！， prophecy， the villianous villians， cast of characters （it's big， but NOT confusing。。。。except for two characters with relatively t Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an AudioARC in exchange for an honest review。The Starless Crown is the beginning to a new grand epic。 It follows a girl without sight， a prince on the run， and a cult of people with hidden agendas。 It is action packed and a thrilling （but long） tale expertly read by Nicola Barber。 Things I love about this book- WEREBATS！！！， prophecy， the villianous villians， cast of characters （it's big， but NOT confusing。。。。except for two characters with relatively the same name。。。） The narrator who I happily listened to for almost 25 hours Things I disliked- how long this book was（I felt like it could have been split in two）， the lack of info on the full deviousness of our villians， and sometimes the pacing（always being in peril can feel like 25 hours on a roller coaster and after a while you're like "if I have to go through one more massive drop I'm gonna die" Overall， my reaction is "give me more， please" because the 25 hours did give me plenty of time to connect with said cast of characters。 5 stars and a recommendation for those who enjoy massive epics such as Lord of the Rings， The Wheel of Time， etc。 。。。more

K R I S T Y ，

3。5 StarsNicola Barber did a great job narrating！ She kept me engaged when the story began to drag and feel a bit repetitive， especially in the last third of the book。 There is nothing new， groundbreaking or fresh here but if you are a fantasy fan I would recommend checking the audiobook book out from your library。 It’s the first in a series and I finished it with enough interest to give the second book a chance when it comes out。

Bethany ，

The Starless Crown is a multi-pov sci-fantasy on an epic scale。 It introduces us to a magical world filled with dangerous and unique creatures， interesting climates， political conspiracies， and a prophesied apocalypse on the horizon。 It's an intriguing start to a new series with high stakes and a world that has clearly had a lot of thought put into it。 There is a lot to like here， though it's not without flaws。The early part of this book quickly drew me in。 It wove a fascinating world and introd The Starless Crown is a multi-pov sci-fantasy on an epic scale。 It introduces us to a magical world filled with dangerous and unique creatures， interesting climates， political conspiracies， and a prophesied apocalypse on the horizon。 It's an intriguing start to a new series with high stakes and a world that has clearly had a lot of thought put into it。 There is a lot to like here， though it's not without flaws。The early part of this book quickly drew me in。 It wove a fascinating world and introduced a blind young woman with a compelling story， and then a prisoner who discovers a living woman made of bronze and escapes with her， and then an extraneous prince who isn't the heir and seems forgotten about。。。。 All very cool with interesting twists and turns。But then the middle to end of the book felt a bit bloated to me。 Clocking in at 550 pages， I really don't think this needed to be as long as it is。 A very significant part of the book is characters traveling and fighting， which gets to feel repetitive at times， especially because we keep switching to the perspectives of yet more characters who are also traveling and fighting。 Some of the creatures and places are genuinely interesting， but I could have done with less of them。 This feels like an instance where the author spent massive amounts of time designing the world and map and wanted to put all of that into the book。 Instead a novella or series of short stories might have been a better option to keep the momentum of the plot and help with parts that drag a bit， while having a way to share the cool extra world-building bits。 Some of the battles are also cool， airships feature heavily and that makes for some interesting scenes。 But again， personally I felt there was rather more than I wanted。 Your mileage may vary。One other thing worth mentioning is this book has that trope of "magical healing" for a disabled character （in this case a blind girl） which to me feels really unfortunate。 I know the author made the reasons for that make sense in world and made them important to the plot， but I think it could have been done another way。 I wish she had stayed blind， and how cool would that have been？ To have a great heroine doing all of this with other senses she had developed throughout her life？ This isn't a major thing that affected my rating， but something worth discussing。 Overall I think this is a very good first installment in a series， but a bloated and repetitive second half keep it from being great。 I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher。 All opinions are my own。Content warnings include graphic violence， death， death of animals， torture， traumatic childbirth， mention of incest， experimentation on children 。。。more

Finfeature ，

I mainly listen audiobooks nowadays。 I managed to get through the first 5 hours， （of 22 hrs） before giving up on this one。I found the long flowery， descriptive passages very distracting （boring？） from the story， and my attention constantly wandered。I have read all of the Sigma novels with pleasure。 This new style from James Rollins is definitely not for me。Two stars， as I didn't finish it， and I don't want to be too unfair。 I mainly listen audiobooks nowadays。 I managed to get through the first 5 hours， （of 22 hrs） before giving up on this one。I found the long flowery， descriptive passages very distracting （boring？） from the story， and my attention constantly wandered。I have read all of the Sigma novels with pleasure。 This new style from James Rollins is definitely not for me。Two stars， as I didn't finish it， and I don't want to be too unfair。 。。。more

Jeff ，

Solid Storytelling。 Nearly Deceptive Description。 Let me be explicitly clear: THIS IS A FANTASY BOOK。 It is NOT a Sigma Force style science-bending military technothriller。 Given Rollins' rise to fame on the back of his Sigma Force books， as well as the fact that he has *another* pseudonym for his pre-Sigma Force fantasy novels， the fact that the description of this book does not make clear that THIS IS A FANTASY BOOK is dang near deceptive marketing。 If you enjoy fantasy tales， this one is goin Solid Storytelling。 Nearly Deceptive Description。 Let me be explicitly clear: THIS IS A FANTASY BOOK。 It is NOT a Sigma Force style science-bending military technothriller。 Given Rollins' rise to fame on the back of his Sigma Force books， as well as the fact that he has *another* pseudonym for his pre-Sigma Force fantasy novels， the fact that the description of this book does not make clear that THIS IS A FANTASY BOOK is dang near deceptive marketing。 If you enjoy fantasy tales， this one is going to be perfectly in line with what you enjoy and more power to you。 But despite having a *far* wider range in my own reading than most readers， fantasy books are one of *few* genres that just make for dang good naps every time I try to read them - and this one was no different， despite LOVING Rollins' Sigma Force work and at times reading it in a single sitting。 This noted， Rollins' abilities to craft a tale are just as strong here， and for what it is the story is compelling。 Truly my only complaint is that it should have been made explicitly clear that THIS IS A FANTASY BOOK， and I would never have touched it at all。 Recommended。 。。。more

Cranky Dragon ，

I'm throwing in the towel at around the 50% mark。 I had such high hopes for this one because I love Rollins' thrillers （most of the time）。 If that's the case with you， stick with the thrillers。 The story is interesting enough， but this is just too hard to read with all the intentional misspellings like alchymist instead of alchemist or swyftship to describe a swift ship （ha！ Get it？ -_-） and the unnecessary apostrophes like using bless'd instead of blessed or kath'dral instead of cathedral。 Ther I'm throwing in the towel at around the 50% mark。 I had such high hopes for this one because I love Rollins' thrillers （most of the time）。 If that's the case with you， stick with the thrillers。 The story is interesting enough， but this is just too hard to read with all the intentional misspellings like alchymist instead of alchemist or swyftship to describe a swift ship （ha！ Get it？ -_-） and the unnecessary apostrophes like using bless'd instead of blessed or kath'dral instead of cathedral。 There's no reason for that to be abbreviated！ There's no need to spell things with a Y （and it happens on like every bloody page）！ I can only assume he's trying to make things seem more fantasy-y， but all it does is make this book an absolutely infuriating read。 My eye starts twitching every time I see a y in the middle of a word and considering the main main character （there are like 4 or 5 main characters） is named Nyx， it's a lot of eye-twitching。Maybe I would have had better luck with the audio book where I didn't have to deal with that。 I should have checked this one out of the library instead of wasting my money on it。 Rest assured I'm not going to make that mistake again with Rollins。 。。。more

Shannon ，

I was provided an Audio ARC via Netgalley， all opinions are my own。 Thank you to Macmillan Audio for inviting me to review this book。 This is my first James Rollins book， but it certainly will not be my last。 This was published on January 4， 2022。 This is on the longer side， but it is worth it！Nicola Barber did a great job with the narration。 This audiobook is roughly 22 hours long， and it takes a good narrator to keep you engaged for that long。 There are quite a few characters to keep track of I was provided an Audio ARC via Netgalley， all opinions are my own。 Thank you to Macmillan Audio for inviting me to review this book。 This is my first James Rollins book， but it certainly will not be my last。 This was published on January 4， 2022。 This is on the longer side， but it is worth it！Nicola Barber did a great job with the narration。 This audiobook is roughly 22 hours long， and it takes a good narrator to keep you engaged for that long。 There are quite a few characters to keep track of as well， which is not unusual for a scifi fantasy book such as this， but I was able to follow along pretty easily as the chapters were broken down to focus on one character arc at a time。The Starless Crown is a place not a thing。 There are all manner of strange beasts and plants that can kill you。 Students study alchemy if they show aptitude。 There are different pantheons of gods and goddesses that are worshipped。 There is alot going on in this book， but I didn't find it hard to follow。 While the book is long， the author does a good job describing the characters and what is happening so you don't get lost。 There is a ton of action going on so you never get bored。 No one is safe and there is never a moments rest for our characters once things get moving。 This is pretty fast paced， so while it is on the longer side for an audiobook， it doesn't feel long。 Honestly， it isn't unusual for an epic SFF of this nature to push the 20+ hour mark。 The good ones make you want to keep listening， and I really loved this！This follows several main characters， Nyx who is a 14 year old girl who is studying to be an alchemist。 When she's attacked at school， she finds that she has a long lost connection to a power that she doesn't quite understand。 This makes her dangerous and a potential threat to the King。 She finds herself on the run with a ragtag group of exiles on a journey she could have never imagined。 They are all on the run from something， but they all find themselves connected in some way。 She has to come to terms with the chaos around her and what that might mean for her future。 She's also developing some powers of her own as the journey progresses。 Each of the characters has a role to play and we get to see them develop throughout the story as they face their fears and weaknesses and put their strengths to good use。I found the world building to be excellent in this！ We get great descriptions of the landscape and the creatures。 We are never left with huge gaps about what is going on in the plot。 We do bounce from plotline to plotline but you know you are going to come back to what is going on and they are all somehow going to tie together。 Initially， I was a bit confused， but after the first few chapters I got the feel for the writing and knew everything was going to come together at some point。 I'm very much invested in this story and the characters。 I'm not sure when the next book is due out， but I am anxiously awaiting it！ 。。。more

Christin ，

Temporary DNF。 Not feeling it at the moment， but will come back to it at some point。

Jane ，

3。5 starsYou can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books。This is the first book in a new Fantasy/SciFi series about a prophecy that a young girl born to an exiled couple will bring about an apocalypse。 The Kingdom is on the brink of war with another nation。 The King orders his second son to hunt down a species of bats in order to get their venom for weapons。 He also orders the Prince to capture the young girl。 Meanwhile， in another part of the Kingdom， a thief escapes prison along with a 3。5 starsYou can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books。This is the first book in a new Fantasy/SciFi series about a prophecy that a young girl born to an exiled couple will bring about an apocalypse。 The Kingdom is on the brink of war with another nation。 The King orders his second son to hunt down a species of bats in order to get their venom for weapons。 He also orders the Prince to capture the young girl。 Meanwhile， in another part of the Kingdom， a thief escapes prison along with a life sized bronze woman that has come to life。 The thief's intricate escape plan goes awry when the woman indicates she has a destiny to fulfill。Well。 I don't even know where to start with this book。 It's 560 pages long， and it felt like it。 I can normally breeze through a book this size in a few days， but I struggled to finish this one in over a week。 It's very common to have a significant amount of worldbuilding in the first book of a fantasy series。 I get that。 I've devoured tons of George R。R。 Martin and Brandon Sanderson books。 But the worldbuilding in the beginning of this book was excessive， and was far too detailed。 I was at around 35-40% of the book before I even knew what the story was all about。 That's not good。 There are multiple main characters and the chapters alternate between their points of view。 There are also several minor characters to keep track of， and frankly it got to be a bit much。 Even with all of the worldbuilding in the beginning， the author kept adding more and more background， characters and lore throughout the book until I finally gave up trying to remember everything。 I think the main storyline is intriguing and I like most of the main characters， but I still couldn't connect with this book。 I'm not sure if it's the enormous amount of information provided， or perhaps the author's writing style that just left me numb。 I think forgoing some of the intricacies of the story， and/or better editing would have greatly improved the book。 Usually the rest of the books in a series move more quickly， so I'm hopeful that the next book has less worldbuilding and more story telling。I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more

Chris ，

DNF at 84%I'm just throwing in the towel。 It's a decent story with good characters and worldbuilding， I just don't care。 It's been going and going and going and my attention is drifting further and further away。Not a bad book， or a bad audio， I just need to move to something else before it triggers another reading slump。 DNF at 84%I'm just throwing in the towel。 It's a decent story with good characters and worldbuilding， I just don't care。 It's been going and going and going and my attention is drifting further and further away。Not a bad book， or a bad audio， I just need to move to something else before it triggers another reading slump。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Starless Crown

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Starless Crown&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Starless Crown&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0