What do you think?
Rate this book
Moonfall #1
The Starless Crown
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
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?
The Moonfall
The Starless Crown
The Cradle of Ice
A gifted student foretells an apocalypse. Her reward is a sentence of death.
Fleeing into the unknown she is drawn into a team of
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?
The Moonfall
The Starless Crown
The Cradle of Ice
560 pages, Hardcover
First published January 4, 2022
About the author
James Rollins
92 books13.7k followersJames Rollins is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers. His writing has been translated into more than forty languages and has sold more than 20 million books. The New York Times says, “Rollins is what you might wind up with if you tossed Michael Crichton and Dan Brown into a particle accelerator together.” NPR calls his work, “Adventurous and enormously engrossing.” Rollins unveils unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets matched with stunning suspense. As a veterinarian, he had a practice in Sacramento for over a decade and still volunteers at local shelters. Nowadays, Rollins shares his home up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains with two furry companions, Echo and Charlie. He also enjoys scuba diving, spelunking, kayaking, and hiking. Of course, he loves to travel and experience new places around the world, which often inspire his next globe-trotting adventure.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,408 reviews
January 17, 2022
The Starless Crown by James Rollins, Narrated by Nicola Barber
This story takes place in a time that seems like our Dark Age except that this world has the help of magic, alchemy, and other mysteries that allow for feats that were/are never possible in our world. The creatures and plants are dangerous and there never seems a moment when losing a life isn't a real possibility. The cast of characters is huge although I was able to keep track of them.
Nyx, fourteen years old but often described as a tiny girl, has visions and dreams that foretell an apocalypse. Those in power want to destroy her, which begins an odyssey to protect Nyx and to prevent the end of the world. The story sees the events through the eyes of Nyx, and several other characters, some who want to help Nyx, others who want to destroy her. Nyx, her teen school companion and tutor, and two teen princes, give this story a young adult feel. At the same time, the extreme violence of all kinds means this series should be approached with caution.
There is never a peaceful moment in this saga. We move from one group of characters to another, from one perilous event to another, from one battle to another. Much of the story takes place on battleships, held up by balloons and machinations beyond my understanding. Humans are sacrificed, brains probed and destroyed while the victims still live, no one is safe, nothing is sacred, and a feeling of doom invades the land.
Clocking in at 22 hours, this audiobook science fiction/fantasy epic gave my brain quite the workout. The narration is excellent, with Barber giving the many characters distinctive voices. I would have liked to have seen the names of the characters in print since some pivotal characters have names that sound exactly the same. This book is just the first in a series so there is more to come.
Publication: January 4th 2022
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.
This story takes place in a time that seems like our Dark Age except that this world has the help of magic, alchemy, and other mysteries that allow for feats that were/are never possible in our world. The creatures and plants are dangerous and there never seems a moment when losing a life isn't a real possibility. The cast of characters is huge although I was able to keep track of them.
Nyx, fourteen years old but often described as a tiny girl, has visions and dreams that foretell an apocalypse. Those in power want to destroy her, which begins an odyssey to protect Nyx and to prevent the end of the world. The story sees the events through the eyes of Nyx, and several other characters, some who want to help Nyx, others who want to destroy her. Nyx, her teen school companion and tutor, and two teen princes, give this story a young adult feel. At the same time, the extreme violence of all kinds means this series should be approached with caution.
There is never a peaceful moment in this saga. We move from one group of characters to another, from one perilous event to another, from one battle to another. Much of the story takes place on battleships, held up by balloons and machinations beyond my understanding. Humans are sacrificed, brains probed and destroyed while the victims still live, no one is safe, nothing is sacred, and a feeling of doom invades the land.
Clocking in at 22 hours, this audiobook science fiction/fantasy epic gave my brain quite the workout. The narration is excellent, with Barber giving the many characters distinctive voices. I would have liked to have seen the names of the characters in print since some pivotal characters have names that sound exactly the same. This book is just the first in a series so there is more to come.
Publication: January 4th 2022
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.
April 9, 2022
*Reread 2022, I saw the library had the audio so I thought I’d reread to see if I wanted to add the hardback to my collection. I did get the book through Netgalley and then on kindle in a sale for a couple of dollars. I think I’ll just leave it at owning the kindle. Changing it to a 3.5.
********Original*********
I’m going to try something a little different. I didn’t realize this book is a bit long and should have started long ago. Anyway, I’m going to add some obscure quotes from the uncorrected copy. Just bits and pieces…. keep you intrigued and hopefully find a winner.
The Starless Crown
From Author:
(For Terry Brooks, whose creativity inspired me and whose generosity of spirit is the only reason you are reading this book)
This man, who is he? He goes on to talk about his age, his memories, a woman and he does it beautifully.
*BEFORE
This book starts out solid in my opinion. I’m totally hooked and I hope it stays that way. What is this beast? What did it do to the hunter, the woman, the baby?
*CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
I just love her and her father, he found her as a baby and I love Gramblebuck. There are some cool creatures in the book so far!
CHAPTER 3
Omg!! These damn bullies!! Evil bastards!
Omg! That just happened! Yes!!! And then…
What happened there? Are you tempted yet? 😏
CHAPTER 4 & 5
We meet the prisoner,Rhaif. He’s been underground for quite some time slaving away. We also meet The Bronze Goddess, I wonder what her story is….
KANTHE
Poor Kanthe, he’s a hot mess right now but we shall see….
THOUGHTS
This story was pretty awesome and unique to me. I enjoyed the characters and the strange world of creatures. Nyx has abilities that are connected to a type of creature that is totally awesome! There is a bronze goddess that is awesome as well. All of the people and things… come together to … do things.
There really isn’t any world building, this is more character and creature driven, which is fine in this case. I’m looking forward to what is going to happen in the next book. The ending definitely makes you want to continue, at least it does me.
*Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for a digital copy of this book!!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
BLOG: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....
********Original*********
I’m going to try something a little different. I didn’t realize this book is a bit long and should have started long ago. Anyway, I’m going to add some obscure quotes from the uncorrected copy. Just bits and pieces…. keep you intrigued and hopefully find a winner.
The Starless Crown
When the world stopped turning,
new lands were born
From Author:
(For Terry Brooks, whose creativity inspired me and whose generosity of spirit is the only reason you are reading this book)
Life is full of holes. Even the best of times, the span of one’s years is never a perfect tapestry, laid out in a sprawl of days, months, and years, all woven in flawless detail, each color as bright as when its thread was plaited into the whole
This man, who is he? He goes on to talk about his age, his memories, a woman and he does it beautifully.
*BEFORE
She gives birth in mud and mire…… the reptilian hunter is twice her length…. she kneels over her child. She is too weak even to stand… a piercing cry rings forth from the skies… it swings toward her, revealing its malignant splendor…. Better to die free, my daughter.
This book starts out solid in my opinion. I’m totally hooked and I hope it stays that way. What is this beast? What did it do to the hunter, the woman, the baby?
*CHAPTER 1
Nyx sought to understand the stars with her fingertips.I love Nyx already. She’s near blind and has to take time to learn things in school. Of course, there are jerk bullies that I want to kick off the planet.
CHAPTER 2
maybe both her parents had abandoned her in the swamps, surely left to die, perhaps because she had been born afflicted, the surfaces of her eyes glazed to a bluish white.
I just love her and her father, he found her as a baby and I love Gramblebuck. There are some cool creatures in the book so far!
CHAPTER 3
Omg!! These damn bullies!! Evil bastards!
Omg! That just happened! Yes!!! And then…
As she lay there, the coldness continued to spread. It numbed her limbs until she could not move, barely breathe.
She felt the ice, like poisonous claws, dig into her heart and clench. The world immediately went dark, far blacker than any blindness….
What happened there? Are you tempted yet? 😏
CHAPTER 4 & 5
We meet the prisoner,Rhaif. He’s been underground for quite some time slaving away. We also meet The Bronze Goddess, I wonder what her story is….
KANTHE
But the most apt slur was simply the Prince in the Cupboard. He was a prince whose only use in life was to be a spare in case his older twin should die.
Poor Kanthe, he’s a hot mess right now but we shall see….
THOUGHTS
This story was pretty awesome and unique to me. I enjoyed the characters and the strange world of creatures. Nyx has abilities that are connected to a type of creature that is totally awesome! There is a bronze goddess that is awesome as well. All of the people and things… come together to … do things.
There really isn’t any world building, this is more character and creature driven, which is fine in this case. I’m looking forward to what is going to happen in the next book. The ending definitely makes you want to continue, at least it does me.
*Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for a digital copy of this book!!
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
BLOG: https://melissa413readsalot.blogspot....
October 26, 2021
With
The Starless Crown
, James Rollins embarks on an epic fantasy that brings excitement, danger, and suspense to an adventurous journey that includes some unusual allies and some common enemies. With this first book in the Moon Fall series, he introduces the four main characters and does a fantastic job of building a world that is unique.
Nyx is a gifted seventh year student at the Cloistery of Brayk. She is also nearly blind and having dreams and nightmares. Rhaif is a thief who was betrayed by his guild. He is now a prisoner assigned to work in a chalk mine. Prince Kanthe ry Massif is the second born twin of King Toranth. Graylin sy Moor, a former knight and friend of the king, has been exiled for 10 years. How do these diverse characters on the run meet? Will they learn to trust each other as they face both old and new enemies and uncover ancient secrets?
The main characters have depth and are brought to life in this novel. They have weaknesses that challenge them, but also strengths emerge when least expected. Each one experiences growth over the course of the story. One of the many things that stands out for me is that the secondary and tertiary characters are also very well-developed. The point of view changes between the four main characters. While their stories and actions start out separately, the author gradually brings them together. This takes a skillful writer to pull it off and keep readers interested. Rollins succeeds.
There’s a lot of time spent introducing the characters and their back stories as well as world-building, but that’s not unusual in the first book in a series of this magnitude. As readers get acquainted with the characters, both good and bad, it becomes clear that there is even more going on than the journey. Evil, greed, the desire for power, and treachery are abundant. Will those that want to save the world survive and finish their quest? The world-building is remarkable. From the creatures that inhabit the Crown to the magic systems and the land itself, Rollins introduces readers to a fantastic new world. As in his thrillers, he includes science, historical secrets, and suspense. Themes include bullying, murder, torture, jealousy, betrayal, suicide, actions people will take in search of knowledge and power, grief, hope, sacrifice, and much more.
Overall, this book was an action-filled fantasy quest that is gripping and thought-provoking. The high stakes and smooth writing made it a page turner. While it’s the eighteenth novel I have read by this author, it is the only fantasy novel I have read by him. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. If you enjoy epic fantasies with great world-building, an unusual magic system, and a diverse set of characters, then you may enjoy this novel as much as I did.
Macmillan-Tor/Forge – Tor Books and the author provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for January 4, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
Nyx is a gifted seventh year student at the Cloistery of Brayk. She is also nearly blind and having dreams and nightmares. Rhaif is a thief who was betrayed by his guild. He is now a prisoner assigned to work in a chalk mine. Prince Kanthe ry Massif is the second born twin of King Toranth. Graylin sy Moor, a former knight and friend of the king, has been exiled for 10 years. How do these diverse characters on the run meet? Will they learn to trust each other as they face both old and new enemies and uncover ancient secrets?
The main characters have depth and are brought to life in this novel. They have weaknesses that challenge them, but also strengths emerge when least expected. Each one experiences growth over the course of the story. One of the many things that stands out for me is that the secondary and tertiary characters are also very well-developed. The point of view changes between the four main characters. While their stories and actions start out separately, the author gradually brings them together. This takes a skillful writer to pull it off and keep readers interested. Rollins succeeds.
There’s a lot of time spent introducing the characters and their back stories as well as world-building, but that’s not unusual in the first book in a series of this magnitude. As readers get acquainted with the characters, both good and bad, it becomes clear that there is even more going on than the journey. Evil, greed, the desire for power, and treachery are abundant. Will those that want to save the world survive and finish their quest? The world-building is remarkable. From the creatures that inhabit the Crown to the magic systems and the land itself, Rollins introduces readers to a fantastic new world. As in his thrillers, he includes science, historical secrets, and suspense. Themes include bullying, murder, torture, jealousy, betrayal, suicide, actions people will take in search of knowledge and power, grief, hope, sacrifice, and much more.
Overall, this book was an action-filled fantasy quest that is gripping and thought-provoking. The high stakes and smooth writing made it a page turner. While it’s the eighteenth novel I have read by this author, it is the only fantasy novel I have read by him. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. If you enjoy epic fantasies with great world-building, an unusual magic system, and a diverse set of characters, then you may enjoy this novel as much as I did.
Macmillan-Tor/Forge – Tor Books and the author provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently set for January 4, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
January 4, 2022
I made it 30% into this book before I had to relegate it to the DNF pile. While in the beginning I was intrigued (that prologue scene was INTENSE!), as I kept reading I was just wholly unimpressed. The worldbuilding was lazy, in my opinion, nothing different from any other run-of-the-mill fantasy story. I say this as an avid fantasy reader and lover of the genre: this book was average, at best. With so many groundbreaking and innovative additions to the genre in the last few years, it really boggles my mind that books like The Starless Crown are still being published.
Some of the things I disliked: the wasted opportunity of examining disability in a fantasy setting; the played out treatment of women and their sexuality; the stereotypical use of bright/unnatural colored eyes in POC-coded characters to mark them as "special"; the way the Black-coded characters of a certain sect (eunuchs) were said to have "had their deception beaten and whipped out of them long ago". I could go on. If you aren't engaging with certain tropes in a nuanced and purposeful way, what is the point? Why stick to harmful tropes and stereotypes?
Some of the things I disliked: the wasted opportunity of examining disability in a fantasy setting; the played out treatment of women and their sexuality; the stereotypical use of bright/unnatural colored eyes in POC-coded characters to mark them as "special"; the way the Black-coded characters of a certain sect (eunuchs) were said to have "had their deception beaten and whipped out of them long ago". I could go on. If you aren't engaging with certain tropes in a nuanced and purposeful way, what is the point? Why stick to harmful tropes and stereotypes?
September 6, 2021
The Starless Crown
(Moon Fall #1)
by James Rollins
This book is so weird and interesting! I was so engrossed in Nyk's story that I just wanted to stay with her but it lead to the others. Nyk's is a girl that is almost totally blind. She was found that way. When you find out how she became blind and her life the 6 months before she was found as a baby will stun you! It did me! Then, well let's just say her life doesn't get any more normal!
Then there is a Prince that is a twin. His dad doesn't care for him at all and only loves his brother. A thief that escapes a pit during a quake. During that quake A large copper egg is found that opens up and holds a copper statue! But it responds to the their only when the soldiers and priests aren't looking!
This is a most unusual adventure. Nyk's has predicted an world ending event! So has the Prince's tutor. Very exciting!
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this terrific fantasy book!
(Moon Fall #1)
by James Rollins
This book is so weird and interesting! I was so engrossed in Nyk's story that I just wanted to stay with her but it lead to the others. Nyk's is a girl that is almost totally blind. She was found that way. When you find out how she became blind and her life the 6 months before she was found as a baby will stun you! It did me! Then, well let's just say her life doesn't get any more normal!
Then there is a Prince that is a twin. His dad doesn't care for him at all and only loves his brother. A thief that escapes a pit during a quake. During that quake A large copper egg is found that opens up and holds a copper statue! But it responds to the their only when the soldiers and priests aren't looking!
This is a most unusual adventure. Nyk's has predicted an world ending event! So has the Prince's tutor. Very exciting!
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this terrific fantasy book!
December 20, 2021
I could not stomach more than a few chapters. I should have known from the moment the author's foreword sent up red flags and alarm bells.
This book is so classically Modern White Male Author Writes The Next Great Novel that it could be a textbook case
The author starts with a foreword explaining how this fantasy novel is not like other fantasy. This fantasy world is based in *Real Science*... Which he then proceeds to explains in excessive detail in the first chapter. Most of us learn about the earth's axis and elliptical orbit by the time we are 10, we hardly need it explained over again for us.
The author's perspective seems to be that his science base makes it okay for him to write fantasy. It's not silly fantasy like other people write... He's Not Like Other Girls™ 🙄
His blind heroine is also Not Like Other Girls and we spend the opening chapters learning all about the bullying, abuse, and sexual assaults she receives at the hands of classmates and teachers because she's just a poor orphan blind girl. I left in the third chapter when she was being chased and assaulted by her classmates at the behest of her teachers.
I'm uncomfortable, bored, and rolling my eyes. Mr Rollins has not reinvented sci-fi/Fantasy, he's just revisiting the worst of the genre.
The single star is for the narrator of the audiobook who did an excellent job with what she was given.
This was a Netgalley ARC provided by the publishers
This book is so classically Modern White Male Author Writes The Next Great Novel that it could be a textbook case
The author starts with a foreword explaining how this fantasy novel is not like other fantasy. This fantasy world is based in *Real Science*... Which he then proceeds to explains in excessive detail in the first chapter. Most of us learn about the earth's axis and elliptical orbit by the time we are 10, we hardly need it explained over again for us.
The author's perspective seems to be that his science base makes it okay for him to write fantasy. It's not silly fantasy like other people write... He's Not Like Other Girls™ 🙄
His blind heroine is also Not Like Other Girls and we spend the opening chapters learning all about the bullying, abuse, and sexual assaults she receives at the hands of classmates and teachers because she's just a poor orphan blind girl. I left in the third chapter when she was being chased and assaulted by her classmates at the behest of her teachers.
I'm uncomfortable, bored, and rolling my eyes. Mr Rollins has not reinvented sci-fi/Fantasy, he's just revisiting the worst of the genre.
The single star is for the narrator of the audiobook who did an excellent job with what she was given.
This was a Netgalley ARC provided by the publishers
January 7, 2022
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.
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.
January 20, 2022
The world of Urth has stopped rotating on its axis. One side always in the sun. One side always in darkness. But the moon’s fall draws closer and closer, guaranteeing complete disaster unless a solution is found.
While The Starless Crown unfolds through several viewpoints, it is really Nyx who is the true main character and heart of the story. She is found as a young baby almost completely blind. Growing up she’s had to deal with bullying and self-doubt, but she is loved by her adoptive family and has a kind and gentle soul. Nicola Barber does the narration for the book and does a lovely job by giving Nyx a very soft tone. In turn, this soft tone helps to enhance all the emotional scenes that Nyx goes through and helps make them memorable.
The basic story starts when Nyx is rescued from a male predator in an unexpected fashion. It isn’t long before the King learns about it and rather than being happy that she survived the attack and condemning all involved, decides that she should be taken away for research instead. The King then requests Prince Kanthe, who is the younger of the King’s twin sons, be part of the group to collect her. But once there, Prince Kanthe soon finds that his own life is in jeopardy. To escape, a small group is formed amongst their friends.
As I write this review I realize how much is really going on with this story both in total number of characters, but also in lore, flora and fauna, and activity. Other than Nyx and Prince Kanthe, there are two additional points of view: one is a thief who escapes prison with the help of a living artifact and the other an old soldier, who comes into the story around 45% in. The four main groups at times come together and then other times split apart. It made listening to this on audio a little tricky as I had to remember which character was where and with whom since I couldn’t view text on a page for reference. There are also multiple ‘bad guys’ too that you need to keep track of and can be daunting as well, but not as much as the main group.
Because the plot felt like one long escape plan, there were occasions I wished that the ‘escape’ had been reduced by several chapters. I know, I know…lore and world-building are what make fantasy novels unique and wonderful, but still, it felt unnecessarily drawn out.
Another struggle I had was how much Prince Kanthe’s twin brother felt one-dimensional. His reasons and justifications just didn’t ring true or make sense to me. He honestly didn’t need to do what he was doing, so why was he doing them? Nyx and Kanthe and all the others were so well thought out and display a range of emotions and purpose. But when it came to the royal family, they were like Disney villains and felt very very flat.
All in all it was nice, engaging story that had just a few bumps along the way. I might have even teared up at some of the death scenes….Maybe. I blame Nicola for that – for doing a really nice job narrating those moments.
Rating: 3.75 stars
Audio Book: 22 Hours, 5 Minutes
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced reader copy audio book and opportunity to provide an honest review.
While The Starless Crown unfolds through several viewpoints, it is really Nyx who is the true main character and heart of the story. She is found as a young baby almost completely blind. Growing up she’s had to deal with bullying and self-doubt, but she is loved by her adoptive family and has a kind and gentle soul. Nicola Barber does the narration for the book and does a lovely job by giving Nyx a very soft tone. In turn, this soft tone helps to enhance all the emotional scenes that Nyx goes through and helps make them memorable.
The basic story starts when Nyx is rescued from a male predator in an unexpected fashion. It isn’t long before the King learns about it and rather than being happy that she survived the attack and condemning all involved, decides that she should be taken away for research instead. The King then requests Prince Kanthe, who is the younger of the King’s twin sons, be part of the group to collect her. But once there, Prince Kanthe soon finds that his own life is in jeopardy. To escape, a small group is formed amongst their friends.
As I write this review I realize how much is really going on with this story both in total number of characters, but also in lore, flora and fauna, and activity. Other than Nyx and Prince Kanthe, there are two additional points of view: one is a thief who escapes prison with the help of a living artifact and the other an old soldier, who comes into the story around 45% in. The four main groups at times come together and then other times split apart. It made listening to this on audio a little tricky as I had to remember which character was where and with whom since I couldn’t view text on a page for reference. There are also multiple ‘bad guys’ too that you need to keep track of and can be daunting as well, but not as much as the main group.
Because the plot felt like one long escape plan, there were occasions I wished that the ‘escape’ had been reduced by several chapters. I know, I know…lore and world-building are what make fantasy novels unique and wonderful, but still, it felt unnecessarily drawn out.
Another struggle I had was how much Prince Kanthe’s twin brother felt one-dimensional. His reasons and justifications just didn’t ring true or make sense to me. He honestly didn’t need to do what he was doing, so why was he doing them? Nyx and Kanthe and all the others were so well thought out and display a range of emotions and purpose. But when it came to the royal family, they were like Disney villains and felt very very flat.
All in all it was nice, engaging story that had just a few bumps along the way. I might have even teared up at some of the death scenes….Maybe. I blame Nicola for that – for doing a really nice job narrating those moments.
Rating: 3.75 stars
Audio Book: 22 Hours, 5 Minutes
Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced reader copy audio book and opportunity to provide an honest review.
January 1, 2022
3.0 Stars
I love when fantasy includes elements of science fiction so I was incredibly excited when this novel started with a discussion of orbital mechanics.
I have never read the author's backlist so I cannot personally comment on how this compares to his previous work. Given his background in thrillers, I was not surprised that the narrative moved along at a good pace. The prose itself was a little rough. I felt like the author was trying too hard to be poetic, and would instead of benefited from sticking to a cleaner style
The weakest aspect of this story, in my opinion, was the characters. While the characters had intriguing backstories, their actual personalities fell flat for me. I struggled to attach to the characters which made it harder to care what happened to them.
As one of my most anticipated releases, I was unfortunately a bit disappointed with this one. I loved the scientific elements, but as a whole the story left me a bit underwhelmed.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.
I love when fantasy includes elements of science fiction so I was incredibly excited when this novel started with a discussion of orbital mechanics.
I have never read the author's backlist so I cannot personally comment on how this compares to his previous work. Given his background in thrillers, I was not surprised that the narrative moved along at a good pace. The prose itself was a little rough. I felt like the author was trying too hard to be poetic, and would instead of benefited from sticking to a cleaner style
The weakest aspect of this story, in my opinion, was the characters. While the characters had intriguing backstories, their actual personalities fell flat for me. I struggled to attach to the characters which made it harder to care what happened to them.
As one of my most anticipated releases, I was unfortunately a bit disappointed with this one. I loved the scientific elements, but as a whole the story left me a bit underwhelmed.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.
December 18, 2021
Mediocre when not bad. Riddled with the tropes, stilted dialogue, and standard sexist characterizations that make so much modern fantasy a punchline to critics. Loved redundant descriptions like "bosky woods" and "craven coward." In a literary landscape pushed upwards by the likes of Jemisin and Kuang, just not worth the time.
January 19, 2022
James Rollins' books all seem to have the same issue for me. Too much exposition, not a whole lot in the way of plot, and much much deus ex machina. I'm not even going to bother to review this one over on the blog because there's not a lot of positives that I can point out. A pretty disappointing read honestly and I probably won't be picking up any sequels.
April 26, 2022
I need to stop reading stories from authors I don't care for. 2 of 10 stars
January 4, 2022
Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
I'll be honest here - I had a hard time getting into this book at the beginning. Whether it was my own personal mood or just a slow start, I can't say. But I pushed through, and am SO glad that I did.
The story really started picking up steam in the middle, and the more I got invested in the characters and intrigued by the mysterious nature of most of the events, I was hooked.
I did drop half a star for the slow beginning. I felt it wasn't fair to drop a whole star for that, since it could have just been me. It also lost another half a star for the sheer volume of losses that poor Nyx had to suffer in this book. After a certain point, it was just pure cruelty and I don't know how she's still functioning. I know it's fantasy, but yeesh. Spread the suffering around a little!
All in all, an excellent start to a new fantasy series from one of my favorite authors, James Rollins. I'm excited to see where it goes next.
I'll be honest here - I had a hard time getting into this book at the beginning. Whether it was my own personal mood or just a slow start, I can't say. But I pushed through, and am SO glad that I did.
The story really started picking up steam in the middle, and the more I got invested in the characters and intrigued by the mysterious nature of most of the events, I was hooked.
I did drop half a star for the slow beginning. I felt it wasn't fair to drop a whole star for that, since it could have just been me. It also lost another half a star for the sheer volume of losses that poor Nyx had to suffer in this book. After a certain point, it was just pure cruelty and I don't know how she's still functioning. I know it's fantasy, but yeesh. Spread the suffering around a little!
All in all, an excellent start to a new fantasy series from one of my favorite authors, James Rollins. I'm excited to see where it goes next.
January 28, 2023
this was a very fun read and really written honestly, it was a bit longer than i was used to but never failed to surprise me. i enjoyed them characters and i cant wait to see them again in the sequel.
January 8, 2022
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
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
January 6, 2022
4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2022/01/06/...
Up until now, my experience with James Rollins has primarily been limited to his mystery and thriller books, so epic fantasy seemed like a major departure. But in fact, the author began his writing career with fantasy, as he reminds readers in the foreword of The Starless Crown, so this was more like a return to his roots! Regardless, I was very excited to get to reading.
In this opening volume of the Moon Fall saga, we are whisked away to the world of Urth, a tidal locked planet with one hemisphere always in the scorching sun and the other forever shadowed in frosty darkness. But it didn’t always used to be this way. Our story follows a handful of key POV characters, starting with Nyx, a student at the Cloistery who was found as an infant in the wilderness. Left visually impaired, she can nonetheless glean glimpses into the future through the sporadic visions and dreams that come to her. Then one day, her gift reveals a portent of the apocalypse. Instead of heeding the warning, however, the king decides the bearer of such a dangerous prophecy must be put to death.
Along with a loyal school companion, Nyx goes on the run, and the two are soon joined by allies who believe in her visions and who also wish to help. One of them is Prince Kanthe ry Massif, the second born son of King Toranth who has been swept aside his whole life in favor of his brighter, bolder, and more promising older twin brother. Kanthe had been given a mission which he’d initially thought was a convenient excuse to get him out of the city, but soon discovers it to be a larger plot to assassinate him and get him out of the picture for good. Then there’s Rhaif, a thief who escapes the mines in which he’d been imprisoned only to stumble upon the find of a lifetime. And finally, there’s Graylin sy Moor, a former knight now living in exile for breaking his oaths to his king. He’s sworn never to return home or to wield his sword again, but when he receives word that the child of his slain lover might be still alive, he may be forced to break his vows once more.
This story had the feel of an old-school fantasy, and indeed, once the set up and introductions were out of the way, the plot almost takes on the form of a classic quest narrative, which sees our group traveling through exotic environments peppered with deadly creatures and other lethal threats. And once you get to Rhaif’s find (which I’m purposely keeping vague as not to spoil the surprise), things get even more interesting! When it comes to his magic systems and world-building ideas, it’s clear Rollins is having fun throwing himself right back into the game.
At the same time, there’s no doubt his focus is on the characters and in the now. I mean, his protagonists sometimes do feel a bit clichéd, but the writing certain makes up for it. The best way to describe the prose is that it’s very immediate, possibly a habit developed from Rollins’ mystery and thriller writing. It’s simplistic, not given to complex devices or anything too fancy, and when the author wants you to know something—like, background history or a character side-story, for example—he’ll insert it right into the moment, even at the risk of sounding too info-dumpy. This also gives the narrative a more “telling” vs. “showing” vibe, which can be quite jarring if you’re more used to more traditional epic fantasy conventions, because Rollins is definitely not subtle. On a similar note, he’s also pretty matter of fact when it comes to descriptions, and especially blunt when it comes to scenes of gore and graphic violence, another characteristic of his writing that reminds me very much of his work in the thriller genre.
Still, at the end of the day, I was very impressed with the way this plot kept moving along, because whether you love or hate Rollins’ style, no one can deny it makes for quick, compulsive reading. The pacing was relentless with no lulls to speak of, which made this doorstopper of a novel fly right by. I must have finished it in a couple of sittings, and I can’t remember the last time I finished an epic fantasy that quickly, if ever. Mark my words, if the sequels will contain half the energy that this one has, the Moon Fall saga is going to be awesome.
Overall, The Starless Crown wasn’t without its imperfections, but depending on your personal preferences or previous experience with Rollins’ work, his style might actually work to your advantage. I know I had a rollicking good time, and despite running into some of the usual tropes, I’m interesting and invested enough in the story and characters to find out more.
Up until now, my experience with James Rollins has primarily been limited to his mystery and thriller books, so epic fantasy seemed like a major departure. But in fact, the author began his writing career with fantasy, as he reminds readers in the foreword of The Starless Crown, so this was more like a return to his roots! Regardless, I was very excited to get to reading.
In this opening volume of the Moon Fall saga, we are whisked away to the world of Urth, a tidal locked planet with one hemisphere always in the scorching sun and the other forever shadowed in frosty darkness. But it didn’t always used to be this way. Our story follows a handful of key POV characters, starting with Nyx, a student at the Cloistery who was found as an infant in the wilderness. Left visually impaired, she can nonetheless glean glimpses into the future through the sporadic visions and dreams that come to her. Then one day, her gift reveals a portent of the apocalypse. Instead of heeding the warning, however, the king decides the bearer of such a dangerous prophecy must be put to death.
Along with a loyal school companion, Nyx goes on the run, and the two are soon joined by allies who believe in her visions and who also wish to help. One of them is Prince Kanthe ry Massif, the second born son of King Toranth who has been swept aside his whole life in favor of his brighter, bolder, and more promising older twin brother. Kanthe had been given a mission which he’d initially thought was a convenient excuse to get him out of the city, but soon discovers it to be a larger plot to assassinate him and get him out of the picture for good. Then there’s Rhaif, a thief who escapes the mines in which he’d been imprisoned only to stumble upon the find of a lifetime. And finally, there’s Graylin sy Moor, a former knight now living in exile for breaking his oaths to his king. He’s sworn never to return home or to wield his sword again, but when he receives word that the child of his slain lover might be still alive, he may be forced to break his vows once more.
This story had the feel of an old-school fantasy, and indeed, once the set up and introductions were out of the way, the plot almost takes on the form of a classic quest narrative, which sees our group traveling through exotic environments peppered with deadly creatures and other lethal threats. And once you get to Rhaif’s find (which I’m purposely keeping vague as not to spoil the surprise), things get even more interesting! When it comes to his magic systems and world-building ideas, it’s clear Rollins is having fun throwing himself right back into the game.
At the same time, there’s no doubt his focus is on the characters and in the now. I mean, his protagonists sometimes do feel a bit clichéd, but the writing certain makes up for it. The best way to describe the prose is that it’s very immediate, possibly a habit developed from Rollins’ mystery and thriller writing. It’s simplistic, not given to complex devices or anything too fancy, and when the author wants you to know something—like, background history or a character side-story, for example—he’ll insert it right into the moment, even at the risk of sounding too info-dumpy. This also gives the narrative a more “telling” vs. “showing” vibe, which can be quite jarring if you’re more used to more traditional epic fantasy conventions, because Rollins is definitely not subtle. On a similar note, he’s also pretty matter of fact when it comes to descriptions, and especially blunt when it comes to scenes of gore and graphic violence, another characteristic of his writing that reminds me very much of his work in the thriller genre.
Still, at the end of the day, I was very impressed with the way this plot kept moving along, because whether you love or hate Rollins’ style, no one can deny it makes for quick, compulsive reading. The pacing was relentless with no lulls to speak of, which made this doorstopper of a novel fly right by. I must have finished it in a couple of sittings, and I can’t remember the last time I finished an epic fantasy that quickly, if ever. Mark my words, if the sequels will contain half the energy that this one has, the Moon Fall saga is going to be awesome.
Overall, The Starless Crown wasn’t without its imperfections, but depending on your personal preferences or previous experience with Rollins’ work, his style might actually work to your advantage. I know I had a rollicking good time, and despite running into some of the usual tropes, I’m interesting and invested enough in the story and characters to find out more.
January 13, 2022
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.
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.
January 12, 2022
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.
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.
January 1, 2023
One member of our 3 person RL book group is a big James Rollins fan AND reads a fair amount of fantasy, so when Rollins announced that he’d written a fantasy, I knew we would be reading it before long.
And you know what? I really enjoyed it! What I expected of Rollins (based on listening to parts of his thrillers during road trips; I’ve actually never read any of them start to finish) was excellent pacing. Beyond that I had no idea what we might be in for.
To be clear, I don’t think this could be considered a typical fantasy novel. I’d call it a fantasy/thriller hybrid. There is a well-defined alternate reality and a clever premise involving a planet that long ago stopped revolving but may soon face disaster if that situation can’t be reversed. As usual with Rollins there are multiple groups of initially unrelated characters whose destinies gradually intertwine as the story reaches its climax. Plus unique human-animal interactions and heroes and villains of both genders.
And plenty of action! Tests and challenges and evildoers to overcome and imminent doom to avoid. Comings of age and the wisdom of the ages. Derring do and interior contemplation. And a forward momentum that doesn’t hesitate for a moment.
With all that said Rollins still manages with his uncomplicated prose to create vivid images of this complicated other-world he’s created. If you are looking for pure entertainment with characters you want to root for, you should consider giving it a try. The distraction from pandemics and politics was a treat for me.
And you know what? I really enjoyed it! What I expected of Rollins (based on listening to parts of his thrillers during road trips; I’ve actually never read any of them start to finish) was excellent pacing. Beyond that I had no idea what we might be in for.
To be clear, I don’t think this could be considered a typical fantasy novel. I’d call it a fantasy/thriller hybrid. There is a well-defined alternate reality and a clever premise involving a planet that long ago stopped revolving but may soon face disaster if that situation can’t be reversed. As usual with Rollins there are multiple groups of initially unrelated characters whose destinies gradually intertwine as the story reaches its climax. Plus unique human-animal interactions and heroes and villains of both genders.
And plenty of action! Tests and challenges and evildoers to overcome and imminent doom to avoid. Comings of age and the wisdom of the ages. Derring do and interior contemplation. And a forward momentum that doesn’t hesitate for a moment.
With all that said Rollins still manages with his uncomplicated prose to create vivid images of this complicated other-world he’s created. If you are looking for pure entertainment with characters you want to root for, you should consider giving it a try. The distraction from pandemics and politics was a treat for me.
June 28, 2024
James Rollins 2022 fantasy is too damn long.
Rollins is a good writer, this has thriller vibes to it, it’s a page turner and for the most part was a good book.
But he could have easily shaved a hundred pages off of it.
The world building was pretty good, far future, almost Jack Vance like, with political drama and some sketchy bad guys.
This was also almost comically formulaic. It’s an original fantasy and it follows no set plot, but what I mean is that it was almost like there was a checklist on his writing desk that prescribed all of the elements that were necessary and required and he made sure to include all of them. Hey! Look at me, I’m writing fantasy.
Also, he tried too hard to make this sound fantastic, using language and phrases reminiscent of every other fantasy that takes a Tolkeinesque / medieval tone. Some of this was painful.
There’s a lot going on too, maybe too much.
All in all, there were many good scenes, some sections were exceptionally well written, but there was too much and not all of it good.
Rollins is a good writer, this has thriller vibes to it, it’s a page turner and for the most part was a good book.
But he could have easily shaved a hundred pages off of it.
The world building was pretty good, far future, almost Jack Vance like, with political drama and some sketchy bad guys.
This was also almost comically formulaic. It’s an original fantasy and it follows no set plot, but what I mean is that it was almost like there was a checklist on his writing desk that prescribed all of the elements that were necessary and required and he made sure to include all of them. Hey! Look at me, I’m writing fantasy.
Also, he tried too hard to make this sound fantastic, using language and phrases reminiscent of every other fantasy that takes a Tolkeinesque / medieval tone. Some of this was painful.
There’s a lot going on too, maybe too much.
All in all, there were many good scenes, some sections were exceptionally well written, but there was too much and not all of it good.
April 4, 2022
This will be a very difficult review to write. James Rollins is probably one of two contemporary authors that I enjoy the most. Rollins' books are not great art but they are great fun and a source of escape when I want something light and entertaining. I discovered Rollins very early in his Sigma Series. These books are thrillers and all based on some legitimate scientific issue which is then spun into an adventure. The Sigma Force is a collection of former military commandos or operatives who each possess some scientific skill or talent. The Force is headquartered beneath the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall. More than a bit James Bondsy but that's part of the fun. Rollins is a practicing veterinarian so the science involved in each story is as accurate and reliable as possible. So in addition to enjoying a fun adventure the reader learns something as well. I enjoyed these books so much I searched for any earlier books that Rollins may have written and found 5 which were equally well written but a bit disturbing. These early books were all more in the horror vein featuring fictional creatures of monstrous description and malevolence. I suspected that Rollins may have spent too much time as a kid devouring old 1950's sci-fi movies so I dismissed these early efforts and continued to enjoy his Sigma Series. There are now nearly 20 entries in the Sigma Series and I fear Rollins is looking to try something new. Several years ago he entered into a project with a co-author on a series featuring vampires. I read that book and learned to my dismay that the vampires were Catholic priests. Rollins is a Polish Catholic and I kept waiting to hear if he had been excommunicated. I never returned to that series as vampires are not my thing and Catholic vampires even less so. This latest venture into new territory is one I believe I will also not be returning to and for a number of reason.
Two stars for me means the book was a disappointment. My disappointment is not with the story. I think there is a very good story in this book but it is simply draped with a totally unnecessary and clumsily assembled fantasy world. The plot of this book is basically a classic story to be found in the history of most European countries. We have neighboring kingdoms with a history of conflict. In one of the kingdoms there are twin princes with one being older and heir to the throne. The older suspects his younger brother to be a usurper and plots his demise while events in the kingdom make war with their neighbor more and more probable. On top of all of this is a legendary prophesy of planetary doom which turns out to be true and the doom is now being revealed to be imminent. A young orphan girl of mysterious parentage and apparent mystical ability seems to hold the key to preventing the doom but is also suspected of insurrection. From these circumstances the adventure springs.
This plot is then staged on a planet that does not rotate on its axis but orbits its sun with one side always facing the sun and always in daylight while the other side is always in the dark and is frozen. At the crown of the planet is a temperate zone that enjoys life between the two extremes. Before beginning this book I watched a one hour interview with Rollins at a signing for this book. Rollins went on about how this project took 10 years to complete and how difficult it was to create this new world and all that was involved and how much he relied on the work of other authors renown in the fantasy world genre. I did not know until that interview that this book was going to be in the fantasy genre and I admit that that is not a genre that I have any particular interest in. Further it was stated that this was the first volume of what would be a four volume adventure. Knowing that his Sigma books routinely take at least a year between books and now he is going to be doing this series as well I can only imagine the last book not reaching the readers for the better part of 5 years. I hate cliffhangers and I shy away from trilogies but 4 volume fantasies? I think not, especially when there is so much to take issue with in this first volume.
As I implied above this story didn't need to be placed on an alien world and could easily have been set in some ancient kingdom in Europe where wizards, witches, magic, and spells are well accepted. By placing the story on this new world Rollins took on a burden he was either incapable of imagining or simply didn't care to deal with to the extent required. Maybe true fans of this genre will be better able to judge this effort than I am but I was not impressed. I am disappointed because I know Rollins to be a talented storyteller and as I stated above there is a very good story here. I just do not understand why this particular method was chosen to tell it. Yes, he had to create an entirely new world and he has failed and I do not know why. Rollins' stories have always been well researched and thorough and that sort of effort seems to be lacking in this book. Let's start with the name of this new world, Urth. Urth? Well how much imagination did that take? Then there are the attempts to create new world words in which all that is done is to remove the letter "i"and replace it with the letter "y". On this new world horses are still horses, kings are still kings, knights are still knights. The reader is barraged with new terms mixed with real world terms and relationships and all of that prevents the reader, at least this reader, from enjoying the escape into this new environment. The inconsistency dilutes the desired impact of the new world atmosphere. It appears that Rollins spent most of his time imagining all the creatures he invented, domestic and horrific, for this story and then sprinkled detailed drawings of these creations throughout the book. Sadly, this seems to harken back to his early books and might indicate that the author has a bias that has affected his work. If Rollins wants to write horror stories featuring monstrous creatures then he should do so. There is only one creature in this book that plays a key role in the story the others are extraneous and overdone.
Lastly, there is one image created in this book that absolutely makes this book unsuitable for being read by children. There is also graphic violence and torture so that doesn't help getting anything like a PG rating. However, what I am really disturbed by are 2 scenes that I can't believe made it into print. The scenes are similar but it is the second of the two that I found so disgusting as to border on obscene. There is a description of children under the age of 11 being kidnapped and grotesquely murdered so their bodies can be used to extract something called mytokondrans, a new world term terribly similar to mitochondria a real world cellular term and another example of the sloppy mixing of worlds. This was done in order to create an elixir that could prolong the lives of members of a sinister spiritual sect on Urth. This revelation and scene added absolutely nothing to the story and was not needed at all. This is a fiction, an entertainment. There is nothing entertaining about killing children and treating their bodies like laboratory specimens. The author and publisher should be ashamed of themselves for putting something like this in a book and offering it to readers as entertainment. As I stated above I do not think I will be following the remainder of this series.
Two stars for me means the book was a disappointment. My disappointment is not with the story. I think there is a very good story in this book but it is simply draped with a totally unnecessary and clumsily assembled fantasy world. The plot of this book is basically a classic story to be found in the history of most European countries. We have neighboring kingdoms with a history of conflict. In one of the kingdoms there are twin princes with one being older and heir to the throne. The older suspects his younger brother to be a usurper and plots his demise while events in the kingdom make war with their neighbor more and more probable. On top of all of this is a legendary prophesy of planetary doom which turns out to be true and the doom is now being revealed to be imminent. A young orphan girl of mysterious parentage and apparent mystical ability seems to hold the key to preventing the doom but is also suspected of insurrection. From these circumstances the adventure springs.
This plot is then staged on a planet that does not rotate on its axis but orbits its sun with one side always facing the sun and always in daylight while the other side is always in the dark and is frozen. At the crown of the planet is a temperate zone that enjoys life between the two extremes. Before beginning this book I watched a one hour interview with Rollins at a signing for this book. Rollins went on about how this project took 10 years to complete and how difficult it was to create this new world and all that was involved and how much he relied on the work of other authors renown in the fantasy world genre. I did not know until that interview that this book was going to be in the fantasy genre and I admit that that is not a genre that I have any particular interest in. Further it was stated that this was the first volume of what would be a four volume adventure. Knowing that his Sigma books routinely take at least a year between books and now he is going to be doing this series as well I can only imagine the last book not reaching the readers for the better part of 5 years. I hate cliffhangers and I shy away from trilogies but 4 volume fantasies? I think not, especially when there is so much to take issue with in this first volume.
As I implied above this story didn't need to be placed on an alien world and could easily have been set in some ancient kingdom in Europe where wizards, witches, magic, and spells are well accepted. By placing the story on this new world Rollins took on a burden he was either incapable of imagining or simply didn't care to deal with to the extent required. Maybe true fans of this genre will be better able to judge this effort than I am but I was not impressed. I am disappointed because I know Rollins to be a talented storyteller and as I stated above there is a very good story here. I just do not understand why this particular method was chosen to tell it. Yes, he had to create an entirely new world and he has failed and I do not know why. Rollins' stories have always been well researched and thorough and that sort of effort seems to be lacking in this book. Let's start with the name of this new world, Urth. Urth? Well how much imagination did that take? Then there are the attempts to create new world words in which all that is done is to remove the letter "i"and replace it with the letter "y". On this new world horses are still horses, kings are still kings, knights are still knights. The reader is barraged with new terms mixed with real world terms and relationships and all of that prevents the reader, at least this reader, from enjoying the escape into this new environment. The inconsistency dilutes the desired impact of the new world atmosphere. It appears that Rollins spent most of his time imagining all the creatures he invented, domestic and horrific, for this story and then sprinkled detailed drawings of these creations throughout the book. Sadly, this seems to harken back to his early books and might indicate that the author has a bias that has affected his work. If Rollins wants to write horror stories featuring monstrous creatures then he should do so. There is only one creature in this book that plays a key role in the story the others are extraneous and overdone.
Lastly, there is one image created in this book that absolutely makes this book unsuitable for being read by children. There is also graphic violence and torture so that doesn't help getting anything like a PG rating. However, what I am really disturbed by are 2 scenes that I can't believe made it into print. The scenes are similar but it is the second of the two that I found so disgusting as to border on obscene. There is a description of children under the age of 11 being kidnapped and grotesquely murdered so their bodies can be used to extract something called mytokondrans, a new world term terribly similar to mitochondria a real world cellular term and another example of the sloppy mixing of worlds. This was done in order to create an elixir that could prolong the lives of members of a sinister spiritual sect on Urth. This revelation and scene added absolutely nothing to the story and was not needed at all. This is a fiction, an entertainment. There is nothing entertaining about killing children and treating their bodies like laboratory specimens. The author and publisher should be ashamed of themselves for putting something like this in a book and offering it to readers as entertainment. As I stated above I do not think I will be following the remainder of this series.
January 13, 2022
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...)
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...)
June 16, 2023
4.5
Temevo che questo libro fosse una delusione totale o un capolavoro.
Beh, non sarà un capolavoro, ma è un ottimo romanzo.
Seguiamo diversi pov e alcuni trope che però ho trovato ben gestiti e innovati.
Ad esempio, abbiano la chosen one e la profezia:
Tutto però è giustificato, non è pesante e la protagonista è ben caratterizzata. Non è il mio pov preferito, ma sicuramente non alzavo gli occhi al cielo quando vedevo il suo nome.
Tutti però sono personaggi ben delineati, da Kanthe a Rhaif, da Mikaen a Graylin. Non aspettatevi personaggi nuovo o mai visti, ma sono descritti e costruiti molto bene. Ci vengono mostrati i loro lati positivi e negativi, speranze, passato, presente.
Il worldbuilding è parecchio interessante, con la "terra" che volge solo un lato verso il "sole", spaccando letteralmente in due il clima.
E la luna che gioca un ruolo fondamentale, non a caso la serie si chiama Moonfall.
Insomma, un bellissimo mix tra fantasy, scifi, steampunk e thriller.
Temevo che questo libro fosse una delusione totale o un capolavoro.
Beh, non sarà un capolavoro, ma è un ottimo romanzo.
Seguiamo diversi pov e alcuni trope che però ho trovato ben gestiti e innovati.
Ad esempio, abbiano la chosen one e la profezia:
Tutto però è giustificato, non è pesante e la protagonista è ben caratterizzata. Non è il mio pov preferito, ma sicuramente non alzavo gli occhi al cielo quando vedevo il suo nome.
Tutti però sono personaggi ben delineati, da Kanthe a Rhaif, da Mikaen a Graylin. Non aspettatevi personaggi nuovo o mai visti, ma sono descritti e costruiti molto bene. Ci vengono mostrati i loro lati positivi e negativi, speranze, passato, presente.
Il worldbuilding è parecchio interessante, con la "terra" che volge solo un lato verso il "sole", spaccando letteralmente in due il clima.
E la luna che gioca un ruolo fondamentale, non a caso la serie si chiama Moonfall.
Insomma, un bellissimo mix tra fantasy, scifi, steampunk e thriller.
December 30, 2021
Full review over at Fantasy Book Critic
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Fifteen years and 2 months, or 115,039 days, any which way you count it. It has been one hell of a long wait for James Clemens to return to his fantasy roots. He is wiser (as they say with age); certainly a more refined writer and has a different surname (borrowing from his thriller alias). Moreover, he is back in 2022 with a brand new fantasy series titled The Moonfall saga.
Primarily I must confess I am an unabashed James Rollins-Clemens fan since the time I first read Excavation and Wit’ch Fire. Since then I have read all of his books and particularly loved his epic fantasy works. It would also be safe to proclaim my ardent devotion of his Godslayer Chronicles and you can read my piece about the saga (why it enthralls me) and how patiently I’ve been waiting for the third chronicle & the future series volumes (It’s been over fifteen years as I type this so GRRM/Rothfuss fans take a seat).
The Moonfall saga is James’ newest foray back into fantasy that also combines his Rollins’ approach to unique world environments. Here we are introduced to a secondary fantasy world (called Urth) which has stopped rotating on its axis and now has one hemisphere, which is scorching hot, and the other one is frozen cold. This isn’t just a cool gimmick but also is explored fascinatingly as it has molded landscapes along with the flora & fauna. Plus he has interspersed these details within the story without making it seem like an obvious infodump. The story begins with an event in the past (another favourite Rollins twist) and possibly an unnamed person reminiscing & narrating events of the past (Clemens fans should recognize this scheme). The story then slowly unfolds as the reader is slowly immersed alongside the POV characters and their worlds within.
The plot has four main characters however, we get to begin with these three:
- Nyx is a visually challenged, seventh year student at the Cloistery of Brayk. Due to a certain accident back when she was a newborn, which left her with clouded vision and sees the world in a shadowy manner. That event also left her an orphan, not truly knowing about her parentage.
- Rhaif is a thief who is enslaved in a chalk mine and is wasting his life away. Wanting revenge against his former guild who betrayed him. He finds something in the mines that propels him to escape his circumstances.
- Prince Kanthe ry Massif is the second born twin son of King Toranth and is rather scandalously known as the Sodden Prince, the Tallywag or the Dark Trifle. He’s been looked down upon all his life and he doesn’t really know what he’s meant to do.
Lastly the fourth main POV gets introduced around the halfway point and it’s Graylin sy Moor, a disgraced knight who has been exiled for an illicit liaison with a royal concubine. He’s has the least to do in this book but that doesn’t mean that his character arc is any less important. Besides these four, there are other minor POV and non-POV characters who are pivotal to the story and our main POV characters. There’s also one possibly non-human character who doesn’t get a POV but is a huge factor driving the plot and its eventual climax.
Mainly the highlight of this story is the world and all of its unique features due to its apocalyptic rotation stoppage in the faraway past. This has created several distinctive landscapes, flora and fauna, which the author delightfully exposes within the story. Be it from the poisonous frog-piranha hybrid amphibian called Pyrantha (which bring to mind a similar breed of poisonous piranhas from Amazonia, James’ standalone set in the titular region in South America) to the various locales. James Rollins the author also features a unique environment, which is a character in itself. For previous Rollins/Clemens readers, this is something familiar but for newer readers it will be an experience in itself.
Secondly, the characters are a vivid lot and all have lots of baggage. The author tries to exploit their backgrounds while teasing a lot more and we do get some intriguing hints about future character arcs as well as potential clashes. While Rhaif and Kanthe are important POV characters, Nyx holds the main narrative as we get to learn what made her the way she is and what her lineage (possibly) is. The author also has a knack of giving his characters wonderful animal companions and here both Nyx and Graylin have fascinating sidekicks of the mammalian variety and I for one would love more of this. The best character in my opinion was Rhaif, a thief whose past betrayal has lead him to make himself closeted with his emotions. It is his discovery of Shiya that propels most of the events and I for one would love to see what the future holds for his bond with Pratik and Shiya.
Nyx while being the central focus of the plot in The Starless Crown is a close second as she reminds me a lot of Elena (Banned & Banished) & Dart (The Godslayer Chronicles). James certainly knows how to create vulnerable young female characters with a core of steel and upon whose shoulders the crux of the main plot is balanced in an Atlas-like fashion. Nyx is an fascinating character with her mix of vulnerability, partial blindness & her intelligence as she discovers more about the world and her powers. I can’t wait to read her evolution in the future volumes as looking back at Elena’s and Dart’s arcs only promise further greatness mixed in with ruthless heartbreak.
This book is over 200K words long and the author has to sacrifice his normal plot pace for making the readers grounded into the world of Urth and the lives of his characters. This is a stark change for his previous Rollins books that are usually so pacey and with such momentum. The Clemens fantasy books were similarly structured but none come close to matching The Starless Crown’s page/word count. So many a reader might be stymied with the slightly turgid pace of the plot.
As a fan, this book was a tremendous read as it introduced an alien world and an apocalyptic prophecy of doom. The author also does “a story within a story” structure (similar to the Banned & Banished saga, however it is slightly less Meta as the Banned & Banished had “a story within a story within a story” structure). However as an objective reviewer, the biggest drawback of the story is that it feels like a one giant prologue to the actual story that’s yet to begin. In this regards, The Starless Crown is similarly structured to The Darkness That Comes Before (R Scott Bakker’s philosophically dense debut). Wherein the first book lays down the groundwork for the saga ahead in its initial 80-85% and the latter 15-20% is where a lot more action and plot revelations are unspooled, whilst also ending on a terrific climatic fight & revelation(s).
I have to make a mention of this for those who are new to Rollins’ work as well those familiar with his past stories as he treads new ground with his return. As I have mentioned before, it has been fifteen years and 2 months, or 115,039 days from his last fantasy release to the release of The Starless Crown next week. For a readers who has been patiently awaiting for one of his favourite writer’s return to the epic fantasy genre. The Starless Crown marks a triumphant return of a writer who has managed to carve out a unique style across two different genres. James Rollins is a changed writer and it shows herewith just how much. The Moonfall saga is filled to the brim with a unique world scenario, a solid cast of characters with complex motivations and unknown futures and lastly is piloted by a writer whose imagination runs rampant like none other in the fantasy genre.
CONCLUSION: The Starless Crown is one hell of a story, and while it isn’t perfect, it does enough distinctive things to mark itself out to be the special story that the author intended it to be. I encourage you to lose yourself within this alluring story of a world that is already apocalyptically damaged and now has a band of would-be heroes that are striving to prevent its utter annihilation.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Fifteen years and 2 months, or 115,039 days, any which way you count it. It has been one hell of a long wait for James Clemens to return to his fantasy roots. He is wiser (as they say with age); certainly a more refined writer and has a different surname (borrowing from his thriller alias). Moreover, he is back in 2022 with a brand new fantasy series titled The Moonfall saga.
Primarily I must confess I am an unabashed James Rollins-Clemens fan since the time I first read Excavation and Wit’ch Fire. Since then I have read all of his books and particularly loved his epic fantasy works. It would also be safe to proclaim my ardent devotion of his Godslayer Chronicles and you can read my piece about the saga (why it enthralls me) and how patiently I’ve been waiting for the third chronicle & the future series volumes (It’s been over fifteen years as I type this so GRRM/Rothfuss fans take a seat).
The Moonfall saga is James’ newest foray back into fantasy that also combines his Rollins’ approach to unique world environments. Here we are introduced to a secondary fantasy world (called Urth) which has stopped rotating on its axis and now has one hemisphere, which is scorching hot, and the other one is frozen cold. This isn’t just a cool gimmick but also is explored fascinatingly as it has molded landscapes along with the flora & fauna. Plus he has interspersed these details within the story without making it seem like an obvious infodump. The story begins with an event in the past (another favourite Rollins twist) and possibly an unnamed person reminiscing & narrating events of the past (Clemens fans should recognize this scheme). The story then slowly unfolds as the reader is slowly immersed alongside the POV characters and their worlds within.
The plot has four main characters however, we get to begin with these three:
- Nyx is a visually challenged, seventh year student at the Cloistery of Brayk. Due to a certain accident back when she was a newborn, which left her with clouded vision and sees the world in a shadowy manner. That event also left her an orphan, not truly knowing about her parentage.
- Rhaif is a thief who is enslaved in a chalk mine and is wasting his life away. Wanting revenge against his former guild who betrayed him. He finds something in the mines that propels him to escape his circumstances.
- Prince Kanthe ry Massif is the second born twin son of King Toranth and is rather scandalously known as the Sodden Prince, the Tallywag or the Dark Trifle. He’s been looked down upon all his life and he doesn’t really know what he’s meant to do.
Lastly the fourth main POV gets introduced around the halfway point and it’s Graylin sy Moor, a disgraced knight who has been exiled for an illicit liaison with a royal concubine. He’s has the least to do in this book but that doesn’t mean that his character arc is any less important. Besides these four, there are other minor POV and non-POV characters who are pivotal to the story and our main POV characters. There’s also one possibly non-human character who doesn’t get a POV but is a huge factor driving the plot and its eventual climax.
Mainly the highlight of this story is the world and all of its unique features due to its apocalyptic rotation stoppage in the faraway past. This has created several distinctive landscapes, flora and fauna, which the author delightfully exposes within the story. Be it from the poisonous frog-piranha hybrid amphibian called Pyrantha (which bring to mind a similar breed of poisonous piranhas from Amazonia, James’ standalone set in the titular region in South America) to the various locales. James Rollins the author also features a unique environment, which is a character in itself. For previous Rollins/Clemens readers, this is something familiar but for newer readers it will be an experience in itself.
Secondly, the characters are a vivid lot and all have lots of baggage. The author tries to exploit their backgrounds while teasing a lot more and we do get some intriguing hints about future character arcs as well as potential clashes. While Rhaif and Kanthe are important POV characters, Nyx holds the main narrative as we get to learn what made her the way she is and what her lineage (possibly) is. The author also has a knack of giving his characters wonderful animal companions and here both Nyx and Graylin have fascinating sidekicks of the mammalian variety and I for one would love more of this. The best character in my opinion was Rhaif, a thief whose past betrayal has lead him to make himself closeted with his emotions. It is his discovery of Shiya that propels most of the events and I for one would love to see what the future holds for his bond with Pratik and Shiya.
Nyx while being the central focus of the plot in The Starless Crown is a close second as she reminds me a lot of Elena (Banned & Banished) & Dart (The Godslayer Chronicles). James certainly knows how to create vulnerable young female characters with a core of steel and upon whose shoulders the crux of the main plot is balanced in an Atlas-like fashion. Nyx is an fascinating character with her mix of vulnerability, partial blindness & her intelligence as she discovers more about the world and her powers. I can’t wait to read her evolution in the future volumes as looking back at Elena’s and Dart’s arcs only promise further greatness mixed in with ruthless heartbreak.
This book is over 200K words long and the author has to sacrifice his normal plot pace for making the readers grounded into the world of Urth and the lives of his characters. This is a stark change for his previous Rollins books that are usually so pacey and with such momentum. The Clemens fantasy books were similarly structured but none come close to matching The Starless Crown’s page/word count. So many a reader might be stymied with the slightly turgid pace of the plot.
As a fan, this book was a tremendous read as it introduced an alien world and an apocalyptic prophecy of doom. The author also does “a story within a story” structure (similar to the Banned & Banished saga, however it is slightly less Meta as the Banned & Banished had “a story within a story within a story” structure). However as an objective reviewer, the biggest drawback of the story is that it feels like a one giant prologue to the actual story that’s yet to begin. In this regards, The Starless Crown is similarly structured to The Darkness That Comes Before (R Scott Bakker’s philosophically dense debut). Wherein the first book lays down the groundwork for the saga ahead in its initial 80-85% and the latter 15-20% is where a lot more action and plot revelations are unspooled, whilst also ending on a terrific climatic fight & revelation(s).
I have to make a mention of this for those who are new to Rollins’ work as well those familiar with his past stories as he treads new ground with his return. As I have mentioned before, it has been fifteen years and 2 months, or 115,039 days from his last fantasy release to the release of The Starless Crown next week. For a readers who has been patiently awaiting for one of his favourite writer’s return to the epic fantasy genre. The Starless Crown marks a triumphant return of a writer who has managed to carve out a unique style across two different genres. James Rollins is a changed writer and it shows herewith just how much. The Moonfall saga is filled to the brim with a unique world scenario, a solid cast of characters with complex motivations and unknown futures and lastly is piloted by a writer whose imagination runs rampant like none other in the fantasy genre.
CONCLUSION: The Starless Crown is one hell of a story, and while it isn’t perfect, it does enough distinctive things to mark itself out to be the special story that the author intended it to be. I encourage you to lose yourself within this alluring story of a world that is already apocalyptically damaged and now has a band of would-be heroes that are striving to prevent its utter annihilation.
July 26, 2021
Update: Thank you to Tor Books for this physical ARC in exchange for an honest review! Here is a picture of the book on my shelf:
The Starless Crown by James Rollins is an adult fantasy-adventure that will appeal to fans of Tolkien and Sanderson. (To be honest, I feel very nervous to be the first person to write a review for this book. I encourage anyone reading this to wait until more reviews appear before they make any decisions.) The story revolves around a band of misfits who embark on a quest to save their fantasy world from impending doom. The group includes a prophesier, a soldier, a prince, and a thief. Will they be able to work together to save their world? Or will their journey end in disaster?
Here is an excerpt from the first chapter, which is titled "BEFORE":
"With her heart choked in her throat, she studies the monster before her.
Merciless eyes, as cold as black diamonds, stare back at her. A continuous hiss flows form its throat. Her hairs shiver to a sound beyond hearing. She feels it in her teeth, in her skull, playing across the surface of her brain...
Its lip wrinkle back in threat, exposing long fangs, glinting with a sheen of poison. It stalks closer to her, knuckling on its wings.
No, not closer to her - but toward the baby in the mud.
...
She tries to move to her daughter's defense, but she has lost her knife. Not that it mattered. She has no strength left to even crawl...
Darkness embraces her."
After I read this terrifying excerpt, I was excited to read the rest of this book and find out what happens to this woman's baby. With high-fantasy books, there are some tropes that I dislike that the author adeptly avoids in this book. For example, I can't stand when there are multiple perspectives thrown at me at once because I mix up all the names and characters. The author avoids this issue by introducing the characters one at a time and having multiple chapters in a row from one person's perspective. I also found the prose easy to read and understand, which is another issue I have with a lot of high fantasy books.
I did take off one star, because I found myself really rooting for Nyx's character and enjoying her chapters, but then losing momentum when it switched to other characters' perspectives. This isn't the book's fault. I understand that it was necessary to have an ensemble cast and chapters about other characters for world-building purposes. I'm just explaining why it wasn't a 5-star read for me personally. Overall, The Starless Crown is a fun high-fantasy book that fans of this genre will devour. If you enjoyed The Lord of The Rings or the Mistborn series, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in January!
The Starless Crown by James Rollins is an adult fantasy-adventure that will appeal to fans of Tolkien and Sanderson. (To be honest, I feel very nervous to be the first person to write a review for this book. I encourage anyone reading this to wait until more reviews appear before they make any decisions.) The story revolves around a band of misfits who embark on a quest to save their fantasy world from impending doom. The group includes a prophesier, a soldier, a prince, and a thief. Will they be able to work together to save their world? Or will their journey end in disaster?
Here is an excerpt from the first chapter, which is titled "BEFORE":
"With her heart choked in her throat, she studies the monster before her.
Merciless eyes, as cold as black diamonds, stare back at her. A continuous hiss flows form its throat. Her hairs shiver to a sound beyond hearing. She feels it in her teeth, in her skull, playing across the surface of her brain...
Its lip wrinkle back in threat, exposing long fangs, glinting with a sheen of poison. It stalks closer to her, knuckling on its wings.
No, not closer to her - but toward the baby in the mud.
...
She tries to move to her daughter's defense, but she has lost her knife. Not that it mattered. She has no strength left to even crawl...
Darkness embraces her."
After I read this terrifying excerpt, I was excited to read the rest of this book and find out what happens to this woman's baby. With high-fantasy books, there are some tropes that I dislike that the author adeptly avoids in this book. For example, I can't stand when there are multiple perspectives thrown at me at once because I mix up all the names and characters. The author avoids this issue by introducing the characters one at a time and having multiple chapters in a row from one person's perspective. I also found the prose easy to read and understand, which is another issue I have with a lot of high fantasy books.
I did take off one star, because I found myself really rooting for Nyx's character and enjoying her chapters, but then losing momentum when it switched to other characters' perspectives. This isn't the book's fault. I understand that it was necessary to have an ensemble cast and chapters about other characters for world-building purposes. I'm just explaining why it wasn't a 5-star read for me personally. Overall, The Starless Crown is a fun high-fantasy book that fans of this genre will devour. If you enjoyed The Lord of The Rings or the Mistborn series, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in January!
February 3, 2022
The jacket flap is as much a list of fantasy tropes as it is a teaser for the book. We have a Prophecy of Destruction, a Team of Outcasts, a Tale of Brother Against Brother. We've got thieves and fighters and magicians and priests and scholars … But it all comes together in a vivid, compelling, deeply imagined world.
The world is almost as much the focus as the characters and the story. The Crown is a narrow band of a habitable zone on a planet that is tidally locked. One hemisphere burns in perpetual sunlight; the other freezes in endless night. The book has a similar feel to classics like Terry Brooks' The Sword of Shanarra or Robert Silverberg's Lord Valentine's Castle: the setting feels like fantasy with travel between cities taking days, and weaponry largely limited to swords and bows and so on. But there's a hint of SF, a suggestion of a bygone age of marvelous technological achievements long forgotten, or at least not relevant to the daily lives of much of the population.
Rollins may be best known for his thrillers, particularly the Sigma Force novels. But those of us who know his work as James Clemens already know what a gift he has for writing fantasy as well. As with the Witc'h novels, there's a sense of real peril looming over our heroes, as if any or all of them could be slaughtered at any moment and the forces of darkness triumph.
Although this is the first book of a series, it does come to a good stopping point. Yes, there is more to come, but the conclusion is satisfying enough that I don't feel cheated out of an ending.
The Starless Crown is one of the best fantasy novels I've read in quite some time. Highly recommended!
The world is almost as much the focus as the characters and the story. The Crown is a narrow band of a habitable zone on a planet that is tidally locked. One hemisphere burns in perpetual sunlight; the other freezes in endless night. The book has a similar feel to classics like Terry Brooks' The Sword of Shanarra or Robert Silverberg's Lord Valentine's Castle: the setting feels like fantasy with travel between cities taking days, and weaponry largely limited to swords and bows and so on. But there's a hint of SF, a suggestion of a bygone age of marvelous technological achievements long forgotten, or at least not relevant to the daily lives of much of the population.
Rollins may be best known for his thrillers, particularly the Sigma Force novels. But those of us who know his work as James Clemens already know what a gift he has for writing fantasy as well. As with the Witc'h novels, there's a sense of real peril looming over our heroes, as if any or all of them could be slaughtered at any moment and the forces of darkness triumph.
Although this is the first book of a series, it does come to a good stopping point. Yes, there is more to come, but the conclusion is satisfying enough that I don't feel cheated out of an ending.
The Starless Crown is one of the best fantasy novels I've read in quite some time. Highly recommended!
April 10, 2022
There are some really fresh and cool ideas in here. I found the huge number of pov characters a bit distracting, but overall the strange creatures and science magic were great.
February 14, 2022
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Okay, where is the sequel? I seriously need it after devouring The Starless Crown. First off, the audio was really freaking good. At the moment, I'm not sure who the narrator is but that's mostly because I need more coffee in order for my brain to work. All I'm going to say is that they did an amazing job for this really long book. Seriously, the audio was over 20 hours long and I was never bored. Which, yes, is a huge accomplishment.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the world that this was set in. The whole dark age with magic and mysteries completely sucked me in. At some point, it seemed like everything was basically dangerous and could potentially kill you. Creatures, plants, happiness. You name it, you would probably die from it.
We also get to meet a vast cast of characters. I didn't even try to keep track of everyone because of how long this book was. Just think of the A Song of Fire and Ice series and how many people you had to follow. All I'm going to say is that each and every character made this book that much better. I think this is why I was never truly bored because we moved from character to character so easily.
I guess I can also mention that there's a ton of action and adventure throughout this as well. I mean, with a book this large I would have been disappointed if we got chapters where nothing was really happening. We get a fair share of everything - sacrifices, probing, and destruction. Then there's the inkling of doom that follows you throughout the entire thing.
In the end, this was a very fun book to dive into. I'm super excited for the sequel to come out and I hope that we get the same narrator.
Okay, where is the sequel? I seriously need it after devouring The Starless Crown. First off, the audio was really freaking good. At the moment, I'm not sure who the narrator is but that's mostly because I need more coffee in order for my brain to work. All I'm going to say is that they did an amazing job for this really long book. Seriously, the audio was over 20 hours long and I was never bored. Which, yes, is a huge accomplishment.
Other than that, I really enjoyed the world that this was set in. The whole dark age with magic and mysteries completely sucked me in. At some point, it seemed like everything was basically dangerous and could potentially kill you. Creatures, plants, happiness. You name it, you would probably die from it.
We also get to meet a vast cast of characters. I didn't even try to keep track of everyone because of how long this book was. Just think of the A Song of Fire and Ice series and how many people you had to follow. All I'm going to say is that each and every character made this book that much better. I think this is why I was never truly bored because we moved from character to character so easily.
I guess I can also mention that there's a ton of action and adventure throughout this as well. I mean, with a book this large I would have been disappointed if we got chapters where nothing was really happening. We get a fair share of everything - sacrifices, probing, and destruction. Then there's the inkling of doom that follows you throughout the entire thing.
In the end, this was a very fun book to dive into. I'm super excited for the sequel to come out and I hope that we get the same narrator.
June 19, 2023
I’ll admit this one was slow for me at the start (I mean after the prologue, that was intense. I thought the character of Nyx was super intriguing and that kept me going. And then eventually the story caught up and I couldn’t put it down. I read about 4/5 of this book in one sitting because I just couldn’t stop. I thought the world building was interesting and unique which is always a huge plus for me in fantasy. The magic was different than what I had seen before. This book follows several characters and shows how their paths interact. I didn’t think all the characters got the development they deserved, but overall it was a good start and I am now excited to read book number two. I can’t do a better job than the flap for describing this one, it’s too easy to give spoilers.
January 8, 2022
3.5 stars
You 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.
You 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.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,408 reviews