Walk the Plank – the starless sea (Erin Morgenstern) – unpopular opinion time!!

Ahoy there!  I enjoyed the night circus and was excited for this supposed sea yarn.  And I was bored mateys.  Bored!  I thought the set-up for the book was interesting but ultimately did not live up to its premise at all.  There was some beautiful writing in places, especially in the short inner fairy tales, but I didn’t really care for most of the characters.  And the only one I actually liked didn’t get nearly enough page time.  I struggled to finish this one and almost abandoned it about 50 times.  I would pick it up and read a chapter and put it back down.  I kept reading because I thought that if the characters didn’t move me then perhaps the world building would.  But no.  I have absolutely no urge to visit the starless sea.  Other than the cats and the Kitchen, there was no appeal.  Not much of the action even takes place on the sea.  The promised pirates and ships were lame.  The descriptions of the world were repetitive and the parts of the starless sea itself barely explored.  I also didn’t like how the story threads tied together.  I thought the plot was headed that way and hoped I was wrong.  The writing was also kinda choppy and fragmented and had short chapters that didn’t flow well.  The majority of the book just didn’t make sense.  And I basically hated the ending.  I be very glad that I got this from a local library and didn’t spend me hard-earned loot on it.  Disappointed for sure.  Arrrr!

Side note:  What in the world was the purpose of the owls?

Goodreads’ website has this to say about the novel:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world–a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues–a bee, a key, and a sword–that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library, hidden far below the surface of the earth.

What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians–it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also those who are intent on its destruction.

Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly-soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose–in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

To visit the author’s website go to:

Erin Morgenstern – Author

To buy the book go to:

the starless sea – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author

the night circus (Captain’s Log – Fantasy)