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Jacqueline Carey
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Starless Kindle Edition

by Jacqueline Carey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,056 ratings
Editors' pick Best Science Fiction & Fantasy
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Jacqueline Carey is back with an amazing adventure not seen since her New York Times bestselling Kushiel's Legacy series. Lush and sensual, Starless introduces us to an epic world where exiled gods live among us, and a hero whose journey will resonate long after the last page is turned.

I was nine years old the first time I tried to kill a man...

Destined from birth to serve as protector of the princess Zariya, Khai is trained in the arts of killing and stealth by a warrior sect in the deep desert; yet there is one profound truth that has been withheld from him.

In the court of the Sun-Blessed, Khai must learn to navigate deadly intrigue and his own conflicted identity…but in the far reaches of the western seas, the dark god Miasmus is rising, intent on nothing less than wholesale destruction.

If Khai is to keep his soul’s twin Zariya alive, their only hope lies with an unlikely crew of prophecy-seekers on a journey that will take them farther beneath the starless skies than anyone can imagine.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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  1. Print length
    574 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Tor Books
  5. Publication date
    June 12, 2018
  6. File size
    2847 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Starless

“Carey is at the peak of her luminous storytelling powers in a tale that will appeal to readers of Brandon Sanderson and Patrick Rothfuss, while its thought-provoking look at gender, love, and sexual preference bring to mind Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Left Hand of Darkness.”―Booklist (starred)

“Carey handles themes of duty, love, and identity with tenderness and fortitude, never pigeonholing her protagonists, and the tapestry of her characters elevates this novel above its peers.”―Publishers Weekly (starred)

“Fans of world-building powerhouses such as Rhoda Belleza and Garth Nix will be in awe of Carey's stand-alone epic.”―Library Journal

“A unique story that asks serious questions about identity, fate and honor and it will appeal to fantasy fans who appreciate in-depth character exposition.”―RT (4 stars)

“On ample display here are Carey's impressive worldbuilding skills.”―Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Jacqueline Carey

“A complex saga worthy of the field’s best writer on such a scale, George R. R. Martin.”―Locus on Kushiel’s Dart

“Stunning, clever, sultry and mysterious, Phedre is an ideal and original heroine.”―The Associated Press on Kushiel’s Dart

“The heroine reminds one of an equally strong-minded sister whose home was Tara.”―Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Kushiel’s Dart

“Carey’s lush, sensuous prose again makes her heroine’s story a savory feast for mind and heart.”―Booklist, starred review, on Kushiel’s Avatar

About the Author

Jacqueline Carey is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically acclaimed and award-winning Kushiel’s Legacy series of historical fantasy novels. Recent novels include the Shakespearean adaptation Miranda and Caliban and the epic fantasy standalone Starless. Carey enjoys doing research on a wide variety of arcane topics, and an affinity for travel has taken her from Iceland to China to date. She currently lives in West Michigan.

jacquelinecarey.com
Facebook.com/jacquelinecarey.author
Twitter: @JCareyAuthor
Instagram: @jcareyauthor

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0756JDH91
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books (June 12, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 12, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2847 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 574 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0765386828
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,056 ratings

About the author

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Jacqueline Carey

Jacqueline Carey

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Jacqueline Carey is the author of the New York Times bestselling Kushiel's Legacy series of historical fantasy novels, The Sundering epic fantasy duology, postmodern fables "Santa Olivia" and "Saints Astray," and the Agent of Hel contemporary fantasy series. Carey lives in west Michigan. Although often asked by inquiring fans, she does not, in fact, have any tattoos.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
1,056 global ratings
The book is amazing
4 Stars
The book is amazing
I love the book, the story was fantastic. Jacqueline had such a way to make you enjoy every step of the way throughout the book. the only reason for it being 4/5 instead or a 5/5 was the damage to the book. I ordered a new hard cover and it had creases and ink splattered not looking new. That’s also just me being nit picky.
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Top reviews from the United States

ATC
5.0 out of 5 stars Carey has wonderful imagry
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2024
Verified Purchase
I'm not surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I have read and re-read Carey's books regularly. I loved the storyline and the development of the main characters. Thanks for the enjoyable time again, Jacqueline. All the best to you.
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4.0 out of 5 stars An optimistic epic fantasy about saving the world
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2018
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First off, this was an interesting reading experience because I was simultaneously rereading another of Carey’s books, Kushiel’s Dart, as part of a read along project for the reddit r/fantasy community (details here). Because of that, I definitely picked up on some common threads between that book and Starless, even though they’re both very different books. Still, this review is about Starless, so that’s what I’ll focus on.

Carey’s prose is lush and beautiful, as always, and it serves to breathe life into this new world. The book is divided into three parts, and the first section focuses on our main character, Khai, and his days spent growing up in the desert at the Fortress of the Winds, training to be a warrior. Khai is also, that trope of tropes, a chosen one. From birth his life has been fated to be twinned to the soul of the Princess Zariya. But we follow Khai through his desert training for a long time up until he’s sent to the court to do his duty as Shadow at the age of sixteen. We really get to know Khai as a character here, and I have to say, I really love everything about him. He’s not a precocious child, nor given to whimsy. A bit on the serious side, Khai is loyal and a fierce warrior with a natural curiosity about the world outside of the Fortress of the Winds.

One of my favorite characters in the entire book is featured in the first act, Brother Yarit. He comes from the city, a condemned man, a thief, sentenced to walk the Trail of Pahrkun and face the warriors of the Brotherhood, he’ll be forgiven his sins if he survives and be admitted into the Brotherhood himself. Yarit is sly, prone to deception, and has a foul mouth. He’s a con-man. And yet, somehow, he becomes a part of the brotherhood and a mentor to Khai. He admits time and time again that this is not the life he would have chosen, and that he’s not suited to it, and yet it seems to be his destiny. Destiny, fate, these are things that will keep coming up throughout the story with different characters. Anyway, I just loved Yarit, because everyone at the brotherhood is so very serious all of the time and Yarit is the opposite of that so it made for a fun contrast.

In the second act we follow Khai to the court to meet Princess Zariya where he’s to serve as her shadow for the rest of his days. The court of the Ageless is filled with endless intrigues, as one might expect of a court consisting of one king with many wives and children from each, especially since so many of them are so long lived and the king shows no signs of stepping down any time soon. You have the regular petty squabbles among the wives and their kids while they jockey for power. But doing it all with smiles on their faces. It’s a game of sorts and Khai, inexperienced in intrigue, is wary of it all. His one light is Princess Zariya. She’s beautiful and full of hope despite an illness as a child that left her with little use of her legs. She’s not naive, having grown up in the palace with all of its intrigues she could never be naive, and yet she still feels innocent in a lot of ways, unspoiled by all the rotten apples around her she may be the one hold out in the entire barrel. I never truly connected with her character as a reader, to be quite honest, but I can’t say there’s anything wrong with the way she’s written. She’s just…nice.

Here we get to explore the city and the world is expanded beyond the desert and the court. We see how conditions are not great for all of the people and how those in the Palace of the Ageless are intentionally blind to it all, only concerned with their going’s on at court. Even when it’s obvious that they have offended their god, and that’s why the ramanthus seeds that sustain their long lives have not been able to be harvested, they don’t change their ways. They feel like they’re on the verge of being a bygone era–either they’ll never change and the seeds will run out and their lives will end sooner rather than later, or they change. Of course not everyone is terrible–you have Princess Fazarah, a reformist for the people, and Zariya’s brother Prince Dozaren, who you don’t really know what to make of. Is he good or bad? Either way, he’s intriguing. And definitely plotting.

Once the story gets to the third act things change yet again.

In the third act we explore much more of the world. This is probably the most ambitious world-building I’ve seen from Carey. Yes, you can see some influences here and there, but things get weird. Not everyone is human, and some societies are not even humanoid. And you can see the way that societies and cultures of places were built up around the various gods (the fallen stars) that dwelt there. Of course the city of trade’s god is the god of shrewdness. And of course the god of fear lives on an island where everything is trying to kill you. All of these were interesting places to explore, and fun, if a little bit on the nose.

Did any of you guys ever see that movie Lady in the Water? Because for some reason, this third act reminds me a lot of Lady in the Water. You’ve got the prophecy. And someone comes and says ‘hey, you’re X and X from the Prophecy! And this is X and X and other X and we know it’s them because it’s obvious’. And the characters figure out their preordained roles and play them to the T. I mean, the Scattered Prophecy may be scattered but that’s the only thing puzzling about it. Everything seems to just fall into place for our heroes and feels rather obvious. The gods give them the tools they need and they take them, even if they don’t feel important at the time. There’s a lot of ‘I don’t know why I’m supposed to do this but I know I’m supposed to do this so I’m doing it’ and then you find out ‘oh hey, that worked out well, didn’t it’. It feels like, even though they had to work hard and there were sacrifices along the way, that it would always work out for them because it was supposed to. And because of that, it didn’t allow me to become as emotionally invested as I would have liked. This is a difficult thing to describe, but it’s like when you have a character that dies and then they’re resurrected, and this happens more then once in a story…then that death is just meaningless and the next time someone in the story dies you’re not even sad because they’ll just come back again. That specific example doesn’t apply here, but just using it as an analogy.

But then Carey keeps coming back to her characters trying to see how things will fall out. ‘If this, than this, than this’ chain of events type of thinking. (This, by the way, is one of the common threads from Kushiel’s Dart as Phedre often has this kind of thinking when looking back with hindsight.) A butterfly flaps it’s wings and everything could be different. A million little things had to be lined up just so and people had to be relied upon to act accordingly, or everything could have gone differently. We’re reminded of this because it’s constantly brought up. And yet…I don’t know, I just feel that things went…about as easily as they could have given the circumstances.

And yet….the third act is where everything is finally happening. Action, adventure, romance. Plot. I can’t hate the third act at all, even though it feels like a very beautifully written version of a choose your own adventure where the reader picks all of the most favorable outcomes.

That being said, one of the best things about Starless is that it’s an incredibly optimistic book. The end of the world is coming and our heroes are motley crew of mostly ordinary folk chosen to do an extraordinary thing–save the entire world. But, I got the feeling too, at the end of things, that some of the stuff going on in the background is the real story. Yeah, our heroes did their jobs and now they can retire–the world has been saved. But it’s up to everyone else to make it better, and we see the start of that with Princess Fazarah, Zariya’s elder sister who wants to help the poor and bring reform to society. And maybe that’s the lesson here, because that’s the hard work. Saving the world is easy, making it fair and just for everyone takes work–but it too can be done.
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edithpawlicki
5.0 out of 5 stars A tale of startling power
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2022
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I first read this book a few years ago, and I didn't wholly remember it besides thinking it was wonderful. Everything came slowly back to me on the reread, and it's still wonderful. The stars have fallen into the world and become deities, wildly varied and unique. This entire epic - and yes, it is epic! - is told from the point of view of young Khai, a thoroughly likable and sympathetic lead. In addition to a fantastic adventure, Carey deftly explores gender, sexuality, and self-determination. I think any epic fantasy fan would love this book!
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Careful Buyer
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing characters and a satisfying epic hero's tale
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2018
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Jacqueline Carey is a phenomenal storyteller... her characters are well imagined and fleshed and her main characters represent personas that challenge… people dealing with things, I would never otherwise have considered. I learn something from each of them. She also tells "Epic" stories well... A lot happens vividly in her novels but at a level that is still within character perceptions and therefore well-anchored and easy to ride.

Starless is one such story. The main character is raised in an unusual way, but how and why he becomes the person he does is natural and clear. And the Epic hero's tale is, while a tad bit predictable in trajectory, always a joy to read on the journey. Like any hero's tale... everything happens for a reason, but that doesn't make the story any less enjoyable. And she asks us to accept a bit of physics that are impossible -- unless the universe doesn't work like we think or unless the tale is spun as if a thing of legend -- but that unscientific aspect is totally forgivable through the strength of the narrative it exists to support.

I was both disappointed and happy that this is a standalone novel and not the first book of a trilogy... Disappointed that I wouldn't have more to read, but happy that I wouldn't have to wait for more to reach the conclusion.
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Oldmannot
5.0 out of 5 stars Another home run from Carey
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2020
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As always, her prose is delightful. Characters are well defined and it's easy to like the MC even though she is a desert-trained killer. The world is well defined and highly imaginative with living gods walking the land. Her quest, together with her god matched princess, is to defeat a darkness overtaking the land, and the quest takes them to many corners, from deserts to oceans, with many variations of "humanity" with unique capabilities, all to contribute to the quest.. I didn't understand how the MC could possibly not know she was female amongst an all-male company until later in the story , but Carey makes it seem possible.

Of course, this extremely optimistic story ends with the darkness being defeated.
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Top reviews from other countries

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MarekJ
5.0 out of 5 stars A good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 2, 2021
Verified Purchase
Jacqueline Carey is a very accomplished author. I usually enjoy reading series rather than stand-alone novels as I enjoy the character development. However, this book was one I purchased simply because I had enjoyed previous books written by the same author.
It was money well-spent. The book is eminently enjoyable, with an interesting concept.
Would I read further stories set in the same setting? Yes, I would, which probably says it all.
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Bookworm
5.0 out of 5 stars This story whisks you away into another world and time
Reviewed in Canada on February 10, 2020
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Just like her Kusheil series, this book brings you into another world and time that grips you in the very first chapter. I absolutely adore Jacquelines writing style and imagination. I truly hope there are more adventures for The Twin Souls
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Stefano
4.0 out of 5 stars libro.
Reviewed in Italy on August 8, 2019
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il libro esteticamente è bellissimo, il prezzo l'ho trovato imbattibile e è arrivato nei tempi previsti. per il contenuto ancora non mi posso pronunciare perché lo devo leggere ancora. posso azzardare che essendo Jacqueline Carey una delle mie scrittrici preferite e che non mi ha mai deluso, probabilmente sarà bello anche il contenuto.
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars On reste sur sa faim
Reviewed in France on August 18, 2018
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Après un début prometteur de type récit initiatique, le soufflé retombe. À part Khaï, les personnages sont moins creusés et intéressants que dans les oeuvres précédentes de l'auteure. Si l'univers est riche, il sent toujours un peu le réchauffé. Il restera sous exploité jusqu'à la fin.
L'intrigue est aussi cousue de fil blanc et ne prend jamais vraiment d'ampleur. Dommage !
C'est un roman de fantasy finalement très moyen mais qui reste agréable. Décevant car la série fleuve Phèdre - Imriel - Moirin était plusieurs crans au-dessus.
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Lisa
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read with 2 amazing lead characters
Reviewed in Australia on August 4, 2018
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Love this book! Onto my 3rd read already. Really like the 2 lead characters and like the pace of the story. Not quite as loved as Kushiels Dart but close
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