Book Review | The Starless Crown

The Starless Crown by James Rollins is a fast-paced arcanepunk novel that blends together sci-fi and fantasy to create a unique world filled with myth, alchemy, and astrology.

The story is told through alternating perspectives:

Nyx: a blind student living in a cloistery who dreams of an apocalyptic moon crashing into Urth.

Raifth: a prisoner thief sentenced to working a mine. There he discovers a mysterious bronze statue that comes to life.

Kanthe: A disgraced prince who lives in his older twin's shadow, but he finds a new calling when he and his tutor discover that one moon has been drawing progressively closer to their planet.

Together this ragtag group join forces to try and save the world against seemingly insurmountable odds.

To start things off, I think by far the highlights of The Starless Crown for me are Rollins' gripping prose and its intricate worldbuilding.

However, I took some issues with the story’s pacing and character writing. One, there wasn’t much of a mystery. The story’s major plot twists are revealed right away within the first book, squandering any sense of intrigue or impactful character revelations they could have had down the road. Plus, the antagonists felt extremely one-dimensional, but hopefully they will become more rounded as the series progresses.

Gripes aside though, I still found this book an enjoyable genre-bending fantasy of epic proportions.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Details:

Publication Date : January 4, 2022

Publisher : Tor Books

IBSN : 1250816777

Pages : 560

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