This epic fantasy novel had me entranced from the very beginning. There was layer on top of layer and unraveling all the details kept this story entertaining. The author did such an outstanding job building a detailed, vibrant and lush world you wanted to escape to. The narrator was as excellent and made every moment feel captivating. Taking on a multiple POV story the narrator made each one feel distinct. This book had political intrigue that added to the twists in the story. I am an identical twin so having one twin brother set to be the ruler and one that was not given the same responsibility and learning his place in the kingdom was interesting to read. That relationship also has some twists. Nyx and her non-human brothers was my favorite part. There bond gripped at my heart strings. This was a fun read. I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

I love books by James Rollins, and while I am not into this kind of genre, I enjoyed it. With that being said, the plot was a little slow, but a very well written story line.

Wow. I’m still recovering from this. Usually, I don’t go for sci-fi but I absolutely LOVE this book! I can’t even think of the words to describe it! The characters from different backgrounds and cultures coming together. The found family. The animals, humans, and goddesses working together to save their world. The intersecting science and magic. I am impatiently waiting for book two!! The narrator was absolutely perfect. Her voice was other-worldly and helped me sink into this epic story!

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this is one of those very rare and magical books that actually live up to all the hype that leads up to the release.
Rollins created a deeply complex world full of its on history, traditions, and lore, and then crafted a story full of captivating characters and situations that engage the reader’s emotions from the get-go.
Every character is well-rounded, and every situation makes sense within the story while still being able to constantly surprise the reader. It certainly has its bumps along the way (I’m so tired of the prophesied girl trope), but the positives were good enough to make me willing to ignore any negatives.
The audiobook is narrated by the author and Nicola Barber, both of whom breathe life, urgency, and emotion into every character. Are usually prefer to read fantasy books because part of the appeal to me is the prose of the story, but I am definitely following the series on audiobook because the narrators brought the world to live and I can’t imagine continuing the story without their voices.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the early listen!

I’ve only read Sigma Force so this was a surprise.

Can I call it a dark fantasy? The Earth has stopped spinning in a way that one half is always light, the other dark. The remains of humanity live in a reality that’s harsh & unforgiving.

The story is a quest to save the Earth which will continue in book 2. There’s 4 groups of people who have varying abilities & agendas, good & bad. Chased & chasing. They will all cross paths.

Strange monsters, alchemists, unique plant life, students, dangers, royalty, death, disgraced knight, torture, sentient giant bats & badass nuns. Spiders, big spiders, why?! LOL

This book is packed with a great story & the narrator is easy to listen to.

Compelling. I await book two! Thank you Macmillan Audio & NetGalley I really enjoyed this story!

I’ve been a big fan of James Rollins and his Sigma Force novels.
They are full of action and high stakes. As well as relatable characters.
I’ll have to admit, I thought this book was slow.
I received a print ARC from the publisher and I had a hard time liking any of the characters or the situations they found themselves in.
I received an audio ARC of this from NetGalley. I thought maybe hearing someone read it to me might make it better. It didn’t.
I’m not saying this book was a total mess. It has some excellent world building that I enjoyed.
Perhaps I wasn’t in the right headspace for this at the time.
But overall, I don’t think this was the book for me.

I’ve been reading James Rollins books for years and was thrilled when I saw he was coming out with an epic fantasy. I thought it was a new direction/genre for him so I was surprised when I began reading the intro and learned fantasy wasn’t in fact a new genre for him and that he’d written fantasy in the past under another pen name. After reading The Starless Crown I’ll definitely want to track down some of those other works.

Forget the story for the moment, the world Rollins has created is just wild. I’m sure I’ll do a horrible job explaining it, but this is a world that has stopped rotating, leaving half the world in light, half in dark, with only a thin strip in the middle where life can thrive. And as rough as that might sound, things are about to get worse as an apocalypse is coming. And in the fashion of some of the best epic fantasy out there it’s up to an unlikely group to attempt to save the day. Nicola Barber does a wonderful job with the narration, completely bringing the world and characters to life. The Starless Crown features an excellent cast, a wild story, and plenty of action, I enjoyed this one from start to finish and am already looking forward to the next book in the series. 4.5 stars rounded up tp 5.

I’d like to thank Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to audio ARC of The Starless Crown.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1IJM0NIXJM22Y/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

With over 22 hours of non stop action, world building, character development and surprising twists The Starless Crown : Moon Fall - Book 1 by James Rollins is an epic entertaining sci fi fantasy audiobook for everyone.

From visually impaired young teen Nyx surviving being abandoned as a baby to prisoner Rhaif escaping underground with the ancient artifact The Bronze Goddess to Prince Kanthe being nothing more than a spare heir next to his brother and to exiled knight Graylin with his protective loyal "brother" wolves staying hidden we are led on the adventure of a lifetime to save the world of Urth from apocalyptic disaster.

With creatures worthy of any J.R.R. Tolkien novel, political intrigue equal to Game of Thrones and enough magic for any Harry Potter fan we learn about the life and character of our four main protagonists before fate brings them together. Using visually infused prose that brings everyone and everything to life I was transported to a world that could only be created in the mind of a brilliant imaginative writer.

I have such profound respect for the multi faceted voice talent of narrator Nicola Barber after listening to her bring numerous characters and creatures to life with passion and obvious forethought. Her performances were Oscar level.

This saga is not just fantasy at its best but fueled with science fiction to its core. Urth has stopped turning on its axis. The moon is getting closer. Nyx is sentenced to death by a corrupt King for a vision of Urth's end. The Bronze Goddess is more than a statute. The spare prince is on a journey of growth and disgraced knight Graylin (my favorite) has a secret connection even he is is shocked to uncover. The ending is satisfying but the journey must continue and I eagerly await the sequel.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

In the book The Starless Crown, author James Rollins begins a new series about Nyx, who has a mysterious birth and early childhood. Could she hold the key to the future of the kingdom? Or is she going to bring about the destruction of everything? Nyx finds herself on the run with a group of outcasts of the kingdom including a prince, trying to figure out what is happening and how to survive. This was a good story with vivid scenery and characters. The audio-book narration was well done. I would recommend this book. I received a copy of this audio-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love James Rollins Sigma Force series, so I thought I’d give this new fantasy saga a try. I like the story all right, but there are so many moving parts that the book was more than halfway through its 22 hours of audiobook before the reader met all the main characters. I suspect that’s normal for fantasy sagas.
In book form it might have been easier to keep track of the characters. For the most part the names of the men didn’t stay with me so I needed the context of the story to remind me who they were and what role they were playing.
I thought we would be farther into saving the world with 22 hours of listening. Instead the characters have only just found their common ground and formed their team.
The mix of elements of fantasy with science is interesting. The idea of how an earth might survive once it has stopped rotating is interesting. I think the large variety of venomous and dangerous animals is a bit excessive.
I like Nyx. She drew me in from the first and just kept getting more interesting in her capabilities. The rest of the characters don’t really stand out for me.
The narrator does a good job.
I’m interested in the outcome of the storyline but this book is just coming out so the next installment is at least a year away. I’m not very interested in spending another 22 hours to remind myself of the details of this book in order to be prepared for the next book. So that leaves me at 3 stars, because the book is good but it didn’t blow me away and I wouldn’t read it again.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review the book.

I’ve been in somewhat of a reading slump these past few books as I haven’t really been able to get into any new books or series and instead have just spent my time rereading some of my favorites. So I have spent a lot of my time lately looking for that one book that’s good enough to shake me out of this slump so I was excited to receive an early copy of this audiobook to listen to. I’ve looked at James Rollins books before and while they look good, I tend to lean almost exclusively towards science fiction and fantasy so I’ve never really checked them out before. The Starless Crown by James Rollins was an intense and fascinating read that managed to tick off every box in my “What I love to read about most in books” list.

A unique and interesting magic system? Check. A well-built and fully fleshed-out world full of interesting characters and a great plot? Check. A ragtag group of adventurers who would normally never get along or spend any time together being forced to work together to survive? Check. It took maybe 2 or 3 chapters before I was so sucked into The Starless Crown that I never wanted it to end because I just didn’t want to stop reading it. My favorite character in this book is easily the nearly blind Nyk but I don’t think I disliked a single character in the book. Heroes and villains alike are all so great that it’s impossible not to love them.

One of the only things that had me hesitating with this book is the fact that I hadn’t yet listened to anything narrated by Nicola Barber and I’m always a bit hesitant to get books featuring narrators I haven’t checked out yet. Lucky I can happily say that Nicola Barber did a fantastic job narrating this book. She managed to give every character their own unique voice and packed enough emotion into her narration that you could almost feel what the characters were feeling at the time. Something I think a lot of narrators try but a surprising few actually managed to do.

All in all, I loved this book and I was a bit bummed out when I had finished listening to it, but I’m already excited for whenever the next book in the series releases. I also won’t hesitate to recommend this book to anyone looking for a good book to read or listen to.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this so so badly. On paper, this has everything I love: intricate world building, science fiction elements in a fantasy world, prophecy about the end of the world, an unlikely band of heroes, and so much more. Unfortunately, I really did not enjoy anything about this.

Clearly there is a lot of love put into this world but I was so bored by the plot and the characters were so one dimensional. Each character felt like a caricature of a typical fantasy archetype (the blind orphan girl, the "second son" prince, the likable prisoner thief who stumbles across important key to plot, the banished knight, etc.). The plot moved at a fairly quick pace for such a large book, but the beats were predictable at best. The little pieces of world building like the prophecies at the beginning of sections and the rich descriptions of the flora and fauna were cool but by the end I started to get frustrated by them because the characters and the plot were so bland that it felt like a waste of cool setting.

I also had a problem with the some of the casual sexism and misogyny built into the world. For example, early in the book Nyx (our blind orphan main character) is being chased by school bullies who threaten to rape her (and the teachers are on purposefully turning a blind eye?) and the author makes a comment about purity culture's double standards between men and women but then that's it? The repetition of the twin princes as bright vs ebonwood, Nyx's "recovery" from her disability and the sexualization of a sculpture also all really rubbed me the wrong way.

3.5**

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book!

I am glad that I got to read this book before it's publication so I can recommend it to my friends I believe will enjoy it. I wish I had the audio paired with a digital or physical copy so it was easier to see characters on page and grasp a few things.

What I liked was the story was always moving, there was never a lull in the story or the stress - lol. However Nyx was for me the only reason to really read in the first place. She to me had the most intriguing plotline and personality. I caught myself more than once kind of tuning out the words and having to go back unless we were following her.

I think this is a huge epic fantasy and the undertaking as an author is huge, but it had a little too much world building and character backstories with characters that weren't that great.

I recommend readers pick it up and still give it a try, I however am too character driven to bump my rating.

Weighing in at over twenty-two hours of listening pleasure, The Starless Crown is classic Rollins with a slow burn and in-depth world-building. The story is unique and the characters well defined. Admittedly, at first, I didn't realize how long this book was and came to one point where a character's arch seemed to be coming to a completion point, so I was surprised to discover I was only halfway through the book. Some readers might be put off by moments like this, but I continued on, very familiar with Rollins' propensity for thick books, dynamic character, and intricate plots that weave in and out of notable moments. This isn't your fun, lighthearted tome--the tone is dark and haunting, mingling in Rollins' knowledge as a veterinarian and evolutionist. Definitely a long book, but with its ethereal and other-worldly components, STARLESS CROWN is worth the read.

The Starless Crown follows a group of outcasts, each on their own journey that quickly become intertwined. A young girl with a special gift, a broken soldier, a second place prince, and a convicted thief set off on individual quests, but as their paths collide the world becomes more complicated. Each must learn to trust each other to discover the ancient secrets that will help them save the world.



The Starless Crown is a complicated story that blends high fantasy with science fiction. The world building was good, but on such an epic scale that I wanted more. There are a lot of facets to the world’s religion and beliefs I could have used more information on. I look forward to learning more in the rest of the series.



This one is nonstop action. You will be left wondering, “what else could go wrong?” after every chapter. Trust me, more can go wrong *small frustrated scream*. I was enthralled by the events and couldn’t stop listening.



Nicola Barber does a great job narrating this one. There are a lot of characters, and she has enough range that I didn’t get confused when we switched POVs. Some of the main character’s names are very similar, and it would have been helpful to see the spellings in this case.



If you’re on the lookout for a new epic fantasy series, try The Starless Crown out January 4th. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for my review copy.

Nicola Barber does an absolutely fantastic job of narrating this epic! She is a joy to listen to and only added to an already great book.

I have never read a James Rollins book but he may have just gained a new fan. The characters were all very well fleshed out and the story line kept you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I was never bored with this one!

We get to follow Nyx as she discovers who she actually is and where she really came from. We meet one prince to appears to be bad only to find out he may not be the problem child in the family. Add to this some pretty cool side characters and the discovery that the world is about to end and you've got one epic fantasy tale that will have you begging for more!

The Starless Crown was captivating from the beginning. Unlikely companions find each other as they race to save the world following a prophecy of impending doom. Meanwhile, each of them is running for their lives as there is a price on their heads. Rollins draws readers into this world from the first page. It’s easy to connect with the world as it is so relatable to our own. He alludes to the after effects of climate change as there’s parts of earth that are uninhabitable due to severe heat, or cold. His world has great venomous beasts, airship battles, druidic magic, religious zealots, and angry monarchs. What more could you want in a fantasy book? The imagery described in this book is rich in detail and fully immersive. In addition to the themes related to climate change, the story exhibits an overarching theme of loss and grief that the characters must overcome. Not only has each of them suffered numerous losses throughout the story, but they each understand the fatal nature of what is to come and must grieve for the possible loss of the world as they know it. Each character goes through extreme transformations throughout their experience that lends them strength to overcome the challenges they may face in the next book of this series.


Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people who enjoy action or thriller genres and have an interest in dabbling in fantasy. My only complaints about this book are minor. I can tell Rollins has not written much fantasy before, but I liked the ways he tied fantasy themes into science and religion to make it feel more relatable. I got a good chuckle when he repeatedly refers to underwear as “under leathers,” which I’ve never seen before in a fantasy book, and honestly sounds uncomfortable. 


I read this book as an audio book and wasn’t impressed by the narrator. Her voice was soft and made me feel like I was listening to an ASMR. I kept losing focus of the story, or felt frustrated when she would whisper something, which happened a lot. I volunteered to read this book as an advanced reader copy and this is my honest review.

To be open and honest I did not finish this book (made it to chapter 6). My issues are similar to others, red flags appearing the the forward by the author (Rollin's makes it sound like this is the next grand epic LOTR with his forward and also this is a 'Science based fantasy' with is oxymoronic in this sense). I love Rollin's previous work, and there are portions of this book I enjoyed, but it is overstuffed with world building making the characters hard to connect with. I listed to the audiobook version and the narrator I found very hard to follow and engage with. Very dry style.
what happened to the antagonist in the first several chapters need so many trigger warnings! and this turned me off tremendously
Review based on an advanced audiobook copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.. thank you to MacMillan Audio also.

Full disclosure: I DNF'd this book after just a couple of chapters. I am surprised I made it that far. I was uncomfortable and irritated the entire time. I absolutely hated the forward and it felt like the epitome of cringey "man writing women" thing. it wasn't necessarily overly sexualized. It was just upsetting and felt wrong. I didn't care about the story that was presented in the first few chapters, and knew that if I continued it would lead to much stronger feelings of dislike. So I practiced self care and DNFd.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for a chance to listen to this early. I am sure that there are many readers out there who will greatly enjoy what promises to be an epic story. I just couldn't get past the description and writing style to be willing to get that far.

I thought the narration for this story was excellent. Nicola Barber really drew me in with the way she told this story and I hope she does the next book as well.

This is a sci-fi/ fantasy following 3 different groups of people, that while they don't realize it until they all meet up are working towards the same goal. The main person in the first group we follow is Nix. After in incident with her fellow classmates who pretty much try and kill her Nix has a vision. A vision of the world ending.. While I did like all of the characters and animal companions Nix is definitely a favorite. She has learned how to navigate the world blind, and now she has seen this horrible thing happen in her mind, and she knows that somehow she has to figure out a way to stop it..

This is an epic fantasy that has alot of world building and introducing alot of characters. Thankfully each character has their own sections which makes it alot easier to see who were following next. It was action packed, and kept you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out where the story was going next.. also what creature was going to pop out and try and kill everyone.. It was totally atmospheric, you felt like you were with each group of people as they are on their journeys.. through the swamp, the woods, on an airship ( which was completly awsome) and underground through a labrynth of tunnels.

I really enjoyed this story and will absolutely be checking out the next book in this series.. I need to know how the end of the world is going to be stopped! Also reading more by this james Rollins and Nicola Barber whom I had never read or heard before this book.

Thank you so much to Macmillian Audio for letting me listen to this book!