“Long ago, I drew this image from memory—as it was the last time I ever saw her. She who was prophesied to destroy the world. And did…”

My thanks to MacMillan Audio for the invitation to receive an advance review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Starless Crown’, Moon Fall #1, by James Rollins in exchange for an honest review.

The audiobook is narrated by Nicola Barber with an introduction by James Rollins in which he provides background for this new series that he has been working on for nearly a decade. It is a fusion that he describes as scientific fantasy.

‘The Starless Crown’ is set on a post-catastrophic Urth that for a mysterious reason stopped turning millennium ago! What was left of humanity barely survived and they and various creatures have since evolved. In addition, traditional elements found in fantasy also exist.

Nyx is a gifted student, effectively blind since a dramatic incident at her birth. Yet when she foresees a further apocalypse her reward is a sentence of death. Fleeing into the unknown she is drawn to a group of outcasts, each who have their own stories.

The novel has a multi-point-of-view structure that allows each character’s tale to be told as well as to chart their growing alliance and the challenges they face with plenty of adventures along the way.

Nicola Barber is an experienced narrator of well over a hundred audiobooks. She has a warm, rich voice and is very versatile in her range. She was a pleasure to listen to and I felt that she brought James Rollins’ world and characters vividly to life.

However, with an epic fantasy such as this given its length, complex plot and large cast of characters, I much prefer to undertake a combined read/listen so that I can follow the developing story more closely and have the option to refer back to earlier sections. This was difficult to do with the audiobook on its own.

Blending fantasy with science fiction requires a fine balance and on the whole I felt that Rollins succeeded. Certainly there was a great deal to enjoy within ‘The Starless Crown’ and its conclusion promised more to come in Book 2. I certainly will be on the lookout for it.

This is a really exciting series that is told from multiple viewpoints. The world-building and the different characters are interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the time listening flew by until the third act.

My problem was the third act was such an extended chase scene that I felt burned out. Bad guys find good guys, and good guys figure out a way to escape but are thwarted by bad guys. A last-minute miracle happens to save good guys. As this happens to every main character at least once, I lost my enthusiasm for continuing the series.

Also, there is a love triangle between the 14-year old main character and two older male characters. The age gap isn't that big, but every time they mention finding her attractive, I think, 'Dude, she's 14.'

Review based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

This was nothing like I was expecting. It had a great flow and the story was very interesting. I might have to read the book to get all of the little things as this was super detailed.
Overall a great sci-fi read.

I found this audiobook a great adaptation of the novel. The narrator was a great fit for the story and I found myself totally invested and enraptured by the narration and the setting. A great read!

First book of a new series. There is a lot of character development and setting up a new universe. The book is long but it doesn't seem like it. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

If you’re looking for a cool new epic fantasy series to check out then might I recommend The Starless Crown? I expected this to be pretty awesome going in based on my experience with James Rollins’ other books (despite the very different genre) and was not disappointed. This was action-packed, had several of my favorite tropes, and the moon is also going to destroy the world in 3-5 years. More on that in a moment.
The story starts off with a woman fleeing for her life through dangerous swamps, stopping to birth her child, which is then swept away by a mysterious creature. Cut to the current day, where a mostly blind girl named Nyx is being chased by a group of extremely salty students who she inadvertently embarrassed in class. She is fleeing upwards, to the top level of the Cloistery she attends when a giant Myr bat swoops down, killing one of the boys chasing her and biting her in the process. Myr bats are described as these giant, unholy terrors of the swamp with deadly venom in their bites. Nyx however doesn’t die from the venom exposure, but is instead granted sight (and terrifying fever visions) and finds that perhaps she is connected to the bats somehow. Oh, and also she is certain that the moon is going to fall from the sky and destroy them all.
Then we find Rhaif, a thief who was sentenced to work in the mines, taking advantage of a disruption to escape his prison. Until he stumbles across a cavern where he finds a strange bronze statue of a woman. He could swear that the statue blinked at him… and though he is focused on escape, he detours to help the woman who appeared to be a statue escape the clutches of those who would use her as a weapon.
And lastly there is Kanthe, secondborn prince of Toranth. The black sheep of the family, the Prince in the Cupboard, the spare. His father sends him off to the swamps with a team of soldiers to clear out the Myr bats, which have become too much of a threat since they attacked that boy at the Cloistery. He feels unwanted by his family, but perhaps this trip to the swamps will help him prove his usefulness and his ability to face danger.
The three characters have their own supporting casts and let me just say, it was quite a delight to watch them slowly converge and join together as the book moved along. Their individual plot lines are each quite fascinating and when they do meet up things really pick up the pace! Nyx’s chapters were probably my favorite since she has an animal companion and a mysterious past but Rhaif and Kanthe were excellent as well. Between the two of them, they supply enough rogue-ishness for the whole book.
The world building is also really quite something. The world is called Urth, and at some point in its history it stopped rotating on its axis and there’s a thin comfortably habitable area with scorching desert and frigid wastes on either side. The story strongly hints that long ago there was more advanced technology and I speculate that perhaps this is a post-apocalyptic version of our own Earth. I love that sort of thing and love getting those little hints at a fascinating history or seeing how history is distorted as the centuries pass. Strong Mark Lawrence vibes in that respect. The advancement of technology is pretty cool as well, with some of the greater advances coming from a dark religious order that is honestly pretty terrifying.
Overall, I was super impressed with the quality and depth of the story. Though there are several younger protagonists, this is most definitely an adult fantasy, what with some of the darker content and all. There are some seriously dark and brutal moments, many of which focus on human experimentation by the creepy-ass monks. There are some areas where I felt like the pace slowed a little (not always a bad thing) and I wanted to rush on to the next exciting sequence or the next POV. I can also confidently recommend both the print and audio versions since I checked out both formats (about 50/50). Great start to what I hope will be an incredible new fantasy series!

This book was amazing! This is the first book that I have read from James Rollins but it will not be the last! It was darker than I expected and the stakes were definitely higher. The world was super interesting, I feel like we were given information naturally. I did get a little annoyed with Nix blaming herself for pretty much everything, but I kind of feel like that was due to her young age and the society she grew up in. I hope to see her really come into herself in the next book. But overall I loved this book! I have already pre-ordered a finished copy.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just want to say that I loved this and I'm looking forward to the rest of this series! I was unfamiliar with Rollin's work before diving into this but I'm excited to check out his other books. The narrator, Nicola Barber, did an incredible job narrating this story. Every character voice was unique and the way she described the world made it a place I never want to visit.

The Starless Crown is a multi-POV epic fantasy with a strong scientific background. I don't want readers to think this book is sci-fi because it's definitely not. Scientific fantasy if you will. This world in which the Starless Crown take place has a rich mix of cultures and landscapes. The way Rollins was able to combine ancient magic and alchemy made for a thrilling reading experience.

Rollin's writing style is very prose heavy and beautiful. It's something I don't find in epic fantasy often but I thought it worked well. The thorough descriptions of the landscapes, creatures, and the characters gave the reader a sense that this world is harsh and unforgiving but also that there is beauty in even the smallest things. There was never a moment of peace for the characters which made me all the more nervous. On the other hand, I sometimes felt the description heavy prose led to less development with our main characters. I don't mind that though because there is still a ton of time for character development in the next books.

Overall, I loved this. It was fast-paced and thrilling with memorable characters. The Starless Crown is definitely a book where the less you know going in, the better. Nothing is as it seems and the characters will guide you through. Nyx is my favorite character and Kanthe is a close second. I'm excited to see where our characters go next before the world quite literally comes to an end.

I almost DNF'd this book because of the slow start... but I'm glad that I didn't! I have to admit I was hoping they'd go more into why the Earth was tidally locked (I think I figured it out though) but I feel like they might expand on that in the following books.
Some of the character's perspectives I didn't care for, but all POVs had a purpose.

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.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.

I was granted audio ARC access to The Starless Crown by James Rollins by the publisher, Macmillan Audio, through NetGalley. Thank you to the publicity team at Macmillan Audio for reaching out! My thoughts are my own and my review is honest.

Surprisingly considering the Rollins' backlist and the fact that he's prominent in the SF/F category, this was my first experience with a James Rollins title. Fittingly, it was his first foray into fantasy, so it's a first all around! I will definitely check out Rollins' science fiction books now. This is a must-read author!

Although this was Rollins' first fantasy novel, his experience and skill shines through. The Starless Crown is beautifully written in a way that makes it nearly impossible to put it down (or hit pause.) Less experienced authors might stumble over the size of the cast and the number of POVs, but Rollins pulls it all off amazingly well.

I'm absolutely in love with the idea of a world where bats are a hive mind diety, bronze statues can come to life, and airships are a primary method of long-distance travel. Give me more!

Of the four main characters, Nyx was my favourite. Nearly-blind, orphaned, and academically gifted, Nyx survives a poisoning and wakes up changed. How changed? It'll take the whole book to get a glimpse, but it has repercussions for the whole world. I love the name choice, too. Let's just say if you're familiar with Greek mythology...

It seems like in most books with many POVs, there's always going to be one I prefer least. I wouldn't say I didn't enjoy any of the POVs in this book because they were all well done, but the one I was occasionally disappointed to switch to or ready to switch away from early was Kanthe, the "Prince in the Cupboard." Nyx is going on a massive coming-of-age adventure in a world where she's far more important and powerful than she ever could have dreamed. Raifth, the thief, is going through a period of moral growth as he chases after the bronze woman. Graylin is experiencing all the awkward and overwhelming emotions of suddenly playing an active role in the life of the now-grown child he never knew. Kanthe? Kanthe is naively noble. He tries too hard and trusts too easily. I can see his type of character working well as the main in a single-POV story, but The Starless Crown doesn't feel like his story, and the effect is that his naïveté is frustrating to read.

At 560 pages this book is certainly not short. No matter how much you don't want to put it down, you're probably going to have to put it down at some point. As an audiobook on 2x playback speed, I listened in 5 sessions. If you like short and sweet fluffier reads, this one is not going to be your cup of tea. If you like epics full of marvelous detail, lots of character building, and a rich world, this is a must-read!

Narrator Nicola Barber's performance is excellent! Her pacing is perfect, pronunciation is clear, and each character retains the unique narrative voices Rollins gave them. I will definitely not hesitate to pick up other titles narrated by Nicola Barber.

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.

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. Overall, this book was an action-filled fantasy quest that is gripping and thought-provoking.

*Special thanks to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the advanced audio version of this novel.*

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc audiobook!

What would you do to fulfill your destiny? Isn’t that always the question for adventures and quests?

This tale has a bit of a slow build to finally get to that point you saw coming. It did leave plenty of time for descriptions to become fully immersed in the world as well as each character. I really enjoyed the narrator for the audiobook version; she brought more depth to the characters and scenery with a range of voices for each.

This was a new vision of a mix of magical and sci-fi. There are some gifted people and some interesting creatures that are introduced in this first part of the series. It’s as if we’ve only barely touched the surface of what’s to come. I feel like a sort of chart or hierarchy of different communities and species may come in handy further into the series.

This is a tale that showcases that everyone has a different part of the story; no matter your background, your age or where you come from, you can have an impact. It dove into each character’s origin and showed their motivation for going on this journey.

What’s next for these characters? Only time will tell…

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.

This book is phenomenal! If you like The Witcher and The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K Jeminsin then you will fall in love with this new adult sci-fi fantasy. The format of this book strongly reminds me of The Broken Earth Trilogy because throughout the book they say praise the mother below and the father above, but this book is also its own entity that I enjoyed tremendously. In this book will follow many great characters throughout this story, but all the characters have in common and is trying to get answers when it comes to the mysterious moon. The main character that will follow is Nyches. She was found in the swamp and was adopted by her dad. As a young girl she wanted to know why her family abandoned her and her conclusion was that she was blind. Yes! She is blind but the kicker is that she is the child of prophecy that the King wanted dead. Also just to let you know that all this is taking place where the planet stopped rotating and so on one side the planet is scorched by the sun and the other side is in complete darkness. As the story follows Nyches is the girl who will be responsible for ending the world. As she is the girl of prophecy there are other things the she possess and many people not only want her but to know more about moon fall and how the moon is getting closer to the planet as it looks like its getting bigger. There are so many mysteries when it comes to Nyches and her family history. As we follow Nyches you will follow:

Canth > The drunken Prince
Frell> The Alchemist
Jace> Nyches best friend
Rafe
Sheia > The Bronzed Woman
The King, and many more

Every character in this book has its role when it comes to the mystery of Moon Fall.
This book is very complex with amazing world building. I am definitely going to be continuing on with this series to find out what happens next. Overall this book is a must read and is so very interesting and intriguing.

I found this book to be a bit slow, so I struggled to stay invested in the story. The narrator did a good job of bringing the story to life, but there was so much description that it was difficult to just get lost in the story. This did have an interesting plot, and I think it's one people will enjoy.

The Starless Crown was an epic, heartbreaking, anxiety-inducing journey just like any good fantasy book.

It’s the first high-fantasy I’ve ever listened to on audio. While I did have some issue keeping up with certain world building elements, namely the finer details of their religion, it didn’t hinder me from following the story. Even if I had a physical copy I know I would have to reread those sections anyway.

The story is an intricate one - filled with unique creatures, a culty feeling off-shoot religious group, and prophecy. Lots and lots of prophecies. I absolutely love when separate character journeys merge. It was fun to watch these characters slowly come together, build bonds, and figure out who they truly were.

The magic system is interesting, if I can call it that. It was explained why certain people had the ability but there was a bit more I wish had been explained. I can’t go into too much detail without ruining it. Though, it’s entirely possible I missed it while listening. So take this with a grain of salt.

My heartstrings were constantly being pulled while on this journey. I can’t tell you how many times I yelled “WTF” while listening to this on my way to work. There were gasps, banging on the wheel, basically alll the feelings. At one point, I wasn’t sure how this would be the start to a series based on how it was progressing. Thankfully the end was solid enough to launch that next foundation. Which I’lll have to wait forever for

The narration was amazing but I would recommend doing a physical book and audio book combination. Mostly to trace the character journeys on the map, I’m also just hoping there’s a map in the physical copy once released, and because two of the characters have pretty similar names. When it would get to their perspective it took me a second to figure out who we were talking about. Once I did though, it was smooth sailing.

All in all, I’d recommend this to any of my fantasy loving friends who want a good epic journey to go on.

I’ve heard of James Rollins although I’ve never read any of his books before. They seem to be fantastical science fiction action with battles, and I wanted a glimpse of his storytelling. He describes this story as sf that reaches back to his roots in fantasy. It is indeed very fantansy-oriented, and not the science fiction I had been expecting. I’m sure this book will find its way into the hands of many a happy fantasy reader. I’m sorry, it’s not something I enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for my feedback.

The narration was fairly solid with a good range of voices.

The story is based on a planet that has arrested its rotation and subsequently reducing civilization to small rings or crowns between the hot and cold while also providing a pseudo-steam-punk (think air-ships) world to play in. Most of the animals appear to have evolved into greater threats and/or intelligence, with bats in particular gaining a hive mind organization that was pretty interesting. There were a number of other takes on animal life that added to the general dystopian feel of the story. The principle societies appear to be marked off with a north/south divide and provide the engine for much of the plot conflict. There is a dash of magic that was based on visualizing songs that control the environment in some fashion mixed in with mechanical alchemy (which was a bit weird). Only all it felt like a solid setting for the story.

The main characters were also well developed and generally sympathetic figures. Nyx is a girl abandoned at birth in the beginning of the story under mysterious circumstances that are gradually revealed throughout the story and is generally pretty interesting. Raffe is a thief, betrayed by his guild who escapes from the Salt mines with a powerful artifact/weapon that Kingdom forces want to aid their desire for conquest/war. Kanthe is the spare Prince of the Realm on the run from assassins. These POV run mostly parallel for the first half of the story before you start to see them come together … and it takes a LONG time to develop that part of the story where you really don’t see much in the way of action (for 10 hrs or so). There is some … but mostly you just get people on the run, but most of the story is the characters trying to figure out what is happening to them and why. The second half gets a lot more exciting once they all get together and the hunt kicks into high gear, but the ending seems a tad unfinished (as if this was just the setup for the series).

So … the story is really 3.5 stars … but I am rounding up for the narration and world building.

I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
#TheStarlessCrown #NetGalley.