Who Would Like This Book:
Starless is a lush, sweeping epic full of desert intrigue, prophecies, and gods walking among mortals. If you crave adventurous quests, original worldbuilding, and characters you grow to genuinely care about, this is your ticket. The book shines in its nuanced representation - especially around gender and disability - and offers a unique, nonbinary protagonist in Khai. Fans of character-driven fantasy, found families, and mythology will find a lot to love here, especially if you enjoy a thoughtful approach to identity and destiny. If Jacqueline Carey’s prior work has charmed you, Starless just might become your new favorite.
Who May Not Like This Book:
Some readers found the pacing uneven, with a slow build-up that rushes through new characters and events in the finale. The world is vast, but not all side characters get the development they deserve, which can make the high-stakes ending feel a bit distant or overwhelming. If you prefer tightly-plotted, brisk stories or want intricate secondary character arcs, you might wish this was a duology instead. Those not keen on prophecy-centered plots or “chosen one” narratives may find the story less compelling.
About:
'Starless' by Jacqueline Carey is a standalone novel set in a fantasy world where gods coexist with humans. The story follows Khai, who was raised as a boy but later discovers he is actually a girl, and his journey as the shadow to Princess Zariya. Together, they embark on a quest to save their world from an angry god, facing challenges and encountering various cultures along the way. The book explores themes of gender identity, sexuality, prophecy, and the complexities of relationships, all within a richly detailed and immersive fantasy setting.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings for Starless include themes of gender dysphoria, disability, and possible violence related to the epic battles.
Has Romance?
While Starless does include a romance element between Khai and Zariya, it is not the sole focus of the plot, placing it at a medium level within the story.
From The Publisher:
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.
Ratings (5)
Incredible (1) | |
Loved It (3) | |
Liked It (1) |
Reader Stats (12):
Read It (5) | |
Want To Read (5) | |
Not Interested (2) |
2 comment(s)
Actual rating= 3.5 stars.
This book started out strong--granted, the training part took
forever, and I thought set the pace for the book. Then things started hurtling faster and faster, to the point where I believe the ending was rushed. This could easily have been a trilogy or a duology rather than a stand-alone. In her haste to ensure that it wasn't, I feel like Carey stripped the story of some of its integrity. The pacing is uneven.
The good:
I loved that Khai is non-binary. You don't see that very often in fiction, and it was represented and explained very well. (And sorry, I guess that's a spoiler but not really?)
I liked his relationship with his soul's twin but...(I'll get to that in a minute)
The world-building was great, and the story sucked me in. For an almost 600 page book, it only took me five days, which is pretty impressive.
I like that Zariya remained, in some ways, as disabled as she'd been from the beginning. She didn't miraculously get cured.
The bad:
I did not like the conflation of platonic love versus romantic love. It is wholly possible to love someone without romance involved. I feel like a lot of authors forget about this.
Again, the story picked up too much speed, and it rushed ahead, to the point where new characters introduced didn't get the depth they deserved.
The reason it's receiving such a low rating from me is mostly that it rushed so much. I was enjoying the book until events kept coming and coming without enough exposition.
jacqueline carey, i have missed your sweeping fantasy epics
again and again, carey writes about gender and sexuality in ways that famous "literary" authors just don't
kaih is an amazing character, straddling masculinity and femininity in a way that can only described in a language that isn't even human
my only complaint with this is that it felt like it should have been, wanted to be, longer
we spend a long time watching kaih grow up to fulfill his destiny as the shadow and protector of the sun-blessed princess zariya
the first half of the book is dedicated to his training in the desert
the second half of the book has a ton more plot, characters who become incredibly important without giving us time to know them, and a finale that leaves me wondering if this is the beginning of a series
i think this book should have been at least two of the same length
people tattoo themselves to look like your characters - please give us the lush, long novels we love!
What can you read after
Starless?
About the Author:
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 western Michigan.
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