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Starling House

Starling House

Dark FantasyFantasy
Pages
320
Published
2023
Language
English

Synopsis

Eden, Kentucky, is a dying town, known for the legend of E. Starling, an author who wrote The Underland and then disappeared, leaving behind Starling House. Everyone believes the uncanny house and its heir, Arthur Starling, should be left alone. When Opal takes a job at Starling House, hoping to help her brother, she finds herself drawn to the dangerous dwelling. As sinister forces gather, Opal and Arthur must uncover the house's buried secrets to prevent literal nightmares from consuming Eden.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

DarkMysteriousCreepyAtmospheric
Mystery BoxReluctant HeroForced Proximity

Genres

Dark Fantasy Fantasy Gothic

About the author

A
Alix E. Harrow

Alix E. Harrow is an American fantasy author born in 1989 in Idaho and raised in Kentucky, now based in Virginia. A former adjunct history professor, she writes fiction preoccupied with the power of stories themselves, beginning with her Hugo Award-winning short fiction and her bestselling debut novel The Ten Thousand Doors of January. Her work has also won the British Fantasy Award for The Once and Future Witches and the 2026 Hugo and Locus Awards for The Everlasting, and been shortlisted for t...

Characters

Opal (Starling House)Protagonist

A 26-year-old orphan in the dying coal town of Eden, Kentucky, who takes a job at the mysterious Starling House to secure a better future for her younger brother.

Elizabeth BaineAntagonist

An agent for the coal company Gravely Power, whose interest in Starling House drives much of the story's conflict.

Arthur StarlingSupporting
Jasper (Starling House)Supporting

Opal's teenage half-brother, whose future she is trying to secure by any means she can.

Eleanor StarlingCameo
All characters in Starling House

Frequently asked questions

  • Has Starling House won any awards?

    Starling House hasn't won a major award outright, but it has been widely recognized: it was shortlisted for the 2024 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, a finalist for the 2024 Locus Award for Best Horror Novel, and a nominee for the 2023 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy. It was also selected as a Reese's Book Club pick and became a New York Times bestseller.

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