Customer Reviews
Enchanting - By: N. Bailey, 04 Oct 2008 
Fantasy quests can often outstay their welcome, but Gaiman paces this just about right; more than a novella but the right side of epic. Reminiscent of several of his Sandman stories, this is lovingly told if a little predictablein its structure. Inventive & always entertaining, never overly whimsical. The resolution's all a bit too tidy, but I recommend it for those who enjoy the author's lighter workin other media.
Spellbinding and magical tale.... - By: Aphrodite, 22 Aug 2008 
This was the first Neil Gaiman book I had read & I found it to be a wonderful, enchanting adult fairy tale.
The novel opens with magical descriptions of the village called Wall, & introduces us to the main character Tristan Thorn. One day, during the fair that they hold every 9 years, Tristan Thorn goes through the wall into the land of faerie to search for a falling star & bring it back so that his one true love will grant him his heart's desire. The story unravels from here & proves to be a book of traditional love & passion, mixed with the magic & macabre that Gaiman does so well. The darker side of the novel does prove to be a good balance to the love & 'fairydust' side, & there is a mediocre amount of sex & passion which definitely reminds you that this is an adult fairy tale! I think teenagers would be just fine reading this too though.
Gaiman describes the characters so vividly I almost felt that I was there, you can really imagine the stars dancing, Tristan's journey by candlelight through the wild forests, the funny little man he meets along the way.....
This book is so spellbinding that I am planning to read other Gaiman novels & hope they will be just as good. Pat on the back to him for this one though!
Disappointing - By: Elizabeth Shedden, 04 Aug 2008 
I admit, I saw the film first. Normally I'm a firm beleiverin reading a book before seeing a film but for once I got it the wrong way round. But I'm rather glad I did because, despite its insanely cheesy & cutesy Hollywood touch, I actually enjoyed the film &in comparison was bored by the book.
Its true Gaimon was a nack which makes prose flow unlike any author I've ever read before but I found the story deeply unimpressive. It was very short & highly anticlimatic. I realise Gaimon has quite the following & he's probably just not my thing (which is a pity cos fantasy is my favourite genre) butin my opinion, if you enjoyed the film, you'll be deeply disappointed by the book.
Into the Land of Faerie - By: Lleu Christopher, 14 Jul 2008 I only recently discovered the writings of Neil Gaiman & am glad to add him to my list of favorite modern fantasy authors. I listened to the audio version of Stardust, which was narrated by Gaiman himself. While I'm a fan of audio booksin general, I think a tale like this is especially appropriate to listen to, as it evokes the distant past of folk tales that predate the widespread use of written language. I have not seen the movie which recently came out, and, from what I've heard, am not anxious to see it. It sounds like a typical Hollywood approach. I readin a review of the movie that Robert Deniro plays the captain of a pirate ship who likes to dressin women's clothes. While the novel does have the pirate ship, this eccentricity on the captain's part is notin the book. This may not be very important, but the fact that they invented this for the film seems to imply that the novel is not sufficiently interesting on its own, which is far from the case.
Stardust is a fantasy that quite openly draws on many older tales, including traditional fairy tales, Celtic tales of faery, & even Shakespeare. In the audio version, there is a quite interesting interview with Gaiman, where he mentions the early, not very well known fantasy author Lord Dunsany. I actually recognized a passagein Stardust that was takenin tribute to this older author -referring to "the fields we know" (an often repeated expressionin Dunsany's King of Elfland's Daughter), which denotes the everyday world as opposed to the lands of faery. This division between worlds is an important part of Stardust. The tale startsin the town of Wall, a rather ordinary town except for the fact that it is surrounded by an actual wall -on the other side are the magical lands. This idea of crossing into the Otherworld is a common theme is older tales, especiallyin the British Isles. What I like about Stardust is that Gaiman evokes many familiar themes from these traditions & still comes up with a very original story.
The hero of Stardust is a young man named Tristan who, it turns out, has faery blood himself. He ventures to the other side of the wall to fetch a falling starin order to win the love of a young woman named Victoria. The star turns out to be another young woman, named Yvaine, who does not appreciate Tristan's plan to capture her. Further complicating matters is the fact that others are also looking for Yvaine for their own purposes -a particularly unpleasant witch & a group of brothers who are seeking a charm the star possesses. Tristan must win Yvaine's love & also protect her from these others. Along the way, they meet various magical creatures, including a unicorn, & overcome a myriad of life-threatening dangers, as you might expectin such a tale.
Neil Gaiman has a diverse writing background; he has done comic books, short stories & what are usually categorized as urban fantasies (e.g. Neverwhere). Stardust is not quite a traditional fairy tale. It is not setin the distant past orin a completely mythical world, butin Victorian England. Earlyin the novel, Gaiman mentions that Wall still exists, which implies that the faery world does as well. Neil Gaiman makes an excellent guide to magical lands.
truly enchanting - By: Mrs. K. A. Wheatley, 12 Jul 2008 As a devotee of Gaiman I have to say that this novel does not disappoint. Though not as dark as Neverwhere or Coraline it still has that neat, macabre edge that makes what would otherwise be a children's fairy tale into something splendid. If you are buying this for children because you have seen the film, be aware that this has some sexin it, & though not graphic, it is not necessarily kid friendly.
Tristan Thorn goes through the wall into the land of faerie to search for a falling star & bring it back so that his one true love will grant him his heart's desire. It is a real, old fashioned adventure story with great villains, a totally non-soppy heroine (Gaiman's heroines are always fantastic) & a rip snorting plot with lots of wonderful twists & turns.
It is definitely worth reading the book & seeing the film. The book came first & has its own special magic, & the film is just as wonderfulin its own way. It's one of those rare times when the two complement & enrich each other. A fantastic story.
