Stardust

Only read this after seeing the movie and as usual, the book was way better. Just a cute story, like a warm blanket on a cold day.

STARDUST is the most recent of Neil Gaiman's back catalog that I find myself working though. Like everything of his that I have read, it is high fantasy, very interesting, at turns humorous and sometimes dark, and very, very well written. STARDUST, unlike some of his others (for example CORALINE AND THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE are clearly for children or young adults) could be read by mature young adults, but as it contains a couple of (relatively tame by modern standards) semi-explicit sex scenes and some 4 letter words, I titled my review for as I did.This one is a real faerie tale, taking place in some parallel late 19th century England, where just outside the walled city of Wall lies a magical land populated by witches, various nasty creatures, ghosts, evil lords and queens and the like. Our hero, young Tristran Thorn, goes on a quest to retrieve a star that he and the girl he loves watch fall the ground. He promises to bring her back the fallen star to get her to give him his heart's desire - maybe a kiss, maybe her hand in marriage, it's not all that clear to us or to Tristran. Tristran himself is of mysterious origins, having been delivered to the gates of Wall as a newborn 9 months after his father, Dunstan, had a tryst with one of the mysterious denizens of the outlying faerie lands during one of the once-every-9-years wall openings for a fair during which humans and fae comingle.The fallen star turns out to have the form (in Fae land) of a beautiful young girl, Yvaine, with a broken leg from the fall, and most of the novel is about the growing relationship between Tristran and Yvaine and a mutual coming of age and falling in love. Plus of course witches and other baddies getting in the way. The imagery is beautiful as it usually is for Neil Gaiman and there are many standard fairy tale tropes abounding, but all given that special little Gaiman twist. A very nice, enjoyable light read for mature young adults and grown ups of every age. Oh, one last thing. For $1.99 Kindle download for 368 pages, this has got to be one of the best deals out there in fantasyland.Highly Recommended.J.M. Tepper

It really doesn't get much better than this. Stardust is everything that a fantasy lover, a romantic, a historian, an astronomer, a lover of books could possibly want. Gaiman has never disapointed me and has always over exceeded my expectations. Stardust is no exception to this.Stardust is the beautiful story of Tristran Thorn and a fallen star. The story takes place in the village of Wall, but mostly in Faerie, located right outside of Wall. Every nine years, the inhabitants and creatures of the land of Faerie host a market right outside of Wall. People come from all over the world to visit the market where all sorts of magical things are traded for promises and contracts. Young Tristran Thorn is a product of this market as the reader will discover in the early chapters. Tristran falls in love with Victoria Forester, and on one night vows that if she will marry him, he will retrieve a fallen star that has fallen into Faerie. Stardust is the story of finding that star.Tristran is not the only person looking for the fallen star. There are three princes who's right to the throne depends on finding the star and there is a witch who seeks the star so that she may gain the beauty of youth. It is Tristran who finds the star first and we find that the star is a beautiful woman named Yvaine. I'll leave the rest of the thrilling, warm, romantic, awe inspiring story to the reader.Stardust is one of the most magical books I have read in a long time. Gaiman has an amazing ability as an author to pick the perfect word each and every time. I felt a warmth inside the whole time I read this book. It's absolutely beautiful and everything that fantasy should be. He has a gift like no other when it comes to his power with words and ideas. This is very much a classic fairytale, but at the same time, he makes it just not another fairytale. There are witches, princesses, spells, talking things that don't normally talk, castles, revenge, romance, yet it is such a beautifully unique book.There is another version of this book that was illustrated by the amazing Charles Vess that was published in 1999, and I would love to get my hands on that. Gaiman and Vess are releasing yet another version of Stardust on May 2nd with all new illustrations that will be published by Vertigo.In addition, we can all look forward to Stardust the movie to debut in August I believe. I can't wait to see this movie on the screen, but at the same time, I have my apprehensions. I'm having a hard time picturing Michelle Pfeifer as the witch and with Robert DeNiro as anything at all. But I have no doubt at the same time that I shall enjoy it.Add this book to your collection if you don't already have it. It's a beautiful story that you'll want to start all over again as soon as you turn the last page.

My first read from Gayman, and it did not disappoint. I’m not huge on the fantasy genre, but this was a lovely read. Highly recommend.

El tamaño es algo pequeño para mi gusto esta para mi entre un libro de tamaño normal y uno de bolsillo, algo que me decepciono mucho es que tiene algo de daño en el lomo en el paquete venia otro libro así que puede que se haya causado en el envío dado que este no tenía nada de plástico protector de ningún tipo.

I read this book as a borrowed e-book from the library and had to buy it in hardcover to display at home. This cover is gorgeous, it's solid, and the story is unique.It's my first Neil Gaiman book and I'm excited to read more of his work.

Great story-telling, imaginative and good pace

Eine wirklich schöne, schaurige Liebesgeschichte in einer skurillen, detaillierte Fantasywelt. Wer nur den Film kennt und das Buch jüngeren Kindern geben will sollte es allerdings erstmal selber lesen. So weichgespült wie der Film ist Gaiman Prosa nicht (was das Buch, meines Erachtens, auch wesentlich interessanter als der Film macht)