Stardust |  | Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
In Stock
Rating:  413 reviews
Sales Rank: 4,284
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 368
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
ASIN: B000FC13Y0
Publication Date: May 14, 2004
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Amazon.com Review
Stardust is an utterly charming fairy tale in the tradition of The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story. Neil Gaiman, creator of the darkly elegant Sandman comics and author of The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, tells the story of young Tristran Thorn and his adventures in the land of Faerie. One fateful night, Tristran promises his beloved that he will retrieve a fallen star for her from beyond the Wall that stands between their rural English town (called, appropriately, Wall) and the Faerie realm. No one ever ventures beyond the Wall except to attend an enchanted flea market that is held every nine years (and during which, unbeknownst to him, Tristran was conceived). But Tristran bravely sets out to fetch the fallen star and thus win the hand of his love. His adventures in the magical land will keep you turning pages as fast as you can--he and the star escape evil old witches, deadly clutching trees, goblin press-gangs, and the scheming sons of the dead Lord of Stormhold. The story is by turns thrillingly scary and very funny. You'll love goofy, earnest Tristran and the talking animals, gnomes, magic trees, and other irresistible denizens of Faerie that he encounters in his travels. Stardust is a perfect read-aloud book, a brand-new fairy tale you'll want to share with a kid, or maybe hoard for yourself. (If you read it to kids, watch out for a couple of spicy sex bits and one epithet.) --Therese Littleton
Product Description
Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie—where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he imagined. From #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman comes a remarkable quest into the dark and miraculous—in pursuit of love and the utterly impossible.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 413
 We deserve good fairy tales July 12, 2010
J. Edgar Mihelic (Chicago)
Adults deserve good fairy tales, too ~Neil Gaiman.
I have trouble being honest and critical with a well written book. Someone like Gaiman, in all his work so far, is able to create a world and characters that just pull you in and don't let you go. He is able to create the myths that make me suspend disbelief and the critical and writerly mind and just let go.
He does it here in _Stardust_. I have nothing to add in terms of the conflict or the characters because I lived and interacted with them. Books like this remind me why I loved reading so much when I was younger, before I sucked all the fun out by going to graduate school. Perhaps the resolution was telepgraphed to the reader, but that only comes out on reflection. Go get everything he's ever written, and remind yourself why you liked reading too.
We deserve good fairy tales, and we get them from Neil Gaiman. Thank you Neil.
 Eerm.... July 9, 2010
Jackie (NA)
Slightly shocked when I came across a ...explicit scene at page eleven. Good book besides that.
Not what I was expecting...but awesome just the same June 15, 2010
Annikka Woods (Idaho, USA)
I saw the Stardust movie long before I ever read the book. When I first saw the movie I didn't even realize that it was a book until I saw the credits. I decided that I wanted to read the book and see what Neil Gaiman had originally written. I must say I was very pleased with the book even more than I enjoyed the movie. It explained things better and made things a lot clearer than the movie. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Neil Gaiman since it is, in my opinion at least, one of his more interesting books.
Good frame, no meat May 31, 2010
small reviews
Stardust is one of those rare occurrences where the movie outshines the book. The book was poorly written and uneven, with too much detail in some areas that became boring and then just sped through other scenes that had so much potential. Luckily the movie cut the boring scenes and expanded the good-but-glossed-over scenes. The characters were also very dull, two-dimensional, and annoying. The star was bratty, but not in an endearing or funny way and Tristram was just kind of dull. I also preferred the character tweaks the movie made, particularly making Victoria snotty and spoiled.
I can't knock the book too much, though. A lot of the things I loved about the movie were straight from the book, like the set up with the brothers and how all the characters' stories led them to the star. In that sense, I'd give Stardust the book full marks for originality, but only partial marks for execution. The movie fares much better in both regards, because while it took many ideas from the book, it also came up with a lot of original parts (the captain's personality, the entire ending) and the execution was worlds better than that of the book. Overall, I was disappointed with this book but very thankful it inspired such a great movie.
I'm not sure who to recommend this book to, as it's written in a very simplistic, childish manner that is sort of boring for adults, but there's a pretty smutty sex scene in there (which I thought was pretty unnecessary). Actually, if anyone asked, I'd probably tell them to skip the book and watch the movie instead. Rating is really more 2 and 1/2 stars.
Wonderfully imagnitive May 27, 2010
Steven R. McEvoy (Canada)
I first read this book a few years ago. I asked a friend, a manager of a bookstore what her favourite books or authors were to expand upon my reading list. She recommended Stardust and Neverwhere, both by Neil Gaiman. Both became quick favourites though very different and both left a lasting impression on me. Stardust is the story of Tristan Thorne, who is unaware of his true heritage at the beginning of the book. It is the story of his adventures in the land of Faerie; he was raised in a town near the wall that separates Faerie from England. Tristan sets out to retrieve a fallen star from Faerie so the woman he loves will marry him. Whilst there he discovers the star is really a sentient being, Yvaine, and during their adventures together he is changed. During his time in Faerie he discovers truths about himself and he finds that his goals and aspirations have changed. The book is full of wonder and adventure. It is an excellent read, for Gaimen mixes fantasy, adventure and a grisly reality into a high adventure story.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 413
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