Stardust

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, and Full of Wonders
Review: Having read a couple of Neil Gaiman's previous novels, I wasn't sure about picking up Stardust---I've always admired his writing, but I'm not into the horrific---but I'm very glad I did. It's a quieter fantasy, intricate, charming (in the old sense), resonant with intimations of myth and legend, striking some very deep chords of memory---or something like memory. Eerie. Odd. Numinous. It reminds me somewhat of Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn, in its austere, antique simplicity of plot combined with unexpected and unclichéd twists of magic.

A deceptively-simple tale: in early Victorian days, a young man has a brief-but-life-turning experience at the once-every- nine-years Market at the town of Wall,which is one of the very last places in this world where the realm of Faerie can be accessed. Many years later his son makes his own way to Faerie, pursuing a fallen star and a secret destiny.

And it all comes down to: just simply wonderful, full of wonders, and some of it quite funny, commenting on Victorian mores and the endlessly-rehashed genre of the fairy story itself. I prefer the regular novel to the graphic novel, myself, because I like to make up the story's pictures in my own head...

Rating:
Summary: I was not a Gaiman fan, did not know who he was...
Review: I picked this book up at the airport, never having heard of Neil Gaiman. I wanted something mindless to read through a long flight and did not hold high hopes of great enjoyment. To my great delight I was wrong! What a surprise, what a great find. The writing is effortless, the style seems so easy, until suddenly you find yourself in the middle of a wonderful complexity of plot and character. Characters are imaginative and memorable, the story, although a "fairy tale"is unique and irresistable.I am so delighted to have found this author. I am not a comic book fan, but intend to read everything he has written. This is intelligent,humorous, magical stuff. We could do with more like this.We do not have to be children to enter worlds of magic and imagination. How wonderful that someone like Gaiman knows and honours this for us. Read this and remember enchantment and wonder. Treat yourself!

Rating:
Summary: I hate to be the downer here...
Review: I really did not get drawn into this graphic novel. Believe me, I really wanted too. I loved both the Sandman series and Neverwhere by Gaiman. I have always enjoyed the illustrations of Charles Vess. Despite this, nothing really drew me to care about the main character in Stardust. There were, admittedly, some great moments. Also a plus were some really cool side characters. As for the plot, don't we all wish we could cross the gate into the land of Fey. And finally, wonderful ending, it almost made up for the shortcomings of the story in and of itself.

Overall, if you are a fan of the genre or Gaiman, this book is probably worth a read. However, there are a lot of other good things out there. For crossing over into magical lands, read the classic Lion, Witch and Wardrobe by C S Lewis or find out of print Joyce Gregorian Ballou books (the first to books in her only trilogy are for younger readers, but, interestingly enough, her last book is very adult). For a darker trip, Neverwhere by Gaiman rocks. Also, urban fantasy master Charles DeLint is another good option. For Graphic Novels, the Sandman series and Elfquest (the original 8) were 2 that I really enjoyed.

Rating:
Summary: Fairytale for grownups
Review: Tristan Thorn's journey across the Wall is a beautiful lyrical tale of a young boy who vows to win his love by retrieving a fallen star from across the Wall into the land of Fairie only to find that the journey itself is more important than the object of his affection. Many surprises await him including a dwarfish aide, a flying ship, witches, princes, and unicorns and of course, a damsel in distress. The side plot of the Lord of the Stormhold and Tristan's though initially unrelated, coincide in the manner only the best of fairytales can, by fate, destiny, and love. The ending is a mix of happiness, triumph, and melancholy. Curiousity peaked yet? Good. No other spoilers needed.

To say that "Stardust" is "an outline" or in some way incomplete is to miss the essence of a fairytale. Young hapless human + journey + magical realm + good + evil + happy ending = fairytale. Suffice to say, Neil Gaiman's scores on all accounts in creating a successful tale and adds a bit more complexity for the adult reader. Overall the plot, characters, and world ARE simple. The themes, however, are not: The journey is more important than the goal, the goal one desires in youth is not the same in adulthood, after a life-changing journey, how can one return home, and so on and so forth.

(...). Furthermore, with only one minor scene, it seemed superflous. But don't let that detract you from reading. "Stardust" reads like an oral tale that has just been written down for the first time. It carries the history and weight of a classic. Give it a whirl!

A+

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable in either edition...
Review: With or without the beautiful illustrations by Charles Vess, this is an enjoyable tale. Though it reads like a fairy tale, this book should appeal to more mature readers. Gaiman doesn't shy away from the darker or more risque topics if they are necessary to the story, and at the same time, doesn't overuse these topics gratuitously.

Stardust tells the story of Tristran Thorn, beginning with his father's early adulthood in Wall, the town that lies next to the wall that separates the realm of Faerie from the world of humans. When Tristran becomes a young man, he promises the most beautiful girl in Wall that he will go and fetch the star they just saw fall, if she will give him anything he desires, namely her hand in marriage, when he returns. She takes him up on the promise and so he goes into the land of Faerie to get it. Unbeknownst to Tristran, there are other people seeking the star, all for their own separate reasons. And none of them have really considered how the star feels about all this. On his quest, Tristran learns compassion and courage, and grows up a little somewhere along the way.

Stardust is a very light read. The writing style is very comfortable and natural, and this book makes a great selection to read aloud with a loved one. The motivations of all the characters are well-reasoned, and at the end, the reader feels compassion even for the most wicked of Tristran's competitors. Each of the characters seeking the star has a well-developed history and personality, all with a minimum of prose. Gaiman blends humor, romance, suspense, and action into a thoroughly enjoyable story that lets you immerse yourself in its fantasy world, if only for a little while.