Book Review | Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Stardust – Buy this book [US]

Rating

5 stars – a fantastic fairytale

Description

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 and the Faerie realm. No one ever ventures beyond the Wall except to attend an enchanted market that is held every nine years. But Tristran bravely sets out to fetch the fallen star and thus win the hand of his love.

Why did you choose to read this book?

In all honesty the first time I heard of Stardust was when it was made into a movie – and Take That sang on the soundtrack. It’s only thanks to my fellow book bloggers that I found out it was in fact a movie based on a book – and that by all counts the book was fantastic – so when I found a copy in the bargain bin at the supermarket I decided I’d better read it!

The book review

Gaiman has a very detailed and descriptive writing style and in the beginning I found myself having to read the book out loud – or I’d get to the end of the page and realise I hadn’t read or understood a word! The trick I think is to lock yourself away in a quiet room for a few hours and devour this book in one sitting… for once you get started this book becomes a real page-turner.

Gaiman does a fantastic job of introducing characters and entwining sub plots; drawing you into the mythical land of Faerie and carrying you on a delicious journey through deep woods and dark caves as Tristran searches for the fallen star that will bring him his heart’s desire. As the book reached its climax I found myself shouting at the characters, imploring them not to fall into the traps set out for them – and was more than happy at the way Gaiman pulled it all together at the end.

This is adult fairytale at its very best – go and get yourself a copy and find out for yourself. As for me, I think I’ll search out a copy of the movie and see if it lives up to the novel!

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