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Stardust | 
| Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $4.39
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Rating:  345 reviews
Sales Rank: 11862
Media: Paperback
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0061142026
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780061142024
ASIN: 0061142026
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: Standard used condition.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
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.
Download Description
"Special e-book feature: ""Writing and the Imagination,"" a speech by Neil Gaiman. In the sleepy English countryside at the dawn of the Victorian Era, life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall--a secluded hamlet so named for an imposing stone barrier that surrounds a fertile grassland. Armed sentries guard the sole gap in the bulwark to keep the inquisitive from wandering through, relaxing their vigil only once every nine years, when a market fair unlike any other in the world of men comes to the meadow. Here in Wall, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to beautiful Victoria Forester. But Victoria is cold and distant--as distant, in fact, as the star she and Tristran see fall from the sky on a crisp October evening. For the coveted prize of Victoria's hand, Tristran vows to retrieve the fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends the lovelorn swain over the ancient wall, and propels him into a world that is strange beyond imagining. But Tristran is not the only one seeking the heavenly jewel. There are those for whom it promises youth and beauty, the key to a kingdom, and the rejuvenation of dark, dormant magics. And a lad compelled by love will have to keep his wits about him to succeed and survive in this secret place where fallen stars come in many guises--and where quests have a way of branching off in unexpected directions, even turning back upon themselves in space and in time. Neil Gaiman works his unique literary magic in new and dazzling ways in Stardust, a novel that will shine in the heart and memory far beyond the turning of its final page. "
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| Customer Reviews: Read 340 more reviews...
 Let the magic begins... August 7, 2008
Julio Caicedo (Panama)
Neil Gaiman is by far one the top fantasy writers of our time. Personally I like when he writes with that dark humor of his. (just like he did on -American Gods, Neverwhere & Anansi Boys). Stardust on the other hand it's the "nice" book of the pack.
Nevertheless, it's a beautiful piece of work. You will be transported to the town of Wall and beyond the market.. to an extremely well crafted land of magic, witches and kings. Stardust it's quite entertaining and will keep you turning page after page. Great book for both young and adults.
 entertaining, but easily forgettable August 5, 2008
erin tolentino (lodi, california usa)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
i finished this book in only 3 hours, and will probably forget it just as quickly as i read it. it was entertaining enough, and was a breeze to read through. the imagery was very vivid and the author has a great talent for descriptive prose that brings much needed color and richness to the story, or what little there is of one.
unfortunately everything else in this book is bland and uninspired. what could have been a fantastically imaginative and interesting storyline turns out to feel like an outline of events, heavily padded with pretty imagery, and nothing more. there is no suspense, no mystery, and no real intrigue in this book. the characters are flat and do not engage in meaningful, believable interactions with each other. there is very little dialogue between even the main characters, and their personalities and motives are far too transparent, and embarrasingly simplistic. other more interesting characters appear out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly. in the end i didn't care what happened to any of them, which is probably a good thing, since the ending was extremely weak. i would call it an anti-climax if there had been any suspense at all and i actually cared about what was going to happen. there wasn't, and i didn't.
i would expect this from a young adult's novel, and think maybe it could succeed as one, minus a few more adult scenes in the book, but as an adult novel, it really didn't do it for me. i didn't expect deep, thought-provoking literature. it was okay as light, mindless entertainment, but i could very well have watched the movie again and found just as much entertainment, if not more, in half the time. the movie, which actually adds a lot more action, humor, and interest to the story, was so much better.
 An odd little book August 2, 2008
Jonathan Strawn (Albuquerque, NM)
Much less dark than Gaiman's first full-novel, Neverwhere: A Novel, Stardust is essentially a satirical take on classic fairy tales.
Starting in the village of Wall, which is seperated from the world of Fairie by a simple row of stacked stone, the young hero crosses into the fantastic and forbidden realm in search of a fallen star to give to his love. Along the way he will learn the secret of his family history, encoutner creatures and people who seem to ahve stepped out of the imagination.
I didn't like this book as much as I liked Neverwhere, but it moves along quickly and is a lot of fun. Perhaps its greatest flaw is that it never builds a head of momentum like Neverwhere does, so the ending comes rather abruptly, which, in retrospect, might be the point. I highly recommend the Stardust: Being A Romance Within the Realms of Faerie, as images add a life to the prose that seems rather pedestrian compared to some of Gaiman's more epic works.
The Compulsive Reader's Reviews July 23, 2008
The Compulsive Reader (Big Rapids, MI, USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Tristran Thorn would do absolutely anything to win pretty Victoria Forrester's heart. Even venture across The Wall into mysterious Faerie in search of a fallen star. But once he enters Faerie, mysterious things happen. Tristran knows the location of every place in the land. He meets a strange, small man who gives him a candle that allows him to travel great distances. And when he finally finds the fallen star, Tristran discovers that it is not a lump of rock like he thought, but a young woman, who has quite the mind of her own. But Tristran isn't the only one looking for the star. The witch queen and a group of three brothers all want something of the star. For these brothers, it's the power she possesses. For the witch, it's her heart.
Stardust was completely entrancing, and charming and a surprisingly quick read. The star's spunk and Tristran's humanity are both to be admired in this adventurous tale that will make you laugh outloud and break into tears. Stardust is not to be missed.
Loved this book July 14, 2008
tokyogirl (texas)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Loved this book. Very well written and not something you'll be disappointed with by the end. Read the book about 2 days after I saw the movie for the first time. Have to say though, I actually liked the movie a bit better. There were some things changed and added for the movie (like captain Shakespeare) that would have been nice if they had actually been in the book. But keep in mind that when I say I liked the movie better, it's only by a little bit. This book is still a great read especially if you're like me and you still love fairy tales.
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