John's review
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads author!)
I saw the movie first, and read the book second.
Gaiman does a great job of convincing readers that the world of Fairie could and does exist. And like all good fantasy, it's clear that the borders don't stop with his pages. Indeed, that the movie expands on aspects like the three witches and the lightning pirates, where the book spends barely any time at all, shows that there's many more stories to tell in the world of Fairie.
Gaiman is out to make an adult fairy tale, and I suppose he does, but what I think he fails to recognize is that a good writer can write to both adults and children, without losing both. While Stardust includes two very well written sex scenes, albeit fun to read, they're really the only thing that could prohibit young adults and even children from enjoying this book (or at least under the watchful eye of their parents). So why not exclude those two scenes, be more discrete, and suddenly have a new audience?
I appreciate also that Gaiman is trying to av...more
Gaiman does a great job of convincing readers that the world of Fairie could and does exist. And like all good fantasy, it's clear that the borders don't stop with his pages. Indeed, that the movie expands on aspects like the three witches and the lightning pirates, where the book spends barely any time at all, shows that there's many more stories to tell in the world of Fairie.
Gaiman is out to make an adult fairy tale, and I suppose he does, but what I think he fails to recognize is that a good writer can write to both adults and children, without losing both. While Stardust includes two very well written sex scenes, albeit fun to read, they're really the only thing that could prohibit young adults and even children from enjoying this book (or at least under the watchful eye of their parents). So why not exclude those two scenes, be more discrete, and suddenly have a new audience?
I appreciate also that Gaiman is trying to av...more
