Stardust in Around the World in 80 Books

May 24, 2008 YoSafBridg rated it really liked it

In which we are regaled with YoSafBridg’s first foray into the mind of Neil Gaiman

Sometimes i get DVDs in the mail from Netflix which puzzle me as to why i ever placed them in my queue to begin with, but i figure that there must have been a reason, so i go ahead and watch them. This happens with books that come into the library for me from my hold list as well (and it has nothing to do with the movie coming out~i wasn't even aware of that occurance...) Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel Stardust was on
In which we are regaled with YoSafBridg’s first foray into the mind of Neil Gaiman

Sometimes i get DVDs in the mail from Netflix which puzzle me as to why i ever placed them in my queue to begin with, but i figure that there must have been a reason, so i go ahead and watch them. This happens with books that come into the library for me from my hold list as well (and it has nothing to do with the movie coming out~i wasn't even aware of that occurance...) Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel Stardust was one such book. Now what's a girl to do when such an event occurs but to read the book, even if nothing about it sounds familiar~because there must have been a very good reason~right? Right (didn't even notice until after i had read it that the movie is about to be released~maybe that's why someone mentioned it to me~so i'm completely unaware of things~i've noticed that even more so now that i spend less time in the car commuting, now that i have that LOVERLY five minute commute, and am kept busy enough at the desk not to cruise the internet headlines~and i refuse to watch the local news...) Now i must admit, this is my fist Neil Gaiman novel (or so i believe, my faith in my own memory is not the strongest of late...i'm not even sure if that's a shameful admission or not...)

Sometimes we might not know what our True Heart's Desire is until we get it. Sometimes we may think we know what it is only to find out we are mistaken once we have journeyed to seek it out. If there is a moral in that i'm not sure what it is (is there always a moral to be found in life?). This story starts out in the English village of Wall (so named for the Wall that separates it from the rather mysterious meadowland that no one is allowed to venture~well VERY occasionally they are allowed through but they are given a VERY stern warning AND there is the market that is held every nine years in the spring, and it is actually not all that much of a mystery because on the other side of the wall lies the land of Faerie, and there i go with my parenthetical run-on sentences again, oh well...)

A question like "How big is Faerie?" does not admit of a simple answer.

Faerie, after all, is not one land, one principality or dominion. Maps of Faerie are unreliable, and may not be depended upon.

We talk of the kings and queens of Faerie as we would speak of the kings and queens of England but Faerie is bigger than England, as it is bigger than the world (for, since the dawn of time, each land that has been forced off the map by explorers and the brave going out and proving it wasn't there has taken refuge in Faerie; so it is now, by the time that we come to write of it, a most huge place indeed, containing every manner of landscape and terrain. Here, truly, there be Dragons. Also gryphons, wyverns, hippogriffs, basilisks, and hydras. There are all manner of more familiar animals as well, cats affectionate and aloof, dogs noble and cowardly, wolves and foxes, eagles and bears.

This might give you some idea of the type of the of world you have stumbled into, in other words, a typical fairy tale, with the typical fairy tale fare, but told with a great deal more wit (if i may so declare.) Gaiman follows all the rules of good fairy tale telling, but with a modern twist and humour (tho the story is set at the turn of the nineteenth century).

Tristran Thorn has promised the beautiful Victoria Forester, the girl he (and everyone else) is incurable in love with, that he will retrieve the star she saw fall to the ground in the East (in the land of Faerie) for her, and she has, in return, promised she will do whatever he asks when he delivers it to her. So off he ventures into lands unknown (also unknown to him that his birthmother was from Faerie) to seek his fortune and his manhood.

Tristran is not the only one seeking the star (of course not, for what kind of story would that make?) We also have one of a trio of very wicked witches and a trio of brothers who are seeking the star to retrieve a jewel their father tossed into the air right before his death to determine who would inherit his kingdom of Stormhold (atop the highest peak in Faerie). Tristran encounters many characters along the way; helpful, hindering, and in-between, but all very colorful; as well as the feisty star, herself. Although perhaps predictable this is a wonderful fairy tale for adults and i don't think i'm giving much away if i tell you all ends somewhat happily~though with a healthy dose of gore and mild sex for all to enjoy.

This is a fast-paced, enjoyable story that could easily be read in an evening and leave one feeling satisfied. Makes for a nice little interlude spaced between more demanding fare (or if there is something you are trying to avoid, perhaps you/me are in denial about something...)

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Feb 21, 2013 Andy Plonka rated it really liked it

The best part of this book which I listened to, was the author interview at the end. Gaiman gave a synopsis of how he first got the idea for this book and how it has evolved since that ideatranspired in the 1980's. ...more

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Nov 12, 2009 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: owned, page-to-screen, magic-sci-fi-fantasy, bildungsroman, gr-author

Cute fantasy about a man who chases a falling star and finds out it's a woman. He must protect her from those who would do her harm and take her back to the girl he thinks he loves. I wish I would've seen the movie before I read the book, because picturing Robert DeNiro as the cross-dressing pirate would've made the book that much more enjoyable. ...more

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Apr 29, 2009 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: speculative-fiction, audio

I think Gaiman may be best experienced in audio format - hearing him read his work brings an immediacy to it that I don't pick out of his prose on the page. A sweet little charmer that curves and bends like a lazy summer river. ...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Soelo rated it liked it

Shelves: movie-seen, audio, locusaward, ebook, yearly, mythopoeicaward

I got very frustrated with the beginning of the story, as it seemed to spend too much time on Tristran's origin. It got much better after that and then things came together even more in the end. ...more

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