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Stardust
Summary
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.Read on the Scribd mobile app
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Reviews
I just did not like this book. The characters were not likeable or compelling. It all felt very so-so. The storytelling failed to invoke any emotion and I just found myself focussing on getting to the end of it, rather than enjoying it.
Magical and beautiful. Gaiman's imagination and creativity never seems to stop amazing me. Once again another magical and marvelous tale by a great storyteller.
In this charming fairy tale for YAs and grownups, a young man makes a foolish vow to his would-be sweetheart, promising to go into Faerie to retrieve a fallen star for her. As expected, there are adventures galore with witches and princes and enchantments all around.What may not be expected, unless the reader is already familiar with Gaiman's work, is the simple perfection of his language, the gentle humor, and the occasional twist to the expected tropes of the genre.There's one scene of a sexual encounter (vital to the plot and framed in vague G-rated language) and a few scenes of bloody violence toward the end; other than that, it's suitable for all ages
"Have been unavoidably detained by the world. Expect us when you see us."
Just beautiful.
I love listening to Neil Gaiman read his books. He's wonderful.
Just beautiful.
I love listening to Neil Gaiman read his books. He's wonderful.
unforgettable
While it absolutely pains me to write this, it appears that Neil Gaiman’s work and I are still not friends. His beloved novel, Stardust, is my latest attempt to read (and hopefully enjoy) Gaiman’s repertoire. The novel is an “adult” fairy-tale about a star-crossed young man, Tristran, on a quest to earn a young woman’s hand in marriage. Along the way, he meets many strange characters, most notably a star named Yvaine, and entangles himself in some very dangerous situations. Unfortunately, Tristran’s dull and—dare I say?—vacuous personality pales in comparison to all of the other characters, including the extremely minor ones.
Gaiman’s worlds are always fleshed out incredibly well. He is clearly quite talented at conjuring a magical scene. But when a reader cannot feel engaged by a main character, a gorgeous setting alone will not save a novel. Luckily, Yvaine’s introduction somewhat alleviates this problem. Unlike Tristran, she at least thinks before acting, and cares about more than just herself. Gaiman’s inclusion of a sub-plot involving royal brothers vying for their late father’s throne, and another story-line following a trio of elderly witches seeking lost youth and power also managed to bring much-needed life to a mostly tedious main plot.
On a structural level, Stardust is a bit of a muddled mess. While the main plot unfolds chronologically, it is interrupted from time to time by the subplots. Chapters jump back and forth with wild abandon. While all of the plots do eventually meet as one, until that moment the reading experience is unbelievably jarring. Too much is going on, and of course, if I had the choice to release one of the story-lines, Tristran’s journey would be the first to go.
The adult elements of the novel intrigue and occasionally amuse. And by adult, I mean sex and violence. There is a decent amount of both, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I appreciated their inclusion. I will say that Stardust is most likely not a novel a parent will feel comfortable reading aloud to a young child. A few topics are potentially a tad too mature for a younger audience to fully comprehend, particularly the enslavement of women, as well as the ruthless murder of family members and innocents.
Most disappointing of all, the ending fails to make much of an impact. The adult moments within the story, while interesting, never seemed to have a point beyond just shock value. Maybe I misinterpreted their addition in the plot, but I was hoping for some element of deeper meaning or even just realism to rear its ugly head, but neither happened, and I finished the novel highly underwhelmed.
Neil Gaiman’s Stardust is not for everyone. While his descriptive writing and elaborate world-building remain enviable, many of the characters and their exploits fail to intrigue. Luckily, Gaiman’s work is popular enough that I don’t feel too awful when I write that I wouldn’t recommend this novel. I’m also not giving up on him yet! Here’s to hoping American Gods will save my streak of disappointment.
Gaiman’s worlds are always fleshed out incredibly well. He is clearly quite talented at conjuring a magical scene. But when a reader cannot feel engaged by a main character, a gorgeous setting alone will not save a novel. Luckily, Yvaine’s introduction somewhat alleviates this problem. Unlike Tristran, she at least thinks before acting, and cares about more than just herself. Gaiman’s inclusion of a sub-plot involving royal brothers vying for their late father’s throne, and another story-line following a trio of elderly witches seeking lost youth and power also managed to bring much-needed life to a mostly tedious main plot.
On a structural level, Stardust is a bit of a muddled mess. While the main plot unfolds chronologically, it is interrupted from time to time by the subplots. Chapters jump back and forth with wild abandon. While all of the plots do eventually meet as one, until that moment the reading experience is unbelievably jarring. Too much is going on, and of course, if I had the choice to release one of the story-lines, Tristran’s journey would be the first to go.
The adult elements of the novel intrigue and occasionally amuse. And by adult, I mean sex and violence. There is a decent amount of both, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I appreciated their inclusion. I will say that Stardust is most likely not a novel a parent will feel comfortable reading aloud to a young child. A few topics are potentially a tad too mature for a younger audience to fully comprehend, particularly the enslavement of women, as well as the ruthless murder of family members and innocents.
Most disappointing of all, the ending fails to make much of an impact. The adult moments within the story, while interesting, never seemed to have a point beyond just shock value. Maybe I misinterpreted their addition in the plot, but I was hoping for some element of deeper meaning or even just realism to rear its ugly head, but neither happened, and I finished the novel highly underwhelmed.
Neil Gaiman’s Stardust is not for everyone. While his descriptive writing and elaborate world-building remain enviable, many of the characters and their exploits fail to intrigue. Luckily, Gaiman’s work is popular enough that I don’t feel too awful when I write that I wouldn’t recommend this novel. I’m also not giving up on him yet! Here’s to hoping American Gods will save my streak of disappointment.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman was a group read in Goodreads. I have never been a Gaiman fan but this was a fantasy so I was hoping I would like this one. I liked that there was a fairy, lol. I didn't care for the speak, they way it was written, kind of a old time, other place speak. Not for me. I liked some of the characters, but couldn't get attached to them. I am glad he didn't speak to his mother in the end, she was a .... well, she was! It was worth the read but just barely. I won't be reading more by him. I have tried a few and don't like his style. I tried and just can't. Too many good ones to force myself.
I love the film of Stardust, which I've seen several times, so I picked up this hardcover re-issued edition of the book. There are differences between the film and the book; some parts are more gory or more forgiving and some parts are less, Captain Shakespeare and the Sky Pirates (as Gaiman notes in the epilogue) are far less of a feature ...Tristran was relieved to be back on something attached to solid ground, and yet, in some way he could never have put into words, he felt disappointed, as if, when his feet touched the earth once more, he had lost something very fine.... and the final scenes do depart quite dramatically from the book. So having watched the film first did colour my appreciation of the book but, though it is different, I think I will love the book equally.We start in Victorian times with an introduction to the town of Wall which lies on the boundary of England and Faerie and guards the gap in the wall that divides them. Then we meet Dunstan Thorn and find out how he became father to Tristran Thorn who is the main protagonist of the story. Tristran, when he grows up to be a young man, fancies himself in love with Victoria Forrester and promises her, when they see a star falling in the distance, to bring the star back for her. As the star is on the Faerie side of the wall (which is guarded day and night by two men from Wall, precisely to prevent Earthlings from crossing into the unknown dangers of Faerie) Tristran must journey through the Lands Beyond to find it. Instead, he finds a young woman and they end up having magical adventures together while Tristran travels back to Wall with her.I love the way Gaiman's humour comes through, for instance, at the beginning of chapter three:ThreeIn Which We Encounter Several Other Persons, Many of Them Still Alive, with an Interest in the Fate of the Fallen Starand, of course (naturally), we meet several persons who are not still alive. We also travel through the Lands Beyond with these Other Persons with an Interest and see events unfolding from their points of view.This falls somewhere between a first read and a re-read for me. As I said, I loved the film and the book has the same feel as the film (which doesn't always happen). Neil Gaiman continues his collaboration with Charles Vess, whose depiction of Wall and the lands beyond the wall heads every chapter.The ending is ... well, to say much more would be to spoil the magic, so I won't. Discover it for yourself.4.5/5 stars
Once more, I find myself with a book I find hard to rate.
I am definitely not as taken with the book as many others seem to be. I liked it, but I did not love it. The style it was written in is similar to what Patrick Rothfuss, my favourite author and avid fan of Gaiman, is writing, but fails to capture me as fully as Rothfuss does.
The book gets better in the end, but all in all, many other books have engaged me more in recent memory. I may pick up another more recent Gaiman, just to see how his style has evolved over the years.
I am definitely not as taken with the book as many others seem to be. I liked it, but I did not love it. The style it was written in is similar to what Patrick Rothfuss, my favourite author and avid fan of Gaiman, is writing, but fails to capture me as fully as Rothfuss does.
The book gets better in the end, but all in all, many other books have engaged me more in recent memory. I may pick up another more recent Gaiman, just to see how his style has evolved over the years.
This audiobook was read by the author plus at the end there was a Q and A session with Gaiman. It was a real treat to listen to.The town of Wall is in England but is right against the border with Faerie-land. Once every nine years the Faeries come to a meadow close to Wall and hold a fair.Tristran Thorne is half-Faery but he doesn't know that. During the fair eighteen years previous his father, Dunstan, had a tryst with a Faery ensorceled by a witch and Tristran was the result. After his birth he was delivered to the boundary between Faerie Land and Wall with a note giving his name and saying Dunstan should raise him. Dunstan was by this time married to Daisy so they took Tristran in and raised him as their own. At 18 Tristran fell in love with Victoria Forrester and one night when they were star-gazing they saw a star fall from the sky. Tristran promised to bring the star to Victoria in exchange for a kiss and perhaps her hand in marriage. So he travels in the Faerie land where he finds the fallen star who is a woman now with a broken leg (Yvaine). Tristran and Yvaine travel back to Wall encountering all manner of mystical creatures on their way. I don't think it is much of a spoiler to reveal that they fall in love but do they live happily ever after? That is the question.
I am not usually fairy tale reader but I'm a book club this was pick.At first I depiction reading the book but magically became entrenched in the story. This was a good story for a couple of hot afternoons.
A magical fairy tale, with love, adventure, conquest, and of course an evil witch. A classic, and a delightful, easy read.
The first couple of chapters were a little slow and not in my zone but as I continued to read, I really got to like this book. It's described as an adult fairy tale and it is. But it also has strings that make you think about things,such as what you want and what you think you want. The book feels somewhat ethereal, which is both a good thing and not so good but it kept me reading in a genre that I didn't think I particularly liked. I may even read something else of Gaiman's. I like the TV show American Gods and the theater play Neverwhere, so maybe I'm a fan.
A lovely fairy tale - the structure is perfect, but this is a modern story with actual characters. I like Tristan Thorn, he's fun. There's a lot of coincidences and people coming across each other later (and knowing it's a re-meeting, at that) - which fits with the fairy tale structure, of course. Nice happy-ever-after (approximately) for all (almost all) the right people, and evil getting the proper comeuppances. I'd like to see the illustrated version (though by Gaiman's afterword/acknowledgements, the illustrations were inspiration, not directly tied in to the story). And I may even watch the movie, which I don't do often.
This is a fairy tale, the like of which you have had read to you many times before, except that Gaiman pays more attention to character and motivation than Mother Goose or the Brothers Grimm customarily did. In the village of Wall, there is a wall, which is the boundary between the mundane world and Fairy, and every nine years, there's a fair in the meadow, just the other side of the wall, and people come from all over the world to visit and barter and have adventures. A young man of Wall, Dunstan Thorn, bargains with a visitor to give him a night's lodging, and part of the payment is that Dunstan, and his firstborn, and his firstborn's firstborn, will each achieve their heart's desire.
The bulk of the story is about Dunstan's firstborn, Tristram, whose mother is a woman of Fairy. At eight years old, Tristram is greatly frustrated and annoyed because his parents send him away to visit relatives just in time to miss the first Fairy Market since his birth, nine months after the last Market. Eight years after that, Tristram wants to win the girl he's infatuated with, and she promises to kiss him, indeed to marry him, if he brings her that falling star that they have just seen falling through the night sky, to the east--the direction of the wall, and Fairy.
And thus begin Tristram's adventures, with a rather different outcome than he plans on. Tristram and all the inhabitants of Wall are fundamentally decent human beings; the outcome depends on that fact. This is a marvelous book.
The bulk of the story is about Dunstan's firstborn, Tristram, whose mother is a woman of Fairy. At eight years old, Tristram is greatly frustrated and annoyed because his parents send him away to visit relatives just in time to miss the first Fairy Market since his birth, nine months after the last Market. Eight years after that, Tristram wants to win the girl he's infatuated with, and she promises to kiss him, indeed to marry him, if he brings her that falling star that they have just seen falling through the night sky, to the east--the direction of the wall, and Fairy.
And thus begin Tristram's adventures, with a rather different outcome than he plans on. Tristram and all the inhabitants of Wall are fundamentally decent human beings; the outcome depends on that fact. This is a marvelous book.
An favorite fantasy story taking a young man out of his familiar "real" world and sending him on an adventure through faery. I loved the Star (yes, pun intended) of this tale. :)This book is frequently visited and revisited. It has a permanent place on my special shelf for a few stories that I will pick up, open at random, and read a bit just to depressurize for awhile. It's an antidote for too much reality in anyone's world.The characters are fully formed, the voices and speech are easily heard in my head. I build the world in my mind and it feels so familiar.
For all it's magic and strength, it's story and the telling don't entirely mesh for me.
Mr. Gaiman is one of the great fantasy tellers. Here he pulls a few stray thoughts that he needed to get on paper and weaves a tale of adventure.
Perhaps the translation into German ruined Gaiman's very unique style, but I think even if I had read the original I'd consider Stardust one of his weaker works. Tristan is likeable enough, but the narrative as a whole with its constant shifts in POV and focus was far too frayed and erratic for my taste.
I liked the idea of the book, and the story in theory, but it was a bit on the slow side.
Quite a disappointment. I'd heard so many good things about this author, and Coraline was good, if not quite as fantastic as I'd been led to believe. This book, however, was nothing like I'd expected. I really didn't like it. The only part I did like was the one about the sky ship. Fascinating idea. I wish the author had focused more on that part. Oh, well. There's no telling in advance what I'll think about a book. It was worth a shot.
I first knew Neil Gaiman not through his books. I mean, I know he's a novelist, but I admired him because of his "make good art" speech. And it was really, really good.. and so I thought, it kinda was a shame when I still haven't read any of his books.
And thus entered Stardust. I kinda had high hopes for this one.
It was a light read though. Lighter than I expected. I thought it was something it would stick to me, like for a long looooooong time. But I just read it and..the end. Kinda like a bedtime story for older kids.
The first part was intriguing enough, I thought Dunstan was the star of the show. The part I laughed hard most is when the star fell.. it said "Ouch," and then she said "Fuck," and the font size for that word was smaller than average. I dunno why it just cracked me up. :)))
I liked how every loose part came together to a knot, in the end. I thought the story of the seven brothers were the most out of place, because I initially didn't care about their kingdom. Who knew Violet Eyes was sister to those seven brothers. In the end the most out of place was the tale of the Lilim.
Fast forward, well. I knew Tristran would end up with the star. Didn't like Victoria much, she sounds like Austen's Caroline Bingley but with more looks. I also find it weird for Tristran that Yvaine never aged, but at least for some time they were happy. :)
I liked this story well enough but it's not something that left a deep impression in my heart. I'm going to keep reading more of Gaiman's books, though. 3.5 stars :)
P.S. Of all the books I have read, this is the only one where I've seen my favorite word. Gaiman is magical.
And thus entered Stardust. I kinda had high hopes for this one.
It was a light read though. Lighter than I expected. I thought it was something it would stick to me, like for a long looooooong time. But I just read it and..the end. Kinda like a bedtime story for older kids.
The first part was intriguing enough, I thought Dunstan was the star of the show. The part I laughed hard most is when the star fell.. it said "Ouch," and then she said "Fuck," and the font size for that word was smaller than average. I dunno why it just cracked me up. :)))
I liked how every loose part came together to a knot, in the end. I thought the story of the seven brothers were the most out of place, because I initially didn't care about their kingdom. Who knew Violet Eyes was sister to those seven brothers. In the end the most out of place was the tale of the Lilim.
Fast forward, well. I knew Tristran would end up with the star. Didn't like Victoria much, she sounds like Austen's Caroline Bingley but with more looks. I also find it weird for Tristran that Yvaine never aged, but at least for some time they were happy. :)
I liked this story well enough but it's not something that left a deep impression in my heart. I'm going to keep reading more of Gaiman's books, though. 3.5 stars :)
P.S. Of all the books I have read, this is the only one where I've seen my favorite word. Gaiman is magical.
I liked the movie much better than the book. Gaiman had some good ideas, but I think the screenplay was a better execution of those ideas than the novel.
A brilliant read.
Tristan, born to a fairy mother and a human father, goes off to Fairyland in search of a fallen star to give to his true lust, er, love.I loved the movie, and now I've finally read the book. The movie definitely influenced how the characters sounded in my head, especially Michelle Pfeiffer as Lamia. And guess what (spoiler alert): that whole cross-dressing pirate thing is totally made-up just for the movie. I was rather upset that the section of the book that takes place on the flying ship is only about 5 or 6 pages. But there's a little more backstory to be had in the book, so I didn't quite feel cheated :)
The story of a young man seeking his destiny in the land of Faerie.This story did not exactly bore, but the pacing was slow and/or choppy to me.There is a pretty darned explicit sex scene at the beginning which precludes me from recommending it to any young people I know, although this is touted as a young adult book. Eeww. For all of the people wondering about bathroom breaks in adventure stories, the author doesn't add anything to the story by inserting them. Like sex, it is something an imaginative reader with a little experience can understand without details. Food and meals are different, for much of a situation or disposition of a character can be told from the food and meal descriptions.Many have loved this story, I did not. It was predictable and tawdry, without much to think about in it.
Suitably a fairy tale with some complex details and some side trips that seemed a bit disconnected (like the ship that gathered thunder bolts). The movie was more distinct in plot development.
It's been hard for me to sort through my feelings concerning Stardust. On the one hand I think this is, at the bare bones, a fabulous story. Boy goes into magical land, whose entrance is a guarded wall, to get a star for his love. Witches and royalty are splashed in along the way with their own agendas and plans. Boy grows up and realizes what he truly wants and where he truly belongs. It's cute, right? It also makes a fabulous movie.
The writing isn't bad either. After reading some of Gaiman's other works it's very clear to me that he has a way with words. Sometimes though there are too many words for my liking. The story seemed to really drag at some points making it hard to keep my interest. How many pages does it really need to take to tell the tale about Dunstan Thorn and Lady Una?
It also seemed that there were so many lost opportunities along the ways. There are so many minor, minor characters and there is this exciting new world, but so much seems to be left undeveloped. Usually I'm asking for less world-building, but in this case I did not get close to enough!
Then there is that ending. I think what I disliked the most about the ending is that the witch, who spends so much energy and time chasing down the star, suddenly seems so complacent. Now, maybe that has to do with how tired and old she has become, but I had hoped for a little more of a fight!
Overall, the movie was enough for me.
The writing isn't bad either. After reading some of Gaiman's other works it's very clear to me that he has a way with words. Sometimes though there are too many words for my liking. The story seemed to really drag at some points making it hard to keep my interest. How many pages does it really need to take to tell the tale about Dunstan Thorn and Lady Una?
It also seemed that there were so many lost opportunities along the ways. There are so many minor, minor characters and there is this exciting new world, but so much seems to be left undeveloped. Usually I'm asking for less world-building, but in this case I did not get close to enough!
Then there is that ending. I think what I disliked the most about the ending is that the witch, who spends so much energy and time chasing down the star, suddenly seems so complacent. Now, maybe that has to do with how tired and old she has become, but I had hoped for a little more of a fight!
Overall, the movie was enough for me.
This felt like reading a cross between Terry Pratchett and Diana Wynne Jones. But with more sex and swearing (neither of these add much to the story, I have to say). I liked the occasional spine-chilling moment, like the glimpses of the dead brothers, and also the carefully archaic choices of words.
I wasn't immediately enthralled, but once the story got going it was hard to put down and the knowledge that I still had more of it to read felt like having an unopened gift. Which has to be the sign of a good book.
I wasn't immediately enthralled, but once the story got going it was hard to put down and the knowledge that I still had more of it to read felt like having an unopened gift. Which has to be the sign of a good book.
I can't believe I've only just read this. I usually don't like seeing movies before books and in this case it did colour my expectations, however the book stands on its own. It's charming and imaginative and if you like unicorns......beware!