Customer Reviews

Stardust Movie Tie-in Teen Edition

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fairy tales tend to lose their sparkle when they're made into books for adults.

But Neil Gaiman creates his own sparkling fairy tale in "Stardust," an entrancing fantasy tale that never loses its magic. With beautiful prose, likable characters, and a mesh of the grotesque and the ethereal, this is Gaiman's reworking of fairy tales -- with a slight wink to the readers.

Years ago, Dunstan Thorn fell in love with a beautiful slave from across the Wall. Nine months later, he got a baby boy on his doorstep. His son Tristan grows up unaware of his heritage, and longs for the beautiful, frosty Victoria Forester. When she rejects him, he makes a rash promise -- he'll pursue a fallen star over the Wall and bring it back to her, if she gives him her hand.

But when he finds the star, he learns that it is a beautiful young girl, a daughter of the moon named Yvaine. The dying Lord of Stormheld threw a gem to the distance and accidently knocked her from the sky. Now his sons are trying to get the gem back, since the one who gets the gem will be the next Lord, and an ancient witch is pursuing the star, determined to cut out her heart. To protect the lovely star, Tristan is called on to be a hero, and to learn who he really is...

Few fantasy stories are as well-done as "Stardust." Gaiman mixes humor, romance, grisly realism and airy-fairiness in a tight little plot. It only really picks up two-thirds of the way into the book, but what a trip it is. It slides rather than explodes to a conclusion, where everything slips into place and all the loose ends are neatly tied together, in a way that makes perfect sense.

His writing is a mix of beautiful details and fast-moving plot. Gaiman frequently pauses to describe the creepy Stormhelm, where murdered ghosts watch their brothers compete, to the beautiful forests of Faerie where little sprites mock people. Some scenes -- like a unicorn's skewering a witch -- are breathtakingly vivid.

Everybody loves an everyman hero, and despite his mystery background, Tristan definitely qualifies. He's a little goofy and a lot clueless, but his earnestness makes him likable. Yvaine is a bit off-kilter in a good way, sharp-tongued and a little naive, but a good match for Tristan. And supporting characters like the evil Septimus and youth-hungry witch are solidly written; even Victoria is shown in a new light.

The beautiful adult fairy-tale "Stardust" is an entrancing read, wonderfully written and full of intriguing characters. An outstanding, timeless story, and sure to enchant readers. (Yes, even the ones who don't like unicorns)

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, strange things begin to 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.

Tristran, though, isn't the only one looking for the star. The witch queen and a group of three brothers all want something of it. For these brothers, it's the power she possesses. For the witch, it's her heart.

STARDUST was completely entrancing, 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 out loud and break into tears. This is one book not to be missed.

Reviewed by: The Compulsive Reader

The book is delightful and the movie is even better. Get them both. Enjoy.....

Neil Gaiman's STARDUST is available in a trade paperback (marketed as a "fairy tale for adults" and in a "movie tie-in teen" edition (which I purchased for a classroom library). Having finished it, I'm left to wonder why Gaiman bothered trying to appeal to adults with a few gratuitous scenes that were not only unnecessary to the book but inappropriate to the fantasy genre. The most glaring example would be the description of how the protagonist Tristran Thorn was conceived between a faerie mother and a human father. While the rest of the book reads straight out of Grimm's or Andersen's Fairy Tales, this scene and, to a lesser degree, a very few others, leave you scratching your head. I'm no prude, but when you consider how young readers (even 8 to 12-year-olds) love fantasy and how this edition will attract them with its color photos from the movie inserted in the middle, you have to wonder about the marketing.

Slow to start, the plot eventually engages you as halfbreed Tristran enters Faerie in search of a fallen star to return to his sworn love, Victoria Forester. Thorn meets a hairy little elf-like creature, trees with cutting leaves, more than one witch, a unicorn, and, eventually, his star (a beautiful young woman with a broken leg). The star, Yvaine, has little patience for the endearingly earnest young man, but is eventually sworn to him when he saves her life. The rest plays out in typical storybook fashion.

STARDUST contains two subplots that also involve an interest in the star. One involves an evil witch who covets the still-beating heart of Yvaine, for if you eat of a freshly-cut out heart of a star, you are returned to a youthful state. The other involves seven murderous sons of the dying Lord of Stormhold, who must retrieve a stone being worn around the neck of -- guess who? -- the fallen star, Yvaine. This plot takes a rather unrealistic turn in the end, and although you might argue that it is fantasy, after all, you will see that Gaiman neglects to play fair by providing the reader with any passing clue about the total number of children (as opposed to sons) sired by Lord Stormhold early on in the book. In other words, the Stormhold sub-plot resolution comes out of left Faerie, so to speak.

All in all, a passing good fairy tale that may sell well depending on the fortunes of the movie which, as of this review, has not yet been released. With a faster start, an added stardust particle of foreshadowing, and faith in its ability to appeal to both adults and young adults without a few randy descriptions, this book could've been a much brighter star. As it is, not bad at all, as long as the night is clear and the light pollution is not so bad.