A story about a boy who goes out to find a fallen star for the girl he loves and discovers that the star is an actual person, and his adventures therein. Entertaining, but again not earth-shattering.

Apparently they have made a movie of this book, that is coming out this fall. It has some big names in it - Claire Danes, as the star, Michelle Pfifer, as the evil witch, and Robert Deniro, as the crazy gay pirate. Should be interesting.

Update: I finally saw the movie, and was quite impressed. I would have to reread the book, to be sure, but I know that added a few things and took out a few things - but overall I thought the movie was very well done. The visual effects were well done, the dialogue was witty, the characterizations were pretty good, and the guy definitely got cute towards the end ;-p
All in all, I give it two thumbs up and bought myself a copy.

Neil Gaiman's Stardust makes you feel a child again, with all the magic and enchantment only a good fairytale has. Because it is indeed a fairytale. There is magic about, there are unicorns and princes and fallen stars, pirates and witches.

The plot is simple, as it should be. It follows Tristan, a boy from the village of Wall, that will do anything for his loved one. Even finding a fallen star and bringing it back, through a land of magic and mystery in which no one wants to enter. Tristan will soon find friends and foes, encounter perilous situations, and escape them. And he will find the Star that his loved one craves. Only he has to bring it back to Wall. And he is not the only one looking for it.

There is adventure and romance, there are comic and thrilling moments. It is a never ending adventure that will keep the reader glued to the book, wanting to know more of the fate of our hero. And although intended for young adults, this book will enchant any one, regardless of age. ( )

I absolutely loved this book! It's about a boy who quests to find a fallen star to give to the girl he loves. There are many dangers outside the city of Wall and along the way, he realizes that he may not actually love the girl he thought he loved. It's a wonderful tale of destiny with lots of adventure. ( )

Stardust is the first book I've listened to in the audiobook format. I was worried about this, worried that my mind would wander or that the story would fall flat if I wasn't able to create the voices myself in my mind. However, listening to Gaiman read Stardust was wonderful, The story seeped into my mind as images of badgers and unicorns and ghosts grew and became increasingly colorful and real. I loved this story, and highly recommend it as an audiobook. It's a world you'll want to be a part of. ( )

Tristran Thorn has an interesting background. His father was born in Wall, behind it’s wall. His mother was born in Faerie and has never been to Wall. The closest she came was to the Market that resides just outside of Wall every nine years. When Tristran was born, he was left by the wall with only his name. His father and his new wife took Tristran in and raised him. Tristran grows up in Wall not knowing of how he got there. On the brink of adulthood, he falls in love with the most beautiful girl in Wall and, in an attempt to win her love, he vows to go out into the world in search of the star they saw fall from the sky. Stardust is the story of Tristran’s journey through Faerie and back.

Stardust did not capture my imagination and heart the way that The Graveyard Book, Neverwhere, or even Coraline did. I liked Tristran’s character and what woman wouldn’t want a man to promise to go out and bring back a fallen star to her as proof of his love and worthiness? For whatever reason, something was missing for me with this novel. It had such imaginative people and places. I thought the sub-plot with the nasty sons of Lord Stormhold was interesting and I liked how that story and others were weaved into Tristran’s travels. It even contained the tree that Neil wrote for Tori Amos. It isn’t that I didn’t like the book. I just never got into it the way I had hoped. There isn’t one concrete thing I can point to that explains this. Perhaps it’s just that I don’t typically read four books by the same author in such quick succession or that I’m tired in general. All in all Stardust may not have been the strongest Neil Gaiman I have read this month, but it is as good if not better than much of what I have read this year. ( )