Stardust (original 1999; edition 2005)

I'd have to say that having read this and listened to as an audio edition, the audio edition was my favorite. I loved it from beginning to end. I only wish that it might eventually spawn a few extra little novellas about the adventures of Tristran and Yvaine between the fair where they finally confess that they've fallen for one another and the time when they finally reach Stormhold to stay. Also, Yvaine outliving Tristran and being left to live on without her fellow stars to share in the passage of time was kind of a depressing thought to end on.

Unfortunately, I'd have to say that my favorite version of this was the movie, simply because I love a happy ending that the book simply did not provide. The book was a great piece of storytelling, and I enjoyed going on that journey with Neil Gaiman as my guide, but there were certain things that never came to pass in the book that I found highly satisfying about the movie. Overall, all versions were wonderful, and I'm glad I took the time take a look at each. ( )

Gaiman è un grande e lo riconferma anche in Stardust: la favola del giovane Tristran alla ricerca di una stella per conquistare la sua amata poteva rivelarsi l'ennesima storiella carina ma niente più. E invece Gaiman tira fuori dal cappello (anzi dalla penna) una vicenda piacevolissima, con un finale particolare che ho apprezzato molto. In alcuni punti la storia va molto veloce (forse per non appesantire un libro che vuole essere espressamente leggero) e alla fine rimangono ancora delle questioni insolute (e il tipo peloso?).
Ma questi sono dettagli, la storia scorre come l'acqua, lasciando una sorta di vacuo piacere quando se ne finisce l'ultima pagina. E direi che alla fine questo è quello che conta. ( )

Easily my favourite of the Gaiman I've read so far - I think his style works much better when he's not trying to be overly pretentious and involve too much philosophising in his work. ( )

Ah... Stardust. Except for the original graphic novel, I have now enjoyed every version available. Stardust by Neil Gaiman was the very first book I'd read by him. I wasn't reading graphic novels at the time so he and his Sandman series was right off my radar. But Stardust was just my speed and I loved it.

Then I forgot out it. It was one of the last library books I read before we moved across the state. I was so busy with moving and looking for a new job and adjusting to living in the Bay Area that Neil Gaiman didn't stick in my mind.

In the time that I moved and settled and started a family, Gaiman wrote other prose books. My bookish friends were reading them and recommending them, two in particular, Good Omens and Coraline. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, Stardust was adapted to film and the pieces began to fall into place.

When I was reading The Graveyard Book I heard from those same book blogger friends that Gaiman was reading his own books for the audio versions. They uniformly said I had to listen to them. I kept that in mind when this last November we had to drive down to San Diego for my brother's wedding. We wanted audio books to keep the children entertained and Stardust seemed like the perfect choice.

The book comes on five discs with a sixth one containing an interview with Gaiman where he talks about the many forms of Stardust, including the film, and what it is like to record an audio book.

The story itself is a gentle quest. Tristan Thorn has grown up in the village of Wall where every nine years there's an open air market held on the other side of the hole in the wall. The market though isn't what draws him across the wall, it's the quest for a fallen star to win the hand of the girl he loves.

There's just one small problem, the star is a pretty and very angry young woman with a broken leg. There's also the fact that she's holding something that will determine who will be the next Lord of Stormhold.

The plotting in the novel is slower in its set up, something I had forgotten, being more familiar now with the film. But listening to Gaiman read his own words and do the voices for the characters made even the slow bits delightful.

Gaiman doesn't just read, he creates his characters. He does remarkably well with all the different voices. While they weren't the voices I might have imagined for them, they work. Even if you have read the book before, you should listen to the audio version. ( )

This book is very different from any fairytale you've ever read. I applaude Neil Gaiman for his ability to compose a completely original fantasy filled with adventure, romance, and magic. I watched the movie Stardust and I REALLY loved the movie. For the first several chapters, the movie and book were pretty similar. In the end, however, I felt a little let down by the book. I was waiting for a huge battle and for all the villains in the story to get what they deserved but that didn't happen. The ending was very anti-climatic and it really did disappoint me. For what it's worth though, it was still an interesting story and if you haven't seen the movie, perhaps you'll like the ending more than I did. I know! You're not supposed to compare books with movies...so shoot me! ( )