Maybe I shouldn't have read this directly after the somewhat dense Titus Groan, but the best way I can describe Stardust would be fast food fantasy. Quick but ultimately unsatisfying. I did enjoy reading it, but there were times I zoned out a bit and went back the couple paragraphs to find that I actually hadn't missed any details. (Which I consider a bit odd for an author who so often praises Gene Wolfe, to whom the book is dedicated.) Gaiman uses a simple, easy vocabulary. At one point in an intense showdown with the main antagonist, a character is described as "scared and afraid."

Having said that, Gaiman is still a skillful storyteller, and almost to my annoyance I could not put the book down. Stardust is a very quick read, the story always moving swftly towards its satisfying, if predictable, conclusion. If you need something light to read during down time at work or the like, Stardust will do nicely. I'll keep it around for my son to enjoy once he's about seven.

Finished for a book club. It was agony.