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Stardust by Neil Gaiman
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Stardust (original 1998; edition 2006)

by Neil Gaiman

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
21,856561184 (4.02)2 / 799
Fiction. HTML:

In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here in the town of Wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. One crisp October night, as they watch, a star falls from the sky, and Victoria promises to marry Tristran if he'll retrieve that star and bring it back for her. It is this promise that sends Tristran through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.

.… (more)
Member:imperfectionist
Title:Stardust
Authors:Neil Gaiman
Info:Harper Perennial (2006), Paperback, 288 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:*****
Tags:None

Work Information

Stardust by Neil Gaiman (1998)

  1. 391
    The Princess Bride by William Goldman (norabelle414, Morteana)
    norabelle414: Both are hilarious, imaginative fairy tales.
  2. 142
    The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (aslikeanarnian, MyriadBooks)
    MyriadBooks: For, "There is no immortality but a tree's love."
  3. 121
    The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (aarti, Jannes)
    Jannes: Gaiman might be inspired by Dunsany and Mirrlees while Valente leans slightly more toward Carroll and Baum, but both of them are modern authors tackling the classic fairytale, both are great stylists, and both books are highly enjoyable.
  4. 102
    The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany (ghilbrae, Haltiamieli, wisemetis)
    Haltiamieli: "Perhaps this book should come with a warning: it is not a reassuring, by-the-numbers fantasy novel, like most of the books with elves, princes, trolls, and unicorns 'between their covers.' This is the real thing." – Neil Gaiman
  5. 81
    The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (flissp)
  6. 81
    Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees (twilightnocturne, moonstormer, isabelx)
    isabelx: Villages on the borders of Faerie.
  7. 71
    The Black Cauldron (The Chronicles of Prydain) by Lloyd Alexander (Medicinos)
  8. 127
    Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll (keristars)
    keristars: Though Alice is less of a traditional fairy tale type than Stardust, it shares a style and many narrative and plot elements.
  9. 94
    Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke (GreenVelvet, GreenVelvet, GreenVelvet)
    GreenVelvet: Both Stardust and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell are detailed, well-written and riveting explorations of the world of fairie.
  10. 31
    Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones (infiniteletters)
  11. 10
    Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett (LiteraryReadaholic)
  12. 10
    The Starthorn Tree by Kate Forsyth (bloop)
    bloop: Village boys on an adventure into magical unknowns.
  13. 11
    American Gods {original} by Neil Gaiman (LiteraryReadaholic)
  14. 00
    The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (LiteraryReadaholic)
  15. 00
    Sparrowdance by Anne Lewis (TeaWren)
    TeaWren: Quite different really, but along similar general lines. There's a quest, and fairy tales aren't quite what they seem, and it's funny and sad and rather clever.
  16. 00
    Enchantment by Orson Scott Card (VictoriaPL)
  17. 00
    The City in the Lake by Rachel Neumeier (MyriadBooks)
    MyriadBooks: For stories both darker and lighter than they appear; for original works that feel like a fairy tale.
  18. 22
    Peter & Max by Bill Willingham (WildMaggie)
    WildMaggie: Stardust is not as dark, but these book share a similar feel and tone.
  19. 00
    Song in the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner (infiniteletters)
  20. 33
    Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett (norabelle414)

(see all 23 recommendations)

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» See also 799 mentions

English (539)  Spanish (5)  French (4)  Swedish (3)  Finnish (2)  Danish (2)  German (1)  Macedonian (1)  Dutch (1)  All languages (558)
Showing 1-5 of 539 (next | show all)
Este libro es una maravilla. No tengo palabras para describir lo calentito que me ha dejado y lo especial que ha sido.

Gaiman, eres un genio. ( )
  Cabask | Mar 27, 2024 |
Let me start by saying that I watched this movie many moons ago and there's only two things that I remember - first was a captain in a pink tutu and second was that I loved the movie. So, I was pretty sure I was going to love the book, too and, would you look at that, I did! This book was so filled with magic and wonder. With every turn of the pages, I felt excitement for what was to come next.

Now, I could seriously do without the unicorn scene with the witch. That made my stomach turn because I can't handle violence against animals (even though I'm perfectly fine with the most twisted of slayings when it comes to people).

The next paragraph contains SPOILERS for the ending. Read at your own risk.

Although it was a beautiful story, with a beautiful ending all wrapped up nicely in a silver ribbon, I can't help feeling... hurt by the epilogue. It just sucks that she has to live forever even after Tristran has died. And they couldn't have kids so they didn't have an heir though I imagine it would be even more painful to watch her husband and child die. Still, thinking about her on the rooftop staring sadly up at the moon hurts my heart. And though she wasn't a major player, he didn't say what fate befell Tristans mother, though I imagine time took her, as well. Low key, I wanted Septimus to win the throne lol I was surprised when it was announced that Una was a Stormhold and, as such, so was Tristran.

Overall, such a good read, I'm so happy I picked this up and now I want to go watch the movie again! ( )
  AnnoyingTiger888 | Feb 21, 2024 |
Adventure
  BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |
One of the few books that's actually worse than the movie. ( )
  jd7h | Feb 18, 2024 |
Thank you, Neil Gaiman, for writing a romantic comedy and fantasy in plain language. Thank you for making the end of summer just a bit sweeter. The denouement is much gentler than the film's, but that's just fine. ( )
  tyk314 | Jan 22, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 539 (next | show all)
While the bones of the story (the hero, the quest, the maiden) are traditional, Gaiman offers a tale that is fresh and original. Though the plot begins with disparate threads, by the end they are all tied together and the picture is complete. The resolution is satisfying and complex, proving that there is more to fairy tales than "happily ever after."
added by Shortride | editSchool Library Journal, Susan Salpini
 
This is a refreshingly creative story with appealing characters that manages to put a new twist on traditional fairy-tale themes.
added by Shortride | editLibrary Journal, Laurel Bliss
 
Gaiman gently borrows from many fine fantasists--for starters, from Andersen, Tolkien, Macdonald, and, for the framing device, Christina Rossetti in her "Goblin Market" --but produces something sparkling, fresh, and charming, if not exactly new under the sun. Superb.
added by Shortride | editBooklist, Ray Olson
 
a comic romance, reminiscent of James Thurber's fables, in which even throwaway minutiae radiate good-natured inventiveness. There are dozens of fantasy writers around reshaping traditional stories, but none with anything like Gaiman's distinctive wit, warmth, and narrative energy. Wonderful stuff, for kids of all ages.
added by Shortride | editKirkus Reviews
 

» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Neil Gaimanprimary authorall editionscalculated
Bartocci, MaurizioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Boucher, Frédérique LeTraductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Dick, BryanNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gaiman, NeilNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hunt, RobertCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kivimäki, MikaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Klein, ToddCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Knudsen, SverreOvers.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Krošetskin, MeelisKujundajasecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
McGinnis, RobertCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pék, ZoltánTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Spångberg, YlvaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Vess, CharlesIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
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Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.
If thou be'st born to strange sights,
Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee,
Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me,
All strange wonders that befell thee,
And swear,
No where
Lives a woman true and fair.
If thou find'st one, let me know,
Such a pilgrimage were sweet;
Yet do not, I would not go,
Though at next door we might meet,
Though she were true, when you met her,
And last, till you write your letter,
Yet she
Will be
False, ere I come, to two, or three.
- John Donne, 1572-1631
Dedication
For Gene and Rosemary Wolfe
First words
There was once a young man who wished to gain his Heart’s Desire.
There was once a young man who wished to win his Heart's Desire.
Quotations
Have been unavoidably detained by the world. Expect us when you see us.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
The illustrated and unillustrated versions of Stardust are, in fact, substantially the same text. The most notable differences are that some single paragraphs in the illustrated version are separated into two or three in the unillustrated version.

The only reason to consider the two versions to be separate works (though it is not a bad one) is that Charles Vess's many illustrations are a substantial part of the original version.
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Fiction. HTML:

In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here in the town of Wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. One crisp October night, as they watch, a star falls from the sky, and Victoria promises to marry Tristran if he'll retrieve that star and bring it back for her. It is this promise that sends Tristran through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.

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No library descriptions found.

Book description
An enchanting fairy tale by master storyteller Neil Gaiman, full of unexpected adventures, true love, whimsy, wonder, and plenty of magic.

Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria Forester—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 stone barrier, Tristran learns, lies Faerie...and the most exhilarating adventure of the young man's life.
Standard blue edition of Stardust with 9 illustrations by Charles Vess and signed by illustrator. Cloth and marbled paper with buckram slipcase.
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