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aksmith92's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
A cute little adult fairy tale!
The Setup: Most of the novel follows Tristran Thorn, a mere 16 or 17-year-old boy who inevitably falls in absolute love with some random neighborhood gal. While walking with Victoria Forrester, said random neighborhood gal, he desperately wants to kiss her, or marry her, or something. He'll take anything! She declines any and all of those things, though, of course, because she's a propah lady! However, after they both see a shooting star seemingly fall in the distance, Victoria states if Tristran goes to find the star and brings it back to her, he can have what he wishes. Tristran sets on a quest to find this star to get the gal!
We watch as Tristran ventures beyond the wall of Wall (yes, the literal town he lives!) to fairie land, somewhere with loads of mythical and exciting creatures and beings. He meets a small hairy fellow, a couple of witches, an entertaining captain of the skies, a unicorn, and thelovely witty fallen star Yvaine. Along the way, he learns a lot about himself, meets some interesting (and sometimes deadly) beings, and even learns a little bit about his own past. It's quite an adventure!
What I Liked: Neil Gaiman has a way of writing. It's a little bit like Yoda-speak but more tolerable and enjoyable. I've read some of Gaiman's graphic novel works, and he has a beautiful way with words. I loved the prose and PLOT! The plot was just lovely. Gaiman has a very profound talent for turning myths and legends into complex and intriguing fantasy plotlines, and this was no different. I fell along for the ride with Tristran and Yvaine and thoroughly enjoyed all their obstacles and encounters. Additionally, it was sometimes quite funny, and I laughed out loud in some parts. Overall, this was a fun book. It was reminiscent of a cozy fantasy, except there was some violence and death, and the stake was relatively high. So, in reality, it was not. However, it did have many of those vibes throughout the novel. I found Tristran to be a ding dong, but he was supposed to be, which made the story believable.
What Didn't Work: As much as I enjoyed the premise, even if it was based on a silly little love story, I felt the character development was pretty lacking. I know this book wasn't necessarily about the characters. It was so clear that Gaiman's strength was in his storytelling and retelling of the myth(s). I appreciated that! However, I had a very challenging time connecting with the characters, leading me to not care about their own character stories. The love story (not the one you're probably thinking!) was just alright to me, even if, at times, the banter was semi-funny. Additionally, I felt the 85-90% mark was a little bit rushed, and the characters didn't have time to express feelings, but the end was fitting and pretty interesting.
Overall, I took this book at face value. Gaiman did an excellent job retelling myths and conjuring up a well-rounded story. I enjoyed myself and plan to read more of his work.
The Setup: Most of the novel follows Tristran Thorn, a mere 16 or 17-year-old boy who inevitably falls in absolute love with some random neighborhood gal. While walking with Victoria Forrester, said random neighborhood gal, he desperately wants to kiss her, or marry her, or something. He'll take anything! She declines any and all of those things, though, of course, because she's a propah lady! However, after they both see a shooting star seemingly fall in the distance, Victoria states if Tristran goes to find the star and brings it back to her, he can have what he wishes. Tristran sets on a quest to find this star to get the gal!
We watch as Tristran ventures beyond the wall of Wall (yes, the literal town he lives!) to fairie land, somewhere with loads of mythical and exciting creatures and beings. He meets a small hairy fellow, a couple of witches, an entertaining captain of the skies, a unicorn, and the
What I Liked: Neil Gaiman has a way of writing. It's a little bit like Yoda-speak but more tolerable and enjoyable. I've read some of Gaiman's graphic novel works, and he has a beautiful way with words. I loved the prose and PLOT! The plot was just lovely. Gaiman has a very profound talent for turning myths and legends into complex and intriguing fantasy plotlines, and this was no different. I fell along for the ride with Tristran and Yvaine and thoroughly enjoyed all their obstacles and encounters. Additionally, it was sometimes quite funny, and I laughed out loud in some parts. Overall, this was a fun book. It was reminiscent of a cozy fantasy, except there was some violence and death, and the stake was relatively high. So, in reality, it was not. However, it did have many of those vibes throughout the novel. I found Tristran to be a ding dong, but he was supposed to be, which made the story believable.
What Didn't Work: As much as I enjoyed the premise, even if it was based on a silly little love story, I felt the character development was pretty lacking. I know this book wasn't necessarily about the characters. It was so clear that Gaiman's strength was in his storytelling and retelling of the myth(s). I appreciated that! However, I had a very challenging time connecting with the characters, leading me to not care about their own character stories. The love story (not the one you're probably thinking!) was just alright to me, even if, at times, the banter was semi-funny. Additionally, I felt the 85-90% mark was a little bit rushed, and the characters didn't have time to express feelings, but the end was fitting and pretty interesting.
Overall, I took this book at face value. Gaiman did an excellent job retelling myths and conjuring up a well-rounded story. I enjoyed myself and plan to read more of his work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent
Minor: Abandonment
sarasreading's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a lovely read. I bought this book ages and ages ago, before I knew who Neil Gaiman even was. I ended up seeing the movie first, also years ago, and while the plot follows pretty closely until the end, I liked the differences in the book a lot. I have yet to pick up a Gaiman book that I didn't enjoy, so the winning streak continues!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
lightoferebus's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Slavery, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
ka_ke's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I don’t know why it took so long for me to dive into the world of Neil Gaiman but what a wonderful way to start.
Stardust is a lighthearted fantasy with good wit, humour and a satisfying ending.
Although the language is old and not particularly politically correct, you can understand that Gaiman was not writing in a malicious offensive manner.
I may just have to watch the movie and see how it compares!
Stardust is a lighthearted fantasy with good wit, humour and a satisfying ending.
Although the language is old and not particularly politically correct, you can understand that Gaiman was not writing in a malicious offensive manner.
I may just have to watch the movie and see how it compares!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Slavery, Blood, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cursing, Violence, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
thenymphsvoice's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I find myself in the position to amend my opinion and voice a retraction of previous statements and slanders lol.
I do not know where my head was at when I last read this book, but it is a wonderful, dare I say Cozy Fantasy with the practically trademark Gaiman Melancholy I have grown to love.
All of Gaimans works are written with such a longing for the world to be its most beautiful self but no desire to turn away from its darkness.
That is as true in Stardust as any of the others I have written.
A wonderful quirky fun Fae adventure I would happily read more in this world.
Also it is not so different from the movie as I thought it was, although I would say the movie lost the ‘Gaiman’ of it all.
I do not know where my head was at when I last read this book, but it is a wonderful, dare I say Cozy Fantasy with the practically trademark Gaiman Melancholy I have grown to love.
All of Gaimans works are written with such a longing for the world to be its most beautiful self but no desire to turn away from its darkness.
That is as true in Stardust as any of the others I have written.
A wonderful quirky fun Fae adventure I would happily read more in this world.
Also it is not so different from the movie as I thought it was, although I would say the movie lost the ‘Gaiman’ of it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Death, Sexual content, and Death of parent
The violence is incredibly mild. There is one scene in the beginning that very vaguely makes you aware sex has happened between two characters. I would feel comfortable reading this to a child 12 and over.katieotalks's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
mattiedancer's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Writing: 4.5⭐️/5
The writing quality is smooth and proficient. I don’t have too much to complain about here, as it’s solidly written.
Characters: 4⭐️/5
The characters are well-rounded and honestly quite loveable. At a few moments, the characters seem flatter than they need to and only the main characters really grow throughout the course of the novel. However, this doesn’t get in the way of enjoying the story and each character seems uniquely and lovingly created.
Plot: 4.5⭐️/5
I love the overall story, especially how it inverts common tropes and is unafraid of going boldly against what the reader might expect. I particularly enjoyed how the heroes ended up dealing with the antagonist, mostly because it wasn’t really what I was expecting. I do think that the plot was wrapped up a little too much at the end, but perhaps that’s my enjoyment of the movie’s ending getting in the way of the book’s ending.
Post-Reading Rating: 4.5⭐️/5
Slight bitter tasted post-reading simply because I had such different expectations of how exactly it was going to end. I also lost interest in the book a few times while reading, so it was a bit of a harder start than I was expecting as well.
Final Rating: 4.5⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
bailey1196's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death and Slavery