About this title: A young man, Tristan, sets off on a quest to retrieve a fallen star and win the hand of his love in marriage. The problem is that the star seems to have landed in the realm of faeries, and Tristan must venture into those uncharted territories, far outside the walled city in which he and his love reside.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Headline Review
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780755347278ISBN:0755347277
Description: Good. This book is in GOOD overall condition. It shows signs of having been read and has general light wear to the cover, spine and pages. read more
Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: HarperEntertainment
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780061240485ISBN:0061240486
Description: Good. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 336 p. Contains: Illustrations. Intended for a juvenile audience. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Harper
Date Published: 2000
ISBN-13:9780380804559ISBN:0380804557
Description: Acceptable. General Reading Copy, All pages and text intact, May contain highlighting/marking or other serious defects. Major defects may exist which may or may not be noted Customer Service isn't just a motto for us, its a way of life. read more
"Ok, so maybe I'm a little too willing to give out 5 stars - I've always hated trying to give things a numerical rating (I hate surveys and self evaluations at work, and anything else that makes you rate on a scale)
BUT - I was pleasantly surprised (though I shouldn't have been considering this is Neil Gaiman's work) with how the novel is both the best of what the movie was (and the movie is close enough to it - for a movie) and even better.
(I read one review a while back that thought the book was a bit explicit - but the section that was refered to was only a page long and only happened once or twice towards the beginning of the book... certainly nothing worse than I've ever accidentally stumbled across in a book or whatever (in reality - it was probably quite tame to most people) - and certainly made up for by the rest of the book... I should go back and read that review and counter it as well - because I think the person felt the story too violent or something (I can't attest to what was said now) and I didn't see that at ALL! That review probably would have scared me off if a good librarian friend of mine (whom I ought to convince to join goodreads) hadn't already listed it as her favorite of Gaiman's books.)"
"I can only do fantasy novels every so often; I much prefer literature. Still, I find it important to read these things on occasion, because they provide such an excellent escape: that leap into worlds that are nothing like ours; the way they enable our going beyond ourselves and render us capable of expanding our consciousness; the way they can temporarily alter us in ways non-fantasy novels are incapable. We could all use that kind of escape once in a while.
And Stardust was great for just that. It was an easy read, never a strain; very imaginative, even at times, captivating. This was my first exposure to Gaiman and I'm left impressed: his writing was acute and flowing, his imagination, vivid; most of all, the man can tell a story with the best of them. Or, at least, that's what I take from Stardust: A love story in the fantasy realm, done so well it could only have been written by a master of the craft, which is what Neil Gaiman seems to be."
"It's hard to believe that the same guy who wrote half of Good Omens wrote this book. The writing style seems to be completely different, with chuckle-enticing parts few and far between.
The story is basically about a young man who's obsessed over a girl in his village. She promises "whatever he desires" if he will fetch her a star they saw fall from the sky. The rest of the book is about his journey to find the star and then bring it back.
First off, I just have to mention how much I hate the movie-version cover. I HATE when they decide to do this, and I usually refuse to buy a book if it has the movie cover. I understand that it's to promote the book, and to tie the two together, but still. And I especially hate it in this case. Not only is the book COMPLETELY different from the movie version, but they've included some movie "scenes" right in the middle of the book. Ugh.
I enjoyed the story well enough though. It was as if I'd never even seen the movie because I honestly didn't know what was going to happen next. And, truth be told, I didn't expect the book ending at all. It's sad that movie studios can change a story SO much and still say it's based off the novel.
I especially enjoyed the parts with Yvaine, as I can see much of myself in her. The ending was disappointing, as everything kind of just 'worked out'. I won't spoil too much though. Also, the love story was basically non-existant until the last two chapters. Kind of weird.
Not sure if I'll re-read, but it was okay while it lasted."
"It is my experience that the movie versions of books are usually not as good as the book itself. So after watching the movie, I thought I was in for a real treat. but I was wrong.
In Gaiman's defence, this book was written in the style of an old adventure story or Grimm brother's tale- not so much description or character development. But while that sort of writing may work for a short story, It gets old in a full-length book. (though I'm glad it was a book- otherwise we wouldn't have the movie!)
Then there's the plot. I like books to be sort of well-thought out, but this one wasn't at all. Tristran and Yvaine are stuck in the clouds- obviously a sky pirate is going to come save them? huh? It would have been better of there had been mention of sky-pirates earlier in the novel, so then it wouldn't seem like Gaiman was having some kind of sporadic writer's block.
and there is no confrontation at the end, it's totally anti-climactic. just, "oh, my heart is now Tristrans," and "damn, I guess I can't cut it out of you." -This could actually have been a good ending, maybe if there had been a mentioning of the possibiliy, or even if the witch had caught Yvaine, but was unable to cut her heart out.
Also, I was looking forward to reading about the prancing, dancing pirate-captain from the movie, but those few months are condensed into only a few paragraphs. This was an oportunity to have some character development, and to show the romance between Tristran and Yvaine blossoming, because it kind of pops up out of thin air. Yes, we all knew it was going to happen, but that just proves this story is predictable in spite of its fantaclismic twists.
All in all, the only reason I finished this book was because I loved the movie."
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