Into the Land of Faerie - Rated 
I only recently discovered the writings of Neil Gaiman and am glad to add him to my list of favorite modern fantasy authors. I listened to the audio version of Stardust, which was narrated by Gaiman himself. While I'm a fan of audio books in general, I think a tale like this is especially appropriate to listen to, as it evokes the distant past of folk tales that predate the widespread use of written language. I have not seen the movie which recently came out, and, from what I've heard, am not anxious to see it. It sounds like a typical Hollywood approach. I read in a review of the movie that Robert Deniro plays the captain of a pirate ship who likes to dress in women's clothes. While the novel does have the pirate ship, this eccentricity on the captain's part is not in the book. This may not be very important, but the fact that they invented this for the film seems to imply that the novel is not sufficiently interesting on its own, which is far from the case.
Stardust is a fantasy that quite openly draws on many older tales, including traditional fairy tales, Celtic tales of faery, and even Shakespeare. In the audio version, there is a quite interesting interview with Gaiman, where he mentions the early, not very well known fantasy author Lord Dunsany. I actually recognized a passage in Stardust that was taken in tribute to this older author -referring to "the fields we know" (an often repeated expression in Dunsany's King of Elfland's Daughter), which denotes the everyday world as opposed to the lands of faery. This division between worlds is an important part of Stardust. The tale starts in the town of Wall, a rather ordinary town except for the fact that it is surrounded by an actual wall -on the other side are the magical lands. This idea of crossing into the Otherworld is a common theme is older tales, especially in the British Isles. What I like about Stardust is that Gaiman evokes many familiar themes from these traditions and still comes up with a very original story.
The hero of Stardust is a young man named Tristan who, it turns out, has faery blood himself. He ventures to the other side of the wall to fetch a falling star in order to win the love of a young woman named Victoria. The star turns out to be another young woman, named Yvaine, who does not appreciate Tristan's plan to capture her. Further complicating matters is the fact that others are also looking for Yvaine for their own purposes -a particularly unpleasant witch and a group of brothers who are seeking a charm the star possesses. Tristan must win Yvaine's love and also protect her from these others. Along the way, they meet various magical creatures, including a unicorn, and overcome a myriad of life-threatening dangers, as you might expect in such a tale.
Neil Gaiman has a diverse writing background; he has done comic books, short stories and what are usually categorized as urban fantasies (e.g. Neverwhere). Stardust is not quite a traditional fairy tale. It is not set in the distant past or in a completely mythical world, but in Victorian England. Early in the novel, Gaiman mentions that Wall still exists, which implies that the faery world does as well. Neil Gaiman makes an excellent guide to magical lands.
truly enchanting - Rated 
As a devotee of Gaiman I have to say that this novel does not disappoint. Though not as dark as Neverwhere or Coraline it still has that neat, macabre edge that makes what would otherwise be a children's fairy tale into something splendid. If you are buying this for children because you have seen the film, be aware that this has some sex in it, and though not graphic, it is not necessarily kid friendly.
Tristan Thorn goes through the wall into the land of faerie to search for a falling star and bring it back so that his one true love will grant him his heart's desire. It is a real, old fashioned adventure story with great villains, a totally non-soppy heroine (Gaiman's heroines are always fantastic) and a rip snorting plot with lots of wonderful twists and turns.
It is definitely worth reading the book and seeing the film. The book came first and has its own special magic, and the film is just as wonderful in its own way. It's one of those rare times when the two complement and enrich each other. A fantastic story.
Neil Gaiman was a Comic book writer and boy does it show. - Rated 
(the story) a young man goes through into another world in search of a fallen star which in this world is a person- before that he has sex with a magical elf-gets her pregnant too- There are these 7 brothers who kill each other,each wanting to inherit the kingdom and blah blah blah blah blah.
(the Dialouge) Neil Gaiman has a Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett type of sense of Humour,whiny sarcasm at best, godawful embarrasing to read dialouge at worst .
around half way through the story, the plot suddenly doesnt make sense,it becomes dislodged and disjointed leaving the reader confused for a few pages. (im surprized noone else has mentioned this) maybe the Author was drunk at the time.
If you had the choice you would live in this book - Rated
Beautiful. I have read Neverwhere and thought it was great however this tale is sadly too short as I could have read on for years! I am no pen-man so you will just have to read it - it will only take a day or so as not a beefy-book - you will not regret it if you like escapism from your stories!
2 for the price of 1 - Rated
I bought this book many moons ago when from a charity shop, put it on my "to read" pile and promptly forgot about it.
Then my husband bought the DVD and I loved it and he asked for the book for his birthday. I duly bought him a copy and then found mine. I read it and loved it. But the film is so different. The same characters and the same premise, but owning the book and the film is like having 2 great stories by a master story teller featuring the same characters, equally as good but totally diffrent in their own right.
If you love whimsy and quirkiness this book is for you.
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