Review for Stardust

 Woot! I FINALLY read this book! I got it almost 4 years ago for a si-fi/fantasy class but never got around to reading it. I've been telling myself for years that I would and I finally have! Okay, enough self cheering now.lol It was really hard for me to start this review because, even though it's been over a year, the movie version is still so vivid in my mind that it's hard to separate the two even though they are so different. I almost want to say I like the movie better but they are so different that I'll just say I really like them both. Oh, I'm now also on Facebook and Twitter! Come check me out. Now onto the review.

Stardust

Author: Neil Gaiman

Genre: Adult Fairy-Tale

Pages: 333

Source: My dusty bookshelf (bought)

(Summery from GoodReads)

 Stardust is an utterly charming fairy tale in the tradition of The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story. Neil Gaiman, creator of the darkly elegant Sandman comics and author of The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, tells the story of young Tristran Thorn and his adventures in the land of Faerie. One fateful night, Tristran promises his beloved that he will retrieve a fallen star for her from beyond the Wall that stands between their rural English town (called, appropriately, Wall) and the Faerie realm. No one ever ventures beyond the Wall except to attend an enchanted flea market that is held every nine years (and during which, unbeknownst to him, Tristran was conceived). But Tristran bravely sets out to fetch the fallen star and thus win the hand of his love. His adventures in the magical land will keep you turning pages as fast as you can--he and the star escape evil old witches, deadly clutching trees, goblin press-gangs, and the scheming sons of the dead Lord of Stormhold. The story is by turns thrillingly scary and very funny. You'll love goofy, earnest Tristran and the talking animals, gnomes, magic trees, and other irresistible denizens of Faerie that he encounters in his travels. Stardust is a perfect read-aloud book, a brand-new fairy tale you'll want to share with a kid, or maybe hoard for yourself. (If you read it to kids, watch out for a couple of spicy sex bits and one epithet.) 

The Good

There was just so much cuteness in this fairy-tale, I loved it! Maybe it was because it was just told like a fairy-tale that made it cute but it was easy to read and even easier to smile at. Gaiman really spun this together well and was constantly making references to the modern day world which I always find awesome (the time period I think was Victorian England).

The characters in Stardust weren’t as developed as most books because, like I said, fairy-tale, but it worked for me. I love the star Yvaine. Our first, small, introduction to her character (right after she falls from the sky) had me laughing out loud.

And there was a voice, a high clear, female voice which said, “Ow,” and then, very quietly, it said “F***,”and then it said “Ow,” once more.

A swearing star in a fairy-tale will always make my day. J And as I’ve probably mentioned somewhere before I love the love/hate relationships between characters. It wasn’t that strong but Yvaine liked to name call Tristran and he would just smile and carry on… well, most of the time. My favorite character was probably Charmed. He was just a little guy traveling around with a bag of goods and looking to help Tristran out. He was just so humorous and explained things so matter-of-factly (when to us real worlders it was krazy) that I couldn’t help but love him. I really don’t have much more to say because, as a whole, it was just a fun read.

The Bad

There were only a couple nitpicks that I had for this story. The major one is that some of the character’s reactions to things were slightly unbelievable. They took everything in stride and didn’t seem that confused or shocked about things. I can’t really give an example because it would be a spoiler and happens at the end of the book but you’ll know it when you see it.

My other problem was simply a personal one. I know this is an adult book but I dislike sex scenes in my books. I just want to shout, “Take it behind closed doors characters; we know you’re doing it we don’t need to see.” So yeah, except for that one thing in the beginning I was fine.

The Krazyness

“Anyone who believes what a cat tells him deserves all he gets.”

“There is a proverbial saying chiefly concerned with warning against too closely calculating the numerical value of un-hatched chicks.”

“He wondered how it could have taken him so long to realize he cared for her, and he told her so, and she called him an idiot, and he declared that it was the finest thing that ever a man had been called.”

“If they ask where you’ve come from, you could say ‘Behind me,’ and if they ask where you’re going, you’d say, ‘In front of me.’”

 5 Elf Cookies