Neil Gaiman is an extremely talented writer. If you haven't read any of his books, it is definitely worth your while to pick up at least one of his. Gaiman has a quirky sense of humor and an incredible ability to make the completely mundane and ordinary fascinating and original. Stardust, although not my favorite Gaiman book, is still worth the time.
Gaiman describes Stardust as a fairy tale for adults. It would be a great book for a young adult. There is death, but it is not graphic or drawn out. The characters are young and largely innocent; overall the story is a romantic love story. But, as with many of his stories, Gaiman connects the real world to the faerie world. He uses childhood poems and fairy tales as the means for Tristran, the hero, to travel unharmed through the world of faerie in search of the falling star he saw from his home town.
The cover of my book shows images from the movie of the same name. Inside there are further images from the movie. I must say, as much as I enjoyed the simple and relatively sweet story, I have no desire or interest in watching Claire Danes, Robert DeNiro, and Michelle Pfeiffer retell the story. The appeal of Gaiman's books are the stories that he weaves which allows the reader to imagine the faerie world that he creates. Having someone else translate that world onto the screen distracts from the appeal of the book.
I would recommend this book to Gaiman fans, Garth Nix fans, or readers who like to read novel entrés into traditional fairy tales.
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