Stardust: 5 Stars

 Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Guys....I think I am in love!  I am also a wee bit upset at all of you for not telling me about Neil Gaiman sooner! 

In all seriousness though, I am officially captivated by Gaiman.  I read Good Omens a couple months back and absolutely loved it. But since he co-wrote that with Terry Pratchett, I wasn't sure if that meant I would like both writers or just one of them.  But after reading Stardust and getting halfway through The Graveyard Book, it's obvious that Gaiman is a magnificent, magical author. I am definitely going to try more of his work.

In Stardust, we join Tristan Thorn on a quest for his true love, or at least who he naively thinks is his true love. Victoria clearly has no interest in Tristan and jokingly tells him that if he goes and gets a falling star, that she will marry him. Little did she know, twitterpated Tristan was going to do just that. But when Tristan discovers the star is a girl, the journey only becomes more interesting.

This story is magical and hysterical. Gaiman masters the art of storytelling with excellent, quirky characters and captivating scenes. He masterfully writes his own fairy tale for adults, but that obviously would appeal to children as well (except maybe when the unicorn dies). Even his antagonists are bewitching, despite their lack of morals. It makes them easy to hate, but still so enjoyable to read about.

I simply cannot recommend this book enough. It was entertaining and fun.  I love that Gaiman is a writer who likes to try new things and experiment with his work. I listened to the audiobook (read by the author and was magnificent) and it was followed by an interview with Gaiman. He tells of how the story came about. Considering his intentions and first release of this story involved a specific illustrator and lots of pictures, I now want to own that version of the book!  I guess that is another book to add to my wish list!

Can anyone recommend some more Gaiman book to me?  As a newbie, I am ready to soak him in!

Rating: PG

Recommended for those who enjoy: fairy tales, adventure, and quirky writing.