Neil Gaiman And Charles Vess' Stardust

Neil Gaiman is the Grimm brothers for the 21st century. And this, lady's and gentlemen, is his fairey tale. It is whimsical. It is crisp; it never drags. It follows the adage of "why use 20 words with 2 will do?" It is has moments of dry humor, yet never forgets that this is at heart a serious quest, one for love itself. Indeed, its plot is simple at its core. Yet despite that, the story itself is twisty and full of adventure. The setting, as most of Gaiman's settings are, has no comparison. The characters are enjoyable. They are not overly complex in and of themselves, but they are extremely varied and certainly have some growth. Gaiman always writes each character like a different individual, and does it well. None of them are an extension of himself.As for the artwork, it is ... difficult to describe as to it' style. Frankly, I personally don't think I have a good comparison. Here what I will say: it doesn't get in the way of the tale. It subtly adds something to the story without becoming the story itself. I find myself glancing at it and smiling as I read, rather than gaping at it in awe as I struggle to focus on the words. It is the backup keyboard to the lead guitar, if you will. And like every good backup, there are several sections of full page imagery to show of Vess' talent without distraction.Overall, I recommend this book wholeheartedly. In a sentence: This is the adventure you tried to have as a kid; most of our imaginations simply aren't this powerful. I take no shame in embracing my failure and enjoying instead the wonders of the imaginations of these two artists, who are clearly masters of their craft.

If you like Neil Gaiman, you will like Stardust, which I would describe as a fun adult fairy tale. It's not as dark as his other work (though still definitely written for an adult audience), and is a relatively fast read. I bought this edition specifically because I had heard that Charles Vess' illustrations were impressive. I'm glad that I did. I'm not a fan of graphic novels, but that's not what this is. Instead, the illustrations are interspersed through the text and add color to the plot without directing it - essentially, the two aspects work together in a way that is really unique in adult fiction. Would definitely recommend this book to anyone who could use a little mental vacation from the real world.

"Stardust" won the Mythpoeic Award for best adult fairy tale. After all, fairy tales are not just for kids. And they're not for wimpy adults, either. Just read "The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales" by Maria Tatar if you don't believe me. "Stardust" has some pretty Grimm stuff in it too, however the only people who might not enjoy it are those who take Unicorns very very seriously. Or are extremely fond of billy goats.Gaiman's story begins and ends with a fair that will remind you of Christina Rossetti's "Goblin Market":"Backwards up the mossy glen/ Turned and trooped the goblin men,/ With their shrill repeated cry,/ "Come buy, come buy.".../As Laura of "Goblin Market"-fame learned, it is better not to sample the merchandise at such Unseelie gatherings. Dunstan Thorn, who "was not romantic" learns this lesson too, when nine months after the "Stardust" fair, a baby is abandoned at the boundary between Faerie and the English village of Wall with his name pinned to its blanket. Thus begins the story of Tristan Thorn who is raised as a proper Victorian lad until age seventeen. Unlike his father, Tristan is romantic and at the bequest of the most beautiful girl in Wall, he sets out on a quest through the Land of Faerie to fetch her a fallen star. Not just any fallen star, but the one Tristan and Victoria both saw on the night she refused to kiss him."Stardust" is stuffed with stock fairy tale creatures who have been blown loose from their moorings and brought to life in the most wildly imaginative way. Some of them make only token appearances, but all are memorable. Two of the most poignant are the boy who is turned into a billy goat, and a billy goat, turned into a boy. There are three truly evil witches, and one who is only so-so wicked. There are...well, read the book. Even if you aren't drinking while you read it, you'll feel drunk by the time you finish.If ever there was a book that could be labeled, `Drink me!', "Stardust" is that book.

I listened to the audio-book version of this and loved it. I watched the movie version of this and became confused. And then, at the end of the audio-book there is an interview with the author, and in it he explained that there were indeed many versions of the book, starting with a graphic-novel. It's really fascinating how the concept and story line evolved and how the story grew. How he found mistakes, (the obsidian blade), and how he anticipates changing the story as time passes. Buy this, but also listen to the audio book and interview.

If you want Vess's amazing illustrations, which were an integral part of the original graphic novel release, make sure the title is fully "Stardust: Being A Romance Within the Realms of Faerie" before you click Add to Cart! I ordered  Stardust  by mistake at first, then figured out that the right one was  Stardust: Being A Romance Within the Realms of Faerie  - if you get that one you will not be disappointed! Or, you could always get the original graphic novel in 4 parts:  Stardust 1,2,3,4 of 4 (Being a Romance Within the Realms of Faerie, Volumes 1,2,3,4)  (that's all 4, you can also find them individually).

I enjoyed the gentle loving way Stardust was written: definitely dictated by a cat (cats I find are very truthful, except perhaps when something is broken).Neil Gaiman is new on my reading list, having displaced Georgette Hyer, Tolkien, Jane Austen, but never Terry Pratchett.

This is the original, and still the best version of this wonderful book. But as stated by other reviewers, the Kindle version is simply not up to scratch - someone has obviously done the conversion who neither knows nor cares, and the result is a version in which double-click doesn't work, zoom doesn't work, and some pages simply cannot be read even on a Fire HDX 8.9. Until such a time as someone can be found to redo the job properly, please avoid this rotten version and buy the paperback. Dave.

The drawings are beautiful and the reason for 2 stars.Now for the big but, the font is too small to read and there is no option to enlarge as you normally can on a kindle. There is one page is so small I can't read at all. Shame it has not converted to kindle well.This a book needs to be physically held and read.There is another version, without drawings that is much easier to read on a kindle.

If you haven't read it yet than give it a go.

A few differences from the film, but a better story for that.My gripe is the illustrations don't always match the text-there's one illustration where the text clearly says the right hand is covered in blood and the drawing shows the left hand instead, f'r instance. If that was the only one I probably would have given 5 stars anyway, bit it isn't. However, Neil Gaiman, fire your proof-reader and hire me for the next one, that way you can have the full 5 stars next time from the rest of the rest of us pedants.

Arrived very late was packaged okay. Nit really in the style of a graphic novel more like a picture book for children xx