Stardust

ISBN: 0-380-80455-7 Order from: Amazon.com

An enjoyable, lightly humorous fairy tale of romance, adventure and growing up, with fantasy stereotypes treated with amusement and delight rather than sarcasm.

Reviewed by David on March 25, 2000

Genre: Fantasy (Fairy Tale, Romance, Quest, Coming of Age)

Synopsis: In Victorian England, an infatuated young lad goes through a mysterious gate into the perilous, and occasionally wonderful world of Fairy. His quest to bring a fallen star to win the hand of his love brings him into the midst of several struggles of magic, murder and treachery.

Full Review: Starting in Victorian England, this book shows some signs of the Victorian fascination with clockwork. Like ingeniously designed mechanisms and fairy tales, the plots and magic spells in this book work to their conclusion in oddly elegant, preset courses. The land into which our hero plunges, rashly and yet inevitably, is full of enchanted beings, curses with seemingly impossible conditions, unexpected helpers, and half-recognized characters. In some ways similar to Silverlock, Stardust succeeds much better in telling a good story, without the former's concentration on literary references.

As in Neverwhere, Gaiman succeeds in creating colorful villains, who are both terrifying in their competence, and innovative and colorful enough to invoke some (very slight) sympathy. Not the deepest of character developments, this book neveretheless succeeds well in describing Tristram's growth, and even its archetypal, predictable, secondary characters are fresh enough to hold the reader's interest.

As light, literate entertainment which deals deftly and respectfully with the tropes of old fairy tales, this fantasy is an excellent addition to one's bookshelf.

Overall: 6.5; Plot: 6; Characters: 6; Style: 7; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 6.5;

ISBN: 0-380-80455-7 Order from: Amazon.com