Stardust - Neil Gaiman

RATING: FIVE STARS

Tristran Thorn is just an average boy from the Victorian-English village of Wall, which has an unparalleled history with Faerie - a world of magic and fantastical beings that most consider unnatural. Wall is aptly name for the great escarpments of stone that enclose it, but its once solid defences now contain a hole. Through this hole is a meadow and, through this meadow, is something else - a world that is filled with magic and things too strange to understand. It is through his hole and into this world, that Tristran must pass through on his search for the fallen star that will win the hand of his one true love . . .

The Good
Stardust is best described as a charming, light-hearted fairy tale that is written for adults, rather than children. Neil Gaiman has really shown why he is so acclaimed as a writer and I felt myself myself drawn into his strange story right from the first few pages. It is heart-warming and bold, being full of emotion and imagination as it tells Tristan's story in a way that makes the book extremely hard to put down!

I really felt for all of Gaiman's characters while I was reading the book and found myself routing for Tristan and the fallen star more and more as they make a whole host friends and allies during their adventure, Even the story's villains were relatable since none of them turned out to be truly evil and sought the fallen star in a world that was as vivid as it was strange.

The Bad
Honestly, I had nothing to fault with Stardust and really enjoyed reading it. That being said, the novella won't be for everyone: it is slightly strange, written in a polite, quirky manner and isn't about the classic struggle between good and evil as most works of fantasy are. Instead, it's a pleasant fairy tale about a young man who sets out on a quest to find a fallen star for the woman he loves. There is very little fighting and epic dialogue, which may not appeal to readers who are looking for an action-packed book filled with swords and evil on a terrifying scale.

My Thoughts
I am huge fan of 'heavy' fantasy like The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings, and really enjoy books with heroes that struggle through adversity to fight for good beyond all call of reason. But there is something about Stardust that I really liked and it was one of the most heart-warming books I have read in a long time. Instead of great battles, the book is a story of love, greed and redemption. Gaiman really has done a fantastic job in writing it and I recommend that you give it a go. I have no doubt that this story will stay with me for a long, long time, even though I've finished it and moved onto books.

Upcoming anthology: 'Rogues' by George R. R. Martin et al

Hi all,

Here's a quick message to all of you fantasy fans out there, who might be interested to learn of a new anthology that will be released soon (although there's no publication date as of yet). The anthology is called Rogues and features 21 stories from some of the biggest authors in the fantasy genre, including a new Song of Ice and Fire story by George R. R. Martin and a piece by Patrick Rothfuss himself!

The full list of featured authors (as it stands at the moment) is:

• George R. R. Martin
• Patrick Rothfuss
• Joe Abercrombie
• Daniel Abraham
• David W. Ball
• Paul Cornell
• Bradley Denton
• Phyllis Eisenstein
• Gillian Flynn
• Neil Gaiman
• Matthew Hughes
• Joe R. Lansdale
• Scott Lynch
• Garth Nix
• Cherie Priest
• Steven Saylor
• Michael Swanwick
• Lisa Tuttle
• Carrie Vaughn
• Walter Jon Williams
• Connie Willis

I'm certainly going to keep my eye on this one and will let you know once a release date has been set!