Stardust
- 238
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
- Mythopoeic Awards
- NPR Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books
- Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature
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Our view
A fairy tale for grown-ups, written on purpose in the manner of English fantasy before Tolkien: the telling is light and storybook-simple, the humour and the sparring between Tristran and Yvaine are not. Readers who come for an intricate plot may find the quest plain; its pleasure lies in tone and phrasing more than in surprise. At 238 pages, a good choice for anyone wanting something hopeful and quick.
Worth knowing Stardust first appeared in 1997 and 1998 as four illustrated instalments with paintings by Charles Vess, and the text-only novel followed in 1999; Neil Gaiman wrote it as a fairy tale for adults, in the manner of Lord Dunsany and Hope Mirrlees, and it reads shorter than its 250 pages. Tristran Thorn, from the English village of Wall, which has a gap in its wall into Faerie, promises the girl he thinks he loves the star they both saw fall, crosses over and finds that the star is a young woman called Yvaine, who has broken her leg and is not pleased. The 2007 film with Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro is lighter than the book and ends differently.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Stardust is a 1999 fantasy novel by British writer Neil Gaiman, usually published with illustrations by Charles Vess. Stardust has a different tone and style from most of Gaiman's prose fiction, being consciously written in the tradition of pre-Tolkien English fantasy, following in the footsteps of authors such as Lord Dunsany and Hope Mirrlees. It is concerned with the adventures of a young man from the village of Wall, which borders the magical land of Faerie.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.0 across 1,458 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 91% of the weight and the score stays at 8.0 — the Fantasy average of 8.0 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.8 | 85 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 8.0 | 1.4K | 94% |
Frequently asked
How long is Stardust?
It has 238 pages — shorter than 98% of the ranked books in Fantasy.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Fantasy — and a score of 8.0, the closest to this book.
