Synopses & Reviews
In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here in the town of Wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. One crisp October night, as they watch, a star falls from the sky, and Victoria promises to marry Tristran if he'll retrieve that star and bring it back for her. It is this promise that sends Tristran through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here in the town of Wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. One crisp October night, as they watch, a star falls from the sky, and Victoria promises to marry Tristran if he'll retrieve that star and bring it back for her. It is this promise that sends Tristran through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.
Review
"A beautiful, memorable work." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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"His finest work yet...prose as smooth as twelve-year-old scotch."
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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"Strange...marvelous...magical." Philadelphia Inquirer
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"A twisting, wondrous tale full of magic." Chicago Tribune
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“[A] beautiful book, and most of all, perfect for all ages.” Desicritics.org on STARDUST
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“A wonderful tale . . . mythic.” Denise Hamilton, Romantic Times BOOKclub
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“A charming comic romance.” Dayton Daily News
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“Delightful...a strange yet wonderful story.” Grand Rapids Press
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“Marvelous adventures . . . magical and fun.” Cleveland Plain Dealer
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“Thrilling . . . Stardust reads like a mix between L. Frank Baum, the Brothers Grimm, and a Tim Burton movie script.” Dallas Morning News
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“A wonderful novel . . . A pleasure to read.” Denver Post
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“Eminently readable---a charming piece of work.” Washington Post Book World
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“Strange...marvelous...Stardust takes us back to a time when the world was more magical, and, real or not, that world is a charming place.” Philadelphia Inquirer
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“His finest work yet...Sometimes sparse, sometimes witty, often lyrical...prose as smooth as 12-year-old scotch.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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“[A] tale about love, danger, friendship, magic, and adventure . . . a short novel that delivers big-time satisfaction.” Detroit Free Press
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“Sparkling, fresh, and charming. Superb.” Booklist
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“The multitalented author of The Sandman graphic novels and last years Neverwhere charms again, with a deftly written fantasy adventure tale set in Victorian England and enriched by familiar folk materials.” Kirkus Reviews (starred)
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“Beautiful, memorable . . . A book full of marvels.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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"Stardust has held up beautifully; if anything, it has eclipsed my memories and gotten better with age....Gaiman turns a story of misbegotten love into an epic adventure that never ceases to entertain and is all the stronger for its brevity." Chris Bolton, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review)
Synopsis
In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here in the town of Wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. One crisp October night, as they watch, a star falls from the sky, and Victoria promises to marry Tristran if he'll retrieve that star and bring it back for her. It is this promise that sends Tristran through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.
About the Author
A professional writer for more than twenty years, Neil Gaiman has been one of the top writers in modern comics, and is now a bestselling novelist. His work has appeared in translation in more than nineteen countries, and nearly all of his novels, graphic and otherwise, have been optioned for films. He is listed in the Dictionary of Literary Biography as one of the top ten living post-modern writers.
Gaiman was the creator/writer of the monthly cult DC Comics series, "Sandman," which won Neil nine Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, including the award for best writer four times, and three Harvey Awards. "Sandman #19" took the 1991 World Fantasy Award for best short story, making it the first comic ever to be awarded a literary award.
His six-part fantastical TV series for the BBC, "Neverwhere," was broadcast in 1996. His novel, also called "Neverwhere," and set in the same strange underground world as the television series, was released in 1997; it appeared on a number of bestseller lists, including those of the Los Angeles Times,the San Francisco Chronicle,and Locus.
Stardust,an illustrated prose novel in four parts, began to appear from DC Comics in 1997. In 1999 Avon released the all-prose unillustrated version, which appeared on a number of bestseller lists, was selected by Publishers Weeklyas one of the best books of the year, and was awarded the prestigious Mythopoeic Award as best novel for adults.
American Gods,a novel for adults, was published in 2001 and appeared on many best-of- the-year lists, was a New York Timesbestseller in both hardcover and paperback, and won the Hugo, Nebula, SFX, Bram Stoker, and Locus Awards.
Coraline(2002), his first novel for children, was a New York Timesand international bestseller, was nominated for the Prix Tam Tam, and won the Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award, the BSFA Award, the HUgo, the Nebula and the Bram Stoker Award.
2003 saw the publication of bestseller The Wolves in the Walls,a children's picture book, illustrated by Gaiman's longtime collaborator Dave McKean, which the New York Timesnamed as one of the best illustrated books of the year; and the first Sandman graphic novel in seven years, Endless Nights,the first graphic novel to make the New York Timesbestseller list.
In 2004, Gaiman published the a new graphic novel for Marvel called 1602,which was the best-selling comic of 2004, and 2005 saw the Sundance Film Festival premiere of "MirrorMask," a Jim Henson Company Production written by Gaiman and directed by McKean. A lavishly designed book containing the complete script, black and white storyboards, and full-color art from the film will be published by William Morrow in early 2005; a picture book for younger readers, also written by Gaiman and illustrated with art from the movie, will be published by HarperCollins Children's Books at a later date.
Gaiman's official website has 400,000 unique visitors per month in 2004; close to 600,000 per month are expected in 2005. His online journal is syndicated to thousands of blog readers every day.
Born and raised in England, Neil Gaiman now lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he is currently at work on Anansi Boys, the long-awaited follow-up to American Gods.