I'm sure he could have made an original, immersive, and interesting world filled with unique institutions and creatures, but he didn't even try. I'm left wondering what the point was since it didn't seem to be satire but clearly tried for a sardonic approach. Why draw so heavily and randomly from these devices when they do nothing to round out Stardust's unimaginative world of Faerie, or to flesh out the flat characters and plot? By haphazardly including every familiar trope, Gaiman makes his story bland.

From the dry tone, it seems as though Gaiman's poking some deserved fun at them, but if there's meant to be an undertone of light-hearted criticism in Stardust, I couldn't find it. This book makes heavy-handed use of basically every fantasy trope in existence.

The writing basically seems like a failed attempt at Piers Anthony's Xanth novels that is neither clever nor funny nor original. The plot and character development are extremely simplistic (as is the dialogue) in a way that would be better suited to a parable, but Stardust otherwise follows a more usual novel tone, so the suddenness and implausibility just come off as poor writing. Perhaps to make his story 'adult,' Gaiman is sure to include occasional scenes of sex and grotesque violence, but they seem awkward and out of place in the otherwise juvenile text. The tone is light-hearted and sarcastic, but it really isn't funny when it tries to be. Gaiman tries to write an 'adult fairy tale' with what I think are terrible results. One issue I had with Stardust was the writing itself. He obviously has some talent, so I'm hoping this book is just a miss. I've read that Gaiman is better with graphic novels, and that seems likely. The writing was poor, the story cliché and shallow, and the content problematic.

If it is anything like Mirrormask, which Gaiman helped create, I will not be disappointed.My high expectations for this book (the first I've read of Gaiman's) were badly disappointed. Two points I especially felt could have used more depth - the secret allegiance to which the flying pirates belong is merely glossed over with a castle shaped hand-signal, and also, unless I missed it, the third secret the tree gave to Tristan was never revealed.Īll in all, the book was a pleasure to read and I look forward to seeing the movie, and I hope Hollywood does not ruin it. It should have been expanded (This was one of Gaiman's earlier books and I think he has since grown as a writer - his later works are much more fleshed out). However, Stardust was not without its flaws. The characters and setting were magical, but the characters' motivations and interactions were human and believeable. Although the story was short and kept an adventurous pace, it did not leave me feeling shortchanged on creativity or detail. As an avid Neil Gaiman fan, I had to make sure I read Stardust before the movie came out and influenced my opinion of it.Īs usual, I was not disappointed.

Stardust neil gaiman goodreads