Stardust

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for 600 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 the 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.

Fantasy fan? Don't miss more from Neil Gaiman.

©1999 Neil Gaiman (P)2006 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Eminently readable, a charming piece of work." (Washington Post)
"An original and well-written fairy tale....This is a refreshingly creative story with appealing characters." (Library Journal)
"The resolution is satisfying and complex, proving that there is more to fairy tales than 'happily ever after'." (School Library Journal)

beautiful and fun

I listened to this book as an audible.com download, and it was gorgeous. Neil Gaiman narrates as well as he writes. The voices and tone are perfect. Stardust is a fairytale for adults. The village of Wall sits on the edge of Faerie, and every 9 years there is a fairy market on the border. One day a boy from the village vows to get a fallen star to win his true love’s favor. Problem: the star fell on the far side of the wall. There are airships and evil witches and cat girls and talking badgers. What’s not to like? In the audible version, there’s also an interesting interview with Neil Gaiman at the end.

A Charming Story Narrated by a Master Storyteller.

As a recording engineer, produce, writer and self-styled coniseaur of audio books myself, I tend to be on the critical side. Very few productions achieve five star ratings by my hand, as, in order to earn such an accolade, they must excel equally in the fields of writing style, production quality and narrative performance. On the subject of the latter, because I have worked with voiceover talent for several years, I know how rare it is for an author to effectively and forensically deliver his or her own work. In fact, it is rare for an individual to be truly talented in one, let alone both of the disciplines involved. That said, it is without any reservation whatsoever that I recommend Stardust. There are few authors who can claim peership with Gaiman's narrative brilliance. Add to that his superb delivery and you cannot deny him the title of "Master Storyteller."

-P. M. Selman

Absolutely Delightful!

I adore this book more than I can say.
Read by the author, Neil Gaimen gives his fairytale to life with both his words and his voice.
There is an intimate quality, in the same way as when a family member used to read stories aloud to children.
It lights up magic of the heart.
Dive in! Delight! Then do it all over again!

captivating!

I think I very nearly listened to this audiobook from "cover to cover", I was so spellbound by the story. It is a fairytale in the tradition of The Princess Bride. It's all here: evil witches, a brave young man on a quest, true love, enchanted creatures, and a healthy dose of humor as well. The author and narrator, Neil Gaiman, knows his characters well and speaks for them in a straightforward and engaging way. Delightful!

Gaiman is the best

An adult fairy tale with a twist. Would that we could all find our falling star someday. Nothing can beat Neil Gaiman reading his own work.

I should have read the book first.

Great narration. Really nice to hear the author read their own work. It bring something to the story that you just can't get by reading yourself or hearing somebody else read the book. However, I feel that the movie was a bit of a cleanup of some of the elements in the book that didn't really work. I suppose I'm one of the few that like the movie better (this is a first for me, I never like the movie better). Still, great book.

Fantastic Read

When I saw previews of the movie, I ran out to buy this book. Once I read this book I couldn't put it down and had to get it in audio form. The movie was a wonderful adaptation. An all round very good story. A fairy tale for adults.

Wonderfully enchanting

A classic really, one of the best adult fairytales and the fact that the author reads it himself gives you a true sense of the story. I watched the movie before but as usual after listening to the book it proved to be the more superior version especially the world building.

Gaiman stories read by Gaiman should not be missed

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Gaiman stories read by Gaiman should not be missed. I often choose audio books by the ability of the narrator and Gaiman is unparalleled in his ability to bring to life his type of story through the spoken word. His other books such as the Graveyard book, Coraline and Neverwhere are works that I have listened to over and over again.

And as for quality of the story of Stardust itself, while I put those other Gaiman books above Stardust, I was still quite delighted by this tale of the Faerie realm. No fan of Gaiman should pass this story by!

Also at the end there is a wonderful interview with Gaiman about his inspiration for this book, his other works and about how he learned he had an affinity and a love for doing narration.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Stardust?

I loved the description of the Faerie market.

What does Neil Gaiman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

As said, Neil Gaiman is an EXCELLENCE narrator. His voice rich and melodious. He knows his work and he knows exactly where to put the slight pauses to emphasize his unique wry humor and where to speed up to add excitement and heighten drama. He does voices that fit the characters that make each distinctive and convey their personality.

Any additional comments?

As other people said this book has a brief encounter of really "adult" content that should be kept in mind when young children read it.

Cute adult fairy tale

If you could sum up Stardust in three words, what would they be?

Fun
Different
Enjoyable

What did you like best about this story?

The change from the normal fairy tale prince and princesses

What about Neil Gaiman’s performance did you like?

Being the author I fell Neil Gaiman understands the characters better than many readers and brings them to life making it feel as though you are watching a play rather than listening to a book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laughed out loud a lot. I love the quirky characters and the way the story plays out. Especially love the ending.