Stardust by Neil Gaiman

The final step in the scribe path of The Book Junkie Trials is The Bookie Grail. This prompt requires me to read the group book, Stardust by Neil Gaiman. I went into my reading knowing nothing about the story or the movie version of it. What I did know, however, was that I enjoy Neil Gaiman's work. I really liked The Graveyard Book and American Gods, so I expected to like this one too.

Stardust is set during Victorian times in a small English village named Wall. It's a tiny, quiet place full of ordinary things, except for one rather unusual exception - it lies along the border of faerie territory. The people of Wall have separated themselves from their magical neighbors with an actual wall, and the only opening in it is guarded day and night to prevent anyone from going through. The only interaction between the two worlds is a special market day event, which only occurs once every nine years.

The plot follows a young man named Tristran Thorn. At the start of the story, he is trying to win the affections of Victoria Forester, a woman from his village that he has fallen in love with. After witnessing a falling star one evening, Tristran makes her an outlandish promise. He vows to go and find the star that fell and present it to her, in exchange for her granting him his heart's desire. Victoria agrees, and Tristran sets off on his adventure.

Of course, the star fell into faerie territory, so Tristran's journey is fraught with danger. On his quest, he encounters all manner of strange creatures and magical dangers. To complicate matters further, he isn't the only one looking for the star. A witch and a nobleman are also on the hunt, and will stop at nothing to secure it for themselves. The race to the star is on, but in the world of the faerie, nothing is as it seems. Tristran's mission is destined to take many twists and turns, and will arrive at a fantastical outcome that he never could have expected.

Stardust is a grownup fairy tale, and Neil Gaiman is extremely talented at this sort of storytelling. He creates magical worlds with ease. I was instantly carried away with the plot and totally engaged throughout. It was magical, funny, and surprisingly romantic. A lot of it was also entirely predictable, but in that really great, bedtime story kind of way - where you can see the various pieces coming together in a way that is sweet and satisfying. Tristran was a goodhearted character who was easy to root for and his adventure was quirky and consistently interesting. It was a charming little tale and I liked it a lot.

This was well-worth the read and an excellent choice for the group novel, considering the fantasy theme of the Book Junkie reading challenge. Anyone with a fondness for fairy tales would do well to pick this up. It's a comfort and a pleasure to revisit a world of unicorns, witches, and fairies and feel a little bit like like a kid again.


Challenge Tally
Book Junkie Trials (The Bookie Grail - Read the group novel) 5/17
Finally in 2019: 25/6 Books Read - Complete!

Total Books Read in 2019: 43