I just finished the book today and read an interview by Neil Gaiman where he mentions how much he loves audio dramas, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I loved it, if you enjoyed the book I'm sure you'll enjoy the drama as well. Madame Semele/Ditchwater Sal: A witch, and a member of the Sisterhood to which the Lilim belong. The witch-queen knew Semele as Ditchwater Sal when she was "a young chit of a thing". On their first encounter, Semele drugs the witch-queen's food with a magical substance that causes her to speak only the truth, thus forcing her to blurt out the truth of the fallen star. Semele plots to find the star first and restore her own youth, but the witch-queen curses her so that she will never perceive the star in any way.

Still, it's not so much the sex & violence that disturbed me (although if I liked that kind of thing I wouldn't be reading fantasy); it was that they were included in a tale lauded for its childlike adventure and whimsy. Even the description here on goodreads compares it to Princess Bride & the Neverending Story - an insult beyond comprehension to works which demonstrate that, with skill, an author can in fact write a fairy tale for adults without employing R rated tactics. Common Sense is the nation's leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of all kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the 21st century. I really enjoyed Stardust. Say what you want about Gaiman (no really, I already do) but he is a master of whimsy with a great imagination. Stardust has all the likable aspects of Neverwhere whilst managing to have a main character who is not a whiny, little annoying bitch! I was actually quite fond of this novel! Stardust was originally conceived by Gaiman and Vess as a "story book with pictures", created by both, to be published by American company DC Comics. During an interview to be included in the audio book, Neil Gaiman explained how one day while driving he had seen a wall on the side of the road and had conceived the idea of Faerie being behind the wall. This sparked an idea in Gaiman's head about an American novelist who moved to England where he would find out about this wall; at this time, the book was to be called Wall. Soon afterwards, Gaiman was nominated for a literary award, which he won, and at a celebratory party for the award he saw a shooting star and immediately came up with the idea of Stardust. Gaiman dragged Vess out of a party that he was at and outlined the plot to him and Vess agreed to do the illustrations. Initially, Stardust was released in 1997 as a prestige format four-issue comic mini-series. Stardust came out once a month in a square-bound, high-gloss booklet with high grade paper, high quality color and no advertisements.Reread 2020: Saw the BBC dramatisation available on my local library app and I’ve enjoyed them before. Was not disappointed! Guest appearance by the author as one of the characters too. Still a wonderful story even though it’s a shorter version. Although I still think the movie is better (if only because of Robert deNiro and his fantastic role as Captain Shakespeare), this audio version has a great way of bringing the world to life, making the listener laugh and giving the story its own signature.

If you haven’t lost all sense of romance, and are able to still believe in the beauty of stars, Stardust is absolutely a must read. Unaware of the woman's identity, the old witch placed a transformation spell on Tristran to turn him into a mouse, allowing him to ride in her caravan unnoticed while Yvaine walked alongside. After many days of travel, their caravan passed through the wall breach and arrived at the meadows on the other side, where the Wall fair was soon to be held once more. It was there that Tristran regained his human form and returned home to the village to fulfill his promise and present Victoria with the fallen star he had quested so tirelessly to find. I truly believe you have to be the right kind of scifi fan to enjoy Gaiman to his fullest and unfortunately, like two strangers forced to interact occasionally, we just don't quite mesh together. I would’ve given this book five stars if I enjoyed the characters more. Usually fairytales are more about the world and the plot than the characters so I guess that’s to be expected. Though it would’ve been nice to see a bit more growth from the characters.The book’s ending is apt and wonderfully delivered, particularly given the way that you are not sure whether or not the ending will be a tragic one, after all Gaiman has already shown us this is one fairy tale where the heroes are not safe, indeed quiet though parts of the final section are, I was still holding my breath at certain moments. However, like the question of who would win: Neil Gaiman or the Daleks - well, I'm just ambivalent about the whole thing, really. There are definitely differences between the movie and this dramatisation, and I know that I shouldn't make that comparison, especially since both are based on the book. After listening to this all I can say is, I have put the original book HIGHER on my TBR because it is just whimsical, cosy and adorably fun and wonderful to listen to. The amazing world created by Neil Gaiman came alive and made me re-fall in love with the story. The only thing that threw me out of it was the weird sex. Gaiman always (always) strong-arms some sex into the books and while it did further the plot, I think that the events would've played out exactly the same without the naked bits thrown in to titillate the audience.

Actually it is a Faerie tale, since Gaiman depicts a journey into that magical world and the village of Wall, which is a “boundary” between the two worlds. Though the author pays homage to nineteenth century storylines, he eschews the flowery language and opts for more post-modern prose to narrate his retrospective, pre-Tolkeinesque fantasy. Stardust essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Stardust by Neil Gaiman. Young Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria--even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that old stone wall, Tristran learns, lies Faerie--where nothing, not even a fallen star, is what he imagined.and considering the fact that I loved Coraline and The Graveyard Book and ESPECIALLY The Ocean at the End of the Lane, it balances out regardless! Also on route to claim the star for their own is a trio of princes, which ever one claims her earns the Kingship. Septimus, the youngest of the three, is power mad; he will stop at nothing to be the victor even if it means walking over the corpses of his fellow prince. However, a dark and more sinister threat approaches: the evil witch queen. If her and her sisters eat the heart of the star then their youth will be restored, and in doing so most of their already deadly powers too. Damn you. Damn you straight to hell. You've written beautiful faerie stories in your plainspoken postmodern prose, and left my own projected frontiers woefully trodden. It has nothing to do with your brilliance. Had I been born before you I would most likely be the one writing clever novels about fallen stars and sly gods. I would've, I swear!

Stardust is about a boy living in a village close to the entrance to Fairy. It's the story about getting your heart's desire even if you're not entirely sure what that is. And it's a story about the extraordinary inhabitants of Fairy. Thrown in are funny ways of twisting and turning language and magic that lies within.Yet when Tristran returned to her, Victoria's reception was not what he had so idealized. For in his absence, the vain Victoria had foreseen that Tristran might indeed make good on his word, and came to regret making a drunken pledge of betrothal she had not truly meant. She confessed to Tristran that she never had faith that he would cross the wall and retrieve the fallen star, and that while she remained bound by her oath to marry, she rued having made it.