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Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess

Stardust (Amazon.co.uk)

Stardust (Powell's Books - new or secondhand)

Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess

Stardust

This novel is a fairytale - more specifically, a romance - for adult readers, or at least, anyone old enough to be able to handle sexuality and the odd swear word. It is very cleverly worked out by Mr Gaiman and like all good storytellers, he creates a world in which you desire to go exploring yourself when the story ends, because you've been shown a little yet so much more has been hinted at.

There are two versions of this novel, one illustrated and one not. Anyone who would choose the latter over the former must be crazy: Mr Vess has done 175 colour paintings and brought the village of Wall and the world of Faerie to vivid life. This book would be great even if there was no text!

Although the story takes place within "the realms of Faerie", there is no strong link between it and The Sandman and The Books of Magic, two comics by Gaiman that also featured Faerie (drawn by Vess, too).

Tristran Thorn, lives in the small village of Wall in Victorian England. One evening he promises the local beauty that he will fetch her a fallen star. His journey takes him over the wall between this world and Faerie and back again, by which time he has understood both love and his true self.

- Barry Kavanagh