“Adventures are all very well in their place”, he thought, “but there’s a lot to be said for regular meals and freedom from pain”.

And thus we come to the end of our journey, our travels with Tristran Thorn and his fallen star come to an all-too-soon end. But as my own experience attests, there is great joy in a return trip. Neil Gaiman’s fairy tale does go by quickly, but its pages are packed with imagination. It is a sweet, satisfying adventure found through a gap, outside a wall.

It has been a great pleasure both re-reading this book and doing so with a group of others who are either exploring the land outside of Wall for the first time or are returning for another go. It is fascinating to see a story you love through the eyes of other people as it causes you to look at the story with differently and reveals new facets despite your familiarity with the tale.

Thank all of you who participated in the reading and/or the discussions. I am anxious for your thoughts on the second half of the book. For those who have not read it, there are spoilers to follow.

Continue reading Stardust Read-Along Part 2 →

For those of you who are taking part, and those who may still like to, this is the first of two discussion posts for the group reading of Neil Gaiman’s wonderful fairy tale, Stardust. I cannot recall the exact year I first read this book though I do know it was not long after it came out in paperback form. Over the years I have read it many times, including aloud to my wife, and have listened to the audio version many times over. If you haven’t tracked down a copy of Gaiman reading this story it is something I highly recommend. The story itself is magical, Neil reading it makes it more so.

For this read-along I decided to forgo the audio version and do it old school and it has been a tremendous pleasure to journey through the pages again, allowing Neil’s words to ignite my imagination and memories of Charles Vess’ illustration in the original version to inform the visions in my head.

For this read through I am reading the small slip-cased signed Gift Edition that I purchased from Subterranean Press. It is my first time reading this particular copy of the novel and I am loving the size of it. In the Introduction Neil points out that he asked his editor if they could make the book look like a “much loved book from 1922” and they have, and it is lovely.

I hope that all of you participating are enjoying the story, but I look forward to hearing from you even if that is not the case. Following the jump there will be a spoiler-filled discussion of the first five chapters of the book. Anyone who would like is welcome to participate in the conversation, even if you are not reading along with us at this time. I only ask that you limit the conversation to the first five chapters so as not to spoil anything for those reading Stardust for the first time.

Continue reading Stardust Read-along, Part I →