My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Neil Gaiman has a knack for writing an adult narrative that feels like a children’s story.
Tristran Thorn thinks he knows who he is. A resident of Wall, a town on the boundary of the human world and Faerie, Tristran has grown up with no grand ambitions. He’s a teenager who falls in love with a girl and promises to go on an epic quest to win her over – to retrieve a fallen star. Unlike a fairy tale, the obvious route to redemption is not the road that is followed. But like the children’s version, there is a life lesson to be learned.
The fallen star is not a thing, but a woman, and several individuals want her for their own reasons. To steal her power and youth, to retrieve the amulet she holds, or just to prove a point. Each will have to fight, steal, outsmart, and/or kill to reach their goal.
Some incidents are described in great detail, whereas others are skimmed over without any embellishment – those being the happier times during the journey. I suppose there’s less drama and conflict to be had during moments of happiness! The land of Faerie sounds like a fun place to visit, despite the backstabbing and throat-slitting. Our world can only be made more interesting by the inclusion of magic and mystery.
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Crown Jules Presents 