Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman must have read a really big dictionary front to back as well as every fairy tale in print as a child. Reading Stardust, his fantasy novel for adult readers, I was greatly entertained by his wide ranging vocabulary and the profusion of fairies, witches, and fantastic creatures, all in support of his well-told tale about a young man pursuing for love what should be an impossible quest. Having a good heart and the help of magical friends when it is most needed, Tristan Thorn gets his heart's desire. It also almost kills him. I don't want to say any more and spoil the story.

I listened to the five disc audiobook read by Gaiman himself. At the end of disc five is a lengthy interview with the author in which he explains how he wrote this story. He started with the idea of a gap in a wall being the portal from the everyday world into Faerie, a fading world of magic. He also tells how he dreaded reading in public until he discovered what fun it was. If you are lucky enough to get the audiobook, make time to listen to the interview.

Gaiman, Neil. Stardust. Recorded Books, 2006. ISBN 9780061153921.