Remember when you were enchanted by fairy tales as a child?
Those tales of beautiful princesses and daring princes in magical
lands were certainly captivating.  Well, if you want to recapture
that special feeling, read STARDUST by best selling author Neil Gaiman. 
STARDUST was specifically written to be a fairy tale for adults.

Set in Victorian England in the fictional town of Wall (named after
the nearby wall separating the real world from Faerie), the novel tells
the story of young Tristran Thorn’s quest to win the heart of the localbeauty Victoria Forester.  Tristran offers to bring her a fallen star that
has landed beyond the wall in exchange for her hand in marriage.  His quest
for his Heart’s Desire takes him on a journey that will challenge all heknows about himself and into an adventure through the
capricious ream of Faerie.

Gaiman does a fantastic job with this novel.  Besides Tristran’s journey,he includes other threads such as the nefarious plots of three brothers
to rule the kingdom of their recently deceased father and a witch’squest for eternal youth.  The characters come to life with richness as well
as seeming utterly human.  The author, a transplanted Brit, also adds
a touch of dry British wit to the story that makes the read extremely fun.
 
STARDUST has just been released as a mass market paperback, but
it might interest some readers to know that Gaiman did an illustrated
version with art by well-known illustrator Charles Vess.  Although
Gaiman is a well known comic book author, the illustrated STARDUST
is more like a fairy tale storybook than a comic book with prose writing
instead of word balloons.  This makes the illustrated version almost
a storybook for adults.  But which ever version of STARDUST is read,
it is sure to enchant the reader like any good fairy tale.