Stardust
#2284.09 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1999 Reading commitment Low Neil Gaiman Last reviewed 2026-08-11
Overview
A standalone fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman, first published in prose form by Avon in 1999. A young man from the English village of Wall crosses into the magical land of Faerie in pursuit of a fallen star, and finds it has taken the form of a young woman. Half-Faerie protagonist Tristran Thorn makes the crossing after promising to retrieve the star for the girl he loves, drawing on pre-Tolkien English fantasy traditions for its tone and structure; the novel originated as an illustrated serial with Charles Vess before being adapted into standard prose form. It won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 1999 and an Alex Award from the American Library Association in 2000. A 2007 film adaptation starring Claire Danes, Charlie Cox, and Michelle Pfeiffer, with narration by Ian McKellen, was released to generally positive reviews, and a BBC Radio 4 two-part radio adaptation followed in 2016.
Fairy-tale retelling, Portal fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Stardust (1999) core · 4.09 (489,005 ratings); The prose-only novel text (Avon, 1999) is what this project registers. The 1997 comic serialization and 1998 illustrated book (both with Charles Vess) are the same story in a different, earlier medium/edition -- not a separate work; Gaiman rewrote it without illustrations for this 1999 edition at his publisher's request. The illustrated Vess edition placed separately in Locus's 1999 Art Book poll category (4th place) -- a different category for a different medium, not double-counted here.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Stardust? Stardust's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Stardust finished? Complete (1999).
- How much reading does Stardust take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~248 pages).
- How is Stardust ranked? #228 in this site's official ranking, based on 489,005 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #228?
Ranked #228 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.09 across 1 core book.
- Backed by 489k reader ratings.
- 0.06 behind #227, The Little Grey Men.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 1 book · Complete · 489k ratings · Ranks #228 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- Mythopoeic Award (Adult Literature), 1999: won: Stardust
- Alex Award (Selection), 2000: won: Stardust
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel (reader poll)), 1999: finalist: Stardust; Locus reader poll placement: 2nd place.
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Suggestions computed from what Stardust and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Spinning Silver Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Low commitment · 4.17
- Nettle & Bone Fairy-tale retelling / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.07
- A Sorceress Comes to Call Fairy-tale retelling / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.03
- Hemlock & Silver Fairy-tale retelling / Dark fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.01
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.09 across 489,005 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Stardust admitted as a single-work universe accepted 2026-08-11
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia: Stardust (Gaiman novel) Tier 2
- sfadb: Neil Gaiman Tier 1
Last reviewed: 2026-08-11
Rule: single-work: one continuous novel, no sequel or companion narrative. The 1997 comic serialization and 1998 illustrated book (both illustrated by Charles Vess) are the same text in an earlier medium/edition, not a separate work; Gaiman rewrote it without illustrations for this 1999 prose edition.