ok, I'll bite. I haven't reread American Gods since my first reading back in 2001, so I haven't done a 'careful' reading yet. Neil just wrote in his blog

quote:

I imagine it's set in the same world as AMERICAN GODS. (But then, several careful readers have pointed out that AMERICAN GODS is set in the same world as STARDUST, and the two stories don't taste anything like the same.)

So, what's the connection to Stardust?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GMZoe,

they are both people going into a world they know nothing about on a quest.

er, yes,... but half of fantasy can be described as that. The quote suggests something far more specific

I wonder if it's a character connection? The imp in the bottem left hand corner of the illustration on page so and so appears in the fourth paragraph of AG on page so and so? Surely it's not something so cameo-atic as that? Or is it an aspect of Wednesday that appears somewhere in Sd? One of the other gods in disguise?

Dammit. I'm going to have to read both this weekend.

quote:

Originally posted by GMZoe:
er, yes,... but half of fantasy can be described as that. The quote suggests something far more specific

I suppose, Neverwhere is too, but not so much Good OMens.

further idea bouncing :

Could it be the relation of the hero to his parents in both? Both have some sort of Otherness in their parentage and are not told about it. This heritage serves to assist both Shadow and Tristan later in the story when they least expect it. Could that be it? Or is it too far fetched to unite the two different universes?

i was thinking, theres a paragraph or so in american gods where they talk about what america is, and in that paragraph neil said several things that were rather brilliant(one of them hinting that america is atlantis), i wonder if he also hints at it being Faerie.

Hi guys -- I too now need to read through both books!

GMZoe, would you be willing to email me privately? I tried to reach your aol address but I haven't had any success yet. I'm walkermonk at aol dot com. (BTW, I was a Fiddlers Green, but I don't know if I met you ... I'm terrible with names, and I'm kind of a wallhugger type of person.)

Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Eldi:
i was thinking, theres a paragraph or so in american gods where they talk about what america is, and in that paragraph neil said several things that were rather brilliant(one of them hinting that america is atlantis), i wonder if he also hints at it being Faerie.

That's a thought. But I got the distinct impression that Stardust was very not set in America. But I've got both books with me for this weekend, so I'll work on them.

I was also wondering if the three sisters from AG were somehow related to Star's celestial family -- especially that bit with the night-time sister who drew down the moon.

quote:

Originally posted by monkg:
GMZoe, would you be willing to email me privately?

Just tried emailing you. If it doesn't get through, start a private topic

quote:

Originally posted by aitapata:

quote:

Originally posted by Eldi:
i was thinking, theres a paragraph or so in american gods where they talk about what america is, and in that paragraph neil said several things that were rather brilliant(one of them hinting that america is atlantis), i wonder if he also hints at it being Faerie.

That's a thought. But I got the distinct impression that Stardust was very not set in America. But I've got both books with me for this weekend, so I'll work on them.

I was also wondering if the three sisters from AG were somehow related to Star's celestial family -- especially that bit with the night-time sister who drew down the moon.

The Zorya's? hmmm.

Oh hey, there's that other Stardust story too, the one in A Fall Of Stardust.. (will examine later this weekend)

Random trivia: The old Gaiman purity test had a question 'what's the connection between Stardust and Howl's Moving Castle?
Thought I'd remind people since Howl's was just made into a movie
(this one I DO know the answer to!)

theres another stardust story?!

Stardust was originally serialized over four issues as a heavily illustrated text before being issued as a straight novel. The illustrator was Charles Vess. In the late 1990s, his wife was seriously injured in a car accident (she's doing much better now). To raise funds for medical expenses, a portfolio was released with plates by various artists doing their take of Stardust characters and two chapbooks (in this case, pamphlets with short stories in). The portfolio was called "A Fall Of Stardust". The two chapbooks were "Wall: A Prologue" by Neil and "The Duke Of Wellington Misplaces His Horse" by Susanna 'Strange and Norrell' Clarke. Neil's story is meant to be the prologue to what will eventually be a sequel to Stardust (don't hold your breath, he has a full plate and we're still waiting for The Seven Sisters, the sequel to Neverwhere, not to mention the Delerium miniseries). The portfolio is now out of print. With Clarke's recent fame, many copies are on ebay, but most have severly inflated prices, so look around for a deal

theres gonna be a delirium miniseries? now that rocks.


I loved the stardust novel, i saw someone mention the graphic novel(i guess is what youd call it), but i have yet to find a copy of it in local book stores and junk. damn, it sucks being late to everything.

the graphic novel is the same story as the book, just with pictures (very very nice pictures)
And the delerium story was hinted at years and years ago, doubt it'll show up any time soon.
edit: Example: in Sandman #47 from 1993, it says Neil plans to write an Endless limited series with each issue focusing on a different Endless. If you say that that project became Endless Nights, that's more than a decade from him mentioning it to it coming to pass

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GMZoe,

damn. Id love a Delirium miniseries. oh well.

Yeah, I knew the graphic novel form of stardust was the same story, just with artwork, I want to read it someday. Stardust is a nice little fairy tale..

I think the connection has to do with the relationship between reality and what people believe to be true. In "American Gods," the gods existed because someone believed that they existed. It could be that things are different on the Other Side of The Wall because the people know that Faerie exists, or that Star would become a meteorite if she crossed over because that's what people 'knew' shooting stars were on the English Side of The Wall.

All those are nice thematic similarities, but I think some far more concrete like people reading Jenny Kerton novels on page 297* of the paperback, Jenny being a character from Wall: A Prologue, seems far more likely as to what Neil was referring to.

*Amazon's search-in-the-book feature is really cool!

quote:

Originally posted by GMZoe:
All those are nice thematic similarities, but I think some far more concrete like people reading Jenny Kerton novels on page 297* of the paperback, Jenny being a character from Wall: A Prologue, seems far more likely as to what Neil was referring to.

*Amazon's search-in-the-book feature is really cool!

winner.