What is in a name; annoyance that is what.

I just finished Stardust by Neil Gaiman. It is a fantasy novel that takes place in England back in the day (1800s?). Here is the synopsis from Barnes and Noble:

“In the sleepy English countryside of decades past, there is a town that has stood on a jut of granite for six hundred years. And immediately to the east stands a high stone wall, for which the village is named. Here in the town of Wall, Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester. One crisp October night, as they watch, a star falls from the sky, and Victoria promises to marry Tristran if he'll retrieve that star and bring it back for her. It is this promise that sends Tristran through the only gap in the wall, across the meadow, and into the most unforgettable adventure of his life.”

After reading it, I feel the book is just okay, bordering on bad. I like the descriptions and I think the plot is inventive. However, there are lots of things I do not like. One thing I do not like is the love scenes (not altogether graphic, and there are only two, but…ewww). Also, there is some bad language that really does not add to the book at all. I guess it is just there to try and appeal to some readers? Another thing I do not like is all of the violence. Lots and lots of violence in this book. I know, I know, it is fantasy…BUT STILL. Finally, a last thing I do not like the use of SO MANY NAMES! I am not a huge fan of fantasy and I think a lot of it comes down to the names. Why must all fantasy books use such crazy names? Why must there be so many characters, humans and otherwise? All those characters, all those names make it hard for me to stay with the plot and really get into the story.

Maybe I need to try a different fantasy book? I don’t know but this one really did not do much for me. I have heard from multiple people that the movie is actually better than the book in this case. I am going to check out the movie soon and blog about that too! :)