The Neverending Story (Firebird)

Paperback, 448 pages

English language

Published Jan. 1, 1993 by Puffin.

ISBN:
978-0-14-038633-2
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4 stars (13 reviews)

Bastian Balthazar Bux is shy, awkward, and certainly not heroic. His only escape is reading books. When Bastian happens upon an old book called The Neverending Story, he's swept into the magical world of Fantastica--so much that he finds he has actually become a character in the story! And when he realizes that this mysteriously enchanted world is in great danger, he also discovers that he has been the one chosen to save it. Can Bastian overcome the barrier between reality and his imagination in order to save Fantastica? (back cover)

25 editions

A fantastic book about a neverending story.

5 stars

A fantastic book about a fantastic book and the journey that Bastian Balthazar Bux undertakes with (and in) it.

Probably more people are familiar with the movies, especially the first one, but that only covers the initial journey Bastian unknowingly undertakes as he follows the adventures of Atreyu (and Falkor, the Luckdragon) in Fantastica, while being lead to the Childlike Empress who needs a new name to live; a name that only a human can give.

Conscious of his looks, Bastian is hesitant to do what the Childlike Empress needs. She resorts to her last option: a visit to the Old Man of Wandering Mountain and a retelling of the Neverending Story (in computer terms, an infinite, recursive loop) that can only be broken by an outside force: her new name which Bastian declares to be Moon Child.

Now in Fantastica, Bastian is given Moon Child's amulet, AURYN, with the …

Review of 'The Neverending Story' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

In America, there is pretty much one type of person that will consider reading this: those who have seen the movie. So how does it compare? Will it ruin childhood memories because of how different the book is from the movie? Or is the movie much better than the book? Ultimately, this will depend on what type of story you are in the mood for.

Both the book and the movie start out similar. Sure, Bastian is fat in the book, but he is still bullied, still has a dead mother, and still struggles in his relationship with his father. He also, of course, still steals the book. The main difference here is that the book does not set this up like the movie does. It is much more concerned with Bastian getting to the point when he reads the book than anything else. Up until the Southern Oracle portion, …

Subjects

  • Fantasy.