A Victim of Stars 1982–2012 is a compilation album by David Sylvian. Released in 2012, the album features songs from his solo work, from Japan's reformation Rain Tree Crow, his collaborations with other artists such as Ryuichi Sakamoto and Robert Fripp, and from his more recent involvement in the band Nine Horses. It also features of a remix of Japan's "Ghosts", released on Sylvian's 2000 compilation Everything and Nothing. The album peaked at number 58 on the UK albums chart.^[6]

Despite that fact not being mentioned anywhere on the album, "Forbidden Colours" is present in the re-recorded 1984 "Version" released as a B-side to "Red Guitar".^[7] Also, the song "Manafon" is a remixed version of the song from the album of the same name, which featured on the 2011 remix album Died in the Wool – Manafon Variations.^[8]

As presented on Sylvian's website, critical reception was very positive.^[12]

A review at Pitchfork concluded: "It's not easy to string a single narrative from A Victim of Stars-- Sylvian's career is in a permanent state of flux and reinvention. But he works best when his songwriting is pulled away from the concrete, when there's open-endedness for him to spin his focus around. But nothing here is ever wholly drawn into that world. Sylvian's role often feels like that of a curator, tugging in elements of free improvisation but never letting it overshadow, lest his absorption with songcraft, opulent orchestration, ambient electronics, and dozens of other impulses suffer."^[13]

A review on the BBC website, focusing on the outline the compilation offers, praised the beginning of Sylvian's solo career (i.e. CD1) but was more mixed about his later productions.^[14]

Writing for Pop Matters Maria Schurr noted, "As a primer for those intrigued by David Sylvian’s solo work, A Victim of Stars serves its purpose wonderfully. Yet, in some instances the selected songs fail to be as impactful as on their original releases."^[15]