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Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
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Neverwhere: A Novel

by Neil Gaiman

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations
12,07319378 (4.15)334
Info:

Harper Perennial (2003), Paperback, 400 pages

Member:ghosts
Collections:Wishlist, Read but unowned, FavoritesRating:*****
Tags:None

Member recommendations

  1. martlet recommends A Madness of Angels: Or The Resurrection of Matthew Swift by Catherine Webb
  2. SylviaO recommends King Rat by China Mieville, "A little bit more horror-ish, but it's another exciting adventure beneath the streets of London"
  3. PghDragonMan recommends InterWorld by Neil Gaiman
  4. derelicious recommends The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
  5. PghDragonMan recommends There Are Doors by Gene Wolfe, "Some passageways we go through by choice, others by accident. Some doors take you to another room, others a lot farther."
  6. elbakerone recommends The Secret History of Moscow by Ekaterina Sedia
  7. elbakerone recommends Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
  8. elbakerone recommends Un Lun Dun by China Mieville
  9. infiniteletters recommends Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison
  10. Phantasma recommends Drinking Midnight Wine by Simon R. Green, "Not as dark as the Nightside novels by Simon R. Green, but still with the same basic concepts in the same basic world."

(see all 11 recommendations)

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English (188)  German (2)  Dutch (1)  Portuguese (1)  Finnish (1)  All languages (193)
Showing 1-5 of 188 (next | show all)
Fantastically crafted dark fantasy. Neil Gaiman is a genius. ( )
1 vote sockmonk | Dec 3, 2009 |
Easily my favourite Gaiman, and one of the rare books that leave me slightly jealous - 'awww Neil, I wanted to write that,' the soul seems to say.

The premise is simple enough: below the London we all know and (ahem) love there's a London that houses all the nobodies who have become literally invisible in London above. It is a premise that Gaiman works with beautifully to produce memorable characters, page-turning events and - best of all - the most inspiredly nightmarish interpretation of the London underground ever. For this reason, knowing London helps with the appreciation of the novel; enjoying it without ever having been there is of course possible but one requires a vaster imagination and probably a map or two.

So why the missing half star, if I love it so much? Purely personal preference, I was not amused at the ending re: my favourite character, but that's a quibble: as always with Gaiman, this is well-written, compelling, darkly humorous and clever. If you've enjoyed any of his others, you'll enjoy this. ( )
1 vote BookJumper | Nov 28, 2009 |
This is a perfectly good Neil Gaiman book, but it's pretty much exactly like all the other Neil Gaiman books I've read. It has the same plot - a perfectly ordinary person finds himself suddenly involved in an extraordinary fantasy world and must go through a process of self-discovery and questioning his own sanity while becoming the unlikely hero of the fantasy world. The characters are fun and well-crafted, but not particularly original. Nothing really came as a surprise. That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book - after all, Neil Gaiman is really good at writing Neil Gaiman books. But this is pretty much a run-of-the-mill Neil Gaiman book.

I listened to the audiobook, read by the author, and the audiobook is very enjoyable. Gaiman has a nice voice, and his reading is dramatic and he's good at giving all of the characters individual voices. ( )
1 vote Gwendydd | Nov 24, 2009 |
I liked this book alot and I really enjoyed the whole setting I find myself wishing for more maybe another book to finish where this one left off, different than anything I have ever read. ( )
1 vote | averitasm | Nov 24, 2009 |
Since there are so many fine reviews here, I will only add the reasons I enjoyed this book. I liked the speculation about angels and "other" worlds in amongst our own which are unseen but very present. I loved Richard Mayhew, but am hoping that Gaiman will write a sequel to pursue the character a bit further. The creepiness was very creepy and the characters were interesting and unique. It was simply a fun tale and that is the sort of book I enjoy. ( )
  MrsLee | Nov 23, 2009 |
Showing 1-5 of 188 (next | show all)
The novel is consistently witty, suspenseful, and hair-raisingly imaginative in its contemporary transpositions of familiar folk and mythic materials (one can read Neverwhere as a postmodernist punk Faerie Queene). Readers who've enjoyed the fantasy work of Tim Powers and William Browning Spencer won't want to miss this one. And, yes, Virginia, there really are alligators in those sewers--and Gaiman makes you believe it.
added by Shortride | editKirkus Reviews
 
The millions who know The Sandman, the spectacularly successful graphic novel series Gaiman writes, will have a jump start over other fantasy fans at conjuring the ambience of his London Below, but by no means should those others fail to make the setting's acquaintance. It is an Oz overrun by maniacs and monsters, and it becomes a Shangri-La for Richard. Excellent escapist fare.
added by Shortride | editBooklist, Ray Olson
 
Gaiman's gift for mixing the absurd with the frightful give this novel the feeling of a bedtime story with adult sophistication. Readers will find themselves as unable to escape this tale as the characters themselves.
added by Shortride | editLibrary Journal
 
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Epigraph
I have never been to St. John's Wood. I dare not. I should be afraid of the innumerable night of fir trees, afraid to come upon a blood red cup and the beating of the wings of the Eagle.
--The Napoleon of Notting Hill, G. K. Chesterton

If ever though gavest hosen or shoon
Then every night and all
Sit thou down and put them on
And Christ receive thy soul

This aye night, this aye night
Every night and all
Fire and fleet and candlelight
And Christ receive thy soul

If ever thou gavest meat or drink
Then every night and all
The fire shall never make thee shrink
And Christ receive thy soul

--The Lyke Wake Dirge (traditional)
Dedication
For Lenny Henry, friend and colleague, who made it happen all the way; and Merrilee Heifetz, friend and agent, who makes everything good.
First words
The night before he went to London, Richard Mayhew was not enjoying himself.
She had been running for four days now, a harum-scarum tumbling flight through passages and tunnels.
Quotations
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Wikipedia in English (2)

Neil Gaiman bibliography

Neverwhere (novel)

Book description
Neverwhere is the story of Richard Mayhew and his adventures through London. At the start of the story, he is a young businessman, with a normal life. All this changes, however, when he stops to help a mysterious young girl who appears before him, bleeding and weakened, as he walks with his fiancée to dinner to meet her influential boss.

Amazon.com (ISBN 0060557818, Paperback)

Neverwhere's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. He ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London Above, and joins a quest through the dark and dangerous London Below, a shadow city of lost and forgotten people, places, and times. His companions are Door, who is trying to find out who hired the assassins who murdered her family and why; the Marquis of Carabas, a trickster who trades services for very big favors; and Hunter, a mysterious lady who guards bodies and hunts only the biggest game. London Below is a wonderfully realized shadow world, and the story plunges through it like an express passing local stations, with plenty of action and a satisfying conclusion. The story is reminiscent of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but Neil Gaiman's humor is much darker and his images sometimes truly horrific. Puns and allusions to everything from Paradise Lost to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz abound, but you can enjoy the book without getting all of them. Gaiman is definitely not just for graphic-novel fans anymore. --Nona Vero

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:18 -0400)

(see all 4 descriptions)

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