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Loading... Neverwhere (original 1996; edition 1997)by Neil Gaiman
Work detailsNeverwhere by Neil Gaiman (1996)
I gave up on Fantasy years ago but this has very nearly won me back. The writing is so good it doesn't take much effort to believe in the characters and settings, even though they are so obviously fantasy. I need to find out whether he has written i other genres! (  ) NaggedMan | Apr 23, 2013 |  I loved this. I breezed through it and didn't want to put it down. I'm late to the Neil Gaiman party, I know... now I need to read everything else he's written. (  ) DebbieBspinner | Apr 12, 2013 | So, now that I have read 2 Neil Gaiman books I can say without reserve that he is a phenomenal author. But I also say this knowing that his style is certainly not for everyone. This story is about Richard Mayhew and how he saves the life of Lady Door and finds himself a part of a group in London Below, where people who fall through the cracks end up. I love the fast paced story and the quick POV changes. The world building was great and I feel like this is one of those books that you can read multiple times without getting bored. Loved it. ( ) Amanda.Richards | Apr 9, 2013 | Neverwhere is one of my favourite books. I feel as if, when I'm reading it, I can really see London Below and believe that it's there. The ending is perfect. The Marquis de Carabas is a wonderful character -- realistically flawed, and yet still completely awesome. Whenever I'm in London, I end up wondering things like, well, is there really an elephant at Elephant and Castle, in London Below? And what relation does it have to a castle? ( ) shanaqui | Apr 9, 2013 | Neverwhere used to be one of my favourite books, and I still enjoyed it this time, but... I don't know. I borrowed my girlfriend's copy after travelling through London, but I think maybe even the London Neil was writing about has gone to London Below, now. It seemed a bit quaint, somehow -- no, a better word is "dated". Besides, since the last time I read it other friends have read it and, while on the whole I disagreed with them, sometimes they pulled out criticisms that gave me pause. Like, why is Jessica such a horrible stereotype? She barely seems human. Just that horrible man-eating sort of woman, that Richard is better free of -- wouldn't it have made a better story if she was more realistic? I can understand people not getting along with the characters, in general, because you don't see inside them much. Even though there are glimpses of Door, mostly you see her from Richard's eyes, and he's not the most appealing character in many ways. I like what Gaiman does with him, giving him a hero's journey in classic Bilbo Baggins style -- "useless meek character finds some backbone and heart and in the end a lot depends on him" sort of thing. Though, thinking about that way, that's not exactly all that fresh a trope. Maybe Neverwhere is best not thought about too much in those terms. If I focus on all I want to know about London Below, then that's where the magic lies: does a king hang on a cross, is there a saint guarding the Eurostar, what ghosts might haunt the Tower of London...? ( ) shanaqui | Apr 9, 2013 |
 Gaiman blends history and legend to fashion a traditional tale of good versus evil, replete with tarnished nobility, violence, wizardry, heroism, betrayal, monsters and even a fallen angel. The result is uneven. His conception of London Below is intriguing, but his characters are too obviously symbolic (Door, for example, possesses the ability to open anything). Also, the plot seems a patchwork quilt of stock fantasy images. Adapted from Gaiman's screenplay for a BBC series, this tale would work better with fewer words and more pictures.  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. 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. 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. Is contained inIs an adaptation ofHas the adaptationInspired
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(retrieved from Amazon Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:54:02 -0500)
After he helps a stranger on a London sidewalk, Richard Mayhew discovers an alternate city beneath London, and must fight to survive if he is to return to the London he knew.
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| 1 | 33 |
| 1.5 | 17 |
| 2 | 138 |
| 2.5 | 60 |
| 3 | 746 |
| 3.5 | 303 |
| 4 | 1928 |
| 4.5 | 300 |
| 5 | 1897 |
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