Neverwhere

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Summary: A new world of adventure
Review: This is one of the most unusually written books I've read. While the only other Gaiman-touched thing I've read was Good Omens, I know he does a lot of comic books. This was apparently the first real book he wrote. It strikes me as being written much like a comic book, with a great deal of space between the words. What I mean is, in a comic book the "script" is written around the pictures. The words in the comic tell only part of the story. Neverwhere is written the same way. But that's okay, because though the pictures aren't drawn for you, he still left enough room for you to see them in your head. It is a geat read.

Highly Recommended is The Price of Immortality.... It is a MUST READ for any fantasy fan

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Summary: Great book -- what about the miniseries?
Review: I loved this book, as well as every other book Neil Gaiman has conceived of, from Sandman to Dream Hunters, to American Gods. But Neverwhere was also mad into a six-part BBC miniseries once upon a time. Anyone know if it's still around, or how to get ahold of it?

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Summary: This "Neverwhere" goes nowhere
Review: Subterranean alternate-cultures are a fascinating little niche in modern literature. However, "Neverwhere" never attains the characterization or depth of Neal Shusterman's "Downsiders," combining sketchy characterization with truly worthy chills.

Except for an odd fortuneteller's warning, Richard Mayhew appears to have everything going well. He has a good job and a fiancee whom he loves -- until the day he and his fiancee stumble over a young woman bleeding in the street from a stab wound. He carries the girl, who calls herself "Door" and refers to the city as "London Above," back to his apartment, fixes her up, and helps her back to wherever it is she came from.

But a sinister pair came by while she was recovering, the deliciously evil and creepy Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. And the sudden loss of his identity quickly drives Richard deeper into "London Below," a shadow world of rat-girls called Anesthesia, body-guardians, the bizarre marquis, and a hideous Beast of London whom he must try to battle...

I have heard exceptional things about Neil Gaiman, and enjoyed the beautifully-written "Stardust." However, perhaps this was an "off" item for Gaiman; there isn't much charm or interest in this story. Part of that stems from the lead character, Richard: He's a limp dishrag of a character, who reacts blandly to every situation, no matter how fantastical or terrifying it is. When his friends don't recognize him and strangers don't see him, his noticeable emotion is not frustration and anger, but a sad "oh well, I guess I'm in trouble." This might not have harmed the book, except that Richard is the lens through which the readers see the story. There are brief exceptions: passages that focus on other characters entirely, which are delightfully written and very spicy.

The other characters are delightful: Door, a slightly off-kilter girl who can "open" doorways through things; Croup and Vandemar, ageless and delightfully, wittily, gruesomely evil (faint of heart: do not read the passage where one of them starts eating a rat), pursuing the heroine with flowery words and playing around with razor blades; Hunter is intriguingly mysterious and engaging; Marquis de Carabas is also intriguing and sometimes amusing.

I found Gaiman's language to be a little too stark: he spends a great deal of time "telling" but not quite enough "showing." The dialogue was good for each character, from the ordinary speech of Richard and Jessica to the choppier words of the people underground. Parents won't want kids reading this book, due to gruesome scenes and sexual passages; "Downsiders" is a better choice for them, another tale of subterranean civilization. It's less fantastical, but an engaging read nevertheless.

"Neverwhere" reaches for excellence but fails to grasp the bar. A nice read only if you have nothing else to do at the moment.

Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: Have you ever really looked at a big city? Not just glanced around at the shops and the tall buildings, but actually looked? I have, and with so much space and so many people, I get the feeling that things must be going on that most people don't know about. How much more is there than meets the eye?

Neverwhere grabs that feeling and runs with it. Richard Mayhew is an everyday guy who lives a normal life in London. One day he sees a girl bleeding on the street. She obviously needs help...but why doesn't she want to be taken to a hospital? Why can't anyone else seem to see her? And, most importantly, who are these unpleasant-looking men knocking on Richard's door? Richard and the reader are quickly drawn into London Below, a world where you never know what will show up next and where nothing (and no one) is as benign as it would seem. The book is extremely readable, darkly funny, and filled to the brim with allusions.

Unfortunately, there are several major problems with this book. The characters are mostly stock, particularly Richard, who is a little too everyday to seem realistic, especially considering what he manages to do by the book's end. The plot, at its core, is a fairly standard one, and you're likely to figure out many of the surprises well before they come. What really disappointed me, though, was the way Gaiman failed to flesh out so many of the characters and groups he describes. A sense of mystery is a good thing to some extent, but it would be nice to know who the Seven Sisters, or the people with goggles, or any number of others, really are. There were also a few other things that made very little sense, such as the elevator down to the labyrinth.

Despite these flaws, Neverwhere is still a good book, and I recommend it. It's also a quick read, so even if you don't like it, you won't have wasted mushc of your time. The only book I know of that surpasses its sense of urban weirdness is Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. I'll be snapping up Neil's latest book, American Gods, as soon as it comes out in paperback.

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Summary: Neverwhere, A rarity among fantasy !
Review: Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman is a strangr and dark fantasy that departs from today's typical sword and sorcery novel. What I enjoyed in Gaiman's novel is the alternate universe that he creates. Travelling his world of tunnels and passageways you pass through areas that are full of strange creatures and even stranger people. The story revolves around Richard Mayhew, a corporate slave from Scotland living in London, and who's life is little more than mundane routine. On one fateful night, he stops to help an injured girl who would soon plunge Richard into a world of mystery, magic, and evil. It's rare to find a book full of wit and originality, so Neverwhere comes as a very welcome surprise. Indeed, the world of Neverwhere sits below London frozen in time...and covered in filth. Gaiman paints a very rich world and keeps his story telling basic and simple. If fantasy is your thing and you are looking for something a little bit different I recommend "Neverwhere".

Also a rarity that took me by surprise is the price of Immortality. The complex plot and descriptive detail kept me turning page after page until it was finished. I highly recommend that you read it.

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Summary: As Far as the Imagination can Take You
Review: This book is so out there, it really shows what a good imagination can create. A dark underword filled with all sorts of mixxed up cultures that leave the reader thinking about what is really out there and how we became meshed in the world that we do live in. There are great plot twists and character revelations that it is more than just fun. It makes us examine our lives and status and askes us to search for something that is different than what society considers acceptable. Pure bliss in its forming of scenery and off the wall characters. I recommend for anyone who enjoys reading the fantastic.

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Summary: A kind of fantastical escape...
Review: So I was late in finding Neil Gaiman. But I picked up *American Gods,* fell in love with it, and quickly sought out all else by Gaiman. This search, of course, brought me to *Neverwhere*.

Now, where my reaction to *American Gods* was immediate and fierce, *Neverwhere* simmered. The last page turned, I was pleased and disappointed. The story was entertaining and humorous--with villians like Croup and Vandemar, how could it be anything else? But it didn't make me turn the pages with the same anticipation. For a week or so after I tried to figure out why this was.

It's some kind of cosmic law that whenever you a read a truly satisfying book, whatever you read immediately after is doomed to disappoint. And I should chalk up a good deal of my reaction to this law. However, there were some points that substantiate it. Such as the fact that this novel seemed a tad bit rushed. Characters, places, plots--they all had substance, but at times they didn't seem fleshed out. I cared about Richard and Door and the rest, but moreso in retrospect than while I was reading. And the ending. Well, it didn't seem like the right place to have an ending. Recent questions put forth to Neil Gaiman in regards to a sequel have brought positive responses. Which rather nullifies my complaint about that issue.

And I also realized that the content of the two novels completely separate them. *Neverwhere* seems to be pure entertainment. You're meant to enjoy the fantastical people and places, it's suppose to allow you the same kind of escape that Richard Mayhew finds in London Below. And, after it simmered, I realized that it fulfilled all of its purposes.

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Summary: A gripping story in a parallel alternative universe London
Review: Neil Gaiman's 'Neverwhere' is a delight from start to finish. Richard Mayhew, a young Scot living and working in London, finds himself helping a young girl lying in a street who is being pursued by two sinister looking men. Reluctantly, he finds himself being drawn into a tangled web of a plot that leads him to an London Below, a London that exists both beneath London and as a parallel alternative universe London, a London where people live who "fall through the cracks." This London is highly inventive, richly detailed, and, despite the unrealness of it, convincing. I, for one, will never be able to take the London Underground again and wonder about the trains with darkened windows that go though the stations without stopping - Do they carry the court of the Earl on it? And how did Earl's Court get its name? Or Baron's Court, for that matter? I shall certainly never go to Harrods or go on board HMS Belfast without thinking of the Floating Market. London Below is peopled with colourful and strange characters - The Lady Door, The Marquis de Carabas, Hunter, The Angel Islington, and many others, including the menacing Mr Vandemar and Mr Croup. This is the sort of book that Michael Moorcock would be writing if he was still writing decent books. Even if you don't know London, this book is still wonderful - you will want to get to know it. The story is gripping and the writing is vivid and sharp. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Gaiman, by far, is the best writer writing fantasy today.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent adventure
Review: The book kept me interested and presented wonderful imagry.

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Summary: A world you'd never ordinarily see...
Review: This is the second book of Neil Gaiman's I've read and it is my favorite so far. Set in modern London, our hero, Richard Mayhew, is an extremely ordinary nice guy, engaged to an extremely self-centered beauty. On their way out one evening, he stumbles (literally) over a young woman (Door) who needs help. Despite his fiancee's threats and whines, Richard does -- as one suspects he always does -- the right thing.

The "right thing" leads into an exciting adventure in the underworld of London that satisfies most of my needs to escape my own ordinary life. There are subway cars that host small earldoms, alleys with the addition of underground hide-outs unseen by any but those who belong, a good bad guy, a bad good guy, some fairly mild struggles, lots of dry humor, no distracting romance, and wonderful characters.

Two elderly but very mean bad guys manage to be amusing in their dreadful conversations (in between doing what they love to do most -- torture, maim and eliminate those who are on their list or in their way.) The toughest 'guy' in the book for the longest time turns out to be Hunter, a supporting (female) character.

Gaiman is an excellent storyteller. This book was so good I had to force myself to put it down, because at the time I didn't have another of his books to read. The ending left me wanting more -- indeed, this was a mini-series in England (when do we get to see it?) that would be loved here. Another book or two following Mayhew's life (it'll never be the same!) would enliven my own drab life!

Different than American Gods -- not suitable for the younger Harry Potter readers, but there's something about the decidedly English perspective that makes the violence mildly amusing (and besides, in the neverworld, the dead aren't always terminally dead!)

A great book, I've already passed mine on to a friend! Enjoy!