Neverwhere

Rating:
Summary: Unique
Review: this book did something truly unique for me. It gave me the chance to relieve the intensity and immersion that I only remember from when I was a kid, when everything was believable. It sucks you into a surreal and magic world comparable only to the Wonderland books. It is very difficult to ever truly taste the abandon of childhood again.
If you get into it, you lose contact with what is around you, that is the time spent neverwhere.

Rating:
Summary: Even Better the Second Time
Review: I recently read _Neverwhere_ for the 2nd time and I liked it even better than I did the first. The story is fairly simple with a common device: a "normal" protagonist gets sucked into decidedly "abnormal" circumstances. In this case, the abnormal circumstance is an alternate London known as the Underside.

I found the existence of the Underside completely believable and an insightful comment on a society that most often ignores unpleasantness, or perceived unpleasantness, that it doesn't want to acknowledge, as well as the numerous persons who do not fit the accepted societal norm. Richard Mayhew's journey is both through an unknown physical realm and one of self-discovery. This is most evident in a powerful scene where he undergoes an ordeal that forces him to see how society views the denizens of the Underside - when society sees them at all -- while struggling to retain a true sense of self and purpose. After this ordeal, he is inevitably changed, as all people are changed when their narrow view of reality is challenged.

Gaiman is a master of alternate reality, pun, and dream language, and he makes full use of it here. The Underside is loosely associated with the London Underground system, but in this hidden realm station names are no mere arbitrary designations. There are really Friars and Blackfriars and an Earl does hold sway over Earl's Court. This makes for both humour and an awful kind of suspense. I wouldn't call _Neverwhere_ true horror, except inasmuch as accepting a wider view of reality, with all its terrors as well as its wonders, can be horrible as well as exhilerating. _Neverwhere_ can be an uncomfortable book and I don't think it would appeal to anyone who values comfort above thought.

AS always, Gaiman's writing is beautiful and concise. HE is very matter of fact about the more gruesome bits, but that makes them all the more chilling. He does not judge, he merely presents and lets actions speak for themselves. I find this admirable and affecting. When he does feel the need to make a particular point, he does it very subtly. One of my favourite examples of this occurs when the main characters are passing by a river. Gaiman says, "This was not the kind of river you could fall into and get out of again. It was the other kind." We all know what that means, or can imagine it. There's no need to go into it further.

Occasionally character does come second to atmosphere. We do not get much of a glimpse into the minds of the people who inhabit London Below, but it's not really an issue. For them, this is just the world. It is Richard, in his transitional state, who is able to make comparisons and suffer regrets. I think it shows incredible sensitivity on Gaiman's part to be able to point out that, however odd something may be, for someone, for the people who live that life, it's just normal. It's the outsiders who question and judge.

I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it highly.

Rating:
Summary: Gripping and inventive; strange and whimsical
Review: After the previous book, I was ready to try another one by Gaiman. My wife picked up this one because of the Beauty and the Beast (TV series)-like motif of a subculture living beneath the streets of a major world city. In this case, it's London, and it's a much darker and more dangerous world than BaTB. Richard Mayhew falls into it when he stops to help a young woman from that world and soon finds that he's all but disappeared from the aboveground world: no one remembers him, no one notices him unless he makes a major fuss, and even then they soon forget him when distracted. He ends up having to go underground to save himself.

The underground world is a magical one, but it's also dangerous: he loses one of his companions to the "dark" and is repeatedly hunted by a couple of nasty pieces of work who are particularly fond of eating small furry animals.

Gaiman does a delightful job of playing off of London place names: Knightsbridge turns into Night's Bridge, a dangerous crossing where Richard loses his helper. There are actual Black Friars. And there is a genuine Earl's Court, presided over by an Earl in an otherwise unused Underground car.

It's a more gripping and inventive book than the other one, filled with strange and whimsical characters. It's also a much darker and more frightening book, with genuine horror, killings, torturings, and worse - we don't even know what happens to some people, and we don't seem to want to.

All in all a gripping and fascinating read. I'll have to keep an eye on this guy.

Rating:
Summary: The gods of Literature smile on this one
Review: The greatness of Mr. Gaiman cannot begin to be put into mere words. This book is fantastic, imaginative, creepy, thrilling, I could go on forever. He somehow manages to be dark and funny simultaneously. You must read this book.

Rating:
Summary: Shallow characters, but excellent description
Review: Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere (Avon, 1996)

Gaiman took the script from his own miniseries and novelized it, and that's where many of the problems with this volume lay. While the plot moves along at a fine enough pace, and the pages turn quickly, there's not really much in the way of development going on. The characters are 2-D all the way through, and we never get to feeling that there's more than that surface. So if you're a person who can't find anything worth liking in a novel with badly-drawn characters, this probably shouldn't be the first place you turn when looking for something to read.

On the other hand, if a well-realized plot and some great place descriptions are enough to make you eschew characterization, you could do a lot worse. Gaiman is quite good at coming up with new and interesting places to send his characters, most of which obviously started with the question "why in the world was this tube station named <x>?" Gaiman creates an alternate London that's quite a bit of fun to explore. I just can't quite shake the feeling that the miniseries would be more absorbing than the book. ***

Rating:
Summary: Just beauty.
Review: When I picked up my first Gaiman masterpiece at a local bookstore, a worker there asked me if I was a fan. All I could say was, "I'm not sure." After this book, undoubtedly. 'Neverwhere' is a work of beauty, pure magic. If you're not a fan of 'The Sandman' series, here's a good place to start. No matter what great things you've heard, or in spite of foul, you will need to experience this book for yourself. Gaiman has woven a world unmatched by any other in the fantasy genre, cold, hard, wonderous, and not for the faint of heart. There are no real heros, no real villians. London Underground just doesn't work that way. Read it, you'll know what I mean.

Rating:
Summary: Breathing new life into old material.
Review: For the most part this is a story about a person from our world that falls into a fantasy world and then goes on a quest. Not really new, but Gaiman breathes new life into the story. Gaiman's quirky, likeable characters help. So does his dark (but not to dark) sense of humor. Not to mention his ability to make the setting gothic and whymsical at once.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Excellent read. Great romp through London Below with a normal person, rather than the normal fantasy hero. I would recommend this book to anyone, as it definitely keeps you turning the pages.

Rating:
Summary: Great Fantasy Book
Review: I borrowed this book from a friend of mine who also likes off-beat fantasy. After reading it, I was sorely tempted to tell him that I had lost it so I could add it to my library of great fantasy books (sort of a personal lending library). I did return it with great reluctance and plan to purchase the book in hardback (GASP) if I can. But I guess I should say why I liked it.

Mr. Gaiman creates a shadow world which co-exists with ours. He makes it come alive with creative and intersting characters. The book is by turns creepy, funny, fascinating, frightening, and thought provoking. Just a wonderful read.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome Fantasy!
Review: I'm not usually a fantasy fan, but for this I would make an exception. The book is fantastic and grabs you right at the beginning. Having been to London recently and gone everywhere on the tube this book holds a special place. Neil Gaiman takes the everyday world and twists it into something fantastic. Definitely a must-read.