Neverwhere

Rating:
Summary: a beautiful work, wrapped in a dark premise
Review: i have only recently discovered neil gaiman, and being an avid reader i am extremely glad i did (even if i wish i had found him years ago). this work is a post-modern novel that is purely brilliant in its mode and tone. gaiman writes more for the fan than for the critic, but the critic can't look away from him works.

neverwhere is a story of a young and confused protagonist by the name of richard mayhew. he is sucked into the underworld of london and thus is thrust into a journey that he is at first reluctant to take, but eventually embraces. during the journey he is forced to come to grips with his own apathy and fears he had never known before.

if you are a sucker for a gripping story and characters that are rich and vivid, then this is your book. if you are looking to be bored out of your mind, then look elsewhere!

Rating:
Summary: A surrealist work to rival all others...
Review: I originally became involved in Neil Gaiman's fantastical, deeply provoking writings because of a friend, who was completely obsessed with his "Sandman" series, and his work with Terry Pratchett on "Good Omens". This was the first solo Neil Gaiman novel I read, and might (possibly) remain my favorite to date. (But then again, how can one choose?) Quite simply put, it is a masterwork of dark, "urban" fantasy, in a world with so many mysterious layers that to read it again and again is like peeling the skins off of a never-ending onion: you see a new layer each time.

The three primary complaints I've heard about this book is: 1.) It is too morbid and dark. 2.) The characters are never fully developed, and so many are mentioned just "in passing" for no apparent reason. 3.) Gaiman can't get his "point" across. To be fully prepared for this book, you have to realize three points: Yes, it is very morbid and dark, but in such a fascinating, occasionally humourous way that it does not make you revile it. Be prepared for some seriously disturbing imagery, but this only adds to the story. Secondly, the characters are indeed deeply developed, but do not go in expecting your usual "bad guy" vs. "good guy" arrangement. The main character, Richard is above all (and here is Gaiman's most brilliant stroke), only a human, with weaknesses and strengths that are so realistic that you feel you know Richard like your best friend. By far the most realistic "human" portrayal I've ever read, and that's saying something! Also, all the characters have their "dark" and "light" sides. The nature of humans everywhere remains the same. The many characters mentioned only in passing stir up curiousity and a feeling that the world of London Below goes much deeper than just what Mr. Gaiman reveals to us, something that is "passing rare and wonderous" in a book these days.

So, you think Gaiman can't get his "point" across, eh? Well, be prepared for a book in which the author is not TRYING to get a "point" across, thank God. He's not trying to instill you with his own morals, or a sense of "justice" or make the world seem "black and white". For once, (and this is deeply refreshing indeed), a writer is telling a novel not as an allegory, not to inspire great deeds of heroism, but for the simple sake that his head would most likely explode out of sheer creative energy if he didn't. For the pleasure of telling a tale. This is not a book that you will put down, determined to good in the world. This a book you will never put down at all, for once you have read it inevitably images and scenes will spring into your mind at the slightest provocation. Neil Gaiman is the Salvador Dali of fiction, taking our own world and twisting and shaping and molding it into such a darkly beautiful thing it will haunt you for the rest of your life. The only things I can compare it to are not other works of fiction, but other works of art entirely: the paintings of Salvador Dali. The music of Blue Man Group. The performances and costumes of the Cirque du Soleil. A brilliant canvas of a novel to inspire and delight readers of all ages, and to come back to every time you feel the need for a little shadow in your life.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book to listen to!
Review: This isn't the first Neil Gaiman I've read, having also listened to the author himself read an unabridged version of 'Coraline,' and having read in print 'Good Omens.' I like his urban fantasy (dark usually) style quite a bit.

This story follows Richard, a fella who lives a rather normal life in a rather normal part of London, and who, out with a girl you'd rather he not live a normal life with, bumps into a small young woman who basically falls at his feet, beaten and bloody. Richard, being the nice guy, picks her up and helps her recover.

You know that adage about no good deed going unpunished? Woah.

Richard ends up running from two demonic sorts, after the girl, into 'London Below,' with the added bonus of that place sucking his above-London life into some sort of void, where no one can remember him. Before he's done, he'll suffer, try to find the girl, suffer, try to rescue the girl, suffer, meet an angel, and suffer. And there's some suffering, too.

As always, Neil Gaiman's villains, and his heroes, have a fantastic depth to them, and the other characters are shifty and confusing enough that you can't quite figure out anyone's motives. It's a great story to listen to - and even though it was abridged, the sound effects and reading voice really added a great deal of tone to the story. I'm a little bit tempted to go find this unabriged and/or in print. The world itself is easy to slip into, deep and dark and just wonderfully full of shadowy danger.

I think I need to find more Gaiman, regardless.

'Nathan

Rating:
Summary: Suspension of disbelief
Review: This is a book that one each page, plausibly puts forth another unbelievable experience. Gaiman skillfully created a fantastic world full of impossible possibilities. From people keeping their life hidden to people falling through the cracks. The banter between the arch villains Croup and Vandemar is so light and breezy you forget they are pure evil. The Marquis is a slick, likeable, fast talking charlatan. He is equal parts mischief and good and evil. You never know what to expect. Door and Richard are the main characters, and they are built flawlessly with Gaiman's narrative. This is a very enjoyable novel. I got this book because I enjoyed American Gods, I can safely say that this is Gaiman best effort at a Novel to date.
T

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Fanatsy Novel
Review: I had never heard of Neil Gaiman until I read about him in "Entertainment Weekly" last year. I immediatelty picked up this book at the recommendation of the fans of the author.

I couldn't put it down. Excellent read, very entertaining and worth reading over and over again. I have also seen the BBC Mini-Series, which actually came before the book, and recommend seeing that after you read the book. If you do it the other way around, you will probably be disappointed.

After loving this book so much, I tried "American Gods". Was I ever disappointed. I guess you can't love everything an author writes. I am waiting for a follow-up to this magnificent piece we call "Neverwhere"!! 5 stars *****

Rating:
Summary: Not a book I'll be reading again and again.
Review: I began reading this book and was thrilled. The opening scenes and character introductions promised a wild romp through a marvelously dark fantasyland existing under the modern streets of London. However, as I continued reading I became less and less impressed. Gaiman fails to fully develop any of his characters. Each is marched in, fulfilling a specific purpose, i.e. unlikely hero made heroic by his involvement with a magical heroine, irreverent but lovable sidekick, brave protector, brutal villians, etc. There is also a slew of brief appearances by various people & animals who come and go so quickly I wonder why they are even mentioned. With the exception of the Marquis, I found I didn't care about any of them. I was also surprised by the brevity of climactic events such as the slaying of the dreaded Beast. It's all over so quickly. "That's it?" I find myself thinking.
I did enjoy the premise and I am glad I finished it. It does pick up towards the end. But if you're looking for a really absorbing fantasy book with characters you won't soon forget and events that are clearly emblazoned in your memory, I'd strongly suggest reading the George R. R. Martin "Game of Thrones" books.

Rating:
Summary: the underground never had it this good...
Review: i was first introduced to gaiman's prose a few years back through his work with terry pratchett in good omens. ever since then, i've been an avid fan of his writing. this book is just another excellent glimpse into the inner working of his mind, and it's magnificent.

this is obviously a homage to london's underground, a labyrinthine network that crawls under the belly of london. anybody who's familiar with the underground understands how it can be a world of it's own, and that's just what gaiman capitalized in neverwhere. what if there's a separate "reality" surviving around and within the structure? the world of london below is like a world eerily similar to our own - only that it's like a few centuries late. while we might be intrigued by what is simlar, there is undeniably an undercurrent which is alien to what we know of our world - the magic, customs and society of london below is definitely NOT of this world either.

it all started when richard helped what he thought was a homeless, a girl called door, that he found bleeding in the underground. that single gesture of pity slowly plunges him into the dark, disturbing world of london below, where he finds himself getting in over his head. suddenly he finds that nobody in london above (our world) remembers him, and his life was singularly erased as he becomes aware of the sprawling city below. with bounty hunters, magic and intrigue plaguing every step he takes with door, he realize that this may seem like a nightmare, except that it might be one he may never wake up from.

neverwhere is not only a dedication to the vast subway structure of london, it's also a discussion about issues - if we may call it such - like homelessness, existence, loyalty, identity and mostly how modern life makes us oblivious to the suffering and problems of fellow humans. it shows that even as richard loses his previous identity on london above, he slowly receives another identity in london below, one based on his actions and virtues alone. yet, this seemingly complex discourse over the issues are deftly handled by gaiman, and the gritty, grim and menacing london below bloomed into life and is as real as anything we know on this world.

the great thing about this book is that it can be enjoyed on any level; older children will find it as every bit exciting as lewis carroll's alice in wonderland while adults can appreciate the wry observation about life. all in all, a great book that any fantasy or sci-fi reader will enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Favours and Fantasy
Review: Wonderfully written! Gaiman did a great job in the plot, and with the characters...even the unlikable are likable and those with minor roles still have depth and stick with you. The Marquis de Carabas, forever the man of favours, must be my favourite character. Do read this, you'll enjoy it!

Rating:
Summary: Gaiman's subterranean underworld of fun and frights
Review: First published in 1996, Neverwhere was Neil Gaiman's first foray into adult fiction after a very successful career in comic book literature. His "Sandman" series of serial comics is one of the most successful of all time. Gaiman made the transition from comic book writer and illustrator to novelist with surprising ease, as Neverwhere proved to be a huge commercial and critical success. Neverwhere is a novel that borrows elements from many different genres, in particular dark fantasy, horror and even children fantasy, most notably Alice in Wonderland. But Neverwhere is no children's book nor is it a book for readers weened on safe and sound fantasy. Neverwhere is a very dark novel, a dirty, grimy "London Below" of murder, torture, genuine horror and truly psychopathic villains.

Richard Mayhew is a former Scott who now lives and works in London. His life is the epitomy of mundane and average. He lives in a one-bedroom apartment in a decrepit part of the city, works an office job in a little cubicle and is engaged to a nagging high-maintenance woman who he may or may not truly love. One night on his way to dinner with his fiancé, he stumbles upon a young girl, unconscious and bleeding on the side of the street. Richard wants to lend a hand but the girl refuses to be brought to the hospital so he brings her to his apartment instead. He then learns that the girl, whose name is "Door", is really from London Below, an underworld of mazes and tunnels. The next day, Richard finds his entire world thrown upside down. Nobody notices him anymore; not his fiancé, nor his co-workers or the office building's security guard, nobody. He can't even manage to flag down a taxi. It turns out that by helping out Door, Richard has become invisible to London Above (the world he used to be a part of) and his existence now lies solely in London below. Together with Door, Richard sets on a mission in London Below to find the mystical Angel Islington, who holds the answer as to who murdered Door's family and left her bleeding on the street and who can restore Richard's existence in London above.

Gaiman packs his world of London Below with truly fascinating characters, such as a female Rambo of a bodyguard named Hunter, an eccentric cook named Marquis de Carabas, a populace of giant rats and "rat-speakers" and most fascinatingly, a pair of hitmen by the name of Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandermar who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the little girl "Door". Gaiman's writing is fast and fluid, a style I found truly invigorating. There is a nary a dull moment in this book as Gaiman throws us scene after scene of danger and myriad new characters along the way. In a way, it is very much the writing style you would expect from a former comic-book writer. Of course the downside to this is that very little time is spent on character development, as it takes a backseat to the atmosphere that Gaiman is creating. We don't get much of a glimpse into the minds of the characters as the action unfolds. But still, I personally prefer a no-nonsense novel of 400 action packed pages than say, a 700 page so-called "epic" of overwrought material.

As fascinating as I found this book to be, I imagine it must be a reel hoot for Londoners to read, especially Londoners familiar with the city's underground transit system. Gaiman uses real London station names and brings each station to life, such as an Earl who resides in Earl's Court Station and Friars in Blackfriars station. On top of the fantastical elements, Gaiman also injects numerous societal commentaries into his work, especially on the ever-present class divisions of England. Social outcasts, freaks and winos may be looked down upon in London Above but in London Below, they finally have a place where they can feel a sense of belonging. Anyone considering reading this novel should not hesitate any further. There seems to be no limit to Neil Gaiman's imagination, and I found my venture into his world of London Below to be a truly spellbinding experience I will not soon forget.

Rating:
Summary: An entertaining but not overly memorable fantasy novel
Review: In the field of Science-Fiction/Fantasy, there is no greater accomplishment than creating a unique and intriguing universe. Although well-written books, The Hobbit and Foundation are classics less for perfect prose than for the creatures, landscapes and societies they introduced. The appeal of the universe ranges outside books, though. It is why Attack of the Clones grossed millions on its opening day and why a lot of people know more about Marvel Comics than they do about any foreign country.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is a pretty unmistakable attempt at creating a universe. The novel was Gaiman's first major project after finishing the acclaimed Sandman comic series (which could be described as his first universe, but is more of an amalgamation of Biblical scripture, Gaelic and other folk tales and the larger world of DC Comics). Because of Sandman's success, Gaiman is sometimes considered a new Tolkien or Asimov, but he fails to reach his potential on Neverwhere because, despite his ambition, his universe-creating powers at not at a prime.

The universe of this novel is London Below, a dark and outlandish world existing beneath the UK's sprawling capital. It is inhabited by a feudal aristocracy, lonesome warriors and a religious cult that talks to rats. After two ruthless mercenaries slaughter one of London Below's most prominent families, the only survivor, a young woman named Door (for her ability to open mystic gates), escapes to London Above, where reluctant yuppie Richard Mayhew takes her in. Joined by the mordant Marquis de Carabas and a grim female bodyguard called (get this) Hunter, Richard and Door journey through London Below to find-out who ordered the deaths of Door's family and why.

Gaiman is an outstanding writer who eases readers into the strangeness of London Below and keeps them reading with intrigue that unfolds at just the right pace. I was must admit I was entertained while reading the book, but I doubt it is one that will stay with me for long.

This is for two reasons. The first is that Gaiman is apparently used to pencillers supplying the visuals to his stories. The descriptions of London Below were never vivid or colorful enough to leave an overly memorable picture in my mind. The second is that Gaiman fails to completely develop London Below. We never fully learn how this society functions, what separated it from London Above and how its strange customs came to be. Perhaps Gaiman was considering a sequel that would explain such, but still Neverwhere does not lay enough groundwork for readers to fully connect to this universe.

Neverwhere is smartly written and highly entertaining, but for works such as this the creation of a memorable universe is the deciding factor and it falls short on that criteria. Gaiman's best post-Sandman work will probably be another project.