Neverwhere

Rating:
Summary: A must-have hidden gem
Review: This book is wonderful. Don't pass it up. A dark, dickens-on-acid-while-depressed London meets droll, simplistic writing that says so much more than is on the page(think kurt vonnegut in terms of sense of humor and approach). Gaiman takes his story idea of a London Below and turns it into legend.

The characters are superb. The main character, though a bit whiny and not all there for most of the book, is fun and leads up to all kinds of good scenes that only such a character could come up against. The ever-present villains are some of the best i've ever seen in print. One philosophical, intellectual, and verbose, one monosyllabic, slow, and a bit childish, both sadistic, humorous, malicious, and in general making you love to hate them.

The world draws you in. It's dark and comforting, while utterly wild and unearthly. It welcomes you while trying to kill you. Dangers and delights lurk around every corner. It's like a dream:not a nightmare and not a daydream, but a true dream, full of strange logic and twisted ideas and magic and depression and joy. At the same time it is both bleak and lush, alluring and fearful.

This book is wonderful. If you are thinking about it, get it immediately without anymore waiting. It'll be worth every cent.

Rating:
Summary: you either love it or hate it...I love it!
Review: The way I see it is that you either like Gaiman's style or you don't. People who have no conncetion to him and his work might find this book strange. But then people who aren't willing to take the risk... oh well that's their own choice. But Honestly, if you have read The Sandman you will never be disappointed. I suppose you'd have to have a slightly different way of thinking to like this book, but think about it if we all thought the same what kind of a borring world this would be.

So A) comments like "it's not worth the paper it's written on" are pretty pathectic and just go to show... and B) yeah it is a 'different' book but is the damn best thing I read in ages.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful and intricate first solo novel
Review: Mr. Gaiman writes in a dark and pulsing tone with a wonderfully hypnotic quality. This book goes farther than most, it justifys buying it as opposed to the farmiliar library run. You'll want to dip into the facinating and profound realm that he creates. This work of art can support the inirest of fantasy lovers and non fantasy lovers alike. The reason I picked up this novel was because I was drawn into his stedily flowing prose that I had admired so much as an adition to T.P.'s multipul talents in Good Omens. His style didn't fail me. To many fantasy authors these days are crippled by a horribal lack of ture originality within the genre. One begins to wonder if all the storys have been told and all the songs sung. N.G. pourse copious amounts of bottled spring water into a previously stagnate pool

Rating:
Summary: More fun than a weekend with a White House intern
Review: I've never read a fantasy novel before but since I was about to attend a convention with Neil, I read this. It's terrific. I spent most of my time waiting for Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar to return but was always interested in what the other characters were up to. I'm a fan of satires and comic thrillers but I truly liked this book. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I taught Neil everything he knows and I can prove it --- he said as much when he autographed a copy of Stardust to me.

Bill Fitzhugh

Rating:
Summary: Dark realism blended with surreal fantasy. READ IT.
Review: I truly don't mean to offend anyone reading this, but if you didn't give Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere five stars, then guess what? YOU MISSED OUT! Some readers expect to be kept enthralled by unrealistic heroics of equally unrealistic characters. Some say that Richard Mayhew is boring. Why? Probably because he doesn't automatically jump right into the world that is London Below and start acting like a professional hero. Well gee, put yourself in this situation. You help a stranger that is bleeding on the sidewalk. Two strange men come looking for her at your door. She disappears. The next day, the entire world is literally ignoring you. Then you find out that the only people who can see you live under the streets of London. I'm so sure you're ready to go out and buy a sword and start swinging it. Gaiman's character's are realistic to the point that they can fit into a fantasy world. It's important to understand that. Door is a girl who has just lost her entir! e family, but it dooesn't mean she's going to have a mental breakdown, become obsessed with destroying their killers, blah, blah, blah. She knows good and well who killed them and is smart enough to stay out of their way, but try to stop them with help. She doesn't want to involve Richard any further, but can't bring herself to just leave him alone in his frightening new reality. DeCarabas is one of the most human characters I have come across in a while. A con, a crook, an amoral jerk, a saint, and a protector. All in how you look at him. Vibrant with energy, always looking for what's in it for him, haughty( who wouldn't be if they were that good at surviving? ) , but still a being capable of feeling. It's tough to be that alive without some emotion. Certainly not a heart of gold though. Those are rarer than the metal. Hunter is mysterious, dangerous, and intent on her goals. She is no ice princess though, and her giving in to the temptation of being able to slay t! he ultimate challenge as well as her guilt over her decisio! n show off her humanity. Croup and Vandemar. Evil incarnate? Maybe. But sadly, not so rare. Their supernatural abilities make them a frightening nightmare, but their basic nature is not uncommon. They hurt things because, as far as their concerned, it's fun. Not at all uncommon. Perhaps that's what makes them so frightening. Islington is perhaps, the true headcase in this story. While gentle and caring on the outside, strip back the layers and find pure selfishness. An obsessive focus on no other being's goals but its own. Anyone in the way, well, sorry for them. For the surreal places and bitingly real people in this book, I give my thanks to Neil Gaiman for this creation. True gratitude all over the place Mr.Gaiman.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best works of fantasy literature I've read.
Review: Neal Gaiman's graphic novel series The Sandman is possibly this quarter century's best answer to The Lord of the Rings. Neverwhere is its best answer to The Hobbit. Darker, more intense and more sophisticated in some ways than Tolkein's work, it is every bit as literate and allusive. I hope to God he keeps it up.

Rating:
Summary: I want more De Carabas!
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 (that book IS God), 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.

The only other thing I have to say about this book is, READ IT JUST TO MEET DE CARABAS! This character is terrific! I only wish Gaiman had written more about him. Oh, Mr. Gaiman, if ever you read this, PLEE-HEE-HEEZE write another story about him!

Rating:
Summary: A tragic disappointment.
Review: I loved Gaiman's work on Sandman, among other titles, and thus eagerly awaited this novel. Never before have I been so frustratingly disappointed. Neverwhere is predictable, clumsy, garbage -- unworthy of such a normally original and creative writer. I recommend any Gaiman fan stay away from this book, as it may irrepairably damage their opinion of him.

Rating:
Summary: Unimpressive story with unlikable characters
Review: The hero is a boring, mundane, dumb as a post British businessman, the sort of character that you often see in British fiction, and always seem to see in British fantasy.

The story revolves around a magic world beneth London where the homeless and lost really live. I found that just offensive to turn the real tragity of homelessness into a trite fantasy fairy tale.

I didn't care about the characters, and although the setting was decent (once I stopped being annoyed by the idea) the conflict wasn't too impressive.

In the end, the boring british guy discovers his own potential for greatness (good for him! I didn't see any potential for greatness in him at all) and chooses the magic London fairy land over his boring life.

Yawn.

AIM

Rating:
Summary: londonbelow.
Review: i have to say that this is my favorite book. the story telling..all the holes that are made but filled later on...the characters infect your life...the pure realism of it also..that we think we are someone and we may do one thing and no even recognizes us anymore...and the story itself is amazing...we could all fall through the cracks someday...