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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.
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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!
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Summary: A great book. Period
Review: Once in a while whilst visiting your local library (or bookstore, or online shop, whichever you perfer) you reach the far corner shelf. One with missmached dusty books that you never heard of. Thats when I met this jewel. As soon as i finished reading it I wondered why in the world my friends hadn't already read it. It was a hit, a success, and inspiration. Welllll maybe thats taking it a bit far. But this is one of the better books I read.
From start to finish it introduces a constant string of charecters, some you instantly hate (the bad guys) and some you grow to love. The book is so greatly detailed that you find yourself screaming "get out of the way!" or "dont go in there!" instantly to realise that yes, it is a book and no, they cant hear you. Then you blush and look around to see if anyone saw you.
But it is a wonderful book, a great read, and an overall classic. I can only pray that Mr. Gaiman writes a sequel.
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Summary: Abrubtly cut short ending
Review: I was so swept up in this story with all of it's unexpected twists and turns and fabulous characters. However, as the book winds down, it seems as if the writer was in a hurry to finish and the characters suddenly become shallowly depicted. It seemed as if the ending was re-written to condense it and the way the main characters leave things made little sense and left me feeling cheated. Overall, A good writer but the ending made me feel like I wasted the hours I enjoyed at the beginning of the book.
Rating:
Summary: dreamy
Review: another book which deals with speculative reality...
how much of our own world are we oblivious to? gaiman examines this question through use of the london underground...the true underground...a world that no one sees, mostly because they do not want to.
i believe that gaiman is commenting on our own inablitites to fully appreciate what we live in, a world rich in excitement, and wonder. the story follows richard mayhew through a journey fully rich in detail and character. gaiman shows off his imaginative ruminations thoroughly with his literary creations. the line between good and bad is skewed, leaving the reader constantly wondering about individual characters and their own intents. gaimans grasp of the adjective leaves the reader steeped deeply in the worlds of london below, as richard, door, the marquis de carabas, and others go through their interplay. i had much trouble putting this book down.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Basic.....
Review: Neverwhere is a pretty basic piece of today's standard fiction. I actually expected something a bit better from the author of the great Sandman comic series, but maybe he's just not good a novels. The story is about another world that lies below London (aptly titled "London Below"). The world is filled with your basic strange creatures and intelligent rats. Nothing really to see here and really nothing at all thats new. The characters try to be interesting but they fall short since the general plot and subsequently the characters also have been done so many times. The whole "outsider unwittingly saves the day" thing has been done [over and over] by authors alot better than this one. I gave it two stars (instead of one) because if you're just starting to read fiction for first time in your life and you pick up this book, you will probably enjoy it. Unfortuantly 90's authors especially Science Fiction and Fantasy writers are usually just rehashing stuff already done better by the old time greats. So, the verdict is, get this if you've got no culture and a plane ride ... past that don't expect much. If nothing else I suggest you start with pre 70's fantasy and sf...
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Summary: Visit a Great No-Place
Review: Another Gaiman gem. I actually felt sad as I got towards the end of the story, since I wanted to continue knowing these people in this place. Neverwhere is the underground below the London Underground, among things. It's also a place deep in your mind as you read this. Amazing.
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Summary: Compelling Fantasy
Review: The sewers and subways and pathways of London under ground are as clearly drawn and fascinating as London above ground. Gaiman has created a world where nothing is exactly as it seems, and puns have power. The characters are delightful and the plot is well constructed. I recommend this book to fantasy connoseurs.
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Summary: Easy going read
Review: I'd rate this 3.5 stars actually. Enjoyable fantasy with some dark hints of horror thrown in for good measure. Reminds me of some of the much darker fantasy worlds of John Crowley(Little,Big) or Robert Holdstock(Mythago Wood). To be honest, this is fairly lite stuff compared to the complex mythos of those authors, but nonetheless I will read more from Mr Gaiman. I just wish he'd spike up the darkness factor a notch or two.
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