Neverwhere

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.

Rating:
Summary: This is a fun book!
Review: I had a Gaiman-fest this autumn. I bought American Gods, Neverwhere and Stardust. While I found American Gods a bit overdone, I adored Stardust for its clearly faceted and sharply written prose and I love Neverwhere for its enjoyable setting, entertaining characters and plot speed.

That being said, I don't hate American Gods and still recommend it, but Neverwhere in my opinion is the more enjoyable ride. I do recommend visiting the London Underground as a primer - it really is its own world down there; I have great childhood memories of looking out the window of the train and seeing little vignettes of the subterranean world flash by in shades of green and red and sketchy black. That's probably why I thorougly enjoyed this read!

It is a true fantasy on the order of Alice in Wonderland, or the Matrix or any of the 'step through the gate' type tales stretching back for god knows how many centuries. It is the kind of fairyland your grandmother knew about - not all fairies are nice...that's why you wear a charm :-). The two villians who are hunting for the protagonist are truly nasty AND hugely funny too (mmm rats)!

So if you want a modern-grit, fast plotted, fun fantasy novel, pick this one up!

Rating:
Summary: Of course my bias perspective...
Review: I think Neil Gaiman is a very talented writer and I've been a fan of his work for some time. I of course had to look into this book and I hate that it took me so long to do so. I asked for the Neverwhere DVD for Christmas so I set out to read it before the day I got it so I could make a mental comparison. The book isn't "bad," but I think my bias with Gaiman actually works against him here. I really feel that I try to give credit where credit is due and while this would be a decent work by an independant writer, it does not reflect the skill of his other works. I guess I'm disappointed. I will not say that the novel medium is a bad idea for Gaiman, because I think Coraline was terrific. I just think the plot got alittle loose and in a weird way I think Gaiman got tired of writing the novel somewhere past the midline of it's creation. It kind of seems thrown together and created itself as it went along. The end result left me a bit indifferent. Gaiman has in the past done nothing but excite me. I regret giving this book mediocre marks, but I'll post a Coraline review to make up for it.

Rating:
Summary: Colorful
Review: For some reason while I was reading this book one word came to mind: colorful. Even though it's pretty much a "dark" setting, this book was able to connect each and every character to the reader with such a vibrant relationship. There is really never much of any downtime whatsoever throughout the story. The events that take place are incredibly unique, unpredictable, and always worth your time.

I was truly disapointed when I was on the last few pages of the book only because that was it. It killed me knowing that the adventure was over. Needless to say that the story was very nicely wrapped up.
Gaiman IS storyteller.

Rating:
Summary: I'm falling between the cracks...literally!
Review: Richard Mayhew is an ordinary man leading an ordinary life. He has a good job, a beautiful but self-centered fiancé named Jessica, and a comfortable future awaiting him.

Until he finds a young girl practically unconscious on the sidewalk as he Jessica are walking towards a pivotal dinner meeting for her career. The girl is hurt and bleeding, and without knowing why Richard helps her, making Jessica angry enough to break off their engagement.
The girl's name is Door, and after sending Richard off an a very odd errand into what Richard would discover was London Below, he returns with the Marquis de Carabas who has agreed to help Door. There are also two very odd and dangerous gentlemen looking for Door, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, who appear at Richard's apartment in their search for the girl.
But Richard wasn't aware that once he ventured into London Below, he would become faded in London Above, not quite invisible but pretty much ceasing to exist. Richard must return to London Below and find Door again, in order to try and get his life back in London Above.

Not so much a different world, or even truly below the London he is used to, but more of a parallel reality, London Below is a strange, wondrous, and dangerous place. Neil Gaiman has brought to life a fantastic world that is definitely worth your time to explore along with Richard and Door.
Door wishes to find her family's killers, Richard wants to go back to London Above, and Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar are closing in on both of them, hired assassins with an unclear mission and mysterious employer.

The story moves with a rapid pace through peril after peril through bizarre markets and deadly bridges and odd links between London Above and London Below, a very interesting and compelling read with a highly fueled imaginative setting and fully fleshed out characters. Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Good standalone fantasy
Review: For years, I've felt that one of the chief problems with the fantasy genre is the inability of most of its writers to compose a single volume story. Driven more by commercial considerations than any true creative need, most authors compose trilogies or even longer series of novels. In fact, the last standalone fantasy I had read by a major author was David Eddings's awful Redemption of Althalus. With Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman has done what is nowadays most rare: composed a single book fantasy novel which is also good.

The story is about Richard Mayhew, an average enough guy living in London who sees a young woman - Door - lying injured in the streets and is compelled to help her. Proving that no good deed goes unpunished, the act of assisting her turns his own life to hell as suddenly he more-or-less disappears from existence. In his world, he is now invisible; instead he has become part of Door's world, a strange and magical place that lies beneath the streets.

There is plenty of adventure that follows, with Richard as part of Door's quest to stop the killers of her family. On the surface, Richard is a bit of a disappointment as a character, more of an observer than a doer, a man who reacts rather than acts. On a deeper level, however, this is actually the story of Richard's self-discovery, and how he goes from being a generic everyman to forging his own identity.

But don't let this depth intimidate you; this is essentially a fun fantasy novel with what readers of such books want: weird plances, interesting characters, scary villains and lots of action. It makes this book not only an outstanding book in a genre that has seen better days, but also a good book in its own rights.

Rating:
Summary: Its a great read
Review: Rarely does a book come along now-a-days in the fantasy genre that stimulates the imagination. It's all about wizards and knites and blah blah blah. It gets a bit repetitive. But Gaiman's novel, Neverwhere, is new and fresh and exciting. It makes you dream dreams and think of things you never considered before.
The novel revolves around a man named Richard Mayhew, who is thrown into a strange place called Londen Underground because of a girl named Door. The adventure unfolds as Door trys to discover who killed her parents, and why.
The story is fulled of twists and adventures. I enjoyed reading it a 2nd and 3rd time. Well worth your while.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Rocks! Review
Review: Neverwhere, by Neil Gainman, is a bizarre, fascinating, intriguing novel. It is the story of Richard Mayhew, a young businessman. He is living in London for the first time. Richard is enjoying relative success in his job. He also has a beautiful fiancée, Jessica. It looks like everything is going right for him.
Richard is taking his fiancée and her boss to dinner one evening when he sees a dirty young woman lying bleeding on the sidewalk. He rescues the girl and carries her to his apartment.
Next morning, two weird men come to Richard's apartment. One has rat-colored hair, and the other has fox-colored hair. They are looking for the girl. Richard doesn't want to let them in, because the girl is right there in the bathroom, but they go in anyway and search the apartment. They even open the bathroom door, but when they do, the girl is not inside. They cannot find her anywhere. Right after the two men leave, the girl mysteriously appears in the kitchen right at Richard's side.
The beautiful and mysterious girl calls herself Door. Door is looking for the reason behind the murder of her family. The two weird men were hired to kill her. They are bizarre killers who never grow old. Could they be a key to the mystery of her family's death?
Door asks Richard to help her on her quest which will take them into a place called London Below. London Below is an underground city. It is really made up of parts of historic London that people have forgotten about. The people who live in London Below have disappeared from London Above. No one knows why. They are either born there or disappear into there. They live in a strange society where there are people with titles, who are nobles, and people who are peasants and beggars, too.
Richard joins this shadow world unwillingly, trapped in this alternate dimension. Once he steps into it, his normal life disappears. Richard finds that ordinary people can no longer see or hear him. The only chance of getting his old life back is to go with Door on a dangerous mission across the Underground.
Richard and Door are guided on their journey by helpers. They find out why her father was marked for death by the rulers of London Below. Finally, Richard prepares to fight the horrible Great Beast of London. The ending of this story is quite a shock!
I highly recommend this novel. The story is both funny and suspenseful.