Rating: Summary: A wondrous adventure. Review: Having merely heard of Neil Gaiman (through Sandman), when I purchased this novel, I was hoping for nothing more than a book worth $6. Not only was this book worth the money I paid, I think it must be one of the best fantasy novels I have read in the last three or four years. A wonderfully complete, well illustrated world - with colourful characters and a gripping story. Gaiman's writing is sparse in this book, but this serves to better captivate the imagination. The concepts he draws at, the elements he leaves us wondering at (I NEED some follow-up books), left me marvelling. A warning, however: I picked up Stardust, and didn't like it at all. It felt, as another reader commented, 'incomplete'. So - don't buy that. Don't even read it. But you are really, really missing out if you do not read _Neverwhere_. Not only did I gobble it up, but it broke me out of my writer's block and allowed me to continue work on my novel.
Rating: Summary: You might enjoy this if you are under 17 years old Review: Even then, you might not like it. Gaiman is a competent writer, capable of holding a story together and presenting a whole array of coherent characters. Unfortunately, this book reminds me of some of the fantasies I read when I was 15. At the time, I accepted them as semi-interesting stories, lacking depth (in characterization, in message, in storyline), but nonetheless worth the read. Perhaps I value my time more now than then, but parts of this book were boring and the characters were flatter than Eric. The humor and characters seemed to be aimed at a younger crowd, but occasional scenes and thoughts were very grown up. A strange mix that doesn't, at least for me, work.
Rating: Summary: it was wonderful to the point that you couldn't put it down. Review: i really enjoyed this book very much. i just bought "stardust" & it was just as good. i just hope he write more books like this.
Rating: Summary: slightly twisted Review: it's an excellent book that sucks you into it's plot, one of those you devour on a dark and stormy day. full of humor and rising climaxes, its a must read book!
Rating: Summary: Captivating Review: Picked up the book on a sheer whim, having never heard of gaiman previously...was completely captivated and absorbed by the vivid world of london below...the pictures gaiman was able to paint with his prose amazed me...neverwhere became very real...and any book that completely brings you into its world works for me...i do not read fantasy/science fiction as a rule...too often weirdness substitutes for any characterization, plot line, or anything resembling literary devices...but after reading "neverwhere", i searched out and read most of gaiman's other prose work (sorry, i don't need the graphic novels, i have my own imagination, just give me the words)... unfortunately, the reat of gaiman's prose has been lacking..."stardust" was too incomplete, obviously the illustrations in the graphic novel did most of the story telling there..."good omens" was inconsistent and most of the stories in "smoke and mirrors" were instantly forgettable... so buy and enjoy neverwhere...after that, buyer beware
Rating: Summary: Fantasy that Manages to Be Both Dark and Light Review: Neverwhere is a novel you wish Jim Henson Productions would turn into a film. It's a great sister project to Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal, though it is much darker than either of those. The real joy of reading comes from Gaiman's involving writing style, drawing you into a world that doesn't make sense, but making you feel perfectly at home there anyway. It's a short, sharp, beautifully dank novel that creates a world so real you can almost smell it.
Rating: Summary: Story-telling of the highest caliber Review: It never ceases to amaze me how the fantasy genre is consistently overlooked as a source of "serious literature" (whatever that means). No, "Neverwhere" is not pregnant with convoluted Jamesian sentences, nor does it possess the lyrical beauty of a Nabakov novel, or break any new literary boundaries. What it does do (more completely and thoroughly than anything I've read in quite a while) is ENTERTAIN. Gaiman is a wonderful story-teller, and "Neverwhere" is resplendent with a well-constructed mythos, three-dimensional characters, and a storyline that hurtles you through the pages like a juggernaut. The protagonist, Richard Mayhew, plays an affable anti-hero, and Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar are quite possibly two of the most entertaining villians ever put to print. It is a worthwhile literary endeavor. Anyone that tells you otherwise is either incompetent or just plain wrong. Will this book be on The Modern Library's Top 100 books of the 20th century? Probably not, but considering what an outright farce that was, who cares? "Neverwhere" proves that the art of telling a tale has not been lost; buried under a rubble of rhetoric maybe, but not lost. I consider this to be as credible of a form of literature as any that has been written. To those who consider it an airy form of escapism: think again and come up with a more cogent response. It simply isn't true, believe me. This is what fantasy so desparately needs to be.
Rating: Summary: Sold out again Review: I was at the bookstore about a 2 months ago, and happened to find a copy of Neverwhere. Being somewhat stingy with my money I didn't buy it. Then three weeks ago I decided to go find the book at my libary. It was great, and I couldn't put it down till I stopped, and I decided to go back to the bookstore to get the book. And it was gone, after sitting there for something close too three months. And it's not the first time all copys of Neverwhere have been sold out, the people there have had to reorder a few times already, so I guess that this speaks for it's self .
Rating: Summary: entertaining but pointless Review: gaiman, as ever is brilliant in drawing you into these worlds...however, it lacks the messages and meaning behind some of his other work...esp. sandman. so i can only compare this to an older more intelligent version of the novels i read in junior high....a nice diversion, but dont expect to think too much
Rating: Summary: Great, but not for Neil Review: If anybody else had written this book, I would have loved it and I never would have raised a finger, but I really did expect more from Neil Gaiman. It did not have the depth or literary value of Sandman, but I will say that it is an entertaining story and will not let you down if you don't have any preconceived expectations.
|