Neverwhere: A Novel by Neil Gaiman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Neverwhere: A Novel
Book Review: "There's a lot of time in London, and it has to go somewhere - it doesn't get used up at once."
Summary: 5 Stars
Neil Gaiman is imaginitive, clever and can weave a witty and utterly believeable story out of whole cloth. This is particularly true in _Neverwhere_. Set in London, the boringly average Richard Mayhew leads a boringly average life: a beautiful, domineering girlfriend, a job in middle-management, and the world makes sense to him. Until he meets Door, who shows him "London Below" - a city alongside Richard's London, but one very different, and much more dangerous.
Richard's experiences in London Below is the classic hero's journey: the refusal of the call, the mentor, and so on. The predictability of events, however in no way diminish from the richness of the experience, especially given Gaiman's playful wit as he takes the mundane and common in London and recreates it. Tube stations become literal (Blackfriars, for example, is a station that leads to a monestary of ruddy-skinned, black cowled monks, and the ubiquitous London call "mind the gap" has sinister implications for those who don't mind it.) It is an utterly captivating read.
For those unfamiliar with Gaiman's work, this (or American Gods: A Novel) would be my recommendations to start. Fair warning: once you've experienced the creativity and uniqueness of his writing, you will want to read more by him. For those who have read his work, this certainly among his best work. Highly recommended.
Book Review: A Great Read
Summary: 5 Stars
I was tempted by this book for quite some time before I finally picked it up. I'm now sorry that I waited. It was well-written and quite a treat to read. I'm now looking forward to American Gods...Book Review: A Labyrinth of Darkness Below and Between the Streets of London
Summary: 5 Stars
I had heard of Neil Gaiman from a friend and finally decided to give his works a try, starting with Neverwhere. I found out from my local used bookseller that the television series came first and then the author wrote the book based upon the min-series.
Neverwhere is a highly captivating story that takes place above and below the London streets. The story's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, unwittingly becomes involved in this underworld network after he helps a young girl, named Door, whom he found injured and bleeding in the London Underground. Richard's good samaritan deed plunges him into a darkly, disturbing world below the streets of London as to his dismay, he ceases to exist in the London above inasmuch as no one above remembers him. Soon Richard joins Door in a quest through the shadowy and dangerous London below to help her find who murdered her family.
This wonderful novel has intrigue, mystery, and scary villains but it is the richly drawn characters that make this story exceptional. I found Gaiman's world to be fascinating, nightmarish, comic, and realistic. Very highly recommended.
Book Review: A Lovely Read
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very absorbing read. It's the kind of book where you suddenly realize that you are already on page 70 but you feel like you've only been reading for fifteen minutes. The next time you notice the page number, you're on 230 and, the time after that, you see that you have only 20 pages to go to the end!
So, the only bad thing I can about "Neverwhere" is that it wasn't long enough.
I do think, though, that there is enough meat on the bone for a decent sequel. Door still has to look for someone significant to her and there is also still some possibility concerning the rat-speaker girl.
I would say that this book and Tad Williams' "War of the Flowers" are the two best examples of modern urban fantasy out there today. Read both of these and you won't go wrong.
"Neverwhere" isn't original. I have read a lot of Neil Gaiman and he basically begs, borrows and steals everything he does in terms of plot, both for his novels and his short stories. But, I don't mean that in a bad way. It's not that he's a plagiarizer, it's that he taps into the universal stories and myths of Western culture. So, the tropes he uses are very familiar. He's more of a folklorist than a SF or F writer.
Gaiman's strength is as a writer, period. Although he farms well-worn ground, he paints such vivid characters and settings that you get swept away and simply get the chance to enjoy a really good book.
I'll conclude by saying that parts of this book are truly scary and chilling. Gaiman has the power, which is rare, to create real terror. The villains here are people (I use that term loosely) that you would NEVER want to meet. So, start this book early in the day so that if you read it all the way through in one sitting (and you probably will) you'll be finished by nightfall.
Then, lock your front door anyway.
Book Review: A Magical Journey
Summary: 5 Stars
Richard Mayhew was a young man in London. He had a rather ordinary life.....a job in securities, a fiancee that dragged him to lots of galleries, a rather plain little flat. Everything was remarkably ordinary. Until the night he found the girl lying on a sidewalk....bleeding. He was supposed to be having dinner with his fiance's boss, but the good Samaritan in him took over. He couldn't just leave this young girl. So against Jessica's wishes, he picked up the girl and took her home with him. And so began his troubles.....
The girl's name was Door, and she was an "Opener". She could open anything that was locked, open doors to anywhere, and travel to different places through them. And she was being hunted by a pair of assassins. Door's family was murdered and she was on the run, trying to not only stay alive, but find out why her family was killed. But because Richard helped her, his life was turned upside-down. He ceased to exist in London. People looked by him and didn't see him. His job was gone, his apartment rented to other people. He had become part of London Below....the part of London where people who have "fallen through the cracks" go. A magical place that is filled with murderers, beasts, hunters, and angels. A place where your friend can be your enemy and a favor owed is priceless. A place where people talk to rats and the darkness is deadly. And Richard has to navigate through the Underground to help Door in the hopes that he can get his old life back.
What more can I say than I loved this book!! Neil Gaiman is truly a master at what he does. And that is weaving a story. I don't seem to be able to write about him without gushing! Each page I read brought me one step closer to this magical world. The cast of characters was long, but truly unique. Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar were a couple of the scariest assassins ever to grace the pages of any novel. The Marquis de Carabas was arrogant and cunning....a shyster that traded favors, mostly to his own benefit. He was an enigma through most of the story and it was hard to see which team he was really playing for. The Angel Islington was beautiful and scary. And Richard. Richard grew up in this story and learned that he could do mighty things....for an ordinary kind of guy.
If you haven't read Neverwhere, I highly recommend it. It's funny, scary, fantastical and just an all-around exceptional read! It will probably go down as one of my favorite books!!