Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Neverwhere
Book Review: "Wizard of Oz and Alice written by Marilyn Manson."
Summary: 5 Stars
Imagine Alice in wonderland, 'cept it all happens in subway and sewer tunnels.The whole idea behind the book is that there are two worlds. World above (normal world) and World below, where all kinds of crazy and disturbing stuff happens, like every-day life. It just so happens that Richard Mayhew accidentally joins the world below by helping a bleeding girl on the street (he's the only one that noticed her.) The thing is, he doesn't exist in the world above anymore. Now he goes below, to find an answer for his question: How does he get his life back?
One cliché or two aside, this book is amazingly creative, and the scenes are described to perfection (not too much detail)
The only thing that somewhat angers me is that the world seems so HUGE, yet it's only described to a certain extent, and no sequels are planned for it. Seven sisters? How come we only get to meet one?
I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoyed Alice in Wonderland simply because of the sheer creativity it had going on for it. Don't get me wrong, this book is very dark ("I think my throat's been cut. Do you have anything to bind it with?") and sometimes creepy, but you shouldn't consider yourself a fiction fan if you haven't read this masterpiece.
Book Review: 20,000 Leagues under the City
Summary: 4 Stars
Although I expected this book to be a devolved version of Gaiman's marvellous "Sandman" world, I was delighted to find a completely different story. All the Gaiman hallmarks were there - elaborate but satisfyingly logical mythology, flashes of hilarity, voracious evil and stumbling, frightened good - but the secrets of London Below were thrilling and almost always unexpected. The bad guys were gruesome, the good guys self-interested, and the division engrossingly unclear. Richard Mayhew, the Everyman and our guide to London below, was far less irritating than his role would suggest, and Gaiman managed to avoid the trap of having the locals explain everything to the reader through Richard, though sometimes only barely. The few times that Gaiman's vision faltered were, unfortunately, very obvious, and these few clunky moments tended to occur at moments that should have been climactic rather than annoying. Gaiman's fantastical London and its ragtag denizens are the real attraction of this book, and the occasionally laboured plot is a small price to pay for the visit.Book Review: 5 stars, damn near perfect.
Summary: 5 Stars
It's nearly two a.m. in the morning where i am, and i've just finished reading this novel. I have to say, i've never read anything quite like this book. Adventure pretty much sums it all up, in one word. Hell, reading it was like living a real adventure, only in my mind, my imagination. Which is, of course, where the best and most perfect of adventures usually take place. Strange and weird and fanstastic. And i loved every second of it. I won't say what the book is about, but i will say that if you like grand adventure and fantasy, then give this excellent book a try. You'll probably love it as much as i did. Or perhaps, if it is at all possible, a bit more.
Oh, and beware of doors. Or, mebbe, look for them.
Hawksmoor...From The Bleed.
Book Review: A Bizarre Bazaar
Summary: 5 Stars
Here Neil Gaiman has created an enjoyable and just slightly disconcerting novel for anyone who likes dark fantasy, and especially anyone wondering if there's more to life than a stable, dependable existence. Office dweeb Richard Mayhew has a pretty good life with a lucrative job and a pretty fiancée, but it turns out that the job is boring and unfulfilling, and the fiancée is coldhearted and manipulative. Richard helps an injured girl on the street and is transported into the (literal) London underworld, the abode of odd folks and creatures who have fallen through society's cracks. But these are cracks in society's memories and beliefs. It's a world of strange magic and dark threats, where Richard slowly transforms himself from dork to hero. But will he truly be happy returning to his old life, which was stable but unfulfilling, or will he choose to stay in the lost world where he's a hero among forgotten dregs? Gaiman has created an engaging society of misfits and magic, with unique and intriguing characters who bring out a true appreciation for the worse things in life. [~doomsdayer520~}Book Review: A Character Study
Summary: 5 Stars
It's difficult to sum up Neverwhere in just one review of a few paragraphs, unless I choose to rewrite his book right here, and I don't have the time--and somehow, I doubt they allow me the space, either.
It's like tasting a really good food for the first time, reading this book, because you've never really read anything like it before. Gaiman is always unrelenting with his characters. At times, he shows no mercy when he shouldn't, and he imbues Richard Mayhew (his character of flawed, but pure, humanity) with a degree of morality that stable people can relate to.
It's a misconception what good writing entails. A lot believe good writing means that the author has to craft a complex plot, or a syntax worthy of analysis by Shakespearian scholars. But Gaiman embraces his characters, which astounds me more than anything. He uses his surroundings to greater effect. We don't understand our character until he undergoes a change of environment, and Gaiman uses this to intelligent effect--after all, everybody can relate to that. We don't see Richard Mayhew as a person until he matures and metamoprhoses into a brilliant culmination of moral human compassion.
This review, of course, is not meant to pinpoint one character and to analyze him until our ears bleed. But Gaiman clearly meant Richard Mayhew to be an indicator of the themes of love and loss, of good and evil, of dark and light and of pure, simple survival.