Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinarylife, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.
Reviews (2401)
Another book on my top ten list, this novel follows Richard Mayhew in London, England. After helping a young girl in distress, Richard finds himself removed (quite literally) from the real world and is thrust into the young girl's hidden London Below. Again, Gaiman has a way of integrating the modern real with fantasy in a way that might make you believe London Below exists.
A fantastic book that takes London and adds a dimension that is hidden and yet believable. The characters re interesting and Gaiman's writing is at his best. A must ready for Gaiman fan's and non Gaiman fans.
Read it three times and can't get enough of it. One of my favourite Gaiman books. When you read it, you're there in the underworld of London.
My first Gaiman, but I like several of his other books better. Last year I spotted the TV miniseries in the local video rental - interesting to get the two versions of the story!
My first Gaiman book. I had heard many great things about this author, and, on a recent trip to the library, decided that it was high time to verify this cyber-gossip. The first thing that stuck out to me in this story was the juxtaposition of comedic one liners and serious plot . It is a little unsettling to have a pair of assassins attacking one minute and then have the protagonists cracking jokes the next. In this aspect, it reminds me of FullMetal Alchemist.
Speaking of assassins, the book has the best pair of villains that I have ever come across. Whenever they popped up in the story, I ceased caring about the plot, other characters, etc. They embodied everything that I have ever admired in an insane antagonist. This was a great boon considering how character driven the book is. The plot is unoriginal, there is little fighting, and less character development. The emphasis is squarely on the caricature-like characters and the unique locale and, for the most part, it works.
Aside from the unsettling intermingle of light-heartedness and dark fantasy, the content was the biggest enjoyment detractor for me. Not so much because the “bad content” was gratuitous, (there were a handful of “F” words and some sexual dialog) but because it didn't fit with the rest of the book. I got the feeling that it was placed in as a half-hearted attempt to make the book seem more “mature”.
“Neverwhere” has a few hiccups and is interesting, if not deep. My disposition towards Gaiman remains undecided at this point. 7/10 (or, if you have a special appreciation for insanity, 8/10).
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