About the Book
Title: Neverwhere
Author: Neil Gaiman
Series: none
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 370
Edition Read: Paperback
Dates Read: December 9-11, 2023
Blurb: Under the streets of London there’s a world most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet.
“Neverwhere” is the London of the people who have fallen between the cracks.
Strange destinies lie in wait in London below – a world that seems eerily familiar. But a world that is utterly bizarre, peopled by unearthly characters such as the Angel called Islington, the girl named Door, and the Earl who holds Court on a tube train.
Now a single act of kindness has catapulted young businessman Richard Mayhew out of his safe and predictable life – and into the realms of “Neverwhere.” Richard is about to find out more than he ever wanted to know about this other London. Which is a pity. Because Richard just wants to go home…
Review
I love Neil Gaiman’s writing. Nothing can make me sit there for hours wondering, “what the heck did I just read!” It’s so fun because you literally can’t guess what’s going to happen next. I have had this book sitting on my shelf for years and I’m so glad to finally have read it. The world he creates is so magical and dark and gritty, but that makes me want to live in it all the more. Like Richard, I would be drawn to this strange place that is so completely alien to my normal, humdrum life.
I also really liked the setting of London Below. I’ve never been to London, but I’ve been to New York City many times and I know there are so many abandoned subway platforms and tunnels underneath the city. It really makes you wonder what could really be down there. Probably not all the things that Richard discovered, but still! We don’t know for sure! Richard was a fun character because he was so bewildered by everything that was going on, but was still ready to do what he could to help Door.
There were so many odd characters that you encounter in this one – the marquis, Old Bailey and his birds, Lord Rat-Speaker, Hunter, the earl. You never quite knew what or who you were going to meet next. Our main antagonists, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, were likewise very creepy and kept turning up all the time when you least expected it.
I know that Gaiman’s work is not for everyone, but it’s definitely for me. It’s mysterious and dark and very weird and wonderful.
GoodReads rating: 5 stars
Categories: Books I've Read
Life With No Plot 
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