Neverwhere

464 pages

English language

Published June 7, 2016 by William Morrow Paperbacks.

ISBN:
978-0-06-245908-4
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4 stars (39 reviews)

Neverwhere is the companion novelisation written by English author Neil Gaiman of the television serial Neverwhere, by Gaiman and Lenny Henry. The plot and characters are exactly the same as in the series, with the exception that the novel form allowed Gaiman to expand and elaborate on certain elements of the story and restore changes made in the televised version from his original plans. Most notable is the appearance of the Floating Market at Harrods (in the novel) rather than under Battersea power station (the TV series). This is because the management of Harrods changed their minds about proposed filming. The novel was originally released by BBC Books in 1996, three episodes into the television series run. It was accompanied by a spoken word CD and cassette release, also by the BBC. The novel enjoyed great success, whereas its television roots did not receive as much international exposure as the …

14 editions

Superb audio version!

5 stars

Set around the London tube map, Neverwhere is the fantastic story of ordinary Londoner Richard Mayhew. Having stopped to help an injured homeless girl, he finds himself made invisible to the normal London above and sucked into the world of London below. A frightening place of Black Friars and Angels, Ratspeakers and Assassins, the Court of a Medieval Earl and a girl who can open any door with just the power of her mind. Richard must stay alive long enough for Door to find the people behind the murder of her family. Then he might just be able to come home. The story is an amazing feat of imagination with innumerable I-didn't-see-that-coming moments. I found myself missing Richard and Door, Hunter and the Marquis when I wasn't listening to their tale and actually wishing myself back onto a Stagecoach bus so they could continue their journey! Gaiman writes well for …

reviewed Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Harry Potter, but mature

5 stars

This was my first Neil Gaiman book. I can understand why people love his books.

This reads a lot like Harry Potter in terms of the fantasy right under people's nose, and the fact that this happened in London (what is it with London and trains, eh?) gave further familiar vibe.

The book has a good flow. It's well written, with skills and thoughts. Gaiman created a whole world in 350 pages, and it feels like there's much more in the brains this came out of. I like how this books is kind of happy ending, yet, still not, yet... is... if you read it, you'll get it.

I don't usually read fantasy like this, but I'm glad I picked this up. It was a fun read, an entertaining one, an invitation to provoke the mind and imagination.

Review of 'Neverwhere' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I feel ambivalent about this book. I like the world that Gaiman imagines, where people who "fall through the cracks" end up in parallel societies below the world's metropolises. I also like the idea, that these people are not perceived as persons anymore by the inhabitants of the cities above and are generally ignored and overlooked. In my opinion, there is a certain poetic value to this thought.

I felt a bit disappointed though by the rather mediocre storyline. A journey, a 3-parted challenge, the old who-is-friend-and-who-is-foe-game? Yeah, we have seen that before... many times.

Also I usually appreciate a witty writing style, but Gaiman tries to hard at times, up to a point where it feels like a lame imitation of the writings of [a:Douglas Adams|4|Douglas Adams|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1189120061p2/4.jpg] or [a:Terry Pratchett|1654|Terry Pratchett|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1235562205p2/1654.jpg].

The narrative style of this book felt kind of "visual". It kept me thinking that it would have …

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