Neverwhere (London Below, #1)

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 realistic female characters and I do appreciate that, in his stories, women are rarely just adornments to male storylines. Indeed, in Neverwhere, the traditional male-female dynamic is almost totally reversed through Door and Richard.

Neverwhere is the fourth Neil Gaiman book I've listened to and he is definitely one of my favourite authors. I also love that he is an excellent narrator. Hearing an author read their own work means you know you're getting exactly the emphasis and tone they meant all the time. If you're looking for a book to read or hear soon, I highly recommend Neverwhere.

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

This read 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 ready fantasy like this, but I'm glad I picked this up. It was a fun read, an entertaining one, and invitation to provoke the mind and imagination.

Great writing of course, but I felt I'd read the situations before. Richard's situation (not the character) was very similar to the beginning of Anansi Boys. So didn't engage me as much.

3.5/5 stars, rounded up...

So far, I always enjoy Neil Gaiman's writing--his humor, the way he pokes fun at common situations and plays with words, is a delight. In this novel, the evil duo Coup and Vandemar succeed in being very funny and totally disgusting at the same time. Richard is the protagonist and unlikely hero, and Door is sort of the damsel in distress, but not at all weak. Then, there's the Marquis de Carabas, who gets my vote for the most intriguing personality.

Overall, this is a light, fun read, not at all intricate or surprising. The most thought-provoking topic (for me) was the fact that Richard was just a background character in his original life, and perhaps this is what made an alternative reality call his name. (Which is reality?)

At the end of this novel, there is a short story which centers around The Marquis de Carabas and how he gets his coat back, which was also a splendid, humorous read. Heh, mushrooms...

I had a good time, and would recommend this to anyone.

I really really loved this book. The darkness of the "fairytale" was well written and in a sci-fi sort of way, believable. I was drawn to Door as a character, not so much Richard, though. I did feel bad for him but that's about it. He seemed like the sniveling type. I liked him just a little bit, not as much as I had liked to. On the whole, I thought this was a great book- I don't read much sci-fi, but I will read Gaiman. Loved this book. Didn't want to put it down.

Neverwhere raconte l’histoire d’un héros ordinaire, qui passe du Londres normal à une réalité alternative, placée dans les failles du vrai Londres. Une très belle histoire onirique, fantastique, émouvante et très intéressante.

On peut au moins dire de ce roman qu’il est bien, et que j’ai beaucoup aimé la manière dont l’auteur exploite la géographie de Londres. Ca doit sûrement être vraiment le pied pour les londoniens, car leur ville est transformée en un lieu imaginaire assez étrange, où certaines personnes ont des dons assez étranges, comme Porte ou Mrs Croup et Vandemar. Mais ce qui est encore plus étrange, et à mon avis ce qui donne la plus grande valeur à ce roman, c’est que l’auteur ne cherche pas une justification totale à son monde fantasmé, au contraire de bien des auteurs pour qui la cohérence passe par une construction méticuleuse. On suit donc ici les aventures d’un héros atypique, Richard Mayhew, qui plonge littéralement dans cette faille de la réalité. Pourquoi atypique ? Parce qu’il n’est pas supérieur au reste du monde, mais qu’il ne s’agit pas non plus d’un anti-héros, en ce sens qu’il essaye quand même de réussir, son échelle, et qu’il y parvient lorsqu’il obtient la clef de la libération d’Islington.

Tiens, Islington, parlons-en ! Dans n’importe quel autre roman, j’aurais probablement compris assez rapidement qu’il était le vrai mal. Mais là, étrangement, l’effet de dépaysement a parfaitement fonctionné, et comme Richard, confronté à ce monde étrange, j’ai été incapable de deviner les tenants et les aboutissements de cette histoire d’assassinat, uniquement destinée à permettre à cet ange quoi ? On ne le sait pas vraiment, et ce n’est d’ailleurs pas le propos.

C’est vrai, le roman n’est pas ici destiné à raconter une histoire policière, mais plutôt un voyage : celui de Richard dans un monde étrange, caché dans les entrailles de Londres, et ce voyage, par son rythme, son exotisme, son danger, nous colle au livre et nous plonge vraiment dans le smog, l’ambiance un peu brumeuse de Londres.