Neverwhere

I've been wanting to re-read this for years and the time finally felt right this October. I hesitate to say that Gaiman ‘builds' a compelling world for that phrase seems to imply some of the scaffolding is visible. It's not. The world Gaiman describes exists so wholly and so well painted that you never once think of it as something constructed but just, a place that is. It's a treat to be allowed a glimpse into it all. The story itself is actually a lot simpler than I remember, allowing the reader to drink in the world and characters and bob along with the story without having to concentrate too hard. Which is fine, but compared with the richness of the world, the plot itself does feel a little secondary. 5/5 for world, 5/5 for language, 4/5 for characters and 4/5 for plot, that's all I'm saying. Still an absolutely wonderful book. Oh, and Richard is a boring character, I feel the book would have been better without him and just wholly about London Below. I get that he has a function as muse and narrator and reflector of audience's perspective, but bleh he's just really naff.

Neverwhere is Alice in wonderland if Alice was a twenty something Londoner businessman in the Nineteens with Doctor who vibes ”.
This is a very bizarre fantasy and I could feel Gaiman style as I watched the adaptation of Good Omens.
He tells a story it's own way and with a brilliant imagination. It is told in a really photographic way and I wasn't surprised to discover it is actually a Tv show adaptation.

I am really difficult with urban fantasy and I know that this book is not a favorite to me. But I would highly recommend the read to a lot of person around me that would know how to appreciate this.

Have you ever had a day where things started out okay - just in your rut, and you imagine that maybe you'd like to be somewhere else? Well, what if you didn't imagine that but suddenly, through events and circumstances that you will never understand, you get pulled out of your rut to....somewhere else. That's the problem set up for our hero in this story. And, oh, what a ride he is about to be on. In typical Neil Gaiman fashion, things get crazy real quick, but it always has some thread that you can almost see or touch or smell that hangs you right on believability.

This adventure is like no other - back in the real world, this story may set you to thinking about what is truly important in life and what you want.

There's probably too much weirdness and violence for kiddos, but this is definitely a winner for young adult on up.

** I listened to the audible version

I liked this book. it reminded me of the Shadowhunter series by Cassandra Clare. Having been lucky enough to visit London a few times I enjoyed thinking about the place names in different and more literal terms, such as Blackfriars and Earl's Court.
A big take away from the book for me is how we look at life, that being happy with where we are is fine but that sometimes reaching for different or more might be scary but ultimately more rich and fulfilling.
It also struck me how small actions can take us down very different paths.
The book was a fast read for the second half but dragged a bit in the beginning. It's a better book to read in great chunks of time than in snippets. The chunks of time allow you to immerse yourself in the setting and with the characters.

Loved this book - can't think why it took me so long to get around to it. Maybe because I was reading all of Pratchett's... (the two collaborated on the brilliant Good Omens - read that if you haven't)

If I had to sum this up I'd say an adult ‘His Dark Materials' except far better, much less preachy (i.e. not at all) and very funny. It's not laugh out loud funny, like Pratchett or Douglas Adams (I'd say Gaiman is self-consciously writing in an Adamsian style) but wry chuckles all through.

I listened to the author reading this on my commute and I really recommend it - he delivers a dry, well acted performance and, being the author, knows exactly how he wants things to sound.

Good book, and now I'm going to have a bit of a Gaiman binge, I think...

Executive Summary: I enjoyed this, but not as much as [b:American Gods 30165203 American Gods Neil Gaiman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462924585s/30165203.jpg 1970226]. I think the big difference was the main character.Audiobook: I'm generally not a huge fan of audiobooks read by the author, but [a:Neil Gaiman 1221698 Neil Gaiman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1234150163p2/1221698.jpg] does a solid job here. He's a storyteller, so he's good at reading a story, especially one of his own. That said, I might have preferred an actual narrator with voices, etc. Still I'd say that audio's not a bad choice by any means.Full ReviewI've owned the ebook of this for awhile, but my reading time is very limited and I own hundreds of unread ebooks at this point. So when I got the audio as well, I finally got around to pick it up.Neil Gaiman seems to have a cult-like following on Goodreads. He's super popular. I've read a few of his books (I think this is maybe the 4th or 5th?), and I've enjoyed them but I haven't been rushing out to read all his stuff.This is a bit strange for me because I actually watched the TV miniseries (I think it was made in the 90s) as well as reading the “sequel” novella [b:How the Marquis Got His Coat Back 26699591 How the Marquis Got His Coat Back Neil Gaiman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442860194s/26699591.jpg 42096629] in an anthology collection I read before reading the book. That's very unlike me. I'm usually a big book before TV/Film and chronological reading order person.So I knew what to expect coming in, although I had forgotten many of the plot points as it's been a few years since I watched the series. I found things a bit slow to get started. In particular because I don't like Richard that much. Many of the things he did/said made me anxious/agitated. His life was just so disorganized that I wanted to yell at him to get his shit together.I did warm up to him as the series went on. Thankfully all the supporting characters are pretty great/memorable. I also really loved the world building. I've read another series ([b:Something from the Nightside 155421 Something from the Nightside (Nightside, #1) Simon R. Green https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1354812342s/155421.jpg 150023]) about a secret/magical London underbelly and I think Gaiman probably does the better job.There are a lot of similarities for me to [b:American Gods 30165203 American Gods Neil Gaiman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462924585s/30165203.jpg 1970226], which remains my favorite of the Gaiman books I've read. I think Shadow is a far more likeable protagonist which helps. It probably also helps me that I'm more familiar with the American setting than I am with the London series.I believe there has been an announcement that Gaiman is working/will work on a proper sequel novel and if that proves to be true that might be the first book of his I pick up at release time. Otherwise his work remains something I'm interested in checking out when I have time but not really top of the pile.

This is my second book Ive read from this author. This was a beautiful book, To the stoty to the characters! The story takes you away to strangea and intriguing place. its a story about life, love, friendship, family and it it told through a fantasy world full of colorful people.

Wish that there was a sequel to this one!

4.5 stars!

I know, 5-stars. That's how good I thought this freakin' book was. Gaiman never ceases to amaze me. Never have I seen such a seamless ability to fuse the real-world and the fantasy-world together. When you can write a 370-page book about the sewers of London, where a protagonist learns to communicate with rats and ultimately becomes a figurehead of ‘London Below' through a series of amazing mishaps; including instances with angels, two assassins who house similar traits to a fox and hound respectively, floating marketplaces, and an existential crisis where one is burdened by visions of people who are actually himself made manifest by the dark powers of the Blackfriars...well, there's something unique and imaginatively superb about it. This is the third Gaiman book I've read and for me this is up there with the prestigious American Gods. Perhaps not as complex in nature as American Gods but equally as magical, mysterious and flat-out bewildering - Neverwhere is a book I'll definitely pick up one day many years into the future. I'll flick the pages, I'll smile, and I'll remember why the world we see isn't the only world that's out there.

I've been reading too much serious/mostly serious fantasy recently, because I'd forgotten how fun and funny a wacky Gaiman adventure can be. [b:Neverwhere 23462649 Neverwhere Neil Gaiman https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1454334106s/23462649.jpg 16534] is sprinkled with dry puns and sly references that constantly keep me chuckling, giving Gaiman credit for the gotcha. But it's also host to great pacing and worldbuilding that keeps me engaged for a charming tale of growth. We end up learning to how to live once you fall through the cracks of London and of life, and then letting yourself stay fallen. What does it take for you to come back when you hit your lowest lows, literally in this case? I don't know that my personal answer will include facing off against a terrible foe, but maybe it'll be something close.

It was a bit tough to get into, the writing is very matter-of-fact and feels somewhat dull at first. About halfway through my brain clicked and that the writing style really synergized with Richard's perspective of simply absorbing the wonder and richness of the world, without really buying into it. It got much more enjoyable to read after I sort of turned the critical part of my brain off.

Solid reacd.