“As a child, Richard had had nightmares in which he simply wasn’t there, in which, no matter how much noise he made, no matter what he did, nobody ever noticed him at all.”

At the beginning of Neverwhere, we meet Richard Mayhew who has a fine life; a fiance and a well-paid job, but Richard seems timid and afraid of life. He also doesn’t seem to be as content as he could be. Cue Door, a girl from London Below who shows up needing help and Richard's life irrevocably changes. 

Wildly imaginative, Neverwhere once again shows off Neil Gaiman’s playful storytelling. He crafts an alternate London filled with ghouls and mysterious magic with that same unsettling prose as I fell in love with in Ocean at The End of The Lane. 

The characters are distinct, including the most villainous of villains, Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar who are as creepy as they are scholarly (okay, maybe not in the case of Vandemar, but you’ll see what I mean about Mr Croup). 

Richard faces many ordeals and seeing him grow confident and more certain of what he wants from life, is a really satisfying arc. 

This type of whimsical fantasy reminds me of someone like Robert Rankin or Terry Pratchett. There’s a sort of innocence that could’ve translated into a children’s story if it weren’t for the undercurrent of tension and violence. 

I really enjoyed this book. It truly swept me off my feet and plunged me into this underworld where kooky merchant boast their wares in magical markets and beautiful women lurk in dark corners to steal your lifeforce. 

I was once again taken into the story by Gaiman’s writting. 
This book takes us to a wonderful universe, full of fun and interesting characters. 
The reader only has to follow the story and let it evolve through the pages. 

As often we find some gory scenes and details, but it makes sense and nothing is gratuitious. 

I would have appreciated a slighty faster rythm, but the tension is nice. Also, even if I really enjoyed the book, I found that the overall story and plot could have been a bit deeper to make it perfect. 

The best part of this novel is the world building and the little details, and of course the way the story is told. 
So far, I’ve never been wrong picking a Gaiman’s book. 

 

My second Neil Gaiman book, my first real introduction to urban fantasy, and now probably one of my new all-time favorite reads!

I don't read many pure fantasy books, mainly because the whole "elves/dwarves/mages/etc" setup feels trite and overdone, and I generally don't enjoy historical fiction very much either (and a lot of fantasy tends to dwell primarily in the past). But I loved the gritty vibe of the description, and I trusted Gaiman's worldbuilding to be more original than that brand of the run-of-the-mill fantasy, and I'm so glad that I did!

I won't spoil much other than this did really feel like an Alice in Wonderland for adults, with all the vibrant whimsy of Carroll's story but much more intense, explicit, and dark in the ugliness of its world. I am in love with Gaiman's writing style -- especially for its fusion of humor and sincerity -- and am happy it, by and large, avoids the many pitfalls of male fantasy writing (e.g. lack of diverse characters as well as the typical "men writing women" fare) that I've come to begrudgingly expect. Also, the bonus content in the "definitive version" of the book felt like a delightful lil treat on top of the already amazing novel.

Would absolutely recommend for those looking to go on an escapist journey with a bit of an edge to it, as well as countless laughs along the way!!

This book I don’t think I would have ever picked up if I hadn’t gotten the illustrated version and listened to the audio book alongside it due to reviews recommending the audiobook. However tbh I think that was probably the best combination of formats I could have read this in and overal I really really enjoyed this
It was slightly more graphic and violent  than what I usually read but it was a super interesting world and story and overall just a really enjoyable experience to read it. 
Supposedly the second book in this series finally came out like yesterday or two days ago but I can’t find it so hopefully I’ll be able to find it at some find and read that too :)