Neverwhere

by Neil Gaiman (Goodreads Author)

book data

24,659 ratings, 4.08 average rating, 2,260 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		36%
4		39%
3		19%
2		3%
1		0%

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published

July 1st 1997 by William Morrow (first published 1996)

details

Hardcover, 352 pages

characters

Richard Mayhew, Door

setting

United Kingdom

isbn

0380973634 (isbn13: 9780380973637)

description

Neverwhere's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. He ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London A…more

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Oct 23, 2007

James rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in December, 2005

recommends it for: Kids

Picture Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Really good books right? Now imagine if someone took the first book and mad libbed characters, settings, monsters, etc, so that you were left with the exact same story except instead of travelling the galaxy with your crazy friend and the most powerful man in the universe, you were travelling in haunted British sewers with a nerd's wet dream of a Xena warrior princess rival and a Gothic princess who can unlock doors (sigh). I don't think there is muc...more

Like this review? yes (15 people liked it)

4 comments

Mar 24, 2008

Shannon rated it:

(review of isbn 0380789019)

bookshelves: 2008, urban-fantasy

Owns a copy — Read in March, 2008

Richard Mayhew is an ordinary young man working in London, with a fiancee, Jessica, a small flat and a life more-or-less figured out. By Jessica. He's not a particularly brave man, or imaginative, and Jessica has his life all sorted for him.

Everything in his life is turned upside-down - quite literally - when he stumbles across an injured girl on the footpath who asks for his help. Despite Jessica's insistence that he leave her there for someone else to take care of, he carries her ...more Richard Mayhew is an ordinary young man working in London, with a fiancee, Jessica, a small flat and a life more-or-less figured out. By Jessica. He's not a particularly brave man, or imaginative, and Jessica has his life all sorted for him.

Everything in his life is turned upside-down - quite literally - when he stumbles across an injured girl on the footpath who asks for his help. Despite Jessica's insistence that he leave her there for someone else to take care of, he carries her back to his flat and at her behest, goes in search of someone called the Marquis de Carabas.

By involving himself in her life, her world, he becomes invisible in his own. After the girl, Door, has gone back to London Below, Richard finds that no one can see him or hear him, that they've removed his desk at work and are renting out his apartment while he's in the bath. Jessica can't remember his name. The only thing left for him to do is seek out Door in London Below and somehow get his life back.

The world of London Below is vivid, labrynthine, confusing, other-worldly, bizarre and smelly. The sewers, the Underground (the Tube) and a vast plane of tunnels, caverns and bunkers form curious homes for curious creatures, most of which Richard has trouble believing are real. To say he's a bit slow would be an understatement.

He gets caught up in her mission to find out why her family was murdered and who wants her dead. Door has a unique talent - she can open any door, can create doors where they weren't before, and someone wants this skill badly enough to send two violent things after her, called Mister Croup and Mister Vandemar. She enlists the aid of a bodyguard, the famous Hunter, and goes on a quest to find the Angel Islington.

--------------------------------------
I can't quite decide if I liked this book, really liked it, or thought it was just ok. It is fast-paced and peopled with numerous eccentric characters, and I did enjoy the book. It won't be a favourite of mine, though. I think, at the end of the day, I really need to know the characters in a book, and feel for them. I grew to like Door, and even Richard (who was never as whiny as Arthur Dent but was pretty annoying at times). de Carabas was a treat, and I loved the Tardis-like quality of the Earl's home on the subway carriage, where the outside is defined and confined but the inside is larger than it should be, things like that. I love the concept of creating doors where there aren't any, and the flat-out bizarreness and unpredictablility of London Below.

The book itself is a bit predictable at times, but not enough to spoil it. One thing that distracted me was that I couldn't tell if they were above ground at times. It seemed like they were, like the first Floating Market that was held in Harrods, it mentions them walking across the pavement, and the second one is held on an old ship. Only, later, Hunter reveals she can't go to London Above. There were a few others spots too where it wasn't clear if they were above or below.

So my main concern with Gaiman - and yes, this is only based on the two books of his that I have read, Stardust being the other - is the mocking way he handles his characters. It makes it hard to really like them, because they're not presented as likeable characters. It also puts a bad taste in my mouth, like Gaiman is scoffing at this story he's written because he's afraid of putting confidence into it in case everyone hates it and leaves him looking silly. I can't really explain the strange, uncomfortable feeling I get reading his books any other way. (less)

Like this review? yes (15 people liked it)

12 comments

May 03, 2008

Cat rated it:

(review of isbn 0380789019)

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in January, 2004

This story has a lot of interesting bits. When I started it, it drew me in immediately. I thought the storyline seemed interesting and it was well written.

However, the story is based upon a screenplay, and it shows. The story has so many horrible clichés it really, dreadfully, dragged the book down. The whole story reads like a film script, which, technically, it is. And this is all very well for a film, but the rules that apply to films don't apply to books.

There's the ...more This story has a lot of interesting bits. When I started it, it drew me in immediately. I thought the storyline seemed interesting and it was well written.

However, the story is based upon a screenplay, and it shows. The story has so many horrible clichés it really, dreadfully, dragged the book down. The whole story reads like a film script, which, technically, it is. And this is all very well for a film, but the rules that apply to films don't apply to books.

There's the whole part with the Beast; ever so noble. All it made me do was roll my eyes. There's the whole wandering about, which annoyed me slightly; it got boring after a while. I don't see at all what good Lamia did in the story other than give the marquis something to do. The final showdown seemed rushed, and that "important thing" that happens to the marquis was just terrible.

Mr Gaiman also used too many "thens" occasionally in the story. He also had a tendency to add in bits that were completely redundant and that should have, in my opinion, been edited out.

There was also a scene where Richard goes through an "ordeal" where he is led to believe that everything he had previously experienced was make-believe, that he was crazy, and that he should go kill himself. This was done incredibly badly. At no point whatsoever did I question whether or not the first part of the story was a lie. I have seen this done much, much better in other books.

All of this, while it seems very little, really dragged the story down.

However, it still had a lot of good bits. It managed to surprise me on several occasions. I had not guessed who the Bad Guy was. I hadn't noticed what Door did. And there is a part in the end where Mr Vandemar (one of the cut-throats) does something ... sweet. In a way.

It still grates on my nerves. I don't regret reading it, but I do feel a bit cheated and disappointed because it began so promising and then petered out. I won't really recommend it to anyone, but neither will I advise people against reading it.
(less)

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Jan 26, 2008

Belarius rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

bookshelves: fiction-finished, reviewed, speculative-fiction

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: Gaiman Fans

Neil Gaiman's influential penchant for dark urban fantasy presents itself in its least complicated form in his first novel, Neverwhere. The book has the simplistic characters and perfectly-even pacing of television, which should come as no surprise as it is, in fact, an adaptation of a BBC miniseries. The book is pure entertainment, which is as much praise as it is condemnation.

Neil Gaiman is reputed to have a near-encyclopedia knowledge of matters both historical and fantastical, an...more Neil Gaiman's influential penchant for dark urban fantasy presents itself in its least complicated form in his first novel, Neverwhere. The book has the simplistic characters and perfectly-even pacing of television, which should come as no surprise as it is, in fact, an adaptation of a BBC miniseries. The book is pure entertainment, which is as much praise as it is condemnation.

Neil Gaiman is reputed to have a near-encyclopedia knowledge of matters both historical and fantastical, and this is without a doubt the singular strength he has to his advantage in the field of fantasy authors. His stories are elegant, Frankensteinian creations, the admixture of dozens of obscure references, conventional character archetypes, and fairy-tale plot structures. Neverwhere benefits from this approach, its various components fitted together by clever joints. The world is engaging, the story is easy to follow, the villains are the kind you love to hate, and the tried-and-true formulas go unviolated. Everything works.

And yet, like Frankenstein's creation, the story's efficient construction can't overcome what it is: an assembly of existing parts into a working whole. The protagonist, Richard Mayhew, really could just as easily be named "Arthur Dent," and undergoes a journey of self-discovery as mundane and uninteresting as the life he leaves behind when he is swept into London Below (a fantasy realm just below modern-day London). The other characters are, with few exceptions, completely flat, showing neither emotional range or development over the course of the story. Like any classic fairy tale, it's hard to tell the characters from the set dressing, and visa versa.

It's hard to fault Gaiman, as he's done everything right. And it's no surprise that, among readers of popular fantasy, Neverwhere is much-beloved as "brilliant modern storytelling." After all, here's a book that presents a world, both terrible and marvelous, in very readable prose and with PG-13 sensibilities. Despite its darkness, it's not terribly challenging or haunting, both qualities that would normally get in the way of pure entertainment. But at the end of the day, it's just another fairy tale, and like all things fae, it lacks the substance to be truly great. (less)

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

1 comment

Mar 25, 2007

Steven rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

Read in July, 2006

The first book I read by Gaiman was a collaboration with Terry Pratchett, Good Omens. Actually a pretty funny read, although the person who loaned it to me seemed to think it was the best book ever written. This was probably back in 2000. I laughed at a couple of the more auspicious stances (One of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, Famine, is responsible for the stick-thin models we see constantly…) but didn’t think much past this.

Last week I had a lot of travel scheduled. So ...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

4 comments

Jun 02, 2008

Steve rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

Read in June, 2008

I didn't enjoy this book as much as I should have. I kept distracting myself with the thought, "Why the hell haven't I read more of Neil Gaiman's books?" Then I would have to tell myself to shut up, because I'm reading one right now, and I can return to berating myself later.

Neil Gaiman really understands fantasy. He understands that it isn't elves dancing in a forest and drunk dwarves mining for gold with improbably well maintained beards. No, fantasy is a reflection o...more

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May 24, 2007

Kelly rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

bookshelves: brit-lit, fantasy, fiction, goth-goth-baby, owned

Read in March, 2008

Well done again, Gaiman. Well done indeed. I very much enjoyed this novel. The same thing happened to me here as with American Gods. I was a little uncertain at first, a bit skeptical, and then slowly Gaiman won me over with his writing and sucked me into his world until I was engrossed and turned over 100 pages in a day without realizing it, even despite some distractions that should have made it impossible for me to concentrate. It is a very special breed of author who is capable of that.
...more Well done again, Gaiman. Well done indeed. I very much enjoyed this novel. The same thing happened to me here as with American Gods. I was a little uncertain at first, a bit skeptical, and then slowly Gaiman won me over with his writing and sucked me into his world until I was engrossed and turned over 100 pages in a day without realizing it, even despite some distractions that should have made it impossible for me to concentrate. It is a very special breed of author who is capable of that.

Gaiman stuck to the same format as American Gods, i.e.: normal man gets thrust into randomly magical world that is hiding behind the mundane and everyday curtain of modern life that we all live to meet metaphors and representations of the past and ideals and myths particular to a specific country, in this case, London. Richard Mayhew, our regular Joe of the piece, wanders about "London Below," with figures out of swashbuckling tales, fairy stories (and fairy nightmares) and everything else you hoped or feared might be hiding around a London streetcorner in the fog and rain. It might be an old device, but it is one that works, and I'm not going to quibble with it. I do think that I liked American Gods better, but thats mostly because I think he took on a lot more with that and the focus was larger than here, where it seems he was simply trying to tell a ripping good story. Which is as valid a goal- and one thing I do look for in a book is that goal- but I just think American Gods is on a different playing field than this book.

I loved the deliciously gothic, overwrought tone of the writing, the horrifically surreal painting of characters and circumstances. The descriptions of the London Below floating markets were particular favorites of mine. It was like watching one of those horror sequences of a fun house where they try to scare you with clown faces and garish colors.. only well done and as inclined to make you smile as scream. I very much enjoyed the characterization of the Marquis de Carabas, the different species of peoples underneath the sewers, and the way he could find something in people's actions to surprise you even though you sort of knew what was coming.

It is, truly, a book to get entirely lost in. And that's what all my favorite books are.

The only problem I had with the novel really isn't even Gaiman's fault. This particular novel centers around the homeless, the street musicians and the sick. I rather wish I hadn't read Charles De Lint before, because every single story that man writes is about how the poor, the insane, the people you pass on the streetcorner are full of secret magic and secretly run the world and we don't know it or how they are more virtuous than the rest of us. I've just seen this theme beaten to death a lot and in a thousand different ways (I've read a few short story collections by De Lint and he really hasn't more than a theme or two to write about). Granted, Gaiman does it much more beautifully and colorfully and in a much more complex way here and doesn't paint things so black and white as De Lint does, but nonetheless, it just made the whole idea a bit less magical for me than it should have been.

All in all: read it, love it, smile at it, thrill at it and remember that fantasy can be more than what you might think it can be.(less)

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

24 comments

Jun 20, 2007

Pootie rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

Read in May, 2007

recommends it for: londonists and fans of vampires or sci-fi

I've meant to serialise this review across my worlds but I've just never got round to it. All I can really say is that for one who doesn't read much of science-fiction or vampires, despite my fading Buffy obsession, this is a brilliant read.

The person who turned me on to this wasn't too keen on his following book, American Gods. There's yet another, Fragile Things, that's just now out in paperback. I've picked that one up but nothing in it caught me as much as this one.

N...more

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2 comments

May 14, 2007

Joy rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

Read in January, 2007

i loved this book. i think i even like it more than american gods. a young man comes across door, a girl from the underworld, and helps her. this gets him kicked out of the london above into the much-cooler london below, that can be found underneath and in between. there are pigeon men and literal interpretations of subway names and bizarre bazaar's with everything and anything for sale. gaiman is so adept at portraying a fantastic universe that butts up against our everyday universe. in our ord...more

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Jun 29, 2007

TDF Pamela (The Discriminating Fangirl) rated it:

(review of isbn 0380789019)

bookshelves: dark-fantasy, fiction, neil-gaiman, urban-fantasy

Read in January, 2005

Another favorite Gaiman novel. This was the second I read, and the one that really hooked me on his writing. Neverwhere is painted in shades of Alice in Wonderland; somewhat hapless but helpful Richard Mayhew falls through the cracks and into London Below, and while trying to find his way home, he manages to find himself. This book is full of rich, imaginative supporting characters; the Lady Door is smart and brave, and the Marquis de Carabas is deliciously two-faced. I can read this book ov...more

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Jun 12, 2007

Brooke rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

bookshelves: 2007, fantasy, own

Read in April, 2007

Neverwhere is an urban fairy tale, taking place in modern day London. It uses the real world as a contrast to the underworld that Richard Mayhew is plunged into after he helps an injured girl he finds laying on the street.

Neverwhere has two of the best villians I've ever come across, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar. They delight in their work and have hilarious conversations with each other. Gaiman did a great job giving them voices that are very different from the other characters.

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Dec 15, 2008

Libby rated it:

(review of isbn 0380789019)

bookshelves: fantasy-contemporary-urban, vacation-reads

Read in May, 2009

I recently re-read Neverwhere for a Goodreads book group. While I am an avid Neil Gaiman fan, this is not my favorite Gaiman work. Nonetheless, it is still a very entertaining novel based on amazing conceptual ideas and deserving of 4 stars.

I would rate this as one of Gaiman’s weaker works for two primary reasons. Foremost, the story was a mini-series first then novelized and I think it shows. Some characters and plot aspects are flat on the page and I believe they probably had...more

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Feb 12, 2008

Kristjan rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

bookshelves: book-club-selection, pulp-fantasy, reviewed, urban-fantasy

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Kristjan by: GR SciFi & Fantasy Book Club
recommends it for: Monty Python Fans

I read the book, then watched the BBC series and I must say that I liked the series a little better. It seems that this story really does better with the visuals then the bare text.

The basic plot has an Alice in Wonderland quality with typical, understated British humor. The main character, Richard Mayhew, begins the story as a listless man who, despite having the 'good-life' finds something lacking in his existence. A chance encounter with one of the denizens of 'London Below' ...more

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Feb 06, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

bookshelves: fantasy, read-in-2008

Read in February, 2008

This was my first Gaiman book and I went in with high expectations given all the praise I've read about the author. This is one of his earlier novels and I think it shows the transition period from serial comic (the Sandman series) to novelist. The writing is very visual and Gaiman appears to take great delight in describing each tiny thing in excruciating detail. Overall, I enjoyed the story but didn't always enjoy the way it was conveyed. It was a struggle to get through the entire book.
...more This was my first Gaiman book and I went in with high expectations given all the praise I've read about the author. This is one of his earlier novels and I think it shows the transition period from serial comic (the Sandman series) to novelist. The writing is very visual and Gaiman appears to take great delight in describing each tiny thing in excruciating detail. Overall, I enjoyed the story but didn't always enjoy the way it was conveyed. It was a struggle to get through the entire book.

The Good: the basic premise of the story is intrigueing and original. I like the idea of the two Londons, one above, one below. Gaiman demonstrates an insight into human character and nature and shines a spotlight on it. For example, he takes the idea of the homeless street people who exist in our world on the fringe and "unseen" and then gives the reason they are invisible a twist. His characters are well-rounded and vivid with graces and faults. The story has several twists and turns that are suprising but believable which keeps the reader guessing. The ending fits the story and characters. Gaiman posesses a real talent for weaving a story outside the common mold and creating something other than expected. The world building and details of London Below are well thought out, engaging and fresh.

The Bad: this book is way too long. As I said above, Gaiman can be too descriptive and all of that window-dressing on the story can get tiring. Gaiman also likes to use non-traditional similes and metaphors in his description - some are refreshing, but some miss the mark so completely it's distracting. The text has a tendency to ramble on and on when a simple statement would have been more to the point and more effectively moved the story forward. While most of the book's characters are well-developed, the two major villians of the piece Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandermar remain largely two-dimensional. Like some other famous authors, Gaiman also uses far too many adverbs throughout the text and most especially in dialogue attribution. I doubt this will distract anyone that hasn't read one too many books about writing fiction and editing, however it definitely tripped me up more than once.

I listened to the author's preferred text version of this novel via Audible. Gaiman did a good job of reading the novel and injected life and humor into the various characters. You could tell his obvious relish in the piece.(less)

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Dec 18, 2007

Martine rated it:

(review of isbn 0747266689)

bookshelves: british, fantasy, humour, modern-fiction

Read in January, 2006

Neil Gaiman's first novel is an occasionally shocking but frequently funny fantasy thriller set in a London you've never seen before. At the beginning of the book, Richard Mayhew, an utterly normal businessman living in a London not too far removed from our own, rescues a damsel in distress: Door, a lovely girl whose entire family has been murdered and who would dearly like to know by whom and what for. Richard would like to help Door, but in order to do so, he has to enter a world whose existe...more

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Nov 04, 2008

Elizabeth rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

bookshelves: fiction

Read in December, 2008

recommended to Elizabeth by: Otis Chandler
recommends it for: People who like fantasy

I finally finished it. And with all due respect to fantasy and sci-fi writers and readers, the verdict is in. I do not like this genre. Never. I've tried and tried: Dune, Lord of the Rings, Neverwhere...whatever.

I just don't care. I read about characters and I don't care if they find a ring or a magical door or some sand that supposed to be oil. No thank you. For the next employee book club choice...if we choose anything in those two genres...I'm going to have to abdicate. There are...more

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11 comments

Oct 21, 2008

Heather G Gentle rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

Read in December, 2008

The character development wasn't what I think it could have been in a story that was this original and interesting. Although the characters weren't great (but not bad)-- I thought the imagery of the "underworld" the author created was impressive. I thought the whole premise of their being a whole other world of people living simultaneously with the "regular" world-- only not noticed because they "slipped through the cracks" is a really interesting concept. ...more

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Jan 26, 2009

Misarweth rated it:

(review of isbn 2290303348)

bookshelves: empruntés, fantasy

Devenue accro aux mondes de Gaiman depuis peu, je me délectais d'en entamer un nouveau.
Surtout son premier roman !

Et là, comme dans tous roman gaimanien, l'objet livre n'existe plus et on entre tel un fluide dans la mer, dans le flux du roman. Très précis, démarrant de manière parallèle : mondes parallèles, temps parallèles et personnages parallèles... on s'immerge plus ou moins, on aime rester entre deux eaux. Comment ces mondes vont ils se téléscoper? Comment les...more

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Jun 03, 2008

Heatherwen rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

Read in July, 2008

This is one of the best damn books I have ever read. I'm trying to make the last few chapters stretch out because I don't want it to end. Huge props to my friend Jessica for insisting I read it and then loaning it to me. Rich, funny, perfectly-crafted prose, beautiful work of imagination and ingenuity. Really, REALLY good.

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Sep 14, 2008

Latharia rated it:

(review of isbn 0060557818)

Read in September, 2008

A delightful read!!! :D A good friend loaned me his copy to read & I am ever so pleased to have been exposed to this book! It was a fascinating study in human nature, and I especially loved the character development aspect of the story.

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