Dani’s Comments (group member since Nov 11, 2015)

Dani’s comments from the Return of the Rogue Readers group.

Garrett, welcome to the Neverwhere party. I am glad that you were able to enjoy the book a second time around. I agree that all of the characters had something interesting to add to the story. From my limited experience with the author, I am finding Gaiman to be a genius at character creation.

Jordan, Hunter was most definitely selfish. Perhaps it was my 'try to see the best in people' mentality that projected any semi-redeeming qualities onto her character. haha In any case, as you said, she was a great character. I do think there is a depth there, whether good or bad, that would make for a fun read. :)

The only characters I don't particularly care to read more about would be Richard and Jessica. Jessica was a horrible human being that was almost a non-character and Richard was more obnoxious than anything for much of the book. Even though he was the main character, he was the least interesting in my opinion.

Jordan, I agree that her motives were most definitely selfish. I don't deny that. I wouldn't trust her if put into any situation with her. I just got the sense that she was starting to regain a bit of her humanity at the end. I felt that she was a character that exhibited a more diverse personality in the sense that she was balancing on that line found separating evil from good. I didn't see her completely molded to either side. It very well could be that I interpreted it that way. I, too, feel the need to revisit those scenes now. I agree, good or bad, she was a great character.

I had never heard of the Kowloon Walled City and had to use our old, mostly reliable, friend 'Google'. Very interesting! I see that several people have written about their experiences there. I will read more about it. Thanks for sharing!

While I would be excited to discover an alternate world full of magic and mystery, some days Ruff Creek Above is terrifying and mysterious in and of itself.

It would really be difficult to choose which character I'd most like to hear more about. They all had something that I wanted to know more about. As I mentioned before, the Marquis de Carabas was an excellent character. He was probably the most complex and mysterious so I think his story would be a very interesting read. Hunter is definitely a front runner with her complexity. Did I read that she was cursed with her task? Or am I remembering that incorrectly?

Amy, I don't know if we can say that she necessarily redeemed herself, but I think that she realized her mistake and regretted her decision. Not only that, she did protect Richard and Door from many things before they got to the beast. Granted, her motives were selfish, but I like to give credit where credit is due. :)

Amy, I am glad you enjoyed the book!

You made some good points about the betrayal from Hunter, however we did see her make a slight change at the end. I feel like she had set out with a goal and was determined to reach it. I don't think she planned on hurting people in the process, and in the end she seemed to feel bad about it. I wouldn't necessarily call her evil. That is why I felt that a story about her would be interesting. Why was she the way she was? What was going through her mind when she made the deal to betray Door? What caused her to start caring about people other than herself in the end? I think there is a lot left to explore with her character.

Betrayal was a common theme in this book. I mean, if we're going to talk about that, what about Islington? "But, he's a frickin' angel!" haha Poor Richard couldn't get over that one.

As for the audiobook question, give it a try, maybe you'll enjoy them. I like to listen to the audiobook while doing my daily tasks and then start where I left off at night with a real book. It gives me the best of both worlds.

This was my first time reading Neverwhere. In fact, it was my first Neil Gaiman book. I was more than pleasantly surprised! I had a feeling I would like this book, but I had no idea that I would enjoy it so much! So much to say!

He is an excellent writer and I enjoyed his writing style so much that I have already started reading more of his work. He incorporated so many of the things that I enjoy in a book. He was poetic at times, humorous, ironic, and even threw in a pun or two for giggles. So many good things in one story.

There was an element of magic to the story that kept you on your toes. It was introduced in such a way that was a bit unpredictable and you never really knew what was about to happen. It was subtle enough that it made me feel like it is completely possible that this world and magic could really exist. It was fun and exciting.

I agree with all of your comments, Jordan. Some of which, I would have brought up myself, but to save on repetitiveness in the reviews I'll limit myself. Maybe... ;)

I loved that Gaiman kept the playing field level between the male and female characters. I understand that in many stories, a weak (female) character is necessary for the story line, but it is all too common. As you put it, a strong female character is rare in fiction. It was refreshing to see it more equalized in this book. I also have to point out that I respected the fact that he didn't overshadow these female characters with any unnecessary 'love stories' that many writers feel is needed to make the feminine characters more 'realistic'.

I completely agree with you about the Marquis de Carabas. He was a fantastic character. I love how he was complex enough that you didn't know which side he was on for most of the story. I feel like there were many characters in this book that fell into this category. So many characters that left me wanting to know more. Hunter was a great one as well. I feel like there was a lot of depth there that wasn't explored nearly enough. I would definitely read a book about her. I would even like to know more about Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup. As creepy as they were, they hinted at their past exploits so many times that it made me curious. Door's family, and their story, would also be a good one. One thing I really, really liked about this book was that all of the characters had a depth that could only be lightly touched on in one story.

This book, and these characters, were so interesting and complex that it left me wanting more, but not in a way that was unsatisfactory. It was deeply layered but very well organized.

As a side note, I was really impressed with Gaiman's audiobook performance. All of the characters were easily distinguishable.

Ok, I'll stop for now!

I am curious on everyone's opinion on their least favorite character(s) and why.

My audiobook is the authors preferred version as well, I believe. 2 1/2 weeks sounds perfect. I'm looking forward to this book! :)

Good morning! Or afternoon, or evening...depending on when you all read this. I'm choosing Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

This was a fun story to read, or listen to in my case. I, too, listened to the audio version from Audible. I enjoyed the story, although it took me a bit longer to finish than I thought it would. Unlike you, Jordan, I did have a little trouble following the different voices of the characters in the beginning but was quickly acclimated to them after a few chapters.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, as it was a good adventure story with a dark and magical twist. I am a big fan of injecting humor into unlikely stories, and I agree with both of you that this book had it's amusing moments. My only 'complaint' is that the female characters lacked any real substance. Beth was basically a damsel in distress/prop. That is just the feminist in me coming out, as it didn't take away from the overall story.

I do like that this book has so much going on, that I think it would be just as fun to read a second time.