 "A book that makes you think" | 2009-11-09 |
| - Reviewed By tudoreight |
| I'm sure this was written as purely entertainment...a fantasy and a well written one at that...however, this one made me stop and think and that's what I truly love about it. It made me think about our lives and how sometimes it all seems so ridiculous. How we pass by those nameless, homeless individuals everyday as we rush here and there and how little we know of them or their sufferings or their world. This is a fantastic book, not only because it's well written, has a well thought out plot and has well developed characters, but because it made me look deeper into things I choose to put in the back of my mind. I highly recommend. |
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| "first time reader of author" | 2009-11-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1XYKQ39H353XN |
| This is the first of Neil Gaiman's books I have read, it was excellent, the characters delightful, very easily read and well written. I would recommend this book to all those who enjoy reading Terry Pratchett. |
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 "Creepy and wonderful" | 2009-10-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3G8VV1ROFH7SX |
A transplant to London like Richard, I was amazed to realize how little I'd questioned some of the odd names in town. Gaiman's brilliant in the way he twists absolutely everything, his descriptions are -- well, I can't call them "lush" as they're frequently covered in some sort of viscous fluid, but they're incredibly vivid. Messrs Croup and Vandemar are fantastic, Dickensian and horrible and truly chilling as they create the most lovely sentences. They really stick with you.
I suspect that a familiarity with London is needed to take this book to the next level, though non-Londoners can read it as a fantasy novel just fine. I only saw the UK series after reading the book, and the book's fine without it (and the book hasn't aged weirdly, like the series did). But this shouldn't be dismissed as just a fantasy book. There's a section of the book with the Black Friars that's very real and scary, and a description of madness that is about as frank as they come.
I really enjoyed "Neverwhere", and if you're a Londoner, bonus. |
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| "Disbelief is Good" | 2009-10-26 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2M11ZUOD1ZLDT |
This is a book that one each page, plausibly puts forth another unbelievable experience. Gaiman skillfully created a fantastic world full of impossible possibilities. From people keeping their life hidden to people falling through the cracks. The banter between the arch villains Croup and Vandemar is so light and breezy you forget they are pure evil. The Marquis is a slick, likable, fast talking charlatan. He is equal parts mischief and good and evil. You never know what to expect. Door and Richard are the main characters, and they are built flawlessly with Gaiman's narrative. This is a very enjoyable novel. I got this book because I enjoyed American Gods, I can safely say that this is Gaiman best effort at a Novel to date.
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| "Classic story of a Journey, guised in surrealism and dark humor" | 2009-09-08 |
| - Reviewed By losh14 |
Give it a decade, Neil Gaiman will be taught in college lit classes alongside Sedaris and Palahniuk as giants of late 20th century fiction.
Gaiman is a master of stories of the "journey" type - the narration of a character who travels (usually against his will) to a world that is unlike whatever he has known before. Where Gaiman brings the journey into his own is in painting the surrealistic, dystopian and often nightmarish realms that the character finds himself thrust into - as he did with "Anansi Boys", he also does with "Neverwhere".
Clearly a lover of myth, Gaiman embraces a very Goth vision as well as he did with African legends in "Anansi Boys" and Medieval Christianity in "Good Omens". While he attempts to retain some humor, this is a story far darker than either of the previous books, culling from the most base and primitive aspects of men.
It was, in short, an enjoyable read, and a quick one. My only complaint is that it was too quick - the plot sometimes felt pressed together unnaturally, but Gaiman's narrative skills made it easy to accept the points that were glossed over.
It's also a little difficult to read a cheeky British sense of humor into such a sinister underworld as London Below, but I'll forgive him that. |
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| "Neverwhere!" | 2009-09-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3KIVIS54HX8J2 |
Gaiman introduces us to the world of Richard Mayhew and teaches us that no good deed goes unpunished! I personally have an on going borderline obsessive love affair with the City of London. And Gaiman has expanded my vision and introduced a whole new layer of that most glorious city...the underground! And not just the Mind the Gap tube stations but all of it the tunnels of the old and forgotten parts of the city! Neverwhere is an amazing journey through the unknown and fantastical...definitely Fairy Tale worthy! I loved the characters of Door, Hunter, the marquis de Carabas, and Richard. It's a book you can't put down, it makes you wonder, it was Amazing! The more I read of Gaiman the harder it is to choose a favorite!
...note he does drop the f-bomb enough for me to and a little...ahem...here!
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