Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - an interesting read, this one.When Richard Mayhew saves a young girl from a London sidewalk, his life changes from normal to literally, abnormal. The young girl, whose name is Door, comes from “London Below” where she escapes two hired killers. The two killers – vicious fellows they are – are known as Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar, and they'd killed everybody in Door’s family. So now, Richard's good deed causes him to lose his fiancé who chucks him, his wonderful job at a securities firm gone, his apartment gone, he near loses his mind too.
From “London Above” (his normal London), he finds himself getting involuntarily involved deeper and deeper in the mysterious “London Below”. Nothing will prepare him for the dark adventures he is about to embark on. His life above no longer exists. He goes back above but nobody ‘sees’ him. With every turn of the page, readers will discover for themselves the unveiling of various interesting underworld characters such the rat-speakers, the marquis de Carabas, Hunter the bodyguard, Old Bailey, the Black Friars, etc. Extraordinary friendship and teamwork are forged.
The plot thickens as I approach the ending. Will Door ever avenge her family? Will Richard ever regain his normal life? Can dead people be made alive? Who is the real baddie?
I have enjoyed reading the novel very much and I must say that Neil Gaiman has never failed to deliver intriguing stories. Creepy, imaginative, never dull. Quoting Mark Frost, the author of The List of 7, he said Neverwhere is an eye-popping Alice in Wonderland for the new millennium. Indeed. I hope you will enjoy it too.
From “London Above” (his normal London), he finds himself getting involuntarily involved deeper and deeper in the mysterious “London Below”. Nothing will prepare him for the dark adventures he is about to embark on. His life above no longer exists. He goes back above but nobody ‘sees’ him. With every turn of the page, readers will discover for themselves the unveiling of various interesting underworld characters such the rat-speakers, the marquis de Carabas, Hunter the bodyguard, Old Bailey, the Black Friars, etc. Extraordinary friendship and teamwork are forged.
The plot thickens as I approach the ending. Will Door ever avenge her family? Will Richard ever regain his normal life? Can dead people be made alive? Who is the real baddie?
I have enjoyed reading the novel very much and I must say that Neil Gaiman has never failed to deliver intriguing stories. Creepy, imaginative, never dull. Quoting Mark Frost, the author of The List of 7, he said Neverwhere is an eye-popping Alice in Wonderland for the new millennium. Indeed. I hope you will enjoy it too.
I really enjoyed this last year and hope to read Un-Lun-Dun by China Mieville which has similar ideas to this. I preferred American Gods, but this comes second so far of his books that I have read.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed this book!! A great magical story, don't you think? :)
ReplyDeleteHi Rhinoa, I've checked out Un Lun Dun at Amazon.com and very keen to give it a try. Thanks for the recommendation!
ReplyDeleteHi Melody, I agree with you. It's a great magical story. :)
Great review, Alice! I definitely would like to read this one. I have only read a couple of Gaiman's books so far and they were so different from one another. He's a very talented writer.
ReplyDeleteneil gaimans's def one of my favs =)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Wendy! I agree with you that Gaiman has good range and very talented.
ReplyDeleteStev, def glad you're one of Gaiman's fans. =)