Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Neverwhere






Under the streets of London lies a world most people could never dream of.

When Richard Mayhew helps a mysterious girl he finds bleeding on the pavement, his boring life changes in an instant. Her name is Door, she’s on the run from two assassins in black suits and she comes from London Below.

His act of kindness leads him to a place filled with monsters and angels, a Beast in a labyrinth and an Earl who holds Court in a Tube train.

It is strangely familiar yet utterly bizarre.

[This special edition presents Neil Gaiman’s preferred text for his extraordinary modern classic, illustrated for the first time (by Chris Riddell)

My Review:

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is a modern Fantasy tale about a young man named Richard Mayhew, who recently moved to London, and who is about to get himself into a world of trouble!

While walking with his fiancée, he stumbles across a beaten and bloody girl laying on the pavement. From the moment he decides to do 'the right thing' and helps this girl (named Door), his life is turned upside down. Richard finds himself nearly invisible to regular Londoners and finds out that his apartment is being renting out (with himself still in it) and that nobody at work ever remembers him being there. His journey to help Door will send him deep into the bowels of London Below. A London very different to one on the streets above.

I purchased the illustrated version of this book which was illustrated by Chris Riddell. I looked forward to his drawings and doodles on almost every second page. Without the illustrations, I would have given this book 4 solid stars, but the drawings brought the story to life and made the book that much more enjoyable to me.

This fantasy (which is directed at adults) was a very fun read and Neil Gaiman's humor shows throughout this book. A good example are the two evil assassins, Mr. Coup and Mr. Valdemar. Their banter and conversations brought a smile to my face even though I ended up hating them more and more. Both characters behave more like rabid animals, in that they live to kill and destroy. Mr. Croup is definitely the 'brains' of the operation, and his weirdness is accentuated by the fact that he also has a love for fine china.

Richard's journey takes him to strange angels, a court held in a moving subway train, and to a horrendous beast in a labyrinth.

This was (at the time) the first book of Neil Gaiman that I've read, and it has since put me on the path of reading other books by this awesome author!

This adult-oriented fantasy book is a fantastic read even without the illustrations. It's a tale of endurance, revenge, love, and double-crosses. I highly recommend this read to all of you which love urban fantasy. Get the illustrated version to add a bit more 'magic' to the experience.

Happy reading!!