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wyabook234's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, and Alcohol
upgirlcd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really liked this book. Darkly clever- some complexities with a dusting of humor throughout. Very happy with the ending!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Violence
embersbooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book was really interesting - it’s my first Neil Gaiman read. I thoroughly enjoyed Good Omens, of course - but a rather different reading experience, as it was co-authored by Terry Pratchett.
Neil is an inarguably talented author - his prose, storytelling style, pacing, plots, character development, etc. are all fantastic. This book was dark and gritty and real in a way that I think made it better, even if it was harder to read because of it.
I typically don’t stray into the horror genre because I am an HSP, and my sensitivity to disturbing content makes it hard for me to look past that and enjoy the deeper meanings and content therein.
For fellow sensitive readers, I would say …don’t read it before going to sleep. But otherwise, if you can stomach some violence and disturbing ideas, it is a very well crafted and thought-provoking tale that has a lot to say about a lot of these that we ought to talk more about.
While people don’t literally fall through the cracks in our world, they may as well do, frankly, for all the mind that we more fortunate folks pay to them. The houseless, the sick, those living in poverty, hungry, etc. - our society casts so many away, wishing them to be unseen as Neil portrays them in this book.
This book challenged me to try take the time to see people, and not look away just because I feel guilty that I have enough to eat and a warm place to sleep.
I loved Door, the Marquis de Carabas, and Richard…so many complex characters that have a very real, flawed nature to them, which makes them leap off the page all the more.
Neil is brilliant, this book definitely makes me look forward to continuing on with more of Neil’s works in the future.
Neil is an inarguably talented author - his prose, storytelling style, pacing, plots, character development, etc. are all fantastic. This book was dark and gritty and real in a way that I think made it better, even if it was harder to read because of it.
I typically don’t stray into the horror genre because I am an HSP, and my sensitivity to disturbing content makes it hard for me to look past that and enjoy the deeper meanings and content therein.
For fellow sensitive readers, I would say …don’t read it before going to sleep. But otherwise, if you can stomach some violence and disturbing ideas, it is a very well crafted and thought-provoking tale that has a lot to say about a lot of these that we ought to talk more about.
While people don’t literally fall through the cracks in our world, they may as well do, frankly, for all the mind that we more fortunate folks pay to them. The houseless, the sick, those living in poverty, hungry, etc. - our society casts so many away, wishing them to be unseen as Neil portrays them in this book.
This book challenged me to try take the time to see people, and not look away just because I feel guilty that I have enough to eat and a warm place to sleep.
I loved Door, the Marquis de Carabas, and Richard…so many complex characters that have a very real, flawed nature to them, which makes them leap off the page all the more.
Neil is brilliant, this book definitely makes me look forward to continuing on with more of Neil’s works in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
shos's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Torture and Excrement
Minor: Animal death
anna1306's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Animal death
emachinescat's review against another edition
I was really invested in the story, but there were far too many awful things that happened to animals, and it was upsetting me way too much to continue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
quarkie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Having heard so much about Neil Gaiman, I'll admit that this book was a bit underwhelming. I had to start it three separate times before I actually finished it. I understand that it was his first novel and so he's probably grown as a writer and a human since then.
What I liked: I loved the writing style. It's funny, punny, and manages to be light-hearted about very serious topics. The idea of a London made up of people who fell through the cracks is interesting, and I do think he achieves his stated (in the forward) goal of writing an "Alice in Wonderland" or "Narnia" for adults. He includes so many details in his writing that help build the world, and they all end up mattering in the end. His world is compelling because it is both so unfamiliar and so familiar at the same time, and there is just enough description to easily transport you there, but not so much to bore you.
What I didn't like: While the characters are well-defined and stay true to their characterization throughout the plot, I didn't find them that interesting and I couldn't bring myself to like them. The main character is a white man who starts out as a walking doormat, and through his trials becomes less of a doormat but something of an asshole. The supporting characters, who are the only female and non-white characters, are the ones who are actually driving the plot and end up saving the day, but they are written as side characters, and this story is clearly not about them. There is nothing about their happily-ever-after, and they are not the ones who get to live on in infamy for their heroic deeds (though maybe that's because they've already achieved that previously?). The villains are largely evil-for-the-sake-of-evil, and don't have any other driving force.
The main takeaways of this story felt pretty trite. If you go through struggle you can change, ordinary people can be the hero with the help of their friends, the real world is not what it seems and maybe not what it's cracked up to be, etc. I'm not sure I took away anything particularly deep.
Overall, it was an unoriginal read that was still somewhat enjoyable, but I'm happy to be done.
What I liked: I loved the writing style. It's funny, punny, and manages to be light-hearted about very serious topics. The idea of a London made up of people who fell through the cracks is interesting, and I do think he achieves his stated (in the forward) goal of writing an "Alice in Wonderland" or "Narnia" for adults. He includes so many details in his writing that help build the world, and they all end up mattering in the end. His world is compelling because it is both so unfamiliar and so familiar at the same time, and there is just enough description to easily transport you there, but not so much to bore you.
What I didn't like: While the characters are well-defined and stay true to their characterization throughout the plot, I didn't find them that interesting and I couldn't bring myself to like them. The main character is a white man who starts out as a walking doormat, and through his trials becomes less of a doormat but something of an asshole. The supporting characters, who are the only female and non-white characters, are the ones who are actually driving the plot and end up saving the day, but they are written as side characters, and this story is clearly not about them. There is nothing about their happily-ever-after, and they are not the ones who get to live on in infamy for their heroic deeds (though maybe that's because they've already achieved that previously?). The villains are largely evil-for-the-sake-of-evil, and don't have any other driving force.
The main takeaways of this story felt pretty trite. If you go through struggle you can change, ordinary people can be the hero with the help of their friends, the real world is not what it seems and maybe not what it's cracked up to be, etc. I'm not sure I took away anything particularly deep.
Overall, it was an unoriginal read that was still somewhat enjoyable, but I'm happy to be done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Trafficking
breamfish1138's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
This book is kind of like Paddington in that it's an unapologetic love letter to London and its landmarks and history. And there's also a lot of murder, urban decay, esoteric folklore, mild cosmic horror and rats. So yeah, just like Paddington.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Genocide, Sexual assault, and Vomit
cassieemaree's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, and Death of parent
ashmedai's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death