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A review by cara_selene
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
4.0
I hadn't read anything from Neil Gaiman before, even though everyone had been telling me to give him a try. I tend to be pretty suspicious of anything or anyone that becomes too popular, so I disregarded the recommendations until I picked up Neverwhere on a whim. Out of all his novels, this one intrigued me the most and so I went into it with some mild curiosity.
Luckily I was not disappointed. I found it a light read, with just the right amount of darkness and humor thrown in (British humor, ftw!). The world of London Below reminded me of my own childhood imaginings of a sort of urban Wonderland existing all around us that is both fantastical and terrifying. Maybe that's why I liked it so much, or maybe it's his style, which is simple but not stupid (I hate books that actually require me to turn my brain off!) or patronizing.
If I had to nitpick, I would say the only problem was that some of the characters came across a little on the shallow side. I would have loved to know more about Door's inner workings, for example. But Richard was the surprising winner (I normally don't relate well to characters like him), being the only semblance of sanity in an otherwise insane world (or perhaps it's the other way around?). Normally characters are the driving force for me, but in this case it was the narrative that kept me going. I enjoyed it so much that the very day I finished Neverwhere, I went out to pick up a couple more Gaiman books to add to my collection.
Bottom line, in my opinion, is it's a must read for those who like anything a little different, a little dark, a little weird and a little humorous.
Luckily I was not disappointed. I found it a light read, with just the right amount of darkness and humor thrown in (British humor, ftw!). The world of London Below reminded me of my own childhood imaginings of a sort of urban Wonderland existing all around us that is both fantastical and terrifying. Maybe that's why I liked it so much, or maybe it's his style, which is simple but not stupid (I hate books that actually require me to turn my brain off!) or patronizing.
If I had to nitpick, I would say the only problem was that some of the characters came across a little on the shallow side. I would have loved to know more about Door's inner workings, for example. But Richard was the surprising winner (I normally don't relate well to characters like him), being the only semblance of sanity in an otherwise insane world (or perhaps it's the other way around?). Normally characters are the driving force for me, but in this case it was the narrative that kept me going. I enjoyed it so much that the very day I finished Neverwhere, I went out to pick up a couple more Gaiman books to add to my collection.
Bottom line, in my opinion, is it's a must read for those who like anything a little different, a little dark, a little weird and a little humorous.