Splendid! I loved this book and I’m going to try to track down the BBC 2 series it was based on (also written by Neil Gaiman). Croup and Vandemar are hilarious and terrifying.

This book kind of reminded me of the Montmorency books by Eleanor Updale. (Liar Thief Gentleman? being the first one) I would recommend them if you like this.

It also had echoes of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy—a clueless main character gets swept up in a funny/scary world beyond what he was previously aware of.

Neil Gaiman’s creativity shines through Neverwhere and it is by far his best novel.

Gaiman may not be the world’s most brilliant writer, but what he lacks in form and depth, is made up for by his orginality. If you’re into just plain strange, fantasy-clashing-with-reality-fiction. Pick this one up. : )

My favourite Gaiman so far!

I really enjoyed this – good balance between childlike fairy tale and grown up fantasy where thoroughly nasty people do extremely nasty things, swearing as they go.

Main character Richard is a bit clueless, swept into the bizarre and impossible ‘London Below’ after a charitable act. Once there he is caught up in a quest of sorts, all the while like Dorothy just trying to find a way back home.

The mix of tones sounds odd, but it means this is an easy read without being saccharine sweet. My only previous experience of Neil Gaiman’s work was Good Omens, with Terry Pratchett, and I found this not too dissimilar but with less tongue in cheek. On to the next one already! :)

a favorite.

I was really excited about reading this book because of all the rave reviews it had had – Tori Amos likes it for God’s sake! However, I found it really uninteresting: the characters were so unlikeable and the main male character was such a drip.

I liked the idea of a London beneath the one we already know, but found the His Dark Materials trilogy did that whole multiple reality thing much more effectively.

Neverwhere is written like a graphic novel, you can almost see the drawings alongside the text as you read it. It really feels like a book waiting to be made into a film, and has none of the structural finesse of Philip K Dick or even J.K. Rowling.

I got bored with the book and found myself wishing it would all just go away.

I guess I just don’t get it.