Neverwhere

Title: Neverwhere
Author: Neil Gaiman
Paperback, 370 pages
Published September 2003

Under the streets of London there is a world of which most people could never dream. When Richard Mayhew accidentally stumbles on this hidden city of monsters, saints, murderers and angels, he is catapulted from a safe and predictable world into one that is eerily familiar yet utterly bizarre.

This is my second Gaiman book, and I can't help but compare it with another children's book, Alice In Wonderland.  Neil takes me to an underworld of doors and creatures I actually never wanted to meet.

The protagonist, Richard Mayhew, as I have mentioned above, was actually like Alice In Wonderland where he embarked on a journey with Lady Door, a girl who can open any door, (of course), locks, windows, even handcuffs. And there he also met two vicious men, Mr. Vandemar and Mr. Croup who would do everything and anything just to get the girl. And there was also an Angel in disguise. An angel holding a deep secret that only Door can unlock.

Neverwhere is a good book. At first, I found the story boring and predictable, but I pushed through it and the second half was entertaining. In the end, everything ties together with mystery and makes you want to keep reading after some really interesting revelations and plot points. I consider the end to be the best chunk of the novel, which is concluded well and inventively, preceded by an unlikely climax.


I'm having a hard time deciding whether to give this 2 or 3 as a rating. But then, since this is a Gaiman story, I believe he deserved 4 stars ****!