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strategineer's review
1.0
This book is terrible. I read through this whole novel and I don't have anything to show for it.
I probably should have put the book down and lit it on fire when the gigantic black Rastafarian sumo wrestler in a diaper showed up. I probably should have stopped reading when the profoundly unlikable protagonist turns out to be a pedo. I probably should have stopped reading when I realized that none of the characters were interesting.
This book could be a third of the length and nothing of substance would be lost. Well, this book could not exist and nothing of substance would be lost.
If it were up to me, I would go back in time to ensure that this book never gets published or even written in the first place to stop myself from reading it.
Taking the Alice in Wonderland premise of someone falling into another world completely unlike their own is really cool and I've really enjoyed other texts that use this trope (specifically the Gregor the Underground Chronicles books by Suzanne Collins). So I was completely ready and willing to open my mind and enjoy Neverwhere.
Unfortunately it sucks a$$. There's only so much I can do to look past all of the cringe inducing white man POV present in this book.
NB: I read the "Author's Preferred Text" version of this text published in 2016. I'm not certain what changes were made to the text compared to the original but just FYI.
I probably should have put the book down and lit it on fire when the gigantic black Rastafarian sumo wrestler in a diaper showed up. I probably should have stopped reading when the profoundly unlikable protagonist turns out to be a pedo. I probably should have stopped reading when I realized that none of the characters were interesting.
This book could be a third of the length and nothing of substance would be lost. Well, this book could not exist and nothing of substance would be lost.
If it were up to me, I would go back in time to ensure that this book never gets published or even written in the first place to stop myself from reading it.
Taking the Alice in Wonderland premise of someone falling into another world completely unlike their own is really cool and I've really enjoyed other texts that use this trope (specifically the Gregor the Underground Chronicles books by Suzanne Collins). So I was completely ready and willing to open my mind and enjoy Neverwhere.
Unfortunately it sucks a$$. There's only so much I can do to look past all of the cringe inducing white man POV present in this book.
NB: I read the "Author's Preferred Text" version of this text published in 2016. I'm not certain what changes were made to the text compared to the original but just FYI.
longchamps's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-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? No
4.5
kaios_13's review against another edition
3.0
Really a 3.5. I enjoy Neil Gaimans work, but this one was a bit hard to get into initially. I’m glad I listened to it on audiobook.
bahardoesntread's review against another edition
after the whole SA thing i cant finish it
jconn4's review against another edition
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5⭐️
Neverwhere wasn’t a bad book by any means. I actually ended up quite enjoying it and its quirky sense of humor—it just took me nearly half the book to get there. I really wished we could have learned more about the characters, especially the Marquis, but overall it was a decent read.
Neverwhere wasn’t a bad book by any means. I actually ended up quite enjoying it and its quirky sense of humor—it just took me nearly half the book to get there. I really wished we could have learned more about the characters, especially the Marquis, but overall it was a decent read.
slowbollard's review against another edition
3.0
Eight years ago I rated this five stars. I have no idea why. My best guess is that the concept was very imaginative. I thought I'd reread it because I'd clearly enjoyed it so much and I'd forgotten everything about it. None of the characters are likable. A little girl dies and everyone shrugs it off. Door completely destroys this guy's life, knowingly!, and ditches him without warning after he helps her. Eventually, she grudgingly brings him along, but too little too late. The betrayals were without weight, the twists unremarkable, and the world which should have been the shining light was lacking in description. The reader has to fill in a lot on their own (not in a good way). I just...can't say what I loved about it the first time through. I guess I've read too many epic books between now and then. The bar is much higher now, I suppose.
cooperca's review against another edition
3.0
Had high exceptions for this novel as 1) I love Neil Gaiman, 2) I love fantasy and 3) I love Neil Gaiman. Unfortunately, I found this tale of underground fantasy London slow and tedious. Mr. Gaiman sets up a great world to take me too, with interesting characters and adventures. But Richard Mayhew, the main character, is weak , whiney, and unsympathetic. If I were Door, I would have spent much of the novel slapping the c. r. a. p. out of Richard.
As others have mentioned, there is an Alice in Wonderland feel as Richard goes down the rabbit hole and leaves his mundane life in London and is dropped into a underground fantasy London, caught up in intrigue, betrayal, royalty, murder, and the unknown. Mr. Gaiman is a master of creating alternative universes and he writes brilliantly.
This novel had all the elements to make it a great read...but most of the time it just didn't hold my interest. And I hate saying that about a Neil Gaiman novel!
As others have mentioned, there is an Alice in Wonderland feel as Richard goes down the rabbit hole and leaves his mundane life in London and is dropped into a underground fantasy London, caught up in intrigue, betrayal, royalty, murder, and the unknown. Mr. Gaiman is a master of creating alternative universes and he writes brilliantly.
This novel had all the elements to make it a great read...but most of the time it just didn't hold my interest. And I hate saying that about a Neil Gaiman novel!
olifiorella's review against another edition
5.0
All the whimsy and wonder of Narnia on a bad datura trip and one of the best books I’ve read in a minute. Absolutely exquisite storytelling and the driest humor and I wish I could read this for the first time all over again. In the introduction to the text, Gaiman wrote that this was originally published as a TV show on the BBC and i struggle to wonder how they captured such a tale without sacrificing the details. Perfect in book form. “Thank you Neil Gaiman,” we all say in unison.