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quarkie's review
- 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
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.
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Animal death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Animal cruelty, and Death
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Classism, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Trafficking and Adult/minor relationship
breamfish1138's review
- 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
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Excrement, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Child death, Grief, Death, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Torture, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, and Genocide
mreequalsmc2's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Murder
Moderate: Vomit, Dementia, Blood, Suicide, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Classism, Cursing, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
kcmg710's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Torture, Grief, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Vomit, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Cursing
chronicacademia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Racism, Torture, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, and Classism
ashlynmae311's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Torture
Moderate: Animal cruelty
brookebatesratesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Cursing and Violence
bookycnidaria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Torture, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Stalking, and Violence
bel017's review against another edition
I'm always looking to fill the Pratchett shaped hole in my reading, but have avoided Gaiman, as I DNF'd Ocean at the end of the lane, which he has said is his favourite of his works, and he seemed way too dark for me (have you met Coraline?). To the darkness, I did glance over some of the scenes with ... Mr C and Mr V, the names escape me ... the scary version of Pratchett's Mr Tulip and Mr Pin (who were scary enough for me). I was quite distressed by the
Gaiman is a gifted storyteller, and I really enjoyed his writing even though I didn't like the dark/gross/awful/scary/violent parts. I like Riddel has a distinct style that suits Gaiman. If you buy a copy of Neverwhere, make sure it's this one.
Graphic: Death, Excrement, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Torture, and Vomit
Minor: Death, Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cannibalism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture