Reviews

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

violetbonsai's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bbsbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

alyse_mugga's review against another edition

5.0

This story holds a very special place in my heart, because it's the book that made me fall back in love with reading as an adult. It was also my first introduction to the genre of urban fantasy, which I think was very well-executed here. I'm a sucker for secret worlds and hidden magic in the modern world, so this book was a natural fit for me. It may not work for everybody, but I loved it.

sdelcharco's review against another edition

4.0

A very creative story. Not in my usual wheelhouse but I enjoyed it. I listened to it on audio, read by the author.

stashimi's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

trevjohnson's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

rose_thorn2020's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death, Blood, Body horror, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Vomit, Suicide, and Excrement

Minor: Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual content

baamofnight's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-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

3.75

embersbookventures's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

This book was really interesting - it’s my first Neil Gaiman read.  I thoroughly enjoyed Good Omens, of course - but a rather different reading experience, as it was co-authored by Terry Pratchett.  

Neil is an inarguably talented author - his prose, storytelling style, pacing, plots, character development, etc. are all fantastic.  This book was dark and gritty and real in a way that I think made it better, even if it was harder to read because of it.  

I typically don’t stray into the horror genre because I am an HSP, and my sensitivity to disturbing content makes it hard for me to look past that and enjoy the deeper meanings and content therein.  
For fellow sensitive readers, I would say …don’t read it before going to sleep.  But otherwise, if you can stomach some violence and disturbing ideas, it is a very well crafted and thought-provoking tale that has a lot to say about a lot of these that we ought to talk more about.  

While people don’t literally fall through the cracks in our world, they may as well do, frankly, for all the mind that we more fortunate folks pay to them.  The houseless, the sick, those living in poverty, hungry, etc. - our society casts so many away, wishing them to be unseen as Neil portrays them in this book.  
This book challenged me to try take the time to see people, and not look away just because I feel guilty that I have enough to eat and a warm place to sleep.  

I loved Door, the Marquis de Carabas, and Richard…so many complex characters that have a very real, flawed nature to them, which makes them leap off the page all the more.  

Neil is brilliant, this book definitely makes me look forward to continuing on with more of Neil’s works in the future.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Violence

Moderate: Torture, Self harm, Murder, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse and Child death

what happens to Anesthesia and her description of what happened to her before ending up in the Underground was upsetting to me, but it’s a brief mention which is why I listed it as minor. The animal cruelty and death are listed as graphic simply because of how often they are mentioned in passing and it’s very disturbing. London Underground is kind of a cutthroat place so…y’know, violence.

the torture aspect of the book was quite difficult to read at times, especially where de Carabas is crucified (literally). He ends up okay (miraculously) though. Other torture is mentioned by Croup and Vandemear throughout.

The self-harm/suicidal thoughts bit is from a situation that Richard goes through in his mind - a test of sorts. There are some things said to him during that bit that could be triggering to some folks. The murder, body horror, blood, and injury detail are pretty self-explanatory - we do get a couple chapters from the villain’s POV….thats where a lot of this comes from.

doxcy's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0