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quarkie's review against another edition
- 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 against another edition
- 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
cassieemaree's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Torture, Death, Animal death, Body horror, and Gore
wheat_singularity_bezforshort'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse
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
teipu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
For the first half I just wanted to stop listening and dnf. But after a while I started to like it. Also I didn't remember a single thing about the plot even though I read it in 2016!
I hated Richard, he was so unsure about himself and I get that it was mostly to have a lot of character development, but still....
Also Door is supposedly the female lead, but most of the plot just happened at her and she wasn't an active part in it. She was the protected damsel in distress that our incapable hero somehow had to rescue.
I loved the whole world Gaiman built for this book, London Below. Lots of colorful, quirky characters and fun details!
The audio book I listened to also had the short story "How the Marquis got his Coat Back" which added even more details to London Below. And because it focused on the Marquis I enjoyed it a lot more than the main story.
Moderate: Death of parent, Torture, Murder, and 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
justaddwater's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Classism, Death, Gore, Grief, Stalking, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Animal death
galexy_brain's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Gore
Moderate: Murder, Blood, Child death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
Minor: Alcohol, Pedophilia, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Grief, and Abandonment
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