Neverwhere By Neil Gaiman

Richard Mayhew is a very ordinary young man. He lives in a flat, has an expensive fiancee and a rather dull job.

One day Richard stops to help a young girl who mysteriously suddenly appears in front of him, lying injured and bleeding on the pavement. He takes her home, cleans her up and is more than a little surprised when she informs him that her name is "Door"...

Door asks Richard to find a man called "The Marquis De Carabas", a man who she says can help her. Richard reluctantantly agrees and brings the Marquis back home to see Door...it's only when both Door and the Marquis vanish in front of his eyes, that Richard really starts to realise that's he's got himself involved in some Major Weirdness.

Following his encounter with Door and the Marquis De Carabas, Richard's life turns upside down...taxis won't stop for him, his fiancee has forgotten who he is, he comes back home to find his flat has been rented out to someone else...in short he has become invisible to everything and everyone he knew...

Realising that his only hope of a return to normality is to track down Door again, Richard returns to where he met the Marquis and enters the world where those who fall through the cracks in our society live...the world of which London Below is just a part...the dangerous place which is NEVERWHERE.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is an engrossing story with a range of complex and intriguing characters. Neil Gaiman is such a good storyteller, I became quickly absorbed in the quirky and strange world of "London Below" and it's inhabitants.

From the flawed Angel Islington, the utterly unpleasant Croup and Vandemar, the mercenary Rat Speakers, the mysterious Black Friars, to the tragic Anesthesia, even the more minor characters are developed so well that they trigger an emotional response in the reader, even if there's absolutely nothing to like about the way they behave!

The main characters are easy to get on with; Richard Mayhew is an "everyman", a straightforward bloke next door and ultimately, just a good guy trying to do his best, Door for all her outward displays of self-assurance, is little more than a child who has had to grow up VERY quickly and who wears a mask to hide how frightened she really is, and The Marquis de Carabas is a rogue, whose inherent good nature and bravery ensures that he comes good in the end...

Neverwhere is a "can't put it down" sort of book...superbly written, fast paced, action packed and with a twist round every corner...

Highly recommended for anyone who likes reading entertaining fantasy stories!

Neverwhere (novel) is available to order online from the Amazon bookstore!

Neverwhere:
A Novel

Neverwhere:
The Author's Preferred Text