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    Neverwhere
    Neverwhere
    Neverwhere
    Audiobook13 hours

    Neverwhere

    Written by Neil Gaiman

    Narrated by Neil Gaiman

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    National Bestseller

    Selected as one of NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of All Time

    The #1 New York Times bestselling author’s wildly successful first novel featuring his new Neverwhere tale, “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back.”

    Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew.

    “A fantastic story that is both the stuff of dreams and nightmares” (San Diego Union-Tribune), Neil Gaiman’s first solo novel has become a touchstone of urban fantasy, and a perennial favorite of readers everywhere.

    “Delightful … inventively horrific.”

    —USA Today

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateOct 23, 2007
    ISBN9780061549113
    Neverwhere
    Author

    Neil Gaiman

    Neil Gaiman is the celebrated author of books, graphic novels, short stories, films, and television for readers of all ages. Some of his most notable titles include the highly lauded #1 New York Times bestseller Norse Mythology; the groundbreaking and award-winning Sandman comic series; The Graveyard Book (the first book ever to win both the Newbery and Carnegie Medals); American Gods, winner of many awards and recently adapted into the Emmy-nominated Starz TV series (the second season slated to air in 2019); The Ocean at the End of the Lane, which was the UK’s National Book Award 2013 Book of the Year. Good Omens, which he wrote with Terry Pratchett a very long time ago (but not quite as long ago as Don’t Panic) and for which Gaiman wrote the screenplay, will air on Amazon and the BBC in 2019. Author photo by Beowulf Sheehan

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    Reviews for Neverwhere

    4.5/5

    1,423 ratings339 reviews

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    • 3/5
      The book itself is pretty solid, classic Neil Gaiman and worthy of a 5-star rating. But, it just wasn't for me and I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. My first thought after I read about 30 or so pages was "Alice in Wonderland" meets "Dorothy and her companions from Oz" (two books I also didn't care for). "Neverwhere" is a masculine version of that metaphorical book combo. I highly recommend it for those interested in reading story/plot that parallels Alice and Wiz of Oz, but is told from the male protagonist's point of view.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      My first Neil Gaiman. I loved it. I cannot wait to read more. I got half way through it and then bought a house so i didn't have time to read. I listed to the rest on audiobook. It was almost better. The author himself read the book. It was great because you got to hear the emotion he meant behind the words.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I actually listened to this book, and based on this one experience I would recommend any of Neil Gaiman's audio books in which he does the reading. Imaginative and laugh out load funny.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Loved it start to finish. Perfect details, broken characters. Would make a great movie, someday.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Like most of Gaiman's books, I found end battle to be anticlimatic, but the actual ending itself to be incredibly. I'll never understand why he writes this way, but it's always so effective. He raises your expectations, crushes them, and then gives you a final page so satisfying you forget the rest of it.

      Here, Gaiman creates an astounding universe, and one that is so based in reality that it genuinely feels real. The entire book is permeated with this sense that something isn't quite right, making the familiar feel unfamiliar and very spooky indeed.

      I found the story in this one to be strong, the writing great, but the characters were rather weak. Indeed, the only one I really got attached to was the Marquis, and that's because he's surrounded by an air of mystery.

      I did appreciate the lack of romance (thank you!!!!!!!) and the focus on adventure and the self. All in all, a solid book by Neil Gaiman.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Richard Mayhew seems to be someone who is pushed and pulled by everyone in his life. His decision to help a wounded girl on the streets, instead of trying to impress his fiance (Jessica), proves to be the start of a fantastic journey in a place called London Below. Unbeknownst to him and all occupiers of London Above, a world with rules, dangers, magic, and its own unique economy exists in the cracks of society. Neil Gaiman does wonderful work layering and tucking a world of magic in the mundane city of London. Rather than fairies and dragons, humanoid creatures survive in the depths of sewers; as someone who has read very little urban fantasy, it was refreshing and fun to read something that departs from original tropes.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I listened to Neil Gaiman read Neverwhere on my way home from work every night (and very late, at that), totaling about 6 or 7 hours. Maybe it was a combination of the darkness and solitude on my way home that made Neverwhere so interesting or maybe it was Neil's voice which I've always found soothing and delightful. Regardless of what it was, Neverwhere captivated me from beginning to end. Even toward the end, I found myself wanting to know more about London Below and picturing in my mind how everything would appear (although I know there was a series, I don't intend to watch it because I dont want to ruin my picture of everything). I generally love all of Neil Gaiman's books so I may be biased but Neverwhere was fantastic.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Richard Mayhew is an average guy with a boring job and a controlling girlfriend. His life changes when he stops to help a woman on the street who is bleeding. He finds himself unseen by upper London and becomes immersed in London Below a world of mystery and intrigue, where he finds himself. It felt like an adult coming of age fantasy. Simply lovely and the audio was read by Gaiman, who was a great narrator.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Review: Richard seems to have ended up in London below. Goes on an adventure and proves himself. Ends up back in London above and realizes he liked it well enough in London below. So he goes back.
      The story was grand. I like the thought of another world existing just underneath the one you live in.
      And I liked Richard the main character, well like but dislike as well. I felt his passivness hitting a little close to home and wanted a greater victory for him other than perceived mental illness when he returned to his London.
      The moment he realized that he wanted to go back to the London below was quiet a relief.
      This may get a re-read later this year.

      Quotes and snippets:
      p. 54:Now we have a damsel to undistress, and time is of the essnce.
      p.104:Varney looked like a bull might look =,if the bull were to be shaved, dehorned, covered in tattoos, and had suffered from complete dental breakdown. Also, he snored. - this description of Varney cracks me up, given a perfect image of how he would look if sitting net to me.
      p. 133: ...You, are outof your depth, in deep shit, and, I would imagine, a few hours away from an untimely and undoubtedly messy end. We on the other hand are auditioning bodyguards."
      p. 217: the kind of fireworks that end a day at Walt Disney World, or that give the fire marshals headaches at Pink Floyd concerts. It was a moment of pure magic.
      P. 235: Forthril bjugly mobble wug. - listening to Neil Gaiman read this line will eternally fill me with glee. Also the folloeing pages description of Richard's hangover is hilariously spot on!
      p. 247: Old Bailey was not, intrinsically, one of those people put in the world to tell jokes. Despite this handicap, he persisted in telling jokes.....
      p. 322: I'mm not scared of falling. The bit I'm scared of is the bit where you stop falling , and startt being dead.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      For more reviews, gifs, Cover Snark and more, visit A Reader of Fictions.When I found myself at a loss for something to listen to because I’d finished all of my review audiobooks, I remembered that I had a copy of Neverwhere from Audible. Neil Gaiman audiobooks are always fun, so I went ahead and listened to his beautiful accent. Neil Gaiman books are always fun, particularly on audio, and Neverwhere is not exception. However, Neverwhere is definitively my least favorite of his novels that I’ve read.The problem lies with the protagonist. Richard Mayhew is boring and not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I don’t know that he’s necessarily stupid, but he’s the kind of person who schlumps through life and doesn’t go in for any kind of introspection. He does things because that is what a person is supposed to do. The only sign of any real personality is how he likes to collect ugly troll dolls to keep in his office. The damning evidence of his awfulness is that he’s the kind of Richard who doesn’t mind if people call him “Dick.”Of course, character arcs are a thing, so maybe this blah man could take a journey through London Below and become a valiant hero or at least find a personality. Not really. Richard Mayhew seemed every bit as meh by the end. He’s not even an unlikable protagonist; he’s just boring. All of my suspension of disbelief issues came from moments when Richard was of any use at all in the novel’s quest. When he bungled things or got people killed being an idiot, that I believed. When he slayed an infamous monster or obtained an important object, I rolled my eyes. The fact that I don’t care one iota for Richard Mayhew was a definite problem.Boring Richard Mayhew is brought out of his entirely mundane existence by Door, a girl he finds bleeding on the street. He helps her, and is rewarded for that by suddenly becoming invisible to everyone he knows. He’s become a resident of London Below. Richard follows Door, needing protection from her and the Marquis de Carabas and hoping for a way to return to his boring life.The actual world is really cool and a bit silly. There’s London above, the normal London, and London Below, where rats are highly respected and magic resides. Gaiman plays with the strange name for places in London, interpreting them literally. Islington is an angel who resides at that tube stop. There are friars or shepherds, all corresponding to tube stops. It’s fun and exciting, though perhaps not quite enough to compensate for the mind-numbing Richard.I’m still rating Neverwhere pretty highly, partially for the world building and writing, but also for Neil Gaiman’s performance. I’ve listened to four or five Neil Gaiman audiobooks, and I think this one is best-produced. There are a lot of neat sound effects. Plus, Richard is at least Scottish, which means that on audio he has a brilliant accent. This is the only way in which Richard is interesting.Neverwhere is a fun listen, and I’m glad I had the audiobook, because I’m not certain I would have enjoyed this one without the brilliant production and narration.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      When Richard Mayhew tries to help an injured girl, his world is irrevocably changed. Richard is plunged into a shadow world of magic and danger. All he wants is to find his way home again. Unfortunately, he may not live long enough to realize that goal...I very much enjoyed this book. It has a lot of the hallmarks of a fantasy hero's quest, but with excellent writing and character development. One of the things that I noticed was that Richard Mayhew reminded me strongly of Arthur Dent (of the Hitchhiker's Guide series), and I wondered if, this being an early Gaiman, evidence of the works that might have influenced him was showing through -- or maybe the bumbling but well-meaning Englishman is just such a recognizable type that I couldn't help but be reminded of similar characters. Something that I particularly liked about this book was that the danger seemed real, which is not always the case with fantasy novels. I was never quite sure if the main character and his companions would make it out in one piece (and maybe they do, maybe they don't -- I don't want to spoil it for anyone who may not have read it)!I listened to the audiobook, but not the full-cast one. Mine was narrated by Gaiman himself, who is, as one would expect, a fairly skilled narrator as well as a good writer. I did notice a tendency to drop his inflection at the end of a sentence, which made it difficult to catch a word here or there, but all in all, a very good production. Recommended.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      This was the first non-comic book work of Neil Gaiman's that I read, and it remains one of my favorites. I love Gaiman's worlds. They are full of a deeper magic than most.Mostly, I love the idea of London Below, a secret world with its own rules that runs parallel to our world, the "Above," but seems almost like another plane of reality all together. Following Richard on his trip down Alice's rabbit hole after saving Door is an incredible adventure. It's urban fantasy at its best.One of the most interesting things about Neverwhere is how Gaiman uses the real locations of London as the backdrop, but takes each and turns it completely on its head in London Below. Also, Gaiman has a way of creating these characters that stick with you long after the story is done, leaving you hungering for more. I would welcome a hundred more stories from London Below, either with the fantastically colorful character introduced here, or with a whole new batch of faces that are bound to be just as fascinating.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Wonderful Urban Fantasy, by the Master, Neil Gaiman.Has been compared to Alice in Wonderland, but to do it justice, it goes further.An assortment of unforgettable characters, good vs evil story, London Below vs London Above, and how sometimes we discover by accident (or not) where we really belong.Alice in Wonderland for Adults, indeed.Enjoyable.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Gaiman is more of a magician than a writer. The world he creates is really magical. The world he creates feels familiar in a way but far from reality. I felt that I could just grasp the world he created. I just want to go down the sewers and find out for myself whats underneath. I can't put the book down, I can't stop reading but I was trying to pace myself slower because I don't want it to finish. If the last book I read was just an appetizer, this book is the main course plus dessert. This book was just yummy! This book would challenge what you know, this book would challenge reality. I demand a sequel!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      REVIEWED: Neverwhere
      WRITTEN BY: Neil Gaiman
      PUBLISHED: 2003 (first published as a miniseries script, 1996)

      It’s really been a long time since I’ve read a dark fantasy book as absorbing as NEVERWHERE by Neil Gaiman. Suffice it to say, this novel was fascinating, exciting, funny, scary, and overall simply brilliant.

      Whatever happens to the “people who fall between the cracks in society,” The homeless, the runaways, the forgottens? They literally fall into another “mirrored” world below, composed beneath the sewers of London and built with the magic and lost technology that is forgotten today. In “London Below” entire villages may have fallen through the world and people from all walks of life converge, in a world of shadows, conspiracy, monsters, angels, and crime.

      Gaiman’s style of writing seems so effortless and natural. It’s very warm and conversational, as if he were telling the story to you in person while sitting at a county pub with a couple pints of suds. It’s smart and entertaining and satisfying. Gaiman has a talent for world building, and there are a host of background characters who are all just as fascinating as the main characters. This book has been made into a T.V. Series for both BBC and again for A&E and a comic series through DC Comics, so it’s really gotten around.

      Highly recommended for lovers of adventure, dark fantasy, and light horror.

      Five out of Five stars

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Re-read this after, oh, at least 10 years for a book club this week. It had never occurred to me back then how much of London Under seems to be based on Henry Mayhew's classic journalism on the East End, collected into London Labour and the London Poor. What's my first clue? The protagonist Richard Mayhew. In any case, it was enjoyable this time around, with the snappy pace I remember. The plot seemed a little thinner this time ... I've enjoyed other London-based fantasy or mystery, e.g., Ben Aronovitch or Christopher Fowler, more. It felt as though Gaiman was throwing everything he could think of into the mix, without it all being necessary (I'm thinking of the Beast of London - kinda weak).

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      A tremendously original book about an underground London; going there and losing your ability to return to London above. Ultimately asking the question of whether a job, place to live and the ordinary events of life is all that there is to a life.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Richard Mayhew is drawn into the world of London Below when he helps a young girl who is lying bleeding on a London street and finds that once you leave London Above, there is no going back.This is one of the best books that I read in 2004

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Richard Mayhew is a young, successful businessman living in London. One evening, while on his way to dinner with his fiance, he spots an injured girl bleeding on the sidewalk. Refusing to continue on with his evening until the girl is looked after, Richard takes her to his apartment after her refusal to see a doctor.

      The following morning the young lady has miraculously recovered and asks Richard to seek out a man to assist her in her return home. Travelling through an area of the city he’s never known to exist dubbed “The London Below”, Richard locates and returns to the girl with the desired man in tow. Shortly after they vanish from his life, Richard begins experiencing strange occurrences. He’s fading into obscurity, his own fiance doesn’t recognize him and his apartment is on the market for new tenants.

      Determined to find the young lady, whom we have come to know as “Door”, Richard is looking for an explanation into why this is happening to him. Can Richard find his new found friend and return to his normal life?

      If I’m going to come away with anything from this novel it’s that I enjoyed it a great deal more than American Gods. I didn’t realize until after the fact that the novel was adapted from the television series of the same name. Not sure I’ve ever heard of a popular author taking that route as it’s normally the other way around.

      The interactions between the inhabitants of “London Below” and “London Above” reminded me a lot of China Mieville’s The City & The City. Obviously this book came first and I felt that Gaiman did a pretty bang on job. Nothing against Mieville but I had a much easier time reading this than I did that – then again, Mieville isn’t considered light reading by any stretch of the term.

      I loved Gaiman’s world building and the rich cast of characters he’s created for the story. As with American Gods, Gaiman excels at crafting characters with diverse backgrounds and interesting personalities – he’s certainly no slouch when it comes to that. The world of London Below captured my imagination. An ever shifting market and travelling through deep, pitch-black tunnels where one can be claimed by the darkness is downright creepy.

      The villains Croup and Vandemar were excellent and Gaiman must have had a lot of fun in writing them. Not only do they get to show their mean, terrifying side but they also got some of the biggest laughs out of me; they were consistently entertaining.

      All in all, this was a pretty important book for me. I wasn’t a fan of American Gods and was less than impressed with Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader so I was beginning to think that maybe Gaiman just wasn’t for me. However, having a much better reaction to this story has kept my interest level high when it comes to checking out what else he’s got out there.

      Cross Posted @ Every Read Thing

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Neil is the best person to read Neil’s books.
      A classic story, that explores authors favorite topic of world behind a wold.
    • 5/5
      Delightful story with such dark whimsy. And Mr. Gaiman is one of the few writers who can also narrate.
    • 3/5
      It is a fun adventure, the whole concept of double cities is very appealing.
      It is predictable. They keep asking: who might be behind this? And well... The reader can "see it" way before it is revealed.
      However, it is very entertaining.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic book! I couldn't stop listening.
    • 5/5
      This was my first Neil Gaiman book, and I loved the dark, otherworldly mystery with a whimsical spin. Equal parts Alice in Wonderland and urban fantasy, Neverwhere is uniquely entertaining.
    • 4/5
      An unassuming young financier helps an injured girl, is made nearly invisible, and travels to the Underside, a bizarre world underneath / entangled with the London Underground. It's an enjoyable read, but a lot of it seems recycled from every mythic journey ever. There were times when I thought the characters were meant to be references, but then I couldn't identify the reference.
    • 3/5
      Neil Gaiman has created a world under London, it is hard to get to, unless you have a guide, and it is dangerous. It is filled with monsters, saints, murderers, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet (note: don't go with the girls in velvet). There is also an angel. I could tell you what the angel is doing there, but that would be a spoiler.

      Richard Mayhew is on his way to dinner with his fiance when he stops to help a girl who is injured. He doesn't know she is from London Below, he doesn't even know what London Below is, but when his life in London above is erased he has to go below. In his adventures in London below he learns many things. He finds out the real reason to 'watch the gap' between the train and the platform and why to not go with the girls in velvet (almost too late he learns this). He get involved with saving the underworld, with a little help from some unlikely sources.

      The people in this London below are human in that they have human qualities of loyalty, greed, cowardice and heroism. At the same time they are not quite human. Some have unique abilities and come through or disappoint in unique ways. Plenty of twists and and scary moments to keep one guessing and reading.

      A delightful romp through the scary place that is Neil Gaiman's brain.
    • 3/5
      Oh Neil, what happened here? I never expected to read anything by you that didn't absolutely blow me away, but this book, while being a page-turner, and having a fantastic end and a great villain, felt sterile and soulless in comparison to all of your other work. I think a lot of that can be attributed to the shallow world-building that's at play. London-below and the characters that inhabit it were given neither enough time nor enough explanation to resonate with me, and the two lackeys of the main villain, Mr. Coop and Mr. Vandemar, just seemed so...random, and out of place. In fact, that's a perfect way to describe a lot of the stuff in this book: random and out of place. Definitely still worth a read, just don't expect it to stick with you after the fact.
    • 4/5
      Dark, twisted and lovely. This is almost axiomatic for describing Gaiman's writing but go read it for yourself. It's witty and interesting and strangely funny with that ability to view the world at right angles to reality.No good deed goes unpunished!Richard Mayhew is living one of those lives where he is gently pushed into being whatever it is that is most convenient to those around him. In a moment of truth he abandons his finance on the way to an important dinner meeting and rescues a bleeding girl by the side of the road. His kindness thrusts him into another world, the London Below where magic is real and you really should Mind the Gap.
    • 5/5
      Refreshing, original with characters from your nightmares. My first exposure to Neil Gaiman!
    • 4/5
      Fantastic book! Great novel for my first Neil Gaiman experience. It was rich, beautiful, and vibrant from beginning to end. I couldn't put the book down. I can't wait to read more stuff by Gaiman.