Neverwhere

By: Neil Gaiman

Narrated by: Neil Gaiman

Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

National Best Seller

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

The number one New York Times best-selling 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 and listeners everywhere.

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©1996, 1997, 2014 Neil Gaiman (P)2007, 2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Gaiman's gift for mixing the absurd with the frightful gives this novel the feeling of a bedtime story with adult sophistication. Readers will find themselves as unable to escape this tale as the characters themselves." ( Library Journal)

"Delightful…inventively horrific."( USA Today)

"[Gaiman] is, simply put, a treasure house of story, and we are lucky to have him in any media." (Stephen King)

Gaiman's a fantastic story-teller

If you could sum up Neverwhere in three words, what would they be?

Fantasy, mystery, obscure

What other book might you compare Neverwhere to and why?

can't think of any comparable novel

Which character – as performed by Neil Gaiman – was your favorite?

Richard was my favourite

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It never evoked an extreme reaction.

Any additional comments?

It was a great book, but I never felt completely sucked into the story. I liked the story and LOVED Gaiman's reading of it, but it just wasn't the epic story I though it might be.

Decent read but not author's best

Occasionally enchanting but bogged down by archetype characters that do well under other authors. Not one of Neil Gaiman's best best but a fun read for a jaunt escape from our world Above!

Never gets old.

8th time thru since 1997, has not lost anything. I have watched, read and now listened to it.

Gaiman does an impressive job reading his own work.

Great story read by the original author

Long ago, this was my first experience with Neil Gaiman's writing, having missed the boat on Sandman. The rendition here is excellently done and narrated by Neil himself, a definite added bonus.

So good

Amazing, amazing! Nothing but a fantastical adventure read in the best of all story telling voices. Must listen!

Neil reads my favorite Neil book

I enjoy an author reading his own words, you get to really hear how he wanted his characters to sound. Neverwhere is an amazingly clever and fun book, C & V are the best villains ever. I always recommend this to anybody who asks for books to read or listen to.

Another great Neil Gaimen tail!

Another great Neil Gaimen tail! I hope this is just part of a series!

Tumbling to London Below…

Neverwhere is an excellent story that feels like a dark version of Alice in Wonderland. Instead of Alice, we are introduced to Richard Mayhew, a pushover and run-of-the-mill business man with a typically boring life. Richard meets a girl appropriately named Door, and finds himself sucked into the world known as London Below where he is forced to recognize his shortcomings and become a better man if he wants to survive. The characters are superb and each one draws you into the story in their own unique way. I personally enjoyed the Marquis de Carabas and I’m looking forward to picking up a copy of the short story “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back”. There is even a rumor that a sequel is in the works that will be titled The Seven Sisters. Here’s hoping!

Gaiman does a fine job narrating his story and I actually enjoyed his voice as a reader here. But occasionally his voice picks up an echo- like hearing him from a deep well. I’m not sure if this was meant as a special effect or is just an audio flaw. I believe it was for effect, but in some spots it didn’t make sense with what was happening within the story. This is my only complaint and it is so rare it’s not that big of a deal. I docked the performance a star for this and would have made it a half-star if I could have.

Brilliant...

What did you love best about Neverwhere?

Wonderful reading and audio production of a baroque tale for anyone who questions what their life would be like should the magical lands of their childhood suddenly open up to them as an adult ...offering the grit, enchantment, adventure and darkness that lead to a deeper and more fulfilling life. Worth every second.

What did you like best about this story?

That it made me feel like a child again...

What about Neil Gaiman’s performance did you like?

the reading was the best I have heard yet.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending, which of course, I will never give away.

Any additional comments?

KEEP IT UP!

Gaiman reads Gaiman perfectly

It's a fun fairy tale. We get to explore London below, with all its eccentric characters. Gaiman is a wonderful storyteller.