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)

loved!

may have a new favorite author to add to my list! just loved this. story and characters are wonderful... narrator nailed it. 5 stars a the way!

How do I even describe this book?

I try to tell people what this book is about but where to even start? It’s not quite fantasy, but is fantastical beyond words. An epic tale full of such incredibly rich characters and story lines. From the mundane to the truly absurd and somehow woven in such a way that you find yourself sinking in, unable to pull yourself away. The writing is stunning, the narration is stunning, the story is stunning. Do not hesitate to download this book to listen... even if you’re not really sure what it’s about.. it doesn’t matter.

Excellent narration and character work!

Loved the story, and the narration was great fun to listen to. The drums at the new chapters were weird. I thought some synth sounds would have fit better. But that didn't affect the quality overall. Bravo!

Incredibly Intriguing

The book is a little slow to start, but once it gets going, you won't want to stop. The narrator is spot on with verbal tone forshadowing.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story

Quite Good

The author's voice didn't bother me. In fact, I thought he did a good job of modulating it for different characters.

Once or twice character motivations seemed a bit forced in order to keep Richard and Door moving in the right direction, but for the most part the story kept me happily entertained.

One of my favorites

What made the experience of listening to Neverwhere the most enjoyable?

I love Neil Gaiman and especially love the books he narrates himself. This book was such fun to listen to....kind of a Charles Dickens meets the netherworld. I hated to see it I end and will definitely lo pistes to it again. The characters are so well defined not only by the writing but by the reading. What delicious fun.

Super fun.

Great adventure into another world, one of fantastic creatures and captivating personalities. Performance nothing short of amazing.

Incredible

I was astounded by how much this story whisked me away to the world of below. What an awesome adventure.

Still delightful!

Would you consider the audio edition of Neverwhere to be better than the print version?

This was a re-read for me, having read the print version years ago, and I must say I enjoyed the audio edition. I'm always a little wary when authors narrate their own books, because more often than not, authors are much better at writing their books than reading them. Gaiman's narration of Neverwhere is an exception. His voice is very expressive and the voices he did for the characters drew me into the story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Neverwhere is filled with memorable characters and it would be very hard to pick a favorite character if the Marquis de Carabas wasn't in the story. But he is, so unsurprisingly, the Marquis de Carabas continues to be my favorite in every adaptation -- whether it's the mini-series, the book or the radio dramatization. I always have a soft spot for roguish characters. I aspire to have as many sarcastic comebacks and as great fashion taste as the Marquis.

What about Neil Gaiman’s performance did you like?

I found his voices for the characters enjoyable and rather good impressions of the actors from the original TV mini-series. Even his voice for the Marquis has moments when he sounds like like Paterson Joseph from the show.

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

Neverwhere has a great many memorable moments. We get to see several prominent people in London Below, all of whom are interesting in their own ways.

Any additional comments?

As a novelization of a TV mini-series, there is a significant amount of head-hopping in this novel - sometimes in the middle of scenes! But this is forgivable because Neverwhere is chock full of fun characters and fantastical settings. It's a nice escape from the humdrum of everyday life and as much as I like the TV series, the book fleshes out the characters and plot better. I'd recommend it for anyone looking for a good urban fantasy read!

London will never be the same

I find myself transfixed by Neil Gaiman's voice, whisked away to a nearby, far off place with dangers and marvels. Highly recommend if you like fiction/fantasy.