Message from Dean - May 8th 2007
I am currently testing out a new version of the APF Bridge Component - If you notice any errors within this demo store please drop me a line.
List Price: $13.99Amazon.com's Price: $11.19 You Save: $2.80 (20%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
EAN: 9780060557812
ISBN: 0060557818
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 400
Publication Date: September 01, 2003
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: September 02, 2003
Studio: Harper Perennial
Alternate Versions: Click to Display
Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category:
Editorial Review:
Amazon.com Review:
Neverwhere's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. He ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London Above, and joins a quest through the dark and dangerous London Below, a shadow city of lost and forgotten people, places, and times. His companions are Door, who is trying to find out who hired the assassins who murdered her family and why; the Marquis of Carabas, a trickster who trades services for very big favors; and Hunter, a mysterious lady who guards bodies and hunts only the biggest game. London Below is a wonderfully realized shadow world, and the story plunges through it like an express passing local stations, with plenty of action and a satisfying conclusion. The story is reminiscent of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but Neil Gaiman's humor is much darker and his images sometimes truly horrific. Puns and allusions to everything from Paradise Lost to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz abound, but you can enjoy the book without getting all of them. Gaiman is definitely not just for graphic-novel fans anymore. --Nona Vero
Product Description:
Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinarylife, 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.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
This book didn't really grab me at first, but the more I read it, the more I became wrapped up in this unique, dark, imaginative world. Richard Mayhew was just a normal man leading a normal life until he stops to help a bleeding girl in the streets -- an act that truly lives up to "no good deed goes unpunished." Soon he discovers that his identity has been erased, left off no better than any meandering homeless person. His life turns even more chaotic when he embarks to London Below, a gritty and surreal reality existing beneath London, and helps Door, the girl he previously rescued, to discover who killed her family and why. The plot becomes more intricate and engrossing, filled with a cast of characters you never quite entirely know you can trust, and the villians are genuinely menacing. The twists were also ingenious and well-planted, making it even harder to not finish this book. While the ending was overall satisfying, there were still a couple of loose threads that make me hope that ... Read More
Rating:  -
This book starts out at a perfect pace, introducing the reader to the main character's ordinary life, and swiftly sweeps both the reader and this ordinary man into a dark reality from which there is no escape. By the end of the book, I had a real affection for the bewildered Richard, and for his friends in London below: the curiously powerful Door, the conniving marquis de Carabas, and even the single-minded bodyguard, Hunter. It's easy to become concerned in their fates, and they are all unique and likeable characters, each in their own ways.
This story is easy to relate to, as it follows a familiar plot: average person gets swept up in mysterious goings-on, meets allies, they have a quest to follow, with powerful enemies popping up now and then to interfere...or worse. This doesn't mean that the story is stale. Indeed, it constantly surprised me with its twists and turns, and its utter originality. But what makes the story familiar makes it comfortable; otherwise, the alien ... Read More
Rating: -
Richard Mayhew is living the life. He is engaged to a beautiful, well-connected business woman, he has a good job with a future, and he has friends, but one good deed changes it all. In a night Richard has fallen through the cracks of the sane, real world he knows into the supernatural Underside of London where lost human beings rub shoulders with all manner of creatures and life is as dangerous as the darkest parts of human history. Presented with a quest that may help him get his life back Richard embarks on a journey of discovery that will change everything.
Neil Gaiman's first novel is a great trendsetter for those that follow. It mixes fantasy and reality to such an extent that even those who don't go in for fantasy can get caught up in them. The characters are fully realized people and the situations test and challenge. His prose is well done and the story is fast paced. You can see it on the screen of your mind like a film. The only drawback is that it is not original ... Read More
Rating: -
I've only read a couple of Gaiman books before, so i can't say how well this stacks up to his corpus in general, but as a relative outsider I liked (though not loved) it.
The Pro's: It's fast-paced, and held my interest. The setting was intriguing, and I liked the characters -- especially the antagonists. It even made me chuckle in a few places, which helped lighten the otherwise dark mood that is the general tone of the book.
The Con's: The plot structure reminded me of an old computer game: each stage is essentially a quest to get to the next part, and this format came dangerously close to wearing out its welcome. Also, there are a **couple** of major plot-holes in the story, though I won't discuss them as they are spoilers. Admittedly, they didn't immediately jump out at me: I had to reflect upon the situation after-the-fact to realize "um, wait a second..." so I don't know how much of a speed-bump they will be to other readers. Even then, it could be a misunderstanding ... Read More
Rating: -
I love this book. I'm biased, because I love Gaiman, but it's my favorite of his by far (and I've read quite a few of his novels). I really don't envision Gaiman having any kind of philosophy or politics with what he writes, because it seems to me, he attempts to remove us to a world as far from the mundane as possible.
However, I think everyone knows what it feels like to rant and rave and tantrum, to scream as loud as their lungs allow, and to be heard for a second and then ignored, just like our protagonist. We're all slipping through the cracks...
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
|
Amazon Store 