Authors: Neil Gaiman
Series: Neverwhere Books
Genres: fantasy, fiction
Short summary of the story: Underneath the city of London, there lies a whole other world, known as London Below, where the people who have fallen between the cracks of time live. Richard Mayhew, an "Up Worlder" from London Above becomes an unwilling inhabitant of London Below when he helps one of its occupants, a young girl named Door after she is injured in London Above. Richard, along with her motley crew of protectors (including a marquis, a female warrior, and talking rats) will travel with Door on her quest to find out who murdered her family and why. On a mission to stop them are Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, a pair of sadistic killers-for-hire who have been employed by a mysterious figure who is intent on using Door for their own purposes.
This is what Goodreads has to say about Neverwhere:
You will note that I mentioned it was a part of a series. To clarify, the book's sequel, The Seven Sisters is a work in progress. Neverwhere itself is actually a companion novel to the BBC series of the same name, also written by Neil Gaiman, along with Lenny Henry. The book has also been adapted into A nine-issue comic book limited series (not written by Gaiman), a radio broadcast, and even a stage play.Under the streets of London there's a place most people could never even dream of. A city of monsters and saints, murderers and angels, knights in armour and pale girls in black velvet. This is the city of the people who have fallen between the cracks.
Richard Mayhew, a young businessman, is going to find out more than enough about this other London. A single act of kindness catapults him out of his workday existence and into a world that is at once eerily familiar and utterly bizarre. And a strange destiny awaits him down here, beneath his native city: Neverwhere.
My feelings on the book: I would seriously recommend this book! Neil Gaiman is one of my favourite writers, and this book certainly did not disappoint. The pace is fast enough to be engaging, yet not so fast that the reader finds themselves lost. It is both humorous and serious, and will make you both laugh aloud and cry at various points. It is written in a way that you actually come to care about the characters themselves and not just the conclusion of the story. I am waiting eagerly for the next installment in the series.
