Neil Gaiman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books, and is the recipient of numerous literary honors. Originally from England, he now lives in America. You can find him at neilgaiman.com or on Instagram @neilhimself.
Published in 1997, Neverwhere heralded the arrival of a major talent and became a touchstone of urban fantasy. Over the years, a number of versions were produced both in the US and the UK. Now Gaiman's preferred edition of his classic novel reconciles these works and reinstates a number of scenes cut from the original published books. Richard Mayhew is a young London businessman with a good heart whose life is changed forever when he stops to help a bleeding girl—an act of kindness that plunges him into a world he never dreamed existed. Slipping through the cracks of reality, Richard lands in Neverwhere—a London of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels that exists entirely in a subterranean labyrinth. Neverwhere is home to Door, the mysterious girl Richard helped in the London Above. Here in Neverwhere, Door is a powerful noblewoman who has vowed to find the evil agent of her family's slaughter and thwart the destruction of this strange underworld kingdom. If Richard is ever to return to his former life and home, he must join Lady Door's quest to save her world—and may well die trying.
Richard's character is one that I wrestled with understanding throughout the entire novel, up until the very last page. He is characterized as an incessantly good person. While I'm not entirely sure how realistic that is, I believe this choice works for the story. Otherwise, why would Door want to go back and have him tag along? Richard's character, in being as naive and curious as he is, allows the world to take centerstage, and the journey of the other characters and the mystery surrounding it all can fully occupy the minds of the readers. It's usually pretty strange to have an incessantly good character as the main character or main narrator of a fantasy novel, and while it was bizarre for me to understand why this was a good choice for the narrative, it was also refreshing, and made fantasy feel like a refreshing genre again.
Proclaimed as a touchstone of urban fantasy, I was curious to see how the world of London Below and London Above connected. Mostly, it's by the way they are so distinct (ie, one person can only be part of one or the other), and they might look exactly the same, having been borne of the same city structure. I found myself comparing Richard's journey to London Below to Alice in Wonderland. Alice and Richard both tumble into an unknown world; but whereas Alice is in a world that's more imaginative (prettier, maybe), Richard falls into a world that's grittier, more terrifying in its closeness to reality, and darker than Alice's. I am sure there are many more similarities and differences to be drawn between these two texts, but these are the ones that stood out to me, along with how the journey to the world never truly leaves you. Both Alice and Richard end up going back to the strange world they encountered, and the first text in each series acts as both an introduction to the world, and to the character that keeps bringing readers back into it.
This text, when read as an introduction to the world of London Below, works effectively in building tension and stakes, as well as other characters' narratives, that would compel readers to keep reading past the close of the first book. Each of the supporting characters are just as distinct as Richard—I am curious about the Marquis; I sympathize with Door; I am incredibly fearful of the two hitmen; and on and on. Some points that don't get introduced but that are always on the back of my mind include the real relevance of Door's family in this underground society, and how the Marquis rose to have such "prestige" attached to his name. These answers may hopefully be answered by a sequel, and are not entirely necessary for the first book, giving Gaiman the power to call readers back to this world with the answer of those questions.
The strengths of urban fantasy, and indeed in tying London Above and London Below so tightly together, is that is causes readers to question the world they think they know. London is a real place, a real city—why couldn't an underground London or underground city exist? Maybe all of this is real, maybe there is a secret world we can't get our hands on—or that we can only get our hands on via story. It's this culmination of questions and thoughts that lead us into London Below and make readers wholeheartedly believe Richard, all the way through the end. It's this that compels us to hope that Richard returns back to Door and the Marquis. And maybe all of this is the desire for escapism talking, but Gaiman knows exactly what he is doing—how all these posed questions make people intensely curious and desiring for more.
Neil Gaiman has a whole host of other books on his catalogue to check out, should you want to continue reading his works. You find find him at neilgaiman.com or on Instagram @neilhimself.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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