I was torn between giving Neverwhere four stars rather than three, but ultimately, despite the many excellent things about Neil Gaiman’s debut novel, I never really got into it and found the story itself pretty lackluster.
Neverwhere is a pillar of the urban fantasy genre in which the protagonist, Richard Mayhew, an unremarkable Londoner, finds himself pulled into a dark, magical underground version of London. The premise is great, but ultimately the story is a straightforward re-skin of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. The stakes are never really fleshed out, and the chapters play out pretty episodically, with Gaiman consistently introducing and dismissing new characters and settings throughout.
The characters, at least in their conception – are wonderful and leap off the page to such an extent that I can easily imagine many of them hanging around Diagon Alley with characters from the Harry Potter universe. The Marquis de Carabas and the villainous duo of Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar were particularly wonderful. Richard himself is pretty bland and I found myself caring about him much more in London Above than during the fantastical events that transpire in London Below. Many of the other notable characters are women who join Richard along the way. The Lady Door is by far the most significant and while I found her magical abilities very cool, I wanted so much more character development and exploration of her family and her father’s goal of unifying London Below. Hunter, Anesthesia, and Lamia are all worthy takes on fantasy/mythological archetypes, but none of them really got space to shine.
By far the best elements of Neverwhere are Gaiman’s witty pose and incredibly creative and clever construction of London Under. This book is a true love letter to the city of London and those familiar with its history and geography will get a kick out of all the references and interpretations of familiar sights and stories. Knightsbridge being a literal bridge of darkness and Earl’s Court being an actual Earl’s court are particularly fun. So many novels and films have used London as a gritty setting where people fall into the cracks and slip into the shadows but Neverwhere shows what, at least in Gaiman’s imagination, happens in those cracks and what the shadows look like when illuminated.
While I did not love Neverwhere, I am once again impressed by Gaiman’s imagination and style and have high hopes for his more recent work.
The Once and Future Lit 