Okay. Allow me to take a deep breath here. This isn't easy for me.
I didn't particularly like this production of Neverwhere.
I feel awful typing that. Worse, I feel stupid. I feel like this is a betrayal.
I've loved Neverwhere for ages. I own, right now, eight unread copies of the paperback. I buy them in bulk and give them away to people who claim they don't like fantasy. I use it as a gateway drug.
What's more, I've loved all the other productions of Neverwhere I've experienced. I enjoyed the old BBC show that I watched *ages* ago back in 1998.
I enjoyed the original audiobook that I listened to back in 2001, narrated by some guy I can't remember.
And I've profoundly enjoyed the even *better* audiobook read by Gaiman himself.
The thing is, this BBC production has a thousand things that should make it awesome. More than that, it should be beloved by me.
I love the fact that it's produced by Dirk Maggs, who did the Brilliant Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio dramatizations, not to mention Sexton Blake. He's the person I'd want doing my radio adaptation if I ever had one.
I love the fact that the voice talent includes Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Head, and Christopher Lee....
I love the fact that Gaiman cast himself in the bit parts of "The Fop with No Name" and the vaguely pervy security guard whose name I can't even remember.
For these reasons and many others, I've been looking forward to listening to this. I've been all tingly and afluter with anticipation.
But... I just don't care for it.
Part of it is probably due to the fact that I have a bit of a discriminatory hearing problem. So the dramatic sound effects made it harder for me to hear the dialogue.
And part of it was probably that I was listening to it on my phone, where the audio quality is certainly not THX certified.
And part of this is probably that we always love best what we love first, and I've listened to Neil himself reading the audiobook of Neverwhere at least a half-dozen times. It's really hard to top that...
So yes. Part of this is just me having a problem and being a curmudgeon.
But honestly, I don't think it's *just* me.
The truth is, even being a fan of the book, I found the action difficult to follow. The lack of narration hurt the clarity of the story.
Also, the entire production was only about 3 hours long, so the pacing felt... off to me. There just wasn't enough time for tension to develop properly. For example (spoiler alert) Hunter betrays the group, is taken hostage, and his fatally wounded in the space of about 5 minutes. It felt terribly rushed to me, and made her repentance seem oddly false and insincere, which is a genuine shame....
Why am I really writing this? I honestly don't know.
Part of it is a sense of fair play. I am lavish and unsparing of my praise of Gaiman's work. I am, to put it plainly, a huge gushy fanboy. So to me, it feels dishonest for me to keep quiet when I have a strong opinion on this version of the story.
Plus, I hope to say to any new fans out there: if this was your first time hearing the story and you enjoyed it. Huzzah. I'm delighted. Welcome to Neverwhere, it's one of my absolute favorite books.
I just want to say, I don't think you've seen it at its absolute, shining best. If you liked this, I beg you, check out the audiobook or the novel.
I'm serious. It will blow the top off your head....
Heretically yours,
pat