The Reading Rainbow Coalition discussion

Neverwhere A Novel

From Goodreads:
"Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinary life, 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."

I'm really loving this book so far. It feels like a more grown-up, more sinister, and bloodier Harry Potter to me for some reason. I can't wait to see how things unfold. Anyone else reading along? I hope to get a lot of reading done this weekend so that I can pick up the 2nd book of the month...

Finished this over lunch! What an incredible ride. Both dark and whimsical, creepy yet touching, this book was impressive in both character and plot developments. Gaiman's imagination is epic without being too bogged down by mythos, and the underworld he weaves feels oddly familiar, like a dream you forget about when you wake up. That is not to say that it is unoriginal; quite the opposite.

The cast of characters made for an interesting campaign. Croup and Vandemar were fantastic villains (in my mind's eye, they looked like the demons from the Buffy episode "Hush") and the Marquis de Carabas was larger than life and loveable in that not-so-loveable way.

I found this book to be incredibly immersive and just fell in love with Gaiman's writing style. I must say that although reading Gaiman's novels has been long on my to-do list, reading "Good Omens" discouraged mem a little as it was, IMHO, quite overhyped. Much as I love Pratchett, I believe it is far from his best work. Having been my introduction to Gaiman, it did not give me an urgent need to read any more of his books. This book has completely changed my mind.

Glad this turned you back on to Gaiman. I read this one a while back and am still hoping to re-read it this month. I think Gaiman is at his best when, like you say, he combines dark undercurrents with storybook elements - I especially recommend Stardust for this, which I thought was so much better than, say, American Gods. Still got to read (and see) Coraline.

The demons from Hush - yes! Perfect.

Anyone else have any insights/thoughts/comments? I lent this book to a friend, who enjoyed it but called it "that weird book." :) Maybe it's just my taste in books, but Neverwhere was right up my alley. I've read a lot of fantasy and horror so I found this book to be an excellent blend of both. It also really reminded me of a few of my favorite videogames, namely Planescape: Torment.

What about you guys? What genre would you say this book falls under, and what aboug Gaiman's style do you think is distinctive amongst horror/fantasy novels?

I love this book. I almost think Gaiman has his own genre, sort of a dark fantasy. His style is distinct from other horror books because of the elements of storybooks (as Self-propelled mentions)... Neverwhere has some "Alice in Wonderland" aspects that give it almost more of a fairy tale feel, despite having 2 of the creepiest villians I've ever read. Something about most of Gaiman's stuff feeds on our basic fears. Coraline, despite being a children's book, has doppleganger (please excuse my terrible spelling)parents as villians. And in Neverwhere, what's scarier than having everyone you care about suddenly not know who you are? It's the stuff of nightmares, really. But I love it all.