Neverwhere

I am really excited to read this book. My friend gave me the highest recommendations for it! Love the whole idea of it, loved Coraline (the movie) and The Sandman (the graphic novel).
 
Coraline as a graphic novel is awesome. If you happen to find it, I suggest buying...

And enjoy Neverwhere. I wish I could be reading it for the first time again...
 
Mary Hoffman said:
I'm afraid graphic novels are not my thing but what other straight fiction of his wouild people recommend?

Mary
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Mary

I wasn't interested in graphic novels either until I read the first Sandman collection. It's brilliant! I'm picking up the second collection today *rubs hands in glee* :D

If you're going to read only one graphic novel series - it has to be The Sandman.
 
Daisy-Boo said:
Mary
If you're going to read only one graphic novel series - it has to be The Sandman.
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Yep, it's one of the best. Also try Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, Watchmen, Lucifer (spin off series from that character in Sandman), Preacher, Sin City, V for Vendetta and Maus. Those are amongst the best ever produced. I've got almost all of Neil's graphic novels and all his novels and short stories. Very cool writer indeed.
 
GOLLUM said:
Yep, it's one of the best. Also try Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, Watchmen, Lucifer (spin off series from that character in Sandman), Preacher, Sin City, V for Vendetta and Maus. Those are amongst the best ever produced. I've got almost all of Neil's graphic novels and all his novels and short stories. Very cool writer indeed.
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Thanks Gollum! I'm definitely putting those titles on my Buy list. My poor beleaguered budget is going to suffer yet another beating. :p
 
Always does when you hang 'round this place...trust me I know.... ;)

I agree though that Sandman is one of the best Graphic Novel sequences you will come across.

Those other series I quoted there are not by Neil just in case you thought they were.

Cheers.
 
I find it hard to believe no one's posted about this in nearly a year. Gaiman did fantastic work in the Sandman comics and his books make for a great read. Anansi Boys is the only one I haven't read but I think I'll get to that soon. These threads have jogged my memory of how much I enjoyed his stuff.

Neverwhere really was an adult fairy tale and I loved reading it.

De Carabas was undeniably brilliant, but I couldn't help loving Croup and Vandemar (with the ol' Hale and Pace management-like routine, though most people may not know who they are). That said, Gaiman has ways of making all his characters interesting.
 
I hadn't been aware that there was a filmed version. Although from reading the posts I'm not enthused. Still, if I can find it on this side of the pond I'll certainly want to have a look.
 
I liked this book, overall. It was not as visual as I thought it would be (many character and place descriptions are quick, to the point, and efficient) and didn't spend as much time building up London Below, but it was a very fun book, and a good adventure tale. I particularly like how feel-good the last page is! A great final scene.

Anyways, I liked the book, though don't understand much of the hype. I feel like it was a well-done amalgamation of pre-existing themes in adventure and fantasy stories, with a twist. The truly unique aspects were the inner workings of London Below, its interaction with London Above, and the alluding to other hidden cities around the world. I wish Gaiman had spent more time creating the world itself.
 
I like Gaiman's work, a lot, and I remember reading Neverwhere in quick succession after both American Gods and Anansi Boys and shortly before moving to London. While I have to confess this book didn't really play a part in my decision to move here, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the different point of view on the city.

The main feeling I remember (talking some years ago since my last read) is though that of a book that could have been developed more. It left me with a sort of unfinished sensation lingering around. It goes, at times, too quick over characters, situations and events, and while that was probably a reasoned decision by Gaiman, I've always considered it to be a bit of a disappointment. There was (is?) much potential for a lot more in Neverwhere that could, I believe, have been exploited. But maybe I was and am simply hungry for more of the same kind of storytelling and more of the setting :rolleyes:

Still, one of the books I always try to make friends read!
 
I first saw bits/pieces of the series on PBS, I since bought it on DVD, subsequently bought the book. I like the book well enough to have read it twice, getting ready to read it a third time. I've shown my wife the series twice, don't know if she particularly cared for it but I enjoyed it both times I've seen it. I've also read/seen Stardust, but I've not yet read Sandman. I'll have to pick that up sometime. -kd5-
 
I found this on Netflix I believe it was, watched the first episode. It has that quirkiness that I like, and that actor that played Shelley, who was excellently creepy. Anyway, I want to watch the rest sometime!
 
My second Gaiman ever- Stardust hooked me, and by now I am a Neil Gaiman fan. Concerning Neverwhere, I started with the graphic novel and liked it, read the book and liked it even more. Curiously, when I finally saw the TV series it seemed so terse, to me it looked like quotes from the book you had to fill in for yourself, I wouldn't have believed that it was the first incarnation of the thing. But it splendid moments, wonderful characters (Croup and Vandemar still haunt me... "Does that include killing him painfully?" "On reflection, Mr. Vandemar, I think it does!"). I must confess that for me the graphic novel pales again in comparison.
 
I've not read the novel or seen the TV series, but I recently read the graphic novel version of 'Neverwhere', and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've put the novel on my 'to read' list (although that is pretty long...) :)
 
I liked the book very much, never saw the TV series. Since reading it I hoped he would write a sequel as the underground world he created was so fascinating.
 
Neverwhere. That amazing book.
A friend of mine recommended it to me, and it did not disappointed me!
My first Gaiman's book but not the last!
I loved so much this book. Dark but beautiful, and all those mad and brilliant characters ( Croup and Vandemar are awesome !). I'm about to read American Gods and I'm really excited about it!
 
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Oh yes, Croup and Vandemar are great. Enjoy American Gods!
 
The first Gaiman novel I've read was Neverwhere and I truly enjoyed reading it from cover to cover. I was not satisfied with Stardust but Coraline and the American Gods are awesome. I haven't had the time to start Anansi Boys but I'm looking forward to it. :D
 
Adasunshine said:
Oh I, Brian, please don't let the TV depiction ruin the book for you, the TV show was very, as you say, 70's style stage-acting but the book is simply wonderful, Gaiman wrote the book because he was unhappy with how the TV thing turned out and he knew he could better it, which, of course he did - very very much so.
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I guess I'm the oddity then. I read the book because I actually enjoyed the TV series. LOL. Don't hate me--but I did enjoy the book much more (also bought it for all my kids on their Nooks). However, you might have noticed that the book's dialogue was virtually word for word in some places. Regardless of the 70s style acting, the concepts grabbed my attention and held me tight--especially the dramatic scene changes when they'd go through a door below and come out on a rooftop.

Doesn't matter how bad the acting might have been, it was still cool.

Personally I was hooked by Croup and Vandemar...and the whole bowing to Rats experience. Doesn't stop me from putting out the traps, mind you!

Question: Was there ever an intent to write more than one book? The characters are so colorful and London Below has so much potential!
 
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