NEVERWHERE is a fascinating and intriguing read. Neil Gaiman weaves a rich yarn of complex characters and plots that involves the secret embellished world of “London Below”, right beneath the subways of London Underground. It’s very impressively imagined, linking fantasy with reality and sustaining that “what if” ideology of a fantastic world existing beyond human sight.


The tale starts in the “London Above”, the world where humans move about. London, a city of hustle-bustle, remains unfamiliar of its dark currents underneath. The protagonist Richard Mayhew, a commoner, a busybody of office work and social dealings, bored with the usual daily London life, commits a “Good Samaritan” act by saving a wounded girl in an alleyway while estranging her nagging girlfriend behind. By this mere stunt, he falls into the cracks and his life turns upside down as he started to unravel hidden mysteries of the world below the ground he walks everyday; also embarking on a quest to go back to the London Above but with danger and mortal peril on the rise.


Gaiman proves to be an expert on his field as he uses the real-life underbelly of London Underground as his setting, brilliantly envisaging the shadowy and dark tunnels, depicting danger beneath the train stations. For anyone who have gone to or lived in London, quite familiar with the loudspeaker’s chant “Mind the gap” could definitely think quizzically what would happen if one falls into the gap. Of course, if you fall into it, you’re nothing worse than dead, but Gaiman makes it very interesting and fantastical. With stopovers in the book, generating characters almost too lifelike you’ll be wondering and considering visiting the underground and sewers whether they’re actually there: there’s an Earl guarding the Earl’s Court station; monks wearing black robes served as wardens of the Blackfriars Bridge; there’s a snakelike woman residing at Serpentine; and Islington is characterised as an Angel. This weird, twisted but magnificent imagery of Gaiman is such a genius thing to behold, letting his readers want to know and flip pages more.


You need to be familiar with London Sub-stops to go along with the story, otherwise you might be wondering where’s Knightsbridge or Oxford Street. All you need is a little map, and then you’ll be on your way to a great read. The only downside of the story is the lack of emotional core; the characters are amazingly wrought, but its core feels a tad hollow, synthesizing it as just an adventure tale at the end of the book. But it’s absolutely Gaiman’s matter-of-fact writing ability that keeps you immersed and carrying throughout the twist and turn, every surprise and treat.




RATING: B+