NEVERWHERE : Best Thrill-reading Ever...!

Salam... ukhuwwah fillah...


After this whole three busy months, finally I managed to finish my reading on this thick novel by Neil Gaiman entitled Neverwhere. Such a great adventurous journey, a little twist of love, but most of the writing tells horribly of horror stuff. It is the story about the world you had never imagined before, the underground world, right beneath your feet, the place you never known existed. But you're thrown there, stucked in so much troubles but in the end, it turned out otherwise. You came to realize that that was the place where you belong.

That's a little description of how the story goes. It was about Richard Mayhew, a typical guy who lived in London. He worked a lot and had less social life. He was kind but his attitude of caring a little bit too much brought him into a world he had never wished he'd go into. It started off out of nowhere when he helped a girl by the sidewalk. The girl named Door, who was seriously wounded and bleeding. Richard brought Door home and treated all her cuts and bruises. She cured so perfectly without any bits of scars. Magically, when he woke up the next morning, Door had disappeared and he got visited by two unwelcomed guests, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar (two human wolves...? Yeah, they kill...) searching for Door.

Since then, Richard's life had changed. He saw people but they could neither see nor hear him. He started to meet strange people - the rat speaker (talking rats and people that talk to rats), the marquis de Carabas and Anaesthesia. They introduced him to London Below, a world Richard had never known existed. Richard so much wanted to go back to his world, the London Above but they would have to find Door first. And so the journey began. They had to look for Door, or the Lady Door. She came from a special family who could open doors (any doors, to anywhere they wish), unlock doors without having any doors existed. All her family got killed because of the special talent and Door was the only one left alive. They met more challenges along the journey and managed to meet Door at last.

Along came another mission - to meet Angel Islington who can save Door and send Richard back to London above. More challenges tested them along the way. They went to the bridge and the floating market and met Hunter, Lamia and the black friars. So many things happened - Richard got over a very difficult test to get the key they needed, he killed the Beast and became the warrior. They met the Angel Islington but it turned out to be the master for Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar the wolves. It was the one who killed all of Door's family. In a trick, Door opened a gate to Hell and sent those three off, permanently.

Richard managed to get back to his life, but it seemed to change somehow. It felt normal but yet Richard couldn't suit himself in the normal world anymore. With the warrior knife Hunter gave him, he created a door on the wall by the sidewalk. The door magically opened for him and he went back to the London Below.

That's what the story is all about. I know I am really bad in telling out stories (yes...I sucked those story telling competitions back in school...huhu...). I can't describe it better but London Below was such a dark world, a place you can't ever imagine to have yourself live there. It's so creepy and every creature in the world was so weird and strange in a horrible way. Reading the book, you can feel yourself having the thrill and suspense for real. But over all, I really enjoyed myself reading the story. Every single page and chapter brought me into another adventure and another. I couldn't resist to read more and more. The writing is the best ever by Gaiman. Reading the story brings you along into the dark imaginary world created by the author.

Just to have a few words and comments quoted by the press and other author...

"Neverwhere - a dark contemporary 'Alice in Wonderland'... Imaginative, well-crafted and highly visual." (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

"Alice in Wonderland with a punk edge doesn't begin to do justice to Neil Gaiman's first solo novel, but it may serve to set the tone. Gaiman is a master of creating and peopling his own worlds. In Neverwhere, he has surpassed himself, creating a twisting tale to be treasured." (Poppy Z. Brite, author of Exquisite Corpse)

Great work from Gaiman. Simply five stars...!

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