Review: Neverwhere

I read Neil Gaiman’s first solo novel over the holidays, and it excited me in a couple of unexpected ways. First, it’s a fun story and quick read, which are two things I hadn’t encountered in a while. The world Gaiman builds is strange, but also familiar to anyone that’s had the pleasure of combing through the nooks and crannies of London. London is probably my favorite city in the world, and reading this book felt like a three day stopover.

The book excited me even more because it isn’t perfect. You can tell that Gaiman was still finding his footing as a prose writer. The influence of his previous collaboration with Terry Pratchett is evident, as if he didn’t quite trust his own voice yet. The book is also very visual, with intricate descriptions of setting and characters. Of course, the book is based on the BBC television series created by Gaiman, so this was likely inevitable.

Watching a writer I admire struggle to find his own voice was comforting, and since I know he did find it, inspiring.