Neverwhere

Set around the London tube map, Neverwhere is the fantastic story of ordinary Londoner Richard Mayhew. Having stopped to help an injured homeless girl, he finds himself made invisible to the normal London above and sucked into the world of London below. A frightening place of Black Friars and Angels, Ratspeakers and Assassins, the Court of a Medieval Earl and a girl who can open any door with just the power of her mind. Richard must stay alive long enough for Door to find the people behind the murder of her family. Then he might just be able to come home. The story is an amazing feat of imagination with innumerable I-didn't-see-that-coming moments. I found myself missing Richard and Door, Hunter and the Marquis when I wasn't listening to their tale and actually wishing myself back onto a Stagecoach bus so they could continue their journey! Gaiman writes well for realistic female characters and I do appreciate that, in his stories, women are rarely just adornments to male storylines. Indeed, in Neverwhere, the traditional male-female dynamic is almost totally reversed through Door and Richard.

Neverwhere is the fourth Neil Gaiman book I've listened to and he is definitely one of my favourite authors. I also love that he is an excellent narrator. Hearing an author read their own work means you know you're getting exactly the emphasis and tone they meant all the time. If you're looking for a book to read or hear soon, I highly recommend Neverwhere.