Carmen's Reviews > Neverwhere
Neverwhere (London Below, #1)
by
by
Carmen's review
bookshelves: fiction, fantasy, traditionally-published, he-says, british-author, published1996, 2018-book-lover-s-desk-calendar
Nov 22, 2013
bookshelves: fiction, fantasy, traditionally-published, he-says, british-author, published1996, 2018-book-lover-s-desk-calendar
Richard had noticed that events were cowards: they didn't occur singly, but instead they would run in packs and leap out at him all at once.
This is a very well-written and predictable book by Neil Gaiman.
Richard is an office drone.
Of course he is.
And he's dating a go-getting, beautiful woman who doesn't love him for what he is, but sees "potential" and dreams about the man she can turn him into. You know the type. Scarlett Johansson from DON JON.
And he's miserable, but pretends he's happy because... she's beautiful, I guess? Our first clue that he's a moron.
And he's an orphan.
Of course he is.
One day, which seemed just like every other ordinary day, he and Girlfriend are walking to an important dinner with Important People whom Girlfriend really really wants to impress, when Richard stumbles upon a filthy, skinny young woman in rags who is bleeding profusely.
Girlfriend is not sympathetic but Richard shows mercy
Of course he does
...and takes her back to his apartment where he tends to her wounds.
She is not from this world, but from another world, a darker and more dangerous world, hidden right beneath London's surface....
Of course. I know where this is going...
And she's some sort of princess or something....
Of course...
...
I am unsure if I have simply read too many books.
Too many books, or too many books by the talented Mr. Gaiman, but either way I saw 99% of the plot coming from 10 miles off.
Gaiman was constantly trying to shock me and surprise me. I was neither shocked nor surprised.
And I'm starting to think that Gaiman has just one plot, a plot that he uses over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again in each novel/story.
I've gotten used to his preferences. Like hidden worlds full of sinister and quirky characters. Orphans. Evil bad guys who talk and dress as if they are Victorian gentleman and are always referred to in some respectful way.
I'm not slamming Gaiman. He's an excellent storyteller - excellent. The book was fun, quick, and had great world-building. If only I hadn't seen all the characters before. If only I hadn't heard all the details of the plot before. I was disappointed in how little Gaiman was able to surprise me or interest me here.
PLUSES:
- If it's your first Gaiman book, you'll probably be blown away.
- Wonderful rat characters who are cute and charming.
- Amazing world-building.
- On-point dialogue, fun characters, a breezy, action-adventure movie type feel with that special Gaiman dark-but-not-really-dark feel thrown in.
- Is able to maintain a "dark fairytale" feel while included things like the word "fuck" and used condom wrappers.
- Good ideas that he works into his writing, such as:
When he had first arrived, he had found London huge, odd, fundamentally incomprehensible, with only the Tube map, that elegant multicolored topographical display of underground railway lines and stations, giving it any semblance of order. Gradually he realized that the Tube map was a handy fiction that made life easier but bore no resemblance to the reality of the shape of the city above. It was like belonging to a political party, he thought once, proudly, and then, having tried to explain the resemblance between the Tube map and politics, at a party, to a cluster of bewildered strangers, he had decided in the future to leave political comment to others.
Or what about this:
He continued, slowly, by a process of osmosis and white knowledge (which is like white noise, only more useful), to comprehend the city,...
Isn't that interesting? It's such an interesting idea.
- Sometimes Gaiman is genuinely funny, usually when he's discussing sex.
The thin girl was gulping down one of Richard's bananas in what was, Richard reflected, the least erotic display of banana-eating he had ever seen.
Or how about this, this cracked me up:
A late-night couple, who had been slowly walking along the Embankment toward them, holding hands, sat down in the middle of the bench, between Richard and Anaestheisa, and commenced to kiss each other, passionately. "Excuse me," said Richard to them. The man had his hand inside the woman's sweater and was moving it around enthusiastically, a lone traveler discovering an unexplored continent. "I want my life back," Richard told the couple.
"I love you," said the man to the woman.
"But your wife - "she said, licking the side of his face.
"Fuck her," said the man.
"Don' wanna fuck HER," said the woman, and she giggled, drunkenly. "Wanna fuck YOU..." She put a hand on his crotch and giggled some more.
I found this very funny.
MINUSES:
- Pathetic man-child hero who is supposed to go from zero to hero, but instead goes from zero to perhaps a zero-point-five. Starts off as a worthless noodle, ends up being a worthless potato. Slightly harder, more nutritious, but basically still brainless and not worth much.
- The book is very predictable.
- The book, being a "dark fairy tale" like the majority of Gaiman's books, can be a little cutesy and trite at times.
- Gaiman often tries too hard. I found his evil Victorian gentleman villains to be a LITTLE too dramatic and over-the-top for my tastes. It's just...
It was too consistent, to steady and inexorable a walk to be described as a stroll: Death walked like Mr. Vandemar.
Oh, yes. He walked like death. Uh-huh. Please make some attempt to control yourself, Mr. Gaiman. I can handle the sharp teeth and long black coats and eating pigeons and all that other crap, but there has to be some end to the hyperbole, surely?
- Not only does he try too hard in the writing (occasionally) but some of the jokes are just... COME ON. We have De Carabas stealing candy from a baby at one point. LITERALLY. Stealing candy from a baby. Isn't that a bit much? I think it's a bit much. There's no other reason to do it than to show what kind of man De Carabas is.
This is the kind of thing I'm dealing with here.
Or "Mind the Gap." You know, that sign by the train that says, "Mind the gap"? And in this book the "gap" is actually this wraith-like thing that comes out of that space and tries to kill you or eat you or something.
You know. Like Alice in Wonderland jokes. There's a lot of Alice in Wonderland type jokes in here.
You should see how Gaiman takes paragraphs (PARAGRAPHS) to lovingly and carefully set up a "the penny has dropped" joke. It's... Well... Not too funny, IMO.
Or what about when Gaiman has Richard go up to Jessica, and - to prove that he knows her - say,
"You're Jessica Bartram. You're a marketing executive at Stocktons. You're twenty-six. Your birthday is April the 23rd, and in the throes of extreme passion you have a tendency to hum the Monkees song "I'm a Believer"...."
Listen, I see what Gaiman is trying to do. He thinks that a woman who hums "I'm a Believer" when she's having sex is funny. But the whole idea is ludicrous. If you are "in the throes of extreme passion" you should be unable to hum anything. Or, ideally, be unable to even form coherent thought. The whole idea is ridiculous to the point where it wasn't funny to me.
You think THAT'S ridiculous in a book about beasts living in sewers and angels and vampires and etc.?
Yes.
Okay. Weirdo.
- The ending. I mean, SO PREDICTABLE. The (view spoiler)
But perhaps what upsets me most about the ending is that he's supposed to be transformed from a man-child or a pasty untested office drone or a slave to the Matrix or what-have-you into a strong, capable, competent man and I just DID NOT BUY this. I'm not buying it. Not to mention that I'm still EXTREMELY angry with Richard for (view spoiler) Fucking hell, it was like he didn't even... I mean, fuck. He should have DONE SOMETHING. He just accepted (view spoiler) like it was nothing. Am I supposed to be OKAY with this shit? Am I supposed to be okay that he didn't fight for her? No, I'm not okay with this. Fuck that.
- Oh, and he's a moron. Richard is a huge moron throughout the book. And he never gets any smarter. To my intense dismay. I find it hard to respect or admire someone so stupid.
...
Tl;dr - In conclusion: An excellent story wonderfully told by a master storyteller.
Unfortunately, due to me having read too many books or perhaps too many books by this particular author, I was not as impressed as I had hoped to be.
Still, a great dark fairy tale with rich and deep worldbuilding and fascinating ideas.
This is a very well-written and predictable book by Neil Gaiman.
Richard is an office drone.
Of course he is.
And he's dating a go-getting, beautiful woman who doesn't love him for what he is, but sees "potential" and dreams about the man she can turn him into. You know the type. Scarlett Johansson from DON JON.
And he's miserable, but pretends he's happy because... she's beautiful, I guess? Our first clue that he's a moron.
And he's an orphan.
Of course he is.
One day, which seemed just like every other ordinary day, he and Girlfriend are walking to an important dinner with Important People whom Girlfriend really really wants to impress, when Richard stumbles upon a filthy, skinny young woman in rags who is bleeding profusely.
Girlfriend is not sympathetic but Richard shows mercy
Of course he does
...and takes her back to his apartment where he tends to her wounds.
She is not from this world, but from another world, a darker and more dangerous world, hidden right beneath London's surface....
Of course. I know where this is going...
And she's some sort of princess or something....
Of course...
...
I am unsure if I have simply read too many books.
Too many books, or too many books by the talented Mr. Gaiman, but either way I saw 99% of the plot coming from 10 miles off.
Gaiman was constantly trying to shock me and surprise me. I was neither shocked nor surprised.
And I'm starting to think that Gaiman has just one plot, a plot that he uses over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again in each novel/story.
I've gotten used to his preferences. Like hidden worlds full of sinister and quirky characters. Orphans. Evil bad guys who talk and dress as if they are Victorian gentleman and are always referred to in some respectful way.
I'm not slamming Gaiman. He's an excellent storyteller - excellent. The book was fun, quick, and had great world-building. If only I hadn't seen all the characters before. If only I hadn't heard all the details of the plot before. I was disappointed in how little Gaiman was able to surprise me or interest me here.
PLUSES:
- If it's your first Gaiman book, you'll probably be blown away.
- Wonderful rat characters who are cute and charming.
- Amazing world-building.
- On-point dialogue, fun characters, a breezy, action-adventure movie type feel with that special Gaiman dark-but-not-really-dark feel thrown in.
- Is able to maintain a "dark fairytale" feel while included things like the word "fuck" and used condom wrappers.
- Good ideas that he works into his writing, such as:
When he had first arrived, he had found London huge, odd, fundamentally incomprehensible, with only the Tube map, that elegant multicolored topographical display of underground railway lines and stations, giving it any semblance of order. Gradually he realized that the Tube map was a handy fiction that made life easier but bore no resemblance to the reality of the shape of the city above. It was like belonging to a political party, he thought once, proudly, and then, having tried to explain the resemblance between the Tube map and politics, at a party, to a cluster of bewildered strangers, he had decided in the future to leave political comment to others.
Or what about this:
He continued, slowly, by a process of osmosis and white knowledge (which is like white noise, only more useful), to comprehend the city,...
Isn't that interesting? It's such an interesting idea.
- Sometimes Gaiman is genuinely funny, usually when he's discussing sex.
The thin girl was gulping down one of Richard's bananas in what was, Richard reflected, the least erotic display of banana-eating he had ever seen.
Or how about this, this cracked me up:
A late-night couple, who had been slowly walking along the Embankment toward them, holding hands, sat down in the middle of the bench, between Richard and Anaestheisa, and commenced to kiss each other, passionately. "Excuse me," said Richard to them. The man had his hand inside the woman's sweater and was moving it around enthusiastically, a lone traveler discovering an unexplored continent. "I want my life back," Richard told the couple.
"I love you," said the man to the woman.
"But your wife - "she said, licking the side of his face.
"Fuck her," said the man.
"Don' wanna fuck HER," said the woman, and she giggled, drunkenly. "Wanna fuck YOU..." She put a hand on his crotch and giggled some more.
I found this very funny.
MINUSES:
- Pathetic man-child hero who is supposed to go from zero to hero, but instead goes from zero to perhaps a zero-point-five. Starts off as a worthless noodle, ends up being a worthless potato. Slightly harder, more nutritious, but basically still brainless and not worth much.
- The book is very predictable.
- The book, being a "dark fairy tale" like the majority of Gaiman's books, can be a little cutesy and trite at times.
- Gaiman often tries too hard. I found his evil Victorian gentleman villains to be a LITTLE too dramatic and over-the-top for my tastes. It's just...
It was too consistent, to steady and inexorable a walk to be described as a stroll: Death walked like Mr. Vandemar.
Oh, yes. He walked like death. Uh-huh. Please make some attempt to control yourself, Mr. Gaiman. I can handle the sharp teeth and long black coats and eating pigeons and all that other crap, but there has to be some end to the hyperbole, surely?
- Not only does he try too hard in the writing (occasionally) but some of the jokes are just... COME ON. We have De Carabas stealing candy from a baby at one point. LITERALLY. Stealing candy from a baby. Isn't that a bit much? I think it's a bit much. There's no other reason to do it than to show what kind of man De Carabas is.
This is the kind of thing I'm dealing with here.
Or "Mind the Gap." You know, that sign by the train that says, "Mind the gap"? And in this book the "gap" is actually this wraith-like thing that comes out of that space and tries to kill you or eat you or something.
You know. Like Alice in Wonderland jokes. There's a lot of Alice in Wonderland type jokes in here.
You should see how Gaiman takes paragraphs (PARAGRAPHS) to lovingly and carefully set up a "the penny has dropped" joke. It's... Well... Not too funny, IMO.
Or what about when Gaiman has Richard go up to Jessica, and - to prove that he knows her - say,
"You're Jessica Bartram. You're a marketing executive at Stocktons. You're twenty-six. Your birthday is April the 23rd, and in the throes of extreme passion you have a tendency to hum the Monkees song "I'm a Believer"...."
Listen, I see what Gaiman is trying to do. He thinks that a woman who hums "I'm a Believer" when she's having sex is funny. But the whole idea is ludicrous. If you are "in the throes of extreme passion" you should be unable to hum anything. Or, ideally, be unable to even form coherent thought. The whole idea is ridiculous to the point where it wasn't funny to me.
You think THAT'S ridiculous in a book about beasts living in sewers and angels and vampires and etc.?
Yes.
Okay. Weirdo.
- The ending. I mean, SO PREDICTABLE. The (view spoiler)
But perhaps what upsets me most about the ending is that he's supposed to be transformed from a man-child or a pasty untested office drone or a slave to the Matrix or what-have-you into a strong, capable, competent man and I just DID NOT BUY this. I'm not buying it. Not to mention that I'm still EXTREMELY angry with Richard for (view spoiler) Fucking hell, it was like he didn't even... I mean, fuck. He should have DONE SOMETHING. He just accepted (view spoiler) like it was nothing. Am I supposed to be OKAY with this shit? Am I supposed to be okay that he didn't fight for her? No, I'm not okay with this. Fuck that.
- Oh, and he's a moron. Richard is a huge moron throughout the book. And he never gets any smarter. To my intense dismay. I find it hard to respect or admire someone so stupid.
...
Tl;dr - In conclusion: An excellent story wonderfully told by a master storyteller.
Unfortunately, due to me having read too many books or perhaps too many books by this particular author, I was not as impressed as I had hoped to be.
Still, a great dark fairy tale with rich and deep worldbuilding and fascinating ideas.
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Reading Progress
November 22, 2013
– Shelved
October 28, 2015
–
Started Reading
October 28, 2015
–
0.54%
"...he had a rumpled, just-woken-up look to him, which made him more attractive to the opposite sex than he would ever understand or believe."
page
2
October 28, 2015
–
2.16%
"When he had first arrived, he had found London huge, odd, fundamentally incomprehensible, with only the Tube map, that elegant multicolored topographical display of underground railway lines and stations, giving it any semblance of order. Gradually he realized that the Tube map was a handy fiction that made life easier but bore no resemblance to the reality of the shape of the city above...."
page
8
October 28, 2015
–
2.43%
"He continued, slowly, by a process of osmosis and white knowledge (which is like white noise, only more useful), to comprehend the city,..."
page
9
October 28, 2015
–
2.97%
"Richard's girlfriends sounds positively awful. I'll never understand why men put up with this shit."
page
11
October 28, 2015
–
3.51%
"Richard had noticed that events were cowards: they didn't occur singly, but instead they would run in packs and leap out at him all at once."
page
13
October 28, 2015
–
3.78%
"But he can't remember that she likes being called Jessica and hates being called Jess? That loses points with me. If this is supposed to endear me to the MC, it isn't doing so. It's very rude to call someone something they don't like to be called. This goes triple when that person is your GIRLFRIEND."
page
14
October 28, 2015
–
5.68%
"How Richard treats the homeless vs. how Jessica treats the homeless."
page
21
October 28, 2015
–
6.49%
"Homeless point hammered home pages 24 and 25 when Richard breaks his engagement with Jessica to carry a bloody and broken grimy homeless girl home with him."
page
24
October 28, 2015
–
12.16%
"Do you ever feel as if Neil Gaiman is just writing the same story over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again? Because I do. Quite frequently."
page
45
October 28, 2015
–
21.08%
"The thin girl was gulping down one of Richard's bananas in what was, Richard reflected, the least erotic display of banana-eating he had ever seen.
LOL"
page
78
LOL"
October 28, 2015
–
23.24%
"A late-night couple, who had been slowly walking along the Embankment toward them, holding hands, sat down in the middle of the bench, between Richard and Anaestheisa, and commenced to kiss each other, passionately. "Excuse me," said Richard to them. The man had his hand inside the woman's sweater and was moving it around enthusiastically, a lone traveler discovering an unexplored continent. "I want my life back,""
page
86
October 28, 2015
–
27.3%
"He turned, and standing there was a tall woman, with long, tawny hair, and skin the color of burnt caramel.
STOP. Stop, stop, stop. Nope."
page
101
STOP. Stop, stop, stop. Nope."
October 28, 2015
–
27.84%
"Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket, and China Miéville have quite a lot in common IMO."
page
103
October 28, 2015
–
28.65%
"Richard did not move. He felt numb. He found it hard to believe that the rat girl was gone - lost, or stolen, or strayed, or...
Good God, man. GO GET HER. Jeez Louise. Be a man and go get her. What the fuck are you doing?! Are you just going to ACCEPT THIS?!!?! Grow a spine!
I'm getting very angry."
page
106
Good God, man. GO GET HER. Jeez Louise. Be a man and go get her. What the fuck are you doing?! Are you just going to ACCEPT THIS?!!?! Grow a spine!
I'm getting very angry."
October 28, 2015
–
38.92%
"It was too consistent, to steady and inexorable a walk to be described as a stroll: Death walked like Mr. Vandemar.
Oh, please. DO try to control yourself, Mr. Gaiman."
page
144
Oh, please. DO try to control yourself, Mr. Gaiman."
October 28, 2015
–
43.24%
"De Carabas is nothing but a bully. Gaiman seems convinced that this is charming, I find it not in the least bit charming. I want to bash his head in."
page
160
October 28, 2015
–
51.62%
""You're Jessica Bartram. You're a marketing executive at Stocktons. You're twenty-six. Your birthday is April the 23rd, and in the throes of extreme passion you have a tendency to hum the Monkees song "I'm a Believer"...."
Oh, please, Mr. Gaiman. You're trying too hard again. Everyone knows that in the throes of extreme passion one would be unable to hum anything."
page
191
Oh, please, Mr. Gaiman. You're trying too hard again. Everyone knows that in the throes of extreme passion one would be unable to hum anything."
October 28, 2015
–
55.41%
"Richard felt his world spin.
He felt her heart beating against his chest. The moment began to transmute, and he wondered if there was something he should do. He wondered if he should kiss her. He wondered if he wanted to kiss her, and he realized that he truly did not know. He looked into her amazing eyes.
Uh-huh. Listen... I'm all for kissing, but didn't you say earlier she was 15 or 16?"
page
205
He felt her heart beating against his chest. The moment began to transmute, and he wondered if there was something he should do. He wondered if he should kiss her. He wondered if he wanted to kiss her, and he realized that he truly did not know. He looked into her amazing eyes.
Uh-huh. Listen... I'm all for kissing, but didn't you say earlier she was 15 or 16?"
October 28, 2015
–
56.76%
"I feel like Gaiman is trying to shock me over and over again, but really I find this all rather predictable.
Listen. Do I have a problem? I'm seriously thinking that perhaps I am too jaded or something. Could that be possible?"
page
210
Listen. Do I have a problem? I'm seriously thinking that perhaps I am too jaded or something. Could that be possible?"
October 28, 2015
–
58.11%
"She had given the Great Weasel's pelt to a girl who had caught her eye, and the girl had been appropriately grateful.
Hunter is a lesbian.
Oh there's a big surprise. That's an incredib- I think I'm going to have a heart attack and die from not surprised."
page
215
Hunter is a lesbian.
Oh there's a big surprise. That's an incredib- I think I'm going to have a heart attack and die from not surprised."
October 28, 2015
–
62.16%
"His skin was the dark brown of old mahogany.
Well, at least it's not food.
Remind me to discuss skin color in fantasy novels in my review."
page
230
Well, at least it's not food.
Remind me to discuss skin color in fantasy novels in my review."
October 28, 2015
–
65.68%
"Richard knew the new face: he had shaved it most weekday mornings since he had left school; he had brushed its teeth, combed its hair, and, on occasion, wished it looked more like Tom Cruise's, or John Lennon's...
Why anyone would want their face to look more like Tom Cruise's or John Lennon's is beyond my understanding. o.O"
page
243
Why anyone would want their face to look more like Tom Cruise's or John Lennon's is beyond my understanding. o.O"
October 28, 2015
–
68.11%
"Of course, there's only one important thing to do: stay alive. And there's only one person's opinion that matters: your own."
page
252
October 28, 2015
–
84.32%
"So far there has only been one surprise in this entire book. And this isn't one of them."
page
312
October 28, 2015
–
91.89%
"The abbot cleared his throat. "You are all very stupid people," he told them, graciously, "and you do not know anything at all.
No, only Richard is stupid. And he's proven that approximately 84 times since the beginning of the novel."
page
340
No, only Richard is stupid. And he's proven that approximately 84 times since the beginning of the novel."
October 28, 2015
–
97.03%
"And then the "stuck up bitch" crawls back to the man-child, begging him to marry her, and he's suddenly uninterested...
SO CLICHE.
Also, you are not a fucking man. Don't you dare call yourself a man. You let that girl die, you piece of shit. I still haven't forgiven you. DO YOU HEAR ME!?!!? I HAVEN'T FORGIVEN YOU, you are less than a man. LESS THAN A MAN."
page
359
SO CLICHE.
Also, you are not a fucking man. Don't you dare call yourself a man. You let that girl die, you piece of shit. I still haven't forgiven you. DO YOU HEAR ME!?!!? I HAVEN'T FORGIVEN YOU, you are less than a man. LESS THAN A MAN."
October 28, 2015
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 52 (52 new)
And being so merciful in his actions towards Door, but then not taking more action in regards to what happened to Anaesthesia really rubbed me the wrong way. I expected him to be more of a... to care more about human life.
Unrealistic? Perhaps. But that was my hope for him. Maybe he could have done nothing, perhaps she would have (view spoiler) but I wanted him to at least make some sort of attempt.
Or even after the bridge. Let's say he was too afraid to go back on the bridge. He had her bead. He could have contacted somebody, searched for her... SOMETHING. Snubbing the rat-speaker at the end because he (view spoiler) was not satisfying to me.
I don't need a muscle-bound macho guy, but I need someone who consistently places a high value on his friends' lives.
Just my thoughts. :) I knew I would get some pushback on this. He disappointed me.
I don't feel like he made any effort to find her or find out what exactly happened to her after the incident. I was upset. I wanted him to care more.
It's sad, really.
Still about midway through this one (hope to finish it today, but not likely...) so avoided the spoilers (I usually don't care and read them anyway). For now.
But do agree with you on several points. Just wanted to point out that bit above...
I agree with you about the cuteness - it's overwhelming at times. I think it works better in his children's literature like Coraline and The Graveyard Book.
He's not a bad author, I like him, but I can't say I worship at his alter or anything.
Sorry, couldn't resist! :P I'll add it, though :)
Thank you, Lily. I think if it were my first Gaiman, I would have had a more positive reaction - not that my reaction was bad! I gave it four stars. That's pretty high. :)
Thank you, Kelly!
Aw, thank you so much, Michael!
Sorry, couldn't resist! :P I'll add it, though :)"
Thanks, Markus! I think you might like it!
I think a lot of people feel this way, Lisa. :)
Thank you, guapo. I'm glad I'm not alone!
I'm a bit surprised you ended up settling on 4 stars, as much as you skewered it. :)
I feel for you. The overuse of tropes & predictable storylines can be really grating.
Yes, I was really debating how to rate this, but in the end I decided that even mediocre Gaiman is probably better than a lot of books.
I did find it predictable and rather shallow.
Starts off as a worthless noodle, ends up being a worthless potato. Slightly harder, more nutritious, but basically still brainless and not worth much.
True that you have to be in the right mood for some of the humor to work. The "stealing candy from a baby" and "penny has dropped" seem so funny out of context here. Sort of Chris Moore or Carl Hiaasen tactics to collide with anxieties over dangers in the plot. That feeling of "tries to hard" depends on mood at the time I guess. The feeling of him telling the same story each time is something Joseph Campbell would agree with. Different quirky elements along the journey give the different tales special charm (for me if I put a long time between books). Richard being basically an ordinary guy rising to the occasion helps me (and other readers) imagine myself in his place--it wouldn't pay to make him too heroic. I do get a lot from your picturing him as a moron and an evolved potato. :-)
I've had people tell me I'm being unfair, but I can't help expecting more from Richard.
Re:
"I am unsure if I have simply read too many books.
Too many books, or too many books by the talented Mr. Gaiman"
Given that the former is surely impossible, except perhaps in La Mancha, I suggest it's the latter.
of course
Thank you, Frankie! There are Gaiman novels I enjoy... and I enjoyed this one, but there were problems. To say the least.
I have read AMERICAN GODS, but not Anansi Boys. I have read GRAVEYARD BOOK but not OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE. So my Gaiman is patchy. But he's never (rarely) an "OMG, I love this!!!! Excitement!!!!!" author for me. A good one, sure. But perhaps not my personal Kryptonite.
Gaiman is a bit too nicey, nicey for me, but this was a pleasant enough diversion.
Gaiman is a bit too nicey, nicey for me, but this was a pleasant enough diversion."
Thank you, Kevin! :D
I really admired your trademark cut-up and incisive review once again and I can understand why you can think of the elements as predictable and obvious. The way you have described them is spot-on and astute and while I am yet to read it, I love the fact that, as in many of your reviews, your appreciative points are all very valid and they compel me to pick this up in my next reading session.
Since you are into Gaiman, I am tempted to ask you this: are you into Alan Moore too? I just thought of asking you this since both Moore and Gaiman were genre-busting talents in comics who then went on redefine literature and fantasy writing in their own ways. Of course, Gaiman feels more inclined towards the realms of fantasy while Moore has dabbled almost everything, from politics to occult, from historical fiction to satire, from body horror to social commentary, right down to sexuality.
I really admired your trademark cut-up and incisive review once again and I can understand why you can think of the elements as predictable and obvious. The way you have described them is spot-on and astute and while I am yet to read it, I love the fact that, as in many of your reviews, your appreciative points are all very valid and they compel me to pick this up in my next reading session.
Since you are into Gaiman, I am tempted to ask you this: are you into Alan Moore too? I just thought of asking you this since both Moore and Gaiman were genre-busting talents in comics who then went on redefine literature and fantasy writing in their own ways. Of course, Gaiman feels more inclined towards the realms of fantasy while Moore has dabbled almost everything, from politics to occult, from historical fiction to satire, from body horror to social commentary, right down to sexuality.
Thank you for your kind words, Zoeb. I don't think I've ever read anything by Moore. Perhaps I will check him out.
Sure, I will recommend a few books of his that I feel are quintessential.
Thank you, Chip!
Sara, I really enjoyed the book! I did not know about the miniseries! :) Thanks!
I think it was the first teleplay Gaiman wrote? Don't quote me on that. Very much worth watching. I own it on VHS because I am older than dirt.
LOL I'm sure you are not older than dirt. ;)
Thank you, Cecily! I see we rated this the same. :)
It is why I liked Richard. He had flaws. Massive flaws. That made him much more likeable than any teeth-achingly noble knight of high fantasy.
My personal favourite character though, was the Angel Islington. :)