Neverwhere

Author:   Neil Gaiman
Publisher: HarperTorch

Publish Date: 2001
Pages: 370
ISBN No.: 0-380-78901-9
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Sub Genre:
Reader’s Annotation: 
Richard Mayhew ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London Above, as he embarks on a journey into dark and dangerous subterranean London Below.
Summary:
A young businessman, Richard Mayhew finds a girl on a London sidewalk, bleeding and being the good hearted soul that he is stops to come to her aid. and a dull job.  This act of kindness changes his life is forever. He finds himself drawn from his dull job, thrust into an alternate reality that survives in abandoned subway stations beneath the city among a subterranean labyrinth of sewer canals. It is a world that he never dreamed existed. A shroud of a city lost in darkness with its forgotten people, places, and times.  Richard has discovered a dark subculture that flourishes in its own world, stranger and more dangerous than he could ever imagine.   He has descended through the cracks of reality and has landed in Neverwhere.
Evaluation:
This book starts out very well.  Gaiman's writing keeps the reader interested and wanting more. He offers characters with diverse personalities, dialects and tones.  The underground setting emerges as a house of mystery and imagination.  This book however, is not a good book to read before bedtime as the prose may just embed itself in your subconscious mind coming to life in your dreams.
Why I Would Include It:
I would include this book because it is a very good example of urban fantasy and would appeal to that segment of readers who are familiar with this genre.
Rating: 3