An ordinary young man helps an injured girl and falls into London Below, a hidden city beneath the streets
The London beneath London
Richard Mayhew is a young Scottish businessman living an ordinary life in London. One evening he stops to help a mysterious, injured girl named Door, and the next day he discovers that he has become invisible to almost everyone. His job, apartment and fiancée are gone. To get his life back, he must follow Door into London Below, a dark, magical world hidden in the tunnels and forgotten places of the city.
Who will enjoy it
Fans of urban fantasy, dark fairy tales and London, and readers who enjoy Neil Gaiman's mix of wonder, humor and menace.
What you will get
An inventive, darkly funny urban fantasy that turns the London Underground into a magical world full of unforgettable characters and wordplay.
Neverwhere Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Fantasy · Urban fantasy · London · Hidden worlds
Length
400 pages · ≈ 12 h
More about this book
Gaiman developed the story alongside a BBC television series, and the novel expands it with his trademark mix of wit and darkness. London Below is a place where the names of London Above come alive: Knightsbridge becomes a terrifying Night's Bridge, Earl's Court is the court of an actual earl held in a subway car, and the Floating Market moves to a different location each time. Its people include rat-speakers, strange wanderers and the charming but untrustworthy Marquis de Carabas.
Door, a young noblewoman with the power to open any door, is trying to discover who murdered her family. She is pursued by Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, a pair of grotesquely polite and vicious assassins who are among Gaiman's most memorable villains. Richard joins Door, the Marquis and a mysterious bodyguard called Hunter, and must pass dangerous ordeals while slowly growing from a passive, timid man into a hero. The book has some violent and creepy moments, but its humor and imagination make it a delight.
Quick, funny and atmospheric, a great entry point to Gaiman's work. About 400 pages in the William Morrow paperback.
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Stardust
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Six of Crows