Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Hi, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for Neil Gaiman's preferred author's edition of Neverwhere.

Now, I rarely ever get time for rereading; my plate is pretty much always full. But when given the opportunity to hop on board with this tour I realized that back when I originally read Neverwhere, I didn't actually cover it here on the blog. So this seemed like a prime opportunity to remedy that and dive back into a beloved favorite!

Richard Mayhew is a normal everyday guy and is completely fine with that. But when he meets a girl in need of help, a damsel in distress, all of that changes. He takes her in, lets her stay for the night, and helps her on her way the following morning. 

Unfortunately his stint as good samaritan turns his world upside down. Now, no one remembers Richard. It's as if he never existed! He's got no job, no money, his apartment is being leased out from under him, and, worst of all, his fiancee has no idea who he is. And the last thing the girl said to him before she left him that morning was a remorseful sorry. An apology for this, Richard realizes. Now, if he's to have any hope of setting things right, he'll have to track her down. But finding one girl in all of London with very few clues to go on certainly wouldn't be easy under normal circumstances. And this girl is anything but normal.

Anyone who's ever read Gaiman knows his work is some of the most brilliantly conceived and realized prose out there. His ability to create worlds that are vivid and wholly unique, worlds that draw you in and wrap you up inside of them, worlds that are peopled by characters and history that are massive in scope and so completely real that to leave them behind is almost painful, is impressive beyond words. Gaiman inspires readers and writers everywhere with his stories and creations and this is why.

Neverhwere is a bright and shining example of this talent. A tale set in modern day London (and below) that's full of whimsy and magic. It's essentially, and I've said this before, a fairy tale for adults.

Interestingly, Neverwhere is often credited as the first urban fantasy. It's also, I was surprised to find out when I originally read it, Gaiman's debut novel. Sure, he'd paired with Terry Pratchett prior to this for Good Omens, but amazingly this was actually his very first novel on his own. And it didn't begin life as a novel at all, but a mini-series Gaiman wrote for BBC.

If you've never read Neverwhere, now is a great time. And if you've read it before, revisiting the story in this edition is definitely recommended. Not only does the "Author's Preferred Text" include the short story "How the Marquis Got His Coat Back," it also includes a previously cut second prologue (introducing Croup and Vandemar). And of course it's the "Author's Preferred Text" meaning there's bits and pieces that are different than the previous edition. Why the tinkering? Well, as Gaiman explains in the intro, there was a UK edition then a rewritten US edition, and this one combines the two, minus redundancies, for what Gaiman considers a definitive new edition.

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Neil Gaiman and his work you can visit his website here. You can also like him on Facebook and follow him on Tumblr and Twitter.

Purchase Links: HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble