This is the second audiobook by Neil Gaiman in my collection, and I can see spending the rest of my Audible credits just on MORE.
Read by the author. I really think you get a lot more out of a book when it's read by the author, because the author knows the rhythm, the pace, the way the different characters should sound. It adds so much to the experience. And yeah, part of it is the accent ...
NEVERWHERE takes place in London, and underneath London, and there's some slipping through dimensions, and magic, and legend and ... I am in awe, okay? I want to write like him when I grow up.
My first taste of Gaiman's writing was when people were talking about THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. It was essentially THE JUNGLE BOOK, but instead of wolves, the baby is saved and raised by ghosts. So when I saw STARDUST in the Audible listing, I was sure I was in for a listening treat. NEVERWHERE just seals that certainty.
Richard Mayhew is one of those nice guys who are succeeding, but not really happy with their comfortable, secure lives. He has a fiance who is trying to improve him, and a job that just doesn't feed his soul. Then one day Door, an injured girl, lands on the sidewalk in front of him. Instead of stepping around her, Richard stops to help. His life doesn't just crumble from that point, it is taken away. Richard becomes one of those people who falls through the cracks, becomes essentially invisible -- he is tossed without warning into the world of London Below. He travels and takes risks and makes stupid mistakes when he doesn't learn quickly enough, and nearly gets himself killed, in his quest to get his life back.
This is one of those books where I created excuses to get in the car or do chores, so I could keep listening! What happens next? I NEED to know! Even as I'm cringing for the characters in some and spots and cheering in others and groaning in others. NEED to know, even as I'm sure it's not going to be pleasant.
THAT is the mark of a master storyteller. Lovely experience. More, please?
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