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Just read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, which had been on my list of books to read (the waffling list, where I want to read the books but don't trust them, so take forever to get around to actually reading them). I was in dire need of something to read over vacation, so made myself buy it.
Some thoughts (with spoilers, of course)...
First off, I liked this book. I wasn't blown away or awed, but it gave me plenty of reasons to keep reading.
What kept me reading was the world and the main character of Richard. I do love strange, whimsical worlds and love even more when an actual imagination is utilized to put the world together (as opposed to just going for a Lord of the Rings/Narnia knock-off world). The idea of worlds within worlds intrigues me, and I liked how this was a world right in front of our noses that we can't see. I was a bit iffy at first, didn't think it much of a world, but the more I read - the stranger the places became - the more I liked.
Characterization is a major selling point with me and books. I can't stand stories with one-dimensional characters there simply for the sake of having characters. While on the flip side I can't stand characters with personalities that drive me up the wall (i.e characters with personalities but personalities that repel me). Richard was the kind of character that was easy to relate to and sympathize with, because I felt he represented what any sane, normal, somewhat boring person would do when thrust into a crazy, upside down world against their will - they push on, while inside bawl their eyes out and contemplate giving up. He was three dimensional without being over the top in his personality, and he kept me reading.
Now for the cons of the story, or more specifically one big con. It's a trope I pretty much despise in most stories, so it's saying something that I kept reading despite this trope. The trope I'm talking about is when a normal, every day, living-a-simple-life protagonist is thrust (usually against his/her will) into a wild, far-out-there situation or world that he/she knows absolutely nothing about... and everyone gives them crap for their naivety. Here we have Richard, unassuming, with a job in London and a fiance, only to lose it all because he helps a strange girl (named Door) in need. In turn he is sucked into the world Door comes from, and he is looked down upon by the people he is forced to travel with, including the very girl he rescued.
Though we do eventually see sympathy and respect from Door, the way Richard is treated by the majority of the characters really irked me. Every question he asked, every attempt he made to understand this strange world was met with scorn, as though the questions he asked he should have already known the answers to. Metaphorically speaking, it was like watching someone who doesn't know how to swim, who has never been around water in their life, get shoved out of a boat and is expected to swim. But because he doesn't know how, he is sneered at and viewed as idiotic and pathetic. And the only character to show any real, honest to goodness outward sympathy toward Richard ends up biting it not long into the story (and it double sucked that I liked her, because she was interesting without being a snot).
I can understand the treatment Richard received from the Marquis - that's the way the guy is, self-serving, out to mostly help himself - and for that, and because he was wonderfully sardonic, it was easy to forgive him. Hunter was stoic, a Bad a**, and I'm assuming a lesbian to boot so I can understand why she acted the way she did (plus she had her moments. Not many, but a few). Although neither am I a fan of toughening up the women characters by emasculating the male characters. Annoys the crap out of me. But Door, Door I wanted to smack upside the head.
Now, the thing is, if Richard was meant to be perceived as the bumbling-type hero who eventually comes into his bravery/intelligence/whatever, I wasn't seeing it. To me, Richard was just an every day guy just trying to survive in an un-everyday world, and it bugged me that just because Richard wasn't from this un-everyday world, he was treated like an idiot.
All that said, it wasn't enough to turn me off of the book. It was close, but because I liked Richard and wanted to know what would happen to him, I kept reading. And I'm glad I did, because Richard has his awesome moments and they're good ones.
The ending, however... I had a feeling the story would end like it did, but even then, it didn't quite work for me. I mean, after some thought I understood why Richard made the decision he did, but my knee-jerk reaction was that his reasons for doing it weren't quite convincing enough (and seemed to have a bit of a negative veneer toward having a normal, everyday life). I wasn't sold on it, but neither did it break the story for me.
Some thoughts (with spoilers, of course)...
First off, I liked this book. I wasn't blown away or awed, but it gave me plenty of reasons to keep reading.
What kept me reading was the world and the main character of Richard. I do love strange, whimsical worlds and love even more when an actual imagination is utilized to put the world together (as opposed to just going for a Lord of the Rings/Narnia knock-off world). The idea of worlds within worlds intrigues me, and I liked how this was a world right in front of our noses that we can't see. I was a bit iffy at first, didn't think it much of a world, but the more I read - the stranger the places became - the more I liked.
Characterization is a major selling point with me and books. I can't stand stories with one-dimensional characters there simply for the sake of having characters. While on the flip side I can't stand characters with personalities that drive me up the wall (i.e characters with personalities but personalities that repel me). Richard was the kind of character that was easy to relate to and sympathize with, because I felt he represented what any sane, normal, somewhat boring person would do when thrust into a crazy, upside down world against their will - they push on, while inside bawl their eyes out and contemplate giving up. He was three dimensional without being over the top in his personality, and he kept me reading.
Now for the cons of the story, or more specifically one big con. It's a trope I pretty much despise in most stories, so it's saying something that I kept reading despite this trope. The trope I'm talking about is when a normal, every day, living-a-simple-life protagonist is thrust (usually against his/her will) into a wild, far-out-there situation or world that he/she knows absolutely nothing about... and everyone gives them crap for their naivety. Here we have Richard, unassuming, with a job in London and a fiance, only to lose it all because he helps a strange girl (named Door) in need. In turn he is sucked into the world Door comes from, and he is looked down upon by the people he is forced to travel with, including the very girl he rescued.
Though we do eventually see sympathy and respect from Door, the way Richard is treated by the majority of the characters really irked me. Every question he asked, every attempt he made to understand this strange world was met with scorn, as though the questions he asked he should have already known the answers to. Metaphorically speaking, it was like watching someone who doesn't know how to swim, who has never been around water in their life, get shoved out of a boat and is expected to swim. But because he doesn't know how, he is sneered at and viewed as idiotic and pathetic. And the only character to show any real, honest to goodness outward sympathy toward Richard ends up biting it not long into the story (and it double sucked that I liked her, because she was interesting without being a snot).
I can understand the treatment Richard received from the Marquis - that's the way the guy is, self-serving, out to mostly help himself - and for that, and because he was wonderfully sardonic, it was easy to forgive him. Hunter was stoic, a Bad a**, and I'm assuming a lesbian to boot so I can understand why she acted the way she did (plus she had her moments. Not many, but a few). Although neither am I a fan of toughening up the women characters by emasculating the male characters. Annoys the crap out of me. But Door, Door I wanted to smack upside the head.
Now, the thing is, if Richard was meant to be perceived as the bumbling-type hero who eventually comes into his bravery/intelligence/whatever, I wasn't seeing it. To me, Richard was just an every day guy just trying to survive in an un-everyday world, and it bugged me that just because Richard wasn't from this un-everyday world, he was treated like an idiot.
All that said, it wasn't enough to turn me off of the book. It was close, but because I liked Richard and wanted to know what would happen to him, I kept reading. And I'm glad I did, because Richard has his awesome moments and they're good ones.
The ending, however... I had a feeling the story would end like it did, but even then, it didn't quite work for me. I mean, after some thought I understood why Richard made the decision he did, but my knee-jerk reaction was that his reasons for doing it weren't quite convincing enough (and seemed to have a bit of a negative veneer toward having a normal, everyday life). I wasn't sold on it, but neither did it break the story for me.
