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Neil Gaiman's first novel is an occasionally shocking but frequently funny fantasy thriller set in a London you've never seen before. At the beginning of the book, Richard Mayhew, an utterly normal businessman living in a London not too far removed from our own, rescues a damsel in distress: Door, a lovely girl whose entire family has been murdered and who would dearly like to know by whom and what for. Richard would like to help Door, but in order to do so, he has to enter a world whose existence he never even suspected: London Below, a world consisting largely of sewers and tube stations and populated by larger-than-life characters, not all of whom are terribly welcoming. What follows is a delirious journey full of vivid characters, suspense, dark humour and blood-thirsty assassins.

Half the fun of Neverwhere lies in its familiarity -- the way in which Door's bizarre London Below overlaps with the city as we know it. Gaiman has a lot of fun inventing alternative histories for existing London Underground stations, turning household names which most people never give a second thought into actual characters. He also comes up with an interesting interpretation of the endless reminder to "Mind the gap" with which any visitor to the London Underground will be familiar. What with all these specific London references, the book is funnier for readers who actually know the city, but there's plenty left for those who don't. Gaiman is a great story-teller, and the yarn he spins here is quite enjoyable. One thing is certain: after reading this book, you'll never look at a tube station in the same way again.