A Christian Review of Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

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I really thought I was safe. Amidst a sea of possible novels, all churning about me, calling to be read, Neverwhere called the loudest. I had seen it before when adventuring into the endless digital shelves that are Amazon, but I had passed it by because I didn’t know the author. This time, though, I looked at it a bit more closely. The description reads in part: Neverwhere is the story of Richard Mayhew, a young London businessman with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he discovers a girl bleeding on the sidewalk. He stops to help her—an act of kindness that plunges him into a world he never dreamed existed. I was intrigued, and, with over 2,000 reviews, I thought it would be a safe bet. Well, I was wrong. I barely made it 20% of the way into the book and simply had to put it down, so to speak, and move on. I even went so far as to delete it from my Amazon account. A few cuss words here and there, fine. Light romance, fine. Violence, yeah, I’m a gamer, so I can handle a lot. But references to intercourse and cheating spouses came to soon and too frequently for me. There is a genre for that kind of thing, but it needs to stay out of my fantasy books. If you can’t write without it, you aren’t a writer. Let’s skip from here to the review categories: The Foul-Mouth-O-Meter: The “F” word is used too frequently for me, especially since it is usually in reference to intercourse. The book doesn’t hold back on cuss words, but I have seen worse. Blood, Gore, and Violence: Two men have intended malice for a woman throughout the beginning of the book. They attack and hunt her. I didn’t get much further than that. Sexual Content: See the first category. I didn’t get very far, so be careful. A woman and man in a park were groping heavily when I put it down. Faith Based Implications: I don’t think faith or religion play a part in this, but I can’t really say. Age Recommendations: Don’t read it. You can do better. Overall Enjoyment Rating: Meh The writing was average, and the main character’s motivations were missing/ not-believable. Richard is super average and brainless. I have learned that a truly good character needs duality. This was the same author who wrote Stardust, which made an awesome movie, but I will not be taking a chance on him again. I don’t know why I am being so hard on this novel. Maybe it is simply because the writer tries to make up for a lack of skill with naughty asides in an attempt to make it seem gritty or to peak worldly interest. I don’t approve of it as a Christian read. Try Brandon Sanderson instead. Thanks for reading! Zach Larson Author at Living Words Press Have a question you want to ask? Leave a comment below or email me at Zach@livingwordspress.com. I want to know what type of post you would like to see from me next. P.S. Want more content right now? Sign up for my newsletter to receive bonus material, reviews and recommendations, pre-release goodies, and free stuff. Sign up now by going to my website: Livingwordspress.com. Just click the button to sign up. You don't have to purchase anything to sign up for the newsletter. Most of the content included in the newsletter is exclusive to subscribers, so don't miss out! Find out about all my current publications at Livingwordspress.com.
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