Neverwhere Group Read The Conclusion

This is the conclusion to the Neverwhere Group Read which picks up from Chapter 13 and continues on to the end.  (You can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here.)  There are no questions, just my thoughts on these final chapters and what I think of the characters.  It will still contain spoilers, so proceed with caution if you have not read or finished reading the book.  Also, this is a pretty weak wrap up from me but here it is...

When Chapter 13 begins, Richard has passed the final test of the Black Friars and the key is now in their possession.  All that's left is to give it to the angel Islington.  Along the journey there are betrayals, revelations and a final showdown when Door learns the truth and the angel Islington isn't as nice as he seemed.


I was surprised that it was Islington who had Door’s family killed, leaving her to get the key and open the door that would release him.  His motives make sense but I didn't see it coming.  I haven't decided if that was a good thing or not.  Door must have seen it coming considering she was clever enough to have a copy of the key made as a backup plan if they were betrayed.  But I wish I could care more about her, her journey and finding her sister who is supposedly still alive.  I really have no other feelings for Door.  I didn't find her interesting at all, though I suppose her odd layers of clothes was supposed to make her so.

I am glad the marquis de Carabas survived and he’s up to his usual tricks, now that apparently Door owes him a favor.  I was hoping there was some kind of London Below magic that would bring him back and it did.

I was disappointed with the twist that Hunter was bribed by Croup and Vandemar.  And disappointed again when she faced the beast and was taken down so quickly.  I wasn’t disappointed in Hunter, the character’s choice, just the way it was set up in the story.  I mean, what did she do?  She delivered Door to Islington, which is what they were doing anyways, right?  Islington asked for the key, they were bringing it to him.  I also didn’t like that it was Richard who then killed the beast.  Hunter has been killing strange, mythical creatures all along.  She has the training and the drive and this guy who was crying on a plank kills it?

I don’t know.  It’s been down, up and back down for me with this book.  I honestly haven’t thought much about it after I finished it.  I wish I could have enjoyed it more but there just wasn’t enough there for me to care much for the characters I should have cared for.  And the final scene when Islington’s motives were revealed just felt so dull.  But this comes after finishing Railsea which, to me, had a great conclusion with some great action near the end that had me tense with excitement.  I didn’t get that with Neverwhere.  But this won’t stop me reading more Neil Gaiman.


I've had these up and down experiences when reading the short stories in Fragile Things.   And the way I feel about Neverwhere is the same I way I felt after finishing American Gods.  A friend described that some of Neil Gaiman’s work is like an itch you can’t quite scratch.  I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that makes me not enjoy some of these stories like others can.  But I did enjoy Anansi Boys and look forward to reading Coraline, The Graveyard Book and Stardust in the future.

I also did enjoy reading the thoughts of others who participated in the group read.  For their insight on Neverwhere, check them out here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Conclusion