Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

“Young man," he said, "understand this: there are two Londons. There's London Above―that's where you lived―and then there's London Below―the Underside―inhabited by the people who fell through the cracks in the world. Now you're one of them. Good night.” Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere

“Somehow, this was one oddity too many. He could accept "Mind the Gap" and the Earl's Court, and even the strange library. But damn it, like all Londoners, he knew his Tube map, and this was going too far. "There isn't a British Museum Station," said Richard, firmly.” Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere


Richard Mayhew is an ordinary Scot living and working in London. He is so ordinary in fact, that he's boring. He works, he goes home, he goes out with his tempestuous fiancée and then starts that all again, day in, day out. He is also a very simple man. He is not particularly assertive, brave, brash or short-tempered. 

One night, walking with his fiancée to have dinner with her boss, he happens to catch out of the corner of his eye an injured girl. Richard cannot leave the bleeding girl and picks her up and takes her home although his fiancée is outraged. 

Nursing the girl back to health he suddenly realises that things are no longer as they were. Two strange looking men march in to his apartment looking for a girl named 'Door', suddenly his friends and family have no idea who he is... and to top it all off his landlord walks in to his flat with new tenants. 

Unable to live in the real London he is pulled kicking and screaming in to 'London Below' the fantastical London that thrives through the underground. Richard is pulled in to a quest, and whilst trying to go back to his old life, finds himself instead.

The Audiobook
This audiobook is narrated by Neil Gaiman himself. I'll be honest, when I downloaded the book from Audible I was cynical. I thought that this was going to be an author with a big ego convinced that he'd do the voices better than anybody else. I kinda feel embarrassed. I obviously had not done enough research as I had no idea that Gaiman has narrated lots and lots of books. I'd also like to add that he was pretty spectacular! He was well paced, the differentiation between the voices were awesome and even his Scottish accent was excellent!

The Story
This is my first Gaiman novel, and I imagine it'll probably be my last. That sounds like such a negative way to start, but I don't mean it in a negative way in the least.


The novel falls under the 'Urban-Fantasy' genre. Gaiman understands fantasy. He does not feel obliged to go the high-fantasy route, what with giants and fairies, instead he turns something as mundane as the London underground in to something animated and literal. 

It seems silly to say 'literal' when talking about fantasy - but here, let me explain. Each underground station has a different name. He takes those names and forged characters out of them i.e. Earls Court in to the 'Earl's Court', and has a subway train home to the Earl and his court. There's a district in London called 'The Angel, Islington' and lo and behold one of Gaiman's main characters is 'Angel Islington'. I really enjoyed this play on words, I found it witty and comical, and a homage to London.

It's worth noting that you can
also read this as a Graphic Novel!

Although the book is quite witty the protagonist is soooooo annoying, and soooo boring. He's the most unlikeable character in history. He was unsympathetic and just generally wimpy and whiny. In fact, he reminded me a lot of Arthur Dent from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and not in a good way considering that I didn't particularly enjoy that book.

The storyline is pretty slow as well. I had to drag myself through it kicking and screaming, and luckily, because it was in audiobook form I could do that, if it had been paper and ink though, I don't think I would have been able to finish it. It finally picked up speed in the last two hours of the audiobook and that is when I found myself finally enjoying the writing and the storyline.

Although both Gaiman or his books will never be favourites of mine, I am pretty certain that for some, his books are on par with Terry Pratchett's fantasy works. If you're a fan of Alice in Wonderland and want a new spin on it, this may just be the book for you! Also, if you liked The Hitchhiker's books I think you'll love this! It exhibits the same wit, comedy and joy. It's worth a try! You may discover a new found love!


Have you read this book? What did you think? Have I missed something? Let me know what you thought/think right here or over on Twitter @OrisiB



P.s. I do plan on watching the dramatisation... OH, OH, OH and if you're a James McAvoy fan I do believe they've put together an all-star cast to narrate the book on BBC 4, so check it out!

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

“But the plans were on display …”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.” Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The first time I had ever heard of this book, I believe I was about thirteen years old. I was at my then best-friend's house and she'd made a comment in the effect of 
    'My dad is reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'
    'Oh?' I had replied,
    'He said it is really funny'
    'Oh, so it's fictional?' Said I. She peered at me over her magazine with a quizzical look upon her face and that's all I really recall.

So, after I finished Macbeth: A Novel recently - I honestly felt emotionally drained and slightly uncomfortable, and couldn't bear the thought of going straight on to something that could be as intense, or serious as Macbeth had been. Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy popped in to my head, and I downloaded it from Audible and got to listening. 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was written by Douglas Adams and originally had been a comedic radio show on one of the BBC stations. It begins with poor, old, average Arthur Dent when he wakes up one morning forgetting that his house is supposed to be knocked down that day to make room for a bypass. What transpires is something much bigger - his best friend, Ford Prefect, suddenly turns up, spouting that the world is about to end, and that he is saving Arthur Dent. Poor old earth is being vaporised to make room for an intergalactic bypass. Well, that's pretty much it really. He and Ford just kind of spend the rest of the book hitch-hiking around until Arthur finds out the very odd truth about our humble blue planet. 

The Audiobook
One of my favourite narrators is the reader of this short book; the one, the only Stephen Fry of course. I'd previously listened to Fry reading his book The Fry Chronicles, which was simply brilliant. I've been, and still am a mahoosive Fry fan, I can't help it, I love the guy - and after listening to this book, there really could have been no other narrator who would have been able to do it justice as Fry did. He was brilliant, well paced, with great articulation (am I fawning too much?), haha, too bad I'm not a big fan of the book itself - but truly, if it wasn't for Stephen Fry's narration I wouldn't have persevered with the book.

The Story
As I mentioned earlier I read this for ... well... comic relief! I'd left Macbeth feeling a little disturbed, and well, needed a palate cleanser, and well, a long came this one.

So, what did I think? I wasn't impressed if I am honest. There were parts that were brilliantly ironic, that were funny and that were just odd. And to be honest it all smelt and tasted quintessentially British - which I could appreciate (add to the fact that Stephen Fry was narrating it) greatly. But - there just seemed to be a lot missing. For instance... I just didn't really feel for the characters, I understand that it is a comedy, but still, I still want to care what happens to the characters. It was just all very random - which I am sure it is supposed to be, but I just couldn't suspend belief and just enjoy it... I was too busy thinking 'hold on.. what's going on now?'

I would also pause the book thinking 'am I just not posh enough for this?', 'is this just for upper-middle class people', 'am I not the right generation for this?', 'is my humour too low-brow for this nonsense?' - I kid you not, I really did ask myself every single one of those questions, and none of them were answered, and, in all honestly... I was relieved when I finished it. 

I believe, in my stunted way, that Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series must have some sort of Marmite effect around the world... some people love it, and I am sure that some people are repelled by it. 

Sorry Mr. Adams. Forgive me. I'm sure you were awesome. And your work is still bringing joy and giggles to many people. But. Well. I just didn't get it. And you're a British treasure - I know. I just... couldn't connect. Sorry. 
P.s. I tried to watch the film and stopped about twenty minutes in. Sorry. I didn't get that either.

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Macbeth: A Novel - A. J. Hartley and David Hewson

“And still you'll hesitate to tell him, won't you? Why? Because you're a woman? Is your destiny such a small thing then? To keep your legs open and your mouth shut?” Macbeth: A Novel - A.J Hartley and David Hewson

Well good morning! I guess you may have thought that I'd forgotten all about you, but I hadn't. I actually just got back from holiday. And lucky for me, I took a few books and audiobooks to pass some of my spare time. 

So, Macbeth: A Novel has been on my to-read pile for a very long time. And I did it, I finally got around to reading it. 
This is pretty much the same story as Shakespeare's Macbeth, and it pays homage to his genius, whilst also using historical facts and records to cushion out the story. The writers (one of which is a professor of Shakespeare) unashamedly twist and change things - using their own creativity to make the story eerie and uncomfortable; and uncomfortable it most certainly is. 

It follows the same story - pretty much. Macbeth is a warrior, fighting for Duncan, the King. He and Skener Macbeth (Lady Macbeth has a name!) then decide that Macbeth is pretty much deserving of his crown, and so when King Duncan is invited to his castle for a feast... they both murder him, this in turn destroys both their relationship and their consciences. Macbeth falls to to paranoia, becoming dependent on predictions made by three witches... one an old crone, another a giant woman, and the third, a woman in a young girl's body.

This all culminates to the same ends as they do in Shakespeare's Macbeth, except we have detailed prose rather than actors doing all the work!

The Audiobook

Alan Cumming is the narrator of this novel and a fine one he is. He manages to differentiate between all the different characters flawlessly, and his female voices aren't too odd either - which is a nice change when it comes to male narrators. I think the nicest touch was that they actually had a Scot narrate the story, giving a touch of believability that is needed in the narration of a story such as this one. 

The production was nicely done as well, and we even get to hear the voices of the authors both at the beginning and at the end of the story giving details in to the creative process that went in to writing Macbeth: A Novel.

The Story
The prose is full of Scotland. That may sound silly but it's true. Sprawling, vicious and beautiful landscapes that directly impose themselves upon the characters. There is also a lot of pathetic fallacy, personification and an abundance of gothic conventions that just make this story - quite simply - beautifully written.

Hartley and Hewson do a pretty brilliant job of characterising Skener and Macbeth in such a way that as a reader you do really like them, and empathise the silly mistakes they make. Macbeth's paranoia becomes uncomfortable, not because we think him mad, but because his madness is a result from his fall from grace. Hartley and Hewson seduce us in the first few scenes, Macbeth and Skener having lovely characters and morals - and then we see the temptation, the action, the fall, and the decline. It is the love that Macbeth and Skener have for one another that when it self-destructs it is pitiful. 

There is all sorts in this book. There's murder, misogyny, feminism, sex, violence, paedophilia, rape, infanticide, crime, conspiracy, war, regicide, magic, mystery and romance - and all are developed and explored in a way that can really make the reader uncomfortable - but also, at times, was able to give respite to audiences.

The narrative is intense, as are the characters, and so for me, I really had to take short breaks as I could feel myself becoming a little overwhelmed. 

There were times that I could feel myself rolling my eyes and saying to myself 'this is a book for men' - haha, sexist... I know. I just found that a lot of the fight scenes were just needlessly long, and more for an audience who enjoyed the movie 300, rather than Shakespeare enthusiasts. 

So... as a Shakespeare enthusiast am I enraged at the bastardisation of his Scottish play? No, not at all in fact. I think this is an excellent resource for those who just cannot connect with the English of the play but want to be able to enjoy the story. It's also great for those who do not go to theatre, and enjoy prose instead. 

So why do I only give it three stars? Well, it's just because it felt... so... long, and at times I felt like I was reading it because I had to, not because I wanted to. And maybe, in a more sexist vein, I found it... very... masculine, and I couldn't connect with the female characters. But, I will say this, I will happily read any future novelisations of Shakespeare's plays. I'd love to read what they do with them.

But anywho - that's just me. If you liked it, or are planning on listening to it any time soon - then please, hit me a line and tell me off if I just didn't get it! 

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The Post-Apoc genre, and my thoughts on The Hunger Games

The Genre
I absolutely love both films and books that have a post-apocalyptic setting.
In fact, even when I write, I find it a lot easier writing characters in to a 'post-apoc' setting than most others - there is just a world of versatility. We live in a disposable culture, and a culture that is blasted with scenes of destruction, pollution, disease and poverty 24 hours a day - it is no surprise that the post-apoc genre is becoming not only relevant to our lives, but can also give what seems to be prophetic insight in to our imminent doom.

Most post-apoc (not all!) novels, I have found, fall somewhere in 'The Empire of Geekdom', but occasionally a few novels rear their awesome heads and become instant classics... I am Legend, The Time Machine, The Stand, War of the Worlds to name but a few.

And then came The Hunger Games a 2008 novel that made the post-apoc genre relevant to teenagers, well, relevant to teenagers without extra high waisted trousers who spend their Friday nights playing Dungeons and Dragons and arguing about whether or not they like Ewoks ( I know... what a horrible stereotype!). Of course, the rest of the trilogy followed suite and arguments ensued as to which one was best.

The Audiobook

So, I purchased the audiobooks and got through them slowly. All three novels were narrated by Carolyn McCormick. Now, the problem with audiobooks - their major flaw, in my opinion, is that you rely very heavily upon the narrator's ability to emote the words upon the page. If they are unable to do that, or if they unable to give a voice to the character that either 1) suits the character 2) distinguishes that character from the rest, there is a pretty big risk that you could end up becoming indifferent to them.

Carolyn McCormick's narration was quite simply awful. At least to my taste. I found her uninspiring, I found the character voices to be amateurish, both her tone and speed of which she read was bland - which in turn made the book a little bit monotone to me.

The Story
The narrator though, does not let Suzanne Collins off of the hook. She could have had something wonderful, amazing, brilliant but it just seemed a little rushed - and repetitive. We meet the main character Katniss Everdeen (an awesome name) who seems strong, stubborn, hard-working and passionate. And although many people loved the main character, I didn't really. In fact, I found Collins' way of emoting Katniss kind of made her seem a little unbalanced and unbelievable; and as an author, it is a major sin if your audience does not believe your characters.

Anywho - there were some major flaws, and some major annoyances in the novels that I just could not get past [SPOILER ALERT]. Here is a list:

• Why, oh why did Collins write this book as a first person narrative? I mean, really? It was ruined as soon as Katniss spoke for two reasons 1) Katniss is not likeable 2) the suspense was shot, I did not believe that Katniss was ever in any danger (as she was the narrator, and the only way that she could be in imminent danger is if she was telling the story from the grave)... therefore, I was unable to feel suspense or worry for her well being, I knew she would survive the Hunger Games just by the very fact that she is the one narrating it... and that there were two other novels afterwards.
• The lack of likeable characters! Okay... there are three likeable characters in all three novels. 1) Gale, 2) Cinna, 3) Finnick . That's it! Even Haymitch (who was awesome played by Woody Harrelson) sucks in the novels. Even Prim... that boring little girl who should have just been thrown in to the Hunger Games to save us reading the other two, sucked. Quite simply, because Collins gave me no reason to root for Katniss, it meant that all characters introduced through Katniss became as boring as her narration. 
• Why wasn't Snow killed? Yes, I understand the need to show that Katniss was protecting the future of all of Panem etc etc. But, she's an awesome shot throughout all three novels, even when injured, or fighting against guns, she is supposedly awesome with a bow and arrow... so why, why couldn't she kill both Snow and that President Coin if she'd wanted to. I understand that Coin was responsible for Prim's death, but Snow was responsible for putting her in to the games twice, killing off most of her friends, completely totalling district 12, oh, and of course - hijacking the 'love of her life' Peeta.
• The supposed 'love-triangle'! This is where I found Collins had been shockingly lazy, this is why both romances just could not withstand the pressure of Katniss's narrative. Katniss is a manipulative, cheating young lady who just leads on whoever to get where she needs to be. In fact, both Peeta and Gale admit that in Mockingjay and yet Collins still wants us to be on Katniss' side? This is why, for me, I could not believe either romance. Katniss is just far too self-absorbed.
• The Ending! For real, I could have sent Collins an abusive letter by the end of that atrocious last novel. The ending was such a let down I honestly felt that I had wasted my time. It was a cop-out. Katniss is abandoned in the end... by her best friend, her mother, and pretty much everybody else. Oh, except from Peeta and Haymitch. I think, in all honestly, it would have been a better ending if Katniss had eventually (once she got a little older) ended up with Haymitch.

So there you have it. My honest opinion, and thoughts on The Hunger Games. I think the reason I feel so strongly about it, is because Collins truly had something special, she was sat on a pot of gold, but due to what I read as laziness, and her inability to describe emotion, I felt disconnected and found myself hoping that a lot of the characters just died. Maybe I just didn't 'get it' as I'm not a young-adult, but there is some brilliant young-adult fiction out there that just does not succumb to bad plotting or laziness. Young-adults are people too, haha!

[P.S. I have also committed the CARDINAL SIN of being bookworm in that.... I preferred the movie over the book. I know, it is unforgivable... but more on that in another post methinks!]

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