Audiobook Review: Neverwhere written and read by Neil Gaiman

 

I’m trying out this new thing where I wake up in the morning and do stuff.  I hate mornings.  I hate doing stuff in them.  Please, excuse me for any grumpiness or general early morning shenanigans that may or may not occur in this early morning blog entry.  I’m sleepy.  (I’d rather go on talking about how sleepy I am, but I’m going to attempt writing a review.)

I joined Audible last month, because I’ve been wanting to listen to Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere for at least a year. (Mind you, I’m trying out the free first month and 7.95 deal for three months; then I’ll decide whether to keep it or not.)  I wanted to read it long before that, but for some reason I could never manage to get started.  I knew it would be great if I could just do it, but I never could, so I decided that listening to the audiobook would be a better route for me.  Long story short, I finally downloaded the audiobook and listened to it in the car and while I work on the weekends.

I have to say that I’ve heard Neil Gaiman read in person and loved it, and this audiobook is no exception.  It is a splendid listen, if only to hear Neil read.  When paired with the story, it is unmatched by any audiobook I’ve ever heard.  (First of all, there is something about an audiobook read by it’s author that is great in it's own right; and second, it’s even better if it’s the unabridged version.)

Maybe the universe was trying to tell me something.  I am sure that I preferred the Unabridged audiobook version of Neverwhere more than I ever could have enjoyed the physical book version.  The story, characters, and setting (don’t get me started on any of those, because I’ll never be able to stop) were all there, but, when combined with the melodic reading by Gaiman, there is no match.  Even if you have already read Neverwhere, I absolutely recommend that you listen to Neil’s audiobook version.  You will not be sorry.

(Look at that, I managed to be awake in the morning before I absolutely had to be up.  Go figure.  Maybe I CAN do this morning thing.  Just… Don’t get too used to it.)