Perhaps you've heard of this author before: he's the creator the "Sandman" stories that have been around as graphic novels for quite a while. I guess one can say he's big on dark, surreal matters, and constructs the kind of fantasy that smacks of some kind of alternate reality. If that's your cup of tea, you don't need to read this review any further: pick up this book and enjoy.
This is a dark faerie tale in modern times. The subject sounds a bit like a story you'd see in "The Twilight Zone" or even in "Alice In Wonderland": someone falls through a crack in reality and ends up in a parallel universe. It doesn't sound very original, but sometimes originality in the basic plot is not all that matters. In this case I'd say it's how the story is told that makes it so mesmerizing.
One day this ordinary guy Richard Mayhew goes out of his way to help someone and that's how his troubles begin. He's pulled out of modern London into a what Gaiman calls "London Below": a place where the currents of time meet and which is populated by strange and fascinating characters such as people who can talk to rats, sadistic killlers, angels, knights and kings, hunters and mythical beasts, in short, all sorts of blokes. There Richard goes through many ordeals and I won't say another word about his adventures for fear of spoiling it for you.
It's an easy and enjoyable read and even if some details of the story seem to be not terribly well explained in the end, I still enjoyed the ride. Gaiman tells his story in a way that sparks excitement and contructs solid images of his fantastic places and characters in the reader's mind's eye.
No comments:
Post a Comment