There was just something about this edition that screamed ‘read me’ and I, like Alice, ventured headlong into this crazy world of London Below…and, while the journey won’t appeal to everyone, it definitely has a little something for most readers.
I’ll start with the hero, Richard Mayhew. A more unlikely hero it would be difficult to find. He’s a bit nondescript, people can’t remember who he is and the existence of his terrifying fiancee suggests that he is something of a pushover. However, when he comes across a bleeding girl he is compelled to help…and so begins his weird and wonderful adventure into a place he never knew existed.
Door, the girl in question, is on the run from two vile villains. These two crop up with alarming regularity and have a wonderful penchant for gruesome behaviour – which is rather funny from the pages of a book, but they are the kind of stuff I think I’d have had nightmares about as a child.
The two, along with a few extra hands, then journey through London Below to discover who killed Door’s family; to find the Angel Islington and to try to help Richard get his normal and boring life back.
Gaiman creates a wonderful fantasy world, and he has an obvious love of language. There’s lots of humour in this, and we meet some truly grotesque characters. While the text was wonderful, the illustrations really brought these characters to life for me and added an extra dimension to my reading pleasure.
There was more than a hint of Wonderland about this, and I loved the potential in the ending.