Neverwhere
Illustrated Edition – Hardcover
By Neil Gaiman
Illustrations by Chris Riddell
Publisher: William Morrow
Release date: September 26, 2017

You know how Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a fascinating read all on its own, but yet is elevated to another level when read with the accompanying illustrations by Sir John Tenniel? That’s the feeling you’ll get when you pick up the new edition of Neil Gaiman‘s novel Neverwhere, now rereleased in the United States with illustrations by Chris Riddell.

First released in 1996 as a novelization of Gaiman’s original script for the Neverwhere miniseries on BBC, the novel follows Richard Mayhew, an average man living a humdrum life in London led around by his controlling fiancee when his world is turned upside down after he rescues a mysterious young girl named Door. After his good deed renders him invisible and unable to go back to his normal life, Richard must find Door in London Below, a dark bizarre hidden underworld populated by angels, monsters, assassins, supernatural beings, and more.

Just cast Benedict Cumberbatch in the upcoming Star Wars films and he’ll be in all my favorite franchises. The actor is Sherlock Holmes in the BBC television series Sherlock, the voice of the dragon Smaug in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit film trilogy, and the villain in J.J. Abrams’ upcoming sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. Now, Cumberbatch will be a part of a new BBC adaptation of the Neil Gaiman fantasy tale Neverwhere, and the first photo of Cumberbatch and his fellow cast members has been released via Radio Times.

Check out the photo here below.

Cumberbatch, who performs the role of The Angel Islington, is at far left in the cast photo along with (L to R) James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class, Wanted) as the main character, Richard Mayhew; Game Of Thrones star Natalie Dormer as Door; Sophie Okonedo (Doctor Who) as Hunter, and David Harewood (Homeland) as The Marquis de Carabas.

Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere: 15th Anniversary Edition
DVD
Directed by Dewi Humphreys
Written by Neil Gaiman
Created by Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry
Starring Gary Bakewell, Laura Fraser, Paterson Joseph, Hywel Bennett, Clive Russell, Trevor Peacock, Peter Capaldi, Tasmin Greig
BBC
Release Date: November 15, 2011

This year, the BBC celebrates the 15th anniversary of fan-favorite Neil Gaiman‘s first endeavor into the world of television series. In 1996, Gaiman had established himself as a solid writer of novels and comic series, and joining forces with the phenomenal Lenny Henry, created the world of Neverwhere – an almost-unseen domain lying beneath the city of London.

I may lose a little geek cred here, but prior to this year, I had limited exposure to Gaiman. I was a fan of his Alice Cooper comic for The Last Temptation CD in the 1990s, and had some mild awareness with Sandman, but that was it. Until this year: being a Doctor Who fan, it was inevitable, the Neil Gaiman-penned The Doctor’s Wife was a major highlight of the 2011 season.

Don’t ask me why, but I’ve been working all day under the assumption that today was November 9, 2008. It’s only now in the evening that I realize that it’s actually November 10, hence the reason why this Neil Gaiman feature celebrating the author’s 48th birthday today is coming so late (sorry Neil!).

For those of you who don’t know about Neil Gaiman’s contributions to the geek world, I both pity and envy you — pity because of the deprivation you’ve experienced thus far; envy because if you follow the advice I’m about to give you, a whole new world is going to open up to you — and it’s a truly exhilarating experience.

One thing you’ll learn pretty quickly is that Gaiman is versatile enough to dabble in various literary categories, so there’s something out there for everyone — even the kids. Since Neil’s been writing for a such long time, you might not know where to begin. So, to help you out on your impending magical, eye-opening, life-changing journey, here’s a list of Neil Gaiman writings you need familiarize yourself with immediately (trust me, you’ll be thankful you did).

*The following is a translation in Portuguese of our A Beginner’s Guide To Neil Gaiman feature. Thank you to reader Pati Fimbrethil for the translation!

*Obrigado ao leitor Pati Fimbrethil para traduzir este artigo em Português.

Para aqueles de vocês que não conhecem as contribuições de Neil Gaiman para o mundo geek, eu tanto os invejo como tenho pena de vocês – pena por causa da privação que vocês sofreram até hoje; inveja porque se vocês seguirem o conselho que eu estou prestes a dar, um novo mundo inteiro se abrirá pra vocês – e é uma experiência verdadeiramente arrebatadora.

Uma coisa que você aprenderá bem rápido é que Gaiman é versátil o bastante para escrever em várias categorias literárias, então tem alguma coisa aí fora pra todo mundo – até para as crianças. Uma vez que Neil já está escrevendo há tanto tempo, pode ser que você não saiba por onde começar. Então, para ajudá-lo(a) nessa sua iminente experência mágica, aqui está uma lista dos escritos de Neil Gaiman com os quais você precisa se familiarizar imediatamente (confie em mim, você agradecerá por tê-lo feito).