Nowhereland

Name: Nowhereland
ISBN: 9787559420039

尼尔·盖曼 / 马骁Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaDec 2021

4.2

Word count: 198K words
Chapters: 26
ISBN: 9787559420039

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Summary

In every dim alley hides a doorway to a new world. There are two Londons: London Above, where ordinary people live, and London Below, where those who fell through the cracks of London Above dwell. Richard, an ordinary man from London Above, rescues an injured girl from London Below and is then erased from London Above entirely. His colleagues don't know him, passersby can't see him, even his fiancée has forgotten he exists. Richard has opened a doorway of supreme importance in his life and stepped into an unknown new world...

Editor's review

Neil Gaiman gives urban fantasy a quality both eerie and tender here: London Above and London Below mirror each other, and another world's doorways lurk in the cracks of daily life. The core of the story is not monster-fighting adventure but the slightly cruel premise of being forgotten by the world—Richard loses his former identity after helping another, a price that gives the fantasy real weight. The author drives the narrative with short, intensely visual passages; strange characters appear in turn without feeling cluttered, and readers are easily drawn into that damp, dim London of endless possibility. The translation flows smoothly and suits reading in sections on the commute or before sleep; it works as genre entertainment and also makes you pause to think about identity, belonging, and choice. For readers new to Gaiman, this is a fitting entry into his brand of urban fantasy.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Genre readers who like urban fantasy and parallel-world premises
Casual readers looking for a fast-paced, vividly visual story
Young readers interested in identity and belonging
Neil Gaiman fans who want to fill in his major novels

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer hard science fiction or rigorously checked world-building
Readers hoping for a light, cozy story without a dark atmosphere
Readers with little patience for grotesque characters and jumpy narration

Reading tips

Don't look up the setting first; enter London Below with Richard and keep the strangeness.
Notice how the "being forgotten" premise drives the character's choices; jot down clues as you read.
Read chapter by chapter, two or three at a time, pausing to savor the shifts of scene.
After finishing, look back at the opening chapters to catch the foreshadowing where reality meets the other world.

About the publisher

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House focuses on literary publishing while also covering the humanities, social sciences, and books on art and daily life. Its approximately 1,535 titles in the database span social novels, world history, design, science fiction, classic works, and film and television: they include modern Chinese literary classics by Lu Xun such as A Madman's Diary: The Complete Short Stories of Lu Xun, Call to Arms, Four Generations Under One Roof, and Teahouse, as well as foreign literary memoirs like Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday. In science fiction it offers Asimov's Galactic Empire series, while in architecture and art it publishes Liu Dunzhen's Classical Gardens of Suzhou and design titles from Phoenix Space. Its authors are concentrated among classic writers such as Lu Xun, Zweig, and Asimov, with translators including Liang Xijiang, Zhong Haonan, and Ye Lihua. Its overall character is built on classic works while embracing genre fiction and visual culture. Public information is limited, and this introduction is based on the titles in the database.

版权信息
前言
序章
第一章
第二章
第三章
第四章
第五章
第六章
第七章
第八章
第九章
第十章
第十一章
第十二章
第十三章
第十四章
第十五章
第十六章
第十七章
第十八章
第十九章
第二十章
附录一则全然不同的序言，发生在四百年前
致谢
番外篇卡拉巴斯寻衣记

FAQ

I haven't read any Neil Gaiman—can I start with this one?

Yes. It is a standalone novel and does not depend on prior books. It concentrates Gaiman's urban-fantasy style: a real city coexisting with a hidden world, grotesque characters woven with everyday detail. If you like the flavor, branching out to his other works afterward will come naturally.

Is the "London Below" setting complicated? Do I need to know it beforehand?

No. The rules of London Below emerge gradually with the story; the author deliberately lets readers grope along with the protagonist. Looking up the setting in advance would weaken the experience of being lost and discovering at once, so go straight into the text.

Is this a good bedtime read?

It can be, but be prepared: the atmosphere is dim and eerie, and some passages are tense. If grotesque scenes easily affect your mood, read it by day; if you like fantasy at night, its short paragraphs and strong imagery actually suit reading in sections.

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About the author

尼尔·盖曼 Author

Neil Gaiman is a widely noticed author in the field of contemporary fantasy literature, whose writing spans novels, prose, and essays. The collection holds thirteen of his works, including novels such as Good Omens, Norse Mythology, Neverwhere, The Graveyard Book, and The Anansi Boys, as well as the Neil Gaiman Fantasy Novel Trilogy and Literary Masters' Private Lectures (3 volumes). His writing often draws on myth, folklore, and ancient beliefs, weaving supernatural elements into everyday reality to create an atmosphere that is both real and illusory; his tone is sometimes humorous and quick-witted, sometimes gloomy and eerie, with abundant imagination and unhurried storytelling. His works are categorized as classics, foreign literature, otherworldly realms, science fiction, and prose essays, reflecting the breadth of his subjects and his cross-genre writing. Public information is limited, so biographical details are omitted, but his fantasy novels and essays have attracted readers of different ages.

马骁 Author

Ma Xiao: publicly available information is limited. At present, only five of his works are known in the catalog, including The Son of the Spider God, Good Omens, Spider Boy, Neverwhere, and Shared Wisdom: An Analysis of Intellectual Property Issues in Open Source Software. Judging from these titles, his writing spans two distinct areas: foreign literature and fine fiction, where he translates or creates stories with fantasy and humor, and legal practice, where he addresses intellectual property issues in open source software. This crossing between fiction and law gives his work both narrative interest and a sense of real-world concerns. Because biographical information is lacking, his nationality, education, and writing career cannot be confirmed; the above introduction is based only on the works and categories in the catalog.