Neverwhere 2By Neil Gaiman, adapted by Dirk Maggs

BBC Radio 4, November 4, 2016

The Marquis de Carabas is determined to be reunited with his stylish clothing…

This brief foray back into London Below reunites some of the cast from the 2013 audio version, but with a neat twist – Paterson Joseph, who played the Marquis in the 1996 TV original series, reprises the role here in place of David Harewood, who’s off being beaten up in alien clubs in Supergirl. There’s a nice meta line acknowledging this at the start (think of the way that the voice of the book altered in the later iterations of The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide) but once that’s out of the way, it’s business as usual in Neil Gaiman’s fantasy London.

It’s quite a simple plot, and if you don’t know the Neverwhere story, you should be able to follow it (Richard’s cameo at the beginning perhaps notwithstanding). The Marquis follows various leads and encounters an assortment of very interesting characters, notably the Elephant and the Shepherds. He’s also given a side quest to deliver a letter as a favour for a lovestruck youngster, which ties neatly into the main plot and allows the darker side of London Below to become clear.

Dirk Maggs and Heather Larmour have assembled a strong cast for the story, which Maggs has expanded to incorporate more characters (and from the information about the CD version, there’s even more to come), and as always immerses the listener in the world he’s created in the studio. Grab it while it’s on iPlayer, or pick up the CD (and if you’re interested, download the script from the BBC Writers Room site).

Verdict: A highly enjoyable return to London Below. 9/10

Paul Simpson