In Neverwhere several things where never explained and I was wondering why:

1. Why couldn't Hunter go to Upper-London (I guess this is the right word since I read it in german)?
2. Why could she go to Harrods or the HMS Belfast?
3. How could Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandamar enter the Portacio house?

Can anybody help me there?

I don't think 1 and 3 are answered in the book.

I can make a guess at number 2 - IIRC to get to the Harrod's market you had to come via Knightsbridge. If you went directly to Harrods via London-Above you wouldn't see the market. So if you come at a "place" from one angle, it's London-below, but from another angle, it's London above. And perhaps some "places" only exist in London-above OR London-below. Like maybe the British Museum.

Either something like that, or Richard was imagining everything and is "really" talking to himself at Blackfriar's station the whole time

I think the Markets were neutral ground. Sort of extensions of London Below, if only for one night. But the British Museum wasn't a Market, that's why Hunter couldn't go. I don't remember an explanation for why she couldn't go into London Above, though.

I thought Croup and Vandemar used something that the Angel Islington gave them to break into Portico's house? But... it's been a while since I read it, so I'm not really sure.

Well, the other reason for my theory is that as I recall the entrance to Downs street is in a building on the surface. So if it's just that markets are special, how did Hunter get to Downs street?

Maybe because Below and Upper don't necessarily reflect position but attitude. It's anywhere where a person who doesn't fit in with 'traditional' society could be ignored by traditional society.

Old Bailey lives above ground on the rooftops, but that's part of London Below. And Dick met the first ratspeaker on the street above ground. But the British Museum would never be the kind of place where people who don't look as if they could fit in with the London Above crowd could go unnoticed for long. Or they wouldn't be willfully ignored as they are in other places where London Below is actually above ground.

I don't think that Hunter was unable to go to London Above. I think she was unwilling to do so, because she knew that Croup and Vandemar were waiting for Door. She was the traitor in their midst after all.

If in fact Hunter can't go to London above, her being at Harrods and Belfast, can be explained by the time different times there are in London. There are a few instances where they discuss that there is a lot of different time periods in London. They could just be different periods of time, making them included in London Below even if they were in the open air.

I don't think they explained number 3, or at least I don't remember it.

quote:

Originally posted by ninewhereman:
I don't think that Hunter was unable to go to London Above. I think she was unwilling to do so, because she knew that Croup and Vandemar were waiting for Door. She was the traitor in their midst after all.

this was the best explantion i could come up with as well. it also bothered me that Hunter could travel to all the exotic places and fight the legendary beasts but not go topside...

for number 3 i dont believe they explained that either.

i think it was just an oversight on Gaiman's part. He made a few that his editors never picked up on. One that really bugged me was his use of Square Miles when detailing London in the beginning. The mile is a distinctly American form of measurement and seemed out of place in this particular book.

quote:

Originally posted by Sonos:
i think it was just an oversight on Gaiman's part. He made a few that his editors never picked up on. One that really bugged me was his use of Square Miles when detailing London in the beginning. The mile is a distinctly American form of measurement and seemed out of place in this particular book.

The mile is also an English form of measurement - I'd say many/most people in London (or at least the ones I know) use it in preference to km, so it's not out of place at all, IMO.

And, of course, the "Square Mile" is another common name for the City of London (ie: the financial sector in the middle of one of the oldest parts of London).

Sonos, distances, surface and speed limits in the UK are always in miles.

As for your questions:
Hunter cannot go to London Above because of some mysterious reasons. It's not that she can't go -when Croup is talking, later on, to Richard (I think), he laughs about them not knowing that she couldn't go above. Not going coz she knew Croup and Vandemar were there wouldn't make muhc sense, since thye were only scaring Richard and Door anyway. Also, I always thought Hunter dealt directly with Islington, not with Croup and Vandemar.
I don't think it wa san oversight on Neil's sid,e it's just another of the mysteries in Neverwhere -like what happened between her and Serpentine, for example.

Harrods and the HMS Belfast are Markets. They're not London Above, they're London Below. Lurkergrrl also mentioned where Old Bailey lives, and there's also where Richard found the Marquis the first time -they're all above ground, but still London Below. London Below is not just underneath, it's a different space underneath, above or overlapping London Above.

And we never found out how they cold enter lord Portico's house. Again, not an oversight, just a mystery. I'm fairly sure Neil knows how it all happened, but, because the story is told from Richard and Door's perspective, they just never managed to find out.

quote:

1. Why couldn't Hunter go to Upper-London (I guess this is the right word since I read it in german)?

I think it's something to do with her life. Come on, given that she knows Serpentine, and what Serpentine says about Hunter keeping her looks, it must have been a while ago, and Hunter doesn't look *old*. That didn't make much sense, but my point is that I think Hunter doesn't age, unless she leaves London Below. She can still be killed, though, obviously...

Oh, and she's totally slept with Serpentine. XD

#1. From What I gathered in the book, Hunter was as much a part of London Below as the beasts she was hunting. It would be akin to Yvaine stepping across the wall.

#2. The market is a part of London Below, no matter the location. If she is a part of it as well, then she can go wherever the market is held, no matter the location.

#3. I think that Mr.'s Vandemar and Croup were pretty much able to go wherever they wanted to. It was just a matter of what they were "contracted" to do. I.E.- they had no previous reasons to kill the Portico family until they were contracted to.

Of course, these are just MY opinions, and worth about as much, or possibly a good deal less, than anyone elses...