Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Stopping on the street to help a girl in need changes Richard's life - but not necessarily for the better. Besides the fact that his fiance is apoplectic with rage about the distraction, almost immediately weird things start happening: dangerous-looking men at the door, unbelievable occurrences, and then ... it turns out he's invisible.

See, this one act of kindness has essentially erased Richard from the real London Above world's consciousness; he's now part of London Below, where magic and the improbable rule. Fantasy, mythology, an epic quest - this book has it all. And maybe, just maybe, Richard will turn out to be more than anyone expects of him.

I picked up the book because it was recently banned in a high school in New Mexico; nothing makes me want to read a book more than somebody saying you shouldn't. The novel was created from the story Gaiman originally developed created for UK television, and the version I read is listed as the "author's preferred text" and was in fact an audiobook read by Gaiman himself.

I have to say that Gaiman is a masterful storyteller, but he's also an AMAZING reader for audiobooks. It's a different artform - more acting than storytelling - and the vocalization of different characters is a major part of the audio experience. Gaiman is a stellar audio reader. Is there anything this guy ISN'T good at? I don't want to find out.