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Neil Gaiman’s next novel is a Neverwhere sequel titled The Seven Sisters

Neil Gaiman’s next novel is a Neverwhere sequel titled The Seven Sisters

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Inspired by Gaiman’s work with the United Nations for refugees

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Neil Gaiman just released his spin on Norse myths (the aptly titled Norse Mythology), and the popular fantasy author mentioned at an event in London earlier this week that he had already begun work on his next novel. The follow-up to Neverwhere will be titled The Seven Sisters.

The novelization of Neverwhere was released in 1996 as Gaiman’s first solo novel, based on the eponymous BBC Two series (also created by Gaiman, alongside producer Lenny Henry). In the years since, the Neverwhere world has been adapted into a star-studded BBC Radio teleplay and expanded through a short story, How the Maquis Got His Coat Back, but this week’s announcement marks the first official confirmation of a proper sequel.

Inspired by Gaiman’s work with the UNHCR for refugees

The Guardian reports that the new novel will be inspired in part by Gaiman’s work with the UN’s refugee agency and “the kind of shape … London is in now, the kind of ways [it] is different to how it was 20 years ago.”

In Neverwhere, the city of London is mirrored by a magical world beneath it called London Below, a place filled with — as Gaiman describes — the “people who fall through the cracks.” In London Below, the various landmarks of London become far more fantastical — for example, the landmark “The Angel, Islington” is an actual angel, named Islington. The title of the upcoming novel, The Seven Sisters, presumably will play off a similar double meaning. (Seven Sisters is an area in North London.)

At the event, Gaiman noted that he was already a “solid three chapters in,” but there’s no formal release date. If Gaiman’s Twitter feed is anything to go by, he’s definitely hard at work.