Beneath the Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las … (2025)

I really wanted to like this book. It's such interesting material that I had to read it, I only wish that
the book had actually been ABOUT life and death in the tunnels of Las Vegas.

A more accurate title would have been 'Times I geared up and went for a walk in the tunnels under Las Vegas and let my lurid imagination run wild while nothing happened - then later I wrote it all down in a way that made it clear I had a degree burning a hole in my pocket'.

But that would have been less snappy I suppose.

If you want to know about how people live in the tunnels, this is not the book for you. There are interviews but they are quite few and far between - the author would much rather 1. tell you how many mag lites he's carrying and describe his weapon - over and over again (insert penis joke). and 2. tell you about other times that people have lived in tunnels, catacombs, caves etc - including a serial killer who fled through them, which is interesting but is clearly cribbed from other books - and not the subject matter I was here for.

I have no problem with an author expanding on their subject, providing they show a command and understanding of that subject to begin with, and honestly, there is very little substance. This guy went into tunnels, describes some of what he sees but then goes off on poetic tangents - poetic in the way that men in their 20s get about girls who 'aren't like other girls'.

Also, the books is told in a weird way, mixing times the author went into the tunnels before, with times he went in more recently, and the facts don't match up entirely? Like on one occasion he describes waiting for Josh to come out of the tunnels, while not going in, but then later he recalls climbing over a fence to get to the tunnel? It's a bit of a mish mash.

Also, considering the author says he was wearing a recording device I assume he wrote down the interviews word for word - yet somehow they come off as unreal and manufactured. This is nowhere more obvious than when he is interviewing a young man living in the tunnels, being visited by his mother. The two people don't react to what the other person is saying - they just talk to him, even though what they are saying would have surely made one of them respond? It's very weird.

There are some pictures in the book as well, but these aren't annotated.

Overall impression - making this a book rather than an article was a stretch. It reads like a 200+ page article - droning on and on, trying to philosophise on events and evidence which are lacking from the narrative. It is basically a book about two young guys who thought it would be cool to dress up like urban warriors and stalk the sewers with a big knife while talking about serial killers - only then they tried to turn it into a think piece about society.

In the end the author hasn't lived in these tunnels, just walked through them, imagining. Which is no basis for informative nonfiction.

An interesting topic made boring by the author's ineptitude.

This is another book about urban exploration (sort of). Beneath the Neon is about the flood tunnels built under Las Vegas early in the 2000s when the city had dealt with the severe problem of flash flooding. I think O'Brien wanted this book to be about the tunnels them...selves and how spooky they are and what artifacts he finds. This is usually the thread which comes from books about urban exploration but turns out the book is about the people who live in the tunnels. This of course makes a whole lot more sense. There is a human element to the story.

O'Brien never really has a political opinion. He just reiterates what happened when he went in the tunnels and the stories of the people who live there. This is fine and fair. He does frequently paint the portrait of how the homeless drug addicts beneath the city are mere meters away from rich tourists who are dropping tens of thousands of dollars on pokers games. It's an unusual juxtaposition.

Most of the people he meets are grateful to talk to him and although they prefer to be anonymous they do want their story to be heard. The tunnels it turns out draw the homeless because Vegas, like Ottawa has a draconian government which wants to protect its tourist image. It spends a lot of money to protect its image. The casinos spend a lot of money to protect their image. Being homeless above ground is uncomfortable enough that the homeless would rather sleep in tunnels which occasionally flood and drown them. They are aware of the risk and some of them even protect themselves by keeping track of the weather reports.

It's a pretty fascinating read. It goes well with the documentary "Dark Days" about the homeless squatters living underground in New York City. The difference here is that no one really cares about the homeless in the tunnels of Vegas. The city claims it can barely afford to look for homeless people who need assistance let alone those underground. So no one really goes into the tunnels except for urban explorers and rescue teams who pull out the bodies at the end of the culvert. Rescue teams occasionally also pull live men out when the flash floods are occurring. O'Brien does form relationships in the end with these alienated people. A lot of them are people who came to Vegas to make it big and ended up on the wrong side of the pavement.

It’s interesting to know what goes on below the strip. He took the time to get to know each person and I think that is special. The writing overall was okay, sometimes it was hard for me to stay focused.

Here's what this book is about: People live in the flood tunnels of Las Vegas because a) they have a gambling problem, b) they have a drug problem, or c) both. The end.

Okay, it's not quite that simple. There are also numerous homeless veterans, and others are probably homeless for varying reasons. But nearly everyone the author spoke to had a drug or gambling problem (most of them were non-natives and apparently had no idea how to conduct themselves like normal humans in Las Vegas, leading them to lose everything). The conversations he had with them were rehashed over and over until I just didn't care to read about it anymore. About halfway through, the book ceased to be interesting. This is where I stopped reading. There were only so many times I could read about where the author parked before going into a tunnel, what equipment he brought with him, and how THIS particular tunnel met the exact same description of every other tunnel, with variations in the graffiti.

I didn't care for the writing. After a while I became aware of this annoying habit the author seems to have, where he would say "Josh and I'd gone to several different tunnels." It was kind of awkward because usually a sentence like that would read "Josh and I had." The author also kept interrupting his account with "flashbacks" aka memories. He used other tales of people living in tunnels as filler, except the juxtaposition was SO awkward and kind of offensive at times, as many of these other tales were about people who had to live in tunnels due to persecution and not their own human weaknesses.

Honestly, I thought the author seemed like kind of a douche. He just walks right up to where people are sleeping, waking them up to have conversations with them. They're glad to talk, it seems, but come on. Rude. One guy he saw was washing a shirt in dirty runoff water, and the author says (paraphrasing) "You know there's a ton of chemicals in that water?" THE DUDE IS LIVING IN A FUCKING TUNNEL UNDER A STREET. Like he cares about chemicals! He obviously just wants to freshen up his fucking shirt in whatever way he can. Damn.

Lastly, FYI, there are no snake carcasses just scattered across Boulder Highway. AND, the author calls the desert on the east side "useless to developers" when in reality most of it is protected land. Plus there's a landfill.

In short, very interesting concept, but much too long and rather poorly executed.

Recently I became intrigued by people who live in abandoned subway tunnels (it isn't exactly recent, I think this curiosity began as a kid when I read Slake's Limbo: 121 Days) and got an idea for a novel, and found this book in my library system. The author explores the drain pipes and tunnel system under Las Vegas at some point in the early 2000's (slightly before cell phones became ubiquitous). He interviews a number of people who he meets in the drains and illustrates the real dangers of flood waters, spiders, snakes, and dark, enclosed spaces. Surprisingly, many of the people living in the drain system are quite lucid - the drug addicts and mentally weren't great subjects for interviews, it seems. The stories of those who live underground are compelling and I shared the author's sadness when he returned to find many of them missing or moved on. The flashbacks to tunnel explorations with his partner Josh fleshed out some of the chapters and helped give a sense of past, present, and future of each tunnel.

Matthew is a dedicated writer and the photos are relevant and well placed, but this book *might* depress you. It’s an illustration of a pre-CoViD world featuring the same inequities and social ineptitudes as always.
Surrounded by a town, so-called “The City of Second Chances” choking on its own desperado-glamour and “rich” history, the characters and places here are dire. You alone will have to decide what you get out of this, or if you choose to go “in” at all.

Whoa...this was a cool ride along with someone touring the tunnels under Vegas. Appealed to the curious explorer in me.

Interesting on some levels, but not enough so to merit finishing it at this point. While new folk are introduced at rapid pace, you never quite get a feel for who they are... what you do get is repeated not-so-subtle "oh the juxtaposition of the bright lights of Vegas and those living beneath the city" moments.

I may finish it at some point down the road, when I'm out of other things to read.

Our book club, being located in the Vegas/Henderson area, all of us being transplants from other states, decided to read this book in January 2018. We chose this book based on the fact that we all wanted to know a little bit more about our new home, the stuff that only locals would know, what’s really behind “the glitz and glamor” of Las Vegas. This book did not disappoint.

So as the title pretty much says, this book is about the underground tunnel systems that Vegas installed to solve the problem of flash flooding (yes it floods here in the desert, and yes we have a monsoon season where this is pretty much the norm for about a month). I pretty much expected this book to cover the topic of homelessness due to its subject nature. What I did NOT expect was to learn how/why many of these people were homeless. This author did a wonderful job humanizing the people that live in the tunnels while simultaneously keeping them anonymous (as per the subjects’ wishes).

The one thing preventing me from giving this book 5 stars is that I do wish that he had followed up with the people more than once. I feel like this project easily could have been an ongoing research/exposé piece that was at least 10-20 in the making. I understand that it can be hard to track down the people that you meet in the washes, so I don’t blame the author for not following up through the years, but it would have been nice.

All in all, this is a perfect juxtaposition of what the media wants you to see “the glittering lights and flowing money of Las Vegas” and the stark reality of actually living in Vegas in less than ideal accommodations because you didn’t make it big or fell victim to your vices.

I lived in Vegas for 10 years and worked on the Strip for most of that time, so the premise of the book really spoke to me. Basically, I really, REALLY wanted to like the book. The tunnel system under Vegas has fascinated me since the first time I heard about it, which is why it’s disappointing that I don’t feel I learned any more about it than I knew before I started reading this book. The author spends a gratuitous amount of time explaining his equipment, his plan of action, comparing it to other historical tunnels, and making really DUMB decisions. The part where I really lost it is when he went into the tunnels during a rainstorm. It is pretty much drilled into everyone’s heads in Vegas to not drive in high water, much less go into the tunnels. Such an incredibly stupid and dangerous move. I also disliked how he approached the people living in the tunnels, and it made me absolutely cringe when he’d go through their camps without getting permission. Dude, these are PEOPLE and those are their homes, regardless of the conditions. He comes across as a condescending prick, honestly. I finished the book because I’m a completionist and can’t bear to stop reading a book once I’ve started, no matter how terrible it is. But this was really bad, and considering the great subject matter, it’s really disappointing.

This is a non-fiction work about the storm drains of Las Vegas. Storm drains are not sewers. Storm drains carry off excess rain water and if ever a town needed storm drains it’s Las Vegas. Surrounded by mountains and resting in a geological bowl made mostly of sand, rain water has nowhere to go. Hence, the storm drains.

Now you know they are there the next time you’re wandering down the Strip realize there’s a whole other world going on beneath your feet in those very same storm drains. If you think a book about the storm drains of Las Vegas would be dull, you couldn’t be more wrong. This book is engrossing from start to finish and it is engagingly narrated by Alan Carlson.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. You’ll find yourself amazed by the Las Vegas storm drains and those who call it home.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

This is an interesting book regarding people who live in the storm drains and tunnels beneath the city.
What's interesting is after reading this book, I am a little more cognizant when I stay drainage ditches, flood channels, etc. I don't know if I would have the guts to go down into one and the fact that this author did it numerous times over the years is crazy.

I enjoyed the pictures....it was an interesting read on the underworld, literally...I will say that it seemed like it was a bit disjointed....but then again the book was a ebook loaner from the library and may because it was from 10 years ago....or maybe because I downloaded it...some of the text was really weird.

Fascinating. Sad. It makes sense that people take advantage of the free (and cooler) but dangerous tunnels underneath Las Vegas. Mostly the people the reporter met were victims of the ravages of drinking, drugs, and gambling. Quite a few were Vietnam veterans, and many had lead normal, even prosperous, lives until whatever demons caused their downfalls. Although there could have been dangerous encounters, most seemed to be pretty cordial and informative. Certainly the homeless can be inventive as well as creative. I would hope never to be forced into that that type of existence, but you have to wonder in awe at the toughness and tenacity of these tunnel dwellers.

A friend of mine once lived near the entrance to one of these tunnels (near the Boulder Highway in Las Vegas), and the local lore about people and floods meant I absolutely had to read this book when I saw that it existed. What I learned is that the street people of LV have a sad, hopeless life. For many of them, these tunnels were a safe haven. How awful does your life have to be if this seems safe? Las Vegas is as two faced as a city can be-- immense wealth and flash, and immense poverty and filth. O'Brien did his job well-- I was drawn into his quest, and will do more reading along this line.

THIS is crazy! Matthew O'Brien's research is raw and spellbinding...truth is always stranger than fiction. It's a gripping account of what life is really like for those who are truly the poorest among us, and how they survive. What a harrowing, real, and horrifying experience. Reading it was eye-opening, living it must be.... horrific. I give Mr. O'Brien a lot of credit for going there and exposing that side of our country, and of humanity.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Matt goes into the flood control drains beneath the surface of Las Vegas in 2004, originally to follow the trail of a convicted deranged murderer. It became something more for him as he met the men who lived down there, some of them for several years. Each chapter is the result of interviews and experiences in a particular drain. The descriptions of sights, sounds, and impressions are as clear as if drawn with more than pen and ink. Well done!
Alan Carlson narrates as convincingly as if he was the writer, and that's a very good thing.

Matthew O'Brien’s Beneath The Neon: Life and Death in the Tunnels of Las Vegas is a nonfiction chronicling O’Brien’s exploration of Sin City’s underground tunnels, and the stories of the people he meets there. (As of the book’s 2007 publication, it was estimated that 200 (homeless) people resided in the tunnels.)

I loved this book and declare it a fascinating must read for anyone living in Vegas. O’Brien’s writing is insightful and compassionate, and his passion for his summer-long project/adventure is contagious.

I first read about the people in the Vegas tunnels years ago and had always wanted to know more about them. I'm always fascinated by the extremes of the human condition. When I saw this book at the neon museum on my first visit to sin city I started reading it at once.
It provides a fascinating tour through the underworld. In general I liked the travelogue style taken by the writer, though sometimes it can seen almost like a book report or procrastinated school assignment. With space stretching tangents and bouts of self-doubt.
Still, this is a book I don't think I'll ever forget.

I really enjoyed this book. The subject matter is interesting, the interviews kept me reading. I’m currently under the weather, and I took out half the book in one day because I just couldn’t put it down. I also found it reinsured me to delve back into some old skill sets that I haven’t used in a while. If you like a journalistic style, explorations into subcultures and candid interviews with often unheard people, this book is likely for you. Five stars from me, and probably going on my Favorites shelf.

Cultural backdrop for LV residents

I've lived in Vegas for 41 years and always wondered about the homeless seen begging or camping in the ragged places. I know some want to be there, but most don't. I'm trying to figure out which is which, having no mind to help someone who just wants a free ride at my expense.
This book should be required reading for those who live here & want to help those in need.

I read this book quite some time ago when I found it while perusing the library shelves, it drew me in completely. Matthews style of writing, with a topic that is almost taboo, was riveting. Learning of the Las Vegas underground and the lives of those living there was an eye opener. Taking the time to get to know these people and to try and help them is what sets Matthew apart from a lot of us. He is a gem of a man, with one wicked way with a typewriter!

There’s an intricate series of storm drains and tunnels under Las Vegas and this author set out to explore as many of them as he could in a follow up to an article he edited for an LV weekly paper. There’s lots of descriptions of the tunnels themselves, some comparisons to other tunnels, but the stories of those who make the tunnels their home were the most interesting part of the book for me. For that reason, I imagine I’ll enjoy his follow up book, published in 2020, more.

Wandering into a storm drain at a park in Las Vegas, I stumbled into the camp of people who had been living in this huge storm drain system. The encounter sent me on a journey to learn more. This book is one of only a few on the subject and while it was not my favorite read, it shed light on the desperate situation these people are in living under a city who largely, have no idea they exist.

The only thing that I think the book is missing is some hand drawn maps of the locations that he explored. I'm a visual person, so that would have been helpful. Other than that, I loved reading about all of the seedy, misfortunate, and forgotten characters inhabiting the tunnels. Almost wish I had been there with him.

I started reading this book at 10PM and finished at 5AM. Never before have I finished a book of this size in one sitting. Despite what other reviews say, I did really enjoy it. It might not be for you, but the interviews gave me some feelings I couldn’t quite describe and the tunnels are described very vividly.

Great read.

The book: Journalist decides to venture into storm drains. Journalist encounters an unusual assortment of folks living in the storm drains. Journalist encounters unusual items in storm drains. Repeat, chapter by chapter.

Years ago I read a book about people who lived underground in New York City. Both books were very enlightening but how sad that it is necessary to live this way.

Great book! As a resident of Las Vegas and part of a team doing homeless outreach, it gave me a better view of some of those making up our homeless community.

Eye opening

This was an eye opening documentary. It brings to light one of the many parallel universes that we humans inhabit on this earth.