I really enjoyed this book a lot, so I was surprised by all the mixed reviews. I was equally surprised to find that I could actually see where most the negative reviewers were coming from. In all reality this book probably deserves a 4 star rating, but like I said, I truly loved reading this book. Even if the plot was predictable and somewhat overdone and the main character was a moron who never really develops much, I love this book!

Neil Gaiman is an excellent writer. The world building in this book outshined anything else by far, but that was really all I needed to keep my interest. I wanted to explore the underground and their tunnels and mysterious markets. I wanted to meet all the quirky side characters (most of which were much more fascinating then the characters he chose to focus on) and learn about the cultures of those who have "slipped through the cracks". I was intrigued the whole way through.

The ending of this book seems to be what most people hate about it the most. I, on the other hand thought it was a cool ending. Everyone is right, the main character doesn't develop throughout the book.

Spoiler

However, (at least the way I interpreted it) at the very end he realizes that he is not ready to settle down and in fact, still has a lot to learn about who he is. There's a whole other world that is far more interesting than the life he thought he would be perfectly content with.

In other words, the book ends with Mayhew taking the first step into developing his character. I think this is a very creative ending, although it may have not been done as effectively as it could have been as it seems to be overlooked by some readers.