If it were possible to give a book a half star rating, I would be giving this one 3 1/2 stars. Like many other reviewers I only really liked a few of the stories in this compilation. I love Neil Gaiman's writing, one of my favorite books of his being Smoke and Mirrors, another collection of his short stories. That being said I was really excited to read this book and felt a little let down after I had finished it. The introductions to each story were really interesting, and I enjoyed reading each of them before I read the corresponding short story. The stories were very diverse and showed just how wide Gaiman's range is. However, as I said above, very few of these stories really grabbed my attention. It is worth reading if you are a Gaiman fan, but I should warn you not to hold it up to your normal expectations.