This was my first exposure to China Mieville (which made reading the rest of his work quite an experience) and it felt to me like a cross between Gaiman's Neverwhere and Lewis's Narnia, with a bit of Lewis Carroll thrown in as well. Mieville knows just how to create an alternate world with just enough strangeness to be recognizable as what lurks behind the ordinary. His character's saga is very satisfying because he is, after all, writing for young adults. I've always loved that feeling, that of the character going home and recognizing the joys of the ordinary without ever losing the marvels of the adventure.