First Neil Gaiman book I've read after hearing about him for a decade. Hard to tell if this fantasy book is a children's or adult novel, which I suppose is part of the appeal. Well written, self-contained story which didn't bog itself down with world-building or anything. At this point in life, I really appreciate that from a book. Gaiman writes convincingly from the point of view of a man writing from the point of view of his seven-year-old self. The nature of occult beings in the story didn't necessarily have to be explained in any sort of detailed, scientific way, and Gaiman didn't attempt to do that. It's just a built-out fairytale, and we're to accept the magical elements sliding into the real world.