Probably 2.5 stars, honestly. The first half was actually enthralling. The second half bored me to death. I actually skipped a section of it and you know, I didn't miss a damned thing. The first half was exciting and interesting, exploring a downstairs world, showing familiar characters from other angles, introducing new interesting characters. The second half spent far too much time unspooling the history that had produced those characters, without any kind of drama or tension. And then it just sort of meandered on until it stopped. I put it down at 90% and it took me weeks to pick it up again to finish it. I'm glad I did, I guess, because it gets it off my reading list...