This was my first Blaylock, and I found it interesting, with touches that reminded me of Dick (always a good sign). I was less interested in the characters themselves than I was in the ideas that made up the plot, and the little quirky moments that seemed to fill the novel.
Based on the reader reviews, I think that I will try Paper Grail next and see if it satisfies more by expanding on the elements that I liked.
James Blaylock's novels are hard to describe -- funny/serious, beautifully written, highly literate, quirky, surrealistic romps through a world of mystery lying just beneath the surface of prosaic suburban American life. The typical Blaylock story takes the kind of nice guy who proverbially finishes last and throws him in the midst of a cosmic battle between good & evil which is fought in banal, recognizable surroundings: strip malls, suburban lawns, donut shops. The effect is sort of G.K. Chesterton on acid: fables of high moral purpose with a much less rigid notion of morality than Chesterton's and a weirder sense of humor. Well-read readers with a taste for oddities should try them.
These are the questions this wonderful novel explores. Mr. Blatlock is, in my opinion, the contemporary master of combining fantastical ideas and very real, even mundane characters who tend to remind you of yourself.
I would compare this particular novel with Charles Williams' _Descent Into Hell_, which I read at about the same time. They are both fine descriptions of the road to hell and the people on it, from writers who understand that the danger involved are not just in the realm of fantasy.
Just check it out and see!