@judgedread I find Gaiman a very unique case: he is a leftoid that has found a way to actually write heroic, tragic, flawed characters well. And his storytelling skills are excellent, unlike China Mieville or Neal Stephenson he has no problem with crafting masterful endings

I think all this has resulted from being forced to cut his teeth as a comic book writer when his career first started out. He was under enormous time constraints and did not have the luxury of missing deadlines. It forces a writer to learn basic craftsmanship.