both for its chill factor and its literary merit. Like Dracula, most of the tension disappears when the monster is unmasked. Until then, this story is as much psychological thriller as supernatural chiller. The story revolves around a recovering alcoholic and his attempt to redeam himself after he threw away a cushy job at a New England prep school by attacking one of his students. Offered a job as the winter caretaker for a remote hotel in the Colorado Rockies, the man sees it as an opportunity to finish his play and reconnect with his wife and young son. It isn't long, though, before more sinister and ghostly forces reveal themselves.
The most interesting aspect of this novel is the depth with which King probes his characters' psyches. Although it's slow going at first, the background makes the ending not only believable, but also inevitable.
Recommendation: Buy it.
Note: I had the privelege of reading a first edition of this novel. One of the coolest parts was reading about the author and his other two novels, Carrie
and Salem's Lot
, on the inside cover.
