By far, one of the greatest Stephen King (and I guess Peter Straub) books ever. I remember liking it a lot when I first read it, but on a second reading, having read so much of his other work, especially the complete Dark Tower, I can see this book in a new light.

A deep and thorough exploration of one of the multiple universes that comes into play in the Dark Tower, the drama and excitement, twists and turns make reading this book almost a compulsive exercise. Instead of saying 'it was hard to put down,' which it was, let me put it this way: I almost missed my train station repeatedly while reading it, and was often the last one off the train at Penn Station on my way into work. I just wanted to finish whatever paragraph/page/chapter I was in and see what happened next.