if you are prone to nightmares or cases of the heebie-jeebies after reading scary stuff, put this book down now. if however, you enjoy a serious case of the goosebumps now and then, this is a great story for you. phantoms is the book that put koontz name on the map as a horror, a fact that he has very mised feelings about, because so many of his books are not so horror-able as this one, and he doesn't enjoy being pigeonholed. with as many books as he has written, there's litle chance of that happening. he is a master wordsmith, and his use of language can at time be breathtaking in its beauty. and his villians! oh my, his villians! he creates such nasty bad guys, there is no way anyone, no matter how kind hearted, could feel anything but revulsion and disgust for them. his books are great reading, and this one will give you a wild weekend of chills. 3 and 1/2 stars for phantoms.