One of the aspects of King's writing that I've always enjoyed the most are the tangents he goes off on. It's a talent in and of itself to get that far away from the original story and then flawlessly weave back into it. This book, although more of a novella, is no exception. As much as I hate to admit it, I almost enjoyed the side stories more than the main one. But the end, the last three chapters, pulled everything together and brought the book from a 3 star to a 4. The original 3 star that I had in mind had nothing to do with the writing or the characters, it was a simple case of the story itself not being for me. The ending turned it around.