This book was so dreadfully slow I could not finish it. Horror fiction should grab you. This story never did.A lot of family history with no substance or relevance. I also found the fact that every woman who meets whatshisface falls head over heels for him to be ridiculous. The H.P Lovecraft connection was stretching it. Readers would be better advised to try Lovecraft. Or for new horror fiction, try Douglas Clegg-he will grab you from the start and never let go, especially You Come When I Call You, or The Nightmare Chronicles. Lets face it, if we want superb writing technique(with no interesting story attached)we'll look elsewhere. When I buy a book like this I just want to be entertained. I liked other Straub books however.