I came to this one after reading a series of novels from his "classic era" (Carrie, and 'Salem's Lot, for example). What's interesting is that I'd always felt that his early work was his strongest due to the simpler premises. I have to say that I enjoyed this more than either of the above two, but for a reason I can't quite place. The story is more complicated, but it still works.
Maybe it's because I started it late on a cold night so it reached me right away. Maybe it was reading about the writer writing that felt so connected to the author's real experiences. For whatever reason, I quite enjoyed it. Quality dessert reading.