Though I don't know too many of King's books after the early nineties, I'd say he is in top form here, stylistically speaking. The first 150 or so pages are flawlessly compelling, and King manages to build up a palpable tension that is all the more impressive as there are almost no action scenes.

This continues up until the middle part of the book, where new characters are introduced and quite satisfyingly brought to a conclusion.

Once the great quest is underway, however, the sloppiness sets in: King lets his characters work out what must have happened (which is never a good idea for such a setting), and it makes little sense. From the beginning, the “phone people” have shown behaviour that doesn't match the explanation at all. Even worse, King seems to forget his own premises time and time again so that the finale is completely random.

Still, it's a fun way to kill an evening or two, and the weak parts only become apparent once you begin to think about the book. And that's rarely helpful with a King novel ...