Luckily book reading or judging is no exact science. Otherwise I would get really frustrated about all the good reviews this bad little book has received -not in the least from most of my likeminded GR-friends. 
 One would think they never read a really good horror or haunted house story, or they never read a really good David Mitchell novel. But I'm pretty sure this is not the case. So why was this any good? Tastes differ, I know, but with this one, I found it hard to swallow. And I really wonder about the ratings if this would have been written by an unknown debutant... (I personally would have quit after 50 pages) 
 I read all of Mitchell's books (check my other ratings) and I'll keep on yelling he's one of the most talented writers around and convince people to read his novels. 
 But now I'll add in a soft voice: 'But please skip Slade House'