I hated it. 
 Seriously. 
 I'm not sure whether it's because I hate westerns or because I couldn't put my finger on half the things which were going on. 
 I mean... it didn't feel as though I were reading a fantasy book at all... there was no "magic" in King's writing... there was nothing... well, as a matter of fact, maybe there was too much. 
 It felt like a mixture of western with bad sci-fi, a sprinkle of religion and spoonful of mysteries apparently not related to one another at all. 
 I'm still decided to read book II though, if only for the fact that I like King and he said it himself (in the foreword) that this first book hasn't been the best thing he's ever written anyway.