Instruct: Classify a given review into positive or negative sentiment.
Query: Better off not read

This is one of the worst outings Peter Straub has ever had as an author. An avid horror fan, I couldn't even get beyond the mid way point of the book. No plot development, slow to move and unsympathetic characters made me long for the turn of the page when I would discover what Mr. X was seeking. I was so bored with the book I didn't even bother to go to the end to find out what happened before putting the book on the shelf.