I am a reader who believes that any book over 400 pages has something that could have been left out, be it extensive descriptions or dialogue, unless it is an epic story like Lord of the Rings. This is a 500+ page book that, in my opinion, fits that bill. I almost put it down by page 10 because Straub was jumping between two different times and it was driving me nuts! I thought the whole book was going to be like that and I wasn't going to keep reading. Fortunately, that was only the "intro." I liked the premise and thought Straub did a good job of bringing together seemingly random events to fit a singular cause of them all. Overall, it is a good book and worth digging through.
Peter Straub is one of THE best horror writers out there! This book was awesome! Ghosts, catastrophe after catastrophe, demons, conspiracy, haunted houses, dangerous unknown chemicals...this novel has them all. If that isn't enough to keep the horror buffs entertained, I don't know what is. This is a long book, but I did not want the story to end.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Two monstrous evils.
This quiet suburban town of Hampstead is threatened by two horrors.
One is natural. The hideous, unstoppable creation of man's power gone mad.
The other is not natural at all. And it makes the first look like a child's play.
Straub's 'final' horror tale is wonderfully over the top., November 20, 2001
Reviewer: Chadwick H. Saxelid "Bookworm" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
"I wanted to write a special effects show. Something that would make the reader's jaw drop and make them think 'I can't believe that I'm reading this.'" - Peter Straub on writing Floating Dragon.
Well Mr. Straub you have succeeded.
Floating Dragon was, at the time, Straub's last foray into supernatural horror (Mr. X marks his return to the field that made him famous). As an ancient, paranormal thing awakens to again wreak havoc on an accursed town, an equally horrid nerve gas escapes and infects the population of said town. How much of the events of this story are really happening and how much is collective hallucination brought upon by the gas? The question is not answered by Straub, who leaves a great deal to the reader to figure out. But the clues are there, you just have to dig past all the symbolic and over the top effects scenes (of which there is a HUGE amount). Granted Floating Dragon may not be Straub's best novel, but even his lesser efforts are far superior to other horror writers successes.
