I just thought of something else for me to dislike about Black House (it was probably something I disliked about The Talisman, too).

I hate -- HATE -- being told to like someone in a story. This book comes right out and calls Jack Sawyer a hero... I'm really not doing that section justice, because he's given the bravura introduction suited for a god come to earth. And most of the characters act in sheer awe of him.

And the thing is, of course, that whenever he's actually on center stage, rather than being discussed in reverent tones, he doesn't seem very special.

This is one reason I hated the Lion King, too. And why, when I was younger, I almost always rooted for the bad guys in fiction.