An interesting postscript: I just read not one but two reviews on Amazon comparing this unfavourably to Justin Cronin's The Passage. And I was totally meh on The Passage, and loved this (at least well enough to go pick up his other books too.)

Oh well, everyone can't love everything! But I hope you like it.

That's good to know. The Passage doesn't interest me, so maybe I'll feel more like you :) I did start this one a while ago, but I stopped right at the beginning because I just wasn't in the mood for it. I'll give it another try.