Stephen King is a modern day literary genius, at least according to some people. His ability to make people sleep with the lights on is legendary, as is his talent for making monsters out of regular people. King doesn’t (always) paint overtly gruesome pictures, although he is extremely good at manipulating the yuck-factor, instead, it’s his clever use of words, hinting at horrors too awful to imagine, that strikes fear into the hearts of his readers. And now, just in time for the holidays, he’s back with four novellas in a collection titled Full Dark No Stars.
According to Stephen King’s official website, the novellas are as follows:
“1922”: The story opens with the confession of Wilfred James to the murder of his wife, Arlette, following their move to Hemingford, Nebraska onto land willed to Arlette by her father.
“A Good Marriage”: Darcy Anderson learns more about her husband of over twenty years than she would have liked to know when she stumbles literally upon a box under a worktable in their garage.
“Big Driver”: Mystery writer, Tess, has been supplementing her writing income for years by doing speaking engagements with no problems. But following a last-minute invitation to a book club 60 miles away, she takes a shortcut home with dire consequences.
“Fair Extension”: Harry Streeter, who is suffering from cancer, decides to make a deal with the devil but, as always, there is a price to pay.
Reviews
The reviews for Full Dark No Stars have been stellar. Writing for the Guardian, award-winning UK author, Neil Gaimen, says that “1922″ is as good as anything King has done. It’s not enough that the protagonist, Wilfred James murders his wife, he gets his 14-year-old son to help him. Gaimen calls it compulsive reading, “sometimes scary, revolting, ultimately heartbreaking”. Of the final story in the collection, “A Good Marriage”, Gaimen says it is a simple idea, perfectly told.
Kealan Patrick Burke calls Full Dark No Stars King’s darkest book yet. Burke considers “Big Driver” to be one of the better stories in the collection, although it covers ground King and his readers are very familiar with, the manner in which the story is told keep the pages turning. Burke’s favourite is “A Good Marriage”, which never goes the way one expects.
King’s new collection strips away the masks we all wear to reveal the strangers that lurk beneath. As King himself says, “Good people may only be good as long as they’re allowed to be.”
Full Dark No Stars is available at all good book stores. Prices vary between R150 and R200.
Jade Scully is a copywriter excited about writing copy and stories, blogging about the world and editing. She currently and regularly publishes her stories on a number of blogs. Jade loves animals and hopes to begin writing copy for the animal rescue charity TEARS as her contribution to the cause.
