You Like It Darker: Stories

True Constant Readers are always eager to get into some of Uncle Stevie's short fiction, and this one does not disappoint. The title is somewhat misleading, as the stories are nowhere near as dark as [Full Dark, No Stars] - that one provides a veritable menu of nightmares.

One standout is the previously unpublished "Danny Coughln's Bad Dream." Here, an ex-con dreams of a body and it is so real that he decides to investigate. He finds the body and tries to place an anonymous tip on the location of the body but is quickly a suspect in the person's death. King weaves in his new aptitude for procedural writing with some real- and other-world horror, not to mention a detective with a rapidly growing personality disorder. Great fun.

Another show more standout is "Rattlesnakes." this one is a sort of sequel to [Cujo], catching up with the surviving father of the family targeted by the rabid pooch. This one is less horror and more ghost story, truly creepy. A woman in a Florida neighborhood rolls a stroller around with her long-dead sons in them and no one knows if she really sees them. Oh, she totally saw them, and they latch on to a new hauntee when their mother dies.

Finally, I dug "On Slide Inn Road" because it reminded me so much of Flannery O'Connor as I read it. And, sure enough, at the end, Uncle Stevie said he was thinking about her when he wrote it. Think "A Good Man is Hard to Find" but....darker.

5 bones!!!!!
Highly Recommended!!!!! show less

You Like It Darker presents the work of one of the most versatile imaginations in the literary world in peak form. Stephen King enjoys an iconic reputation as a novelist, but his shorter works are less well-known. This is a shame because the stories collected in You Like It Darker include all of the tension, mystery and eeriness for which King is famous, are every bit as entertaining, and deliver the goods in condensed form. Alien incursions, murderous psychopathy, hallucinations, an infestation of snakes, mischievous spirits, dreams spilling over into reality, pseudo-science gone horribly wrong … it’s all here. The collection opens with “Two Talented Bastids,” in which the son of bestselling author, Laird Carmody, learns the show more unearthly truth behind his father’s sudden success in middle age. “The Fifth Step” tells the story of widower Harold Jamieson, who one day while resting on a park bench, meets Jack, a recovering alcoholic working his way through the 12 steps. Harold patiently agrees to listen to Jack’s confession of wrongdoings, but at the story’s end gets more than he bargained for. In “On Slide Inn Road,” written as homage to Flannery O’Connor, a family confronts a pair of ruthless criminals on a remote and little-used rural byway they were driving along as a short cut until their car became stuck in a ditch. “The Dreamers” recounts Vietnam veteran William Davis’s harrowing experience as an assistant for Elgin—self-described “gentleman scientist”—during Elgin’s short-lived and ill-advised attempts to discover the meaning of human existence by penetrating the “wall of sleep.” In “The Answer Man,” it’s 1937, and young Phil Parker, pondering a life-defining dilemma, encounters a man at a roadside booth calling himself The Answer Man. Phil stops and pays the advertised fee to have his questions answered. But even though he’s picked up insight into his future through this inexplicable channel, he finds as he ages that he has no more control over the trajectory of his life than anyone else. And in the novella-length story “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” the collection’s standout, Danny, who narrates, finds himself the target of a police investigation after discovering the body of a murder victim through means that even he finds hard to believe. Though some of the stories here work better than others, readers will find that Stephen King’s extraordinary gifts are on display on every page. King knows instinctively how to grab the reader’s attention and instantly pull him into the story. From the first few lines, the reader is transfixed by a compelling narrative voice or forced to read on because of a quickly sketched but engaging situational drama, or has their curiosity aroused by an accumulation of fascinating detail. He knows the tricks of the trade inside-out and deploys them with artistry that to the reader comes across as effortless, but any writer of fiction will tell you it’s anything but. Do yourself a favour and read this brilliantly entertaining collection of short fiction by an acknowledged master. And as a bonus for aspiring writers, You Like It Darker also serves as a master class in the art of writing fiction. show less

This might be an unpopular opinion, but here it is – I like Stephen King’s short stories more than I do his novels.

Before you come after me with the pitchforks, I love his novels! He is called the master of horror for a VERY good reason. And it’s not just his horror – he has a knack for really pulling at your heartstrings and evoking some crazy strong emotions. (I ugly cried reading Fairytale, like seriously.) And he has an almost supernatural ability to write characters that you just REALLY love to hate - Big Jim in Under the Dome? Worst human being ever. I almost hate-quit that book purely because of how much I hated that character, which is exactly how he wanted me to feel.

But even as great as his novels are, there’s just show more something about his short stories. He’s able to distill a story down into just it’s pure essence, in a way that worms into your brain and you can’t stop thinking about it. It’s like these perfect little bite-size horror cakes. There’s not a single story in this collection I didn’t enjoy, and most of them were easily 4 stars on their own. The first story, Two Talented Bastids, is the perfect opener. Rattlesnakes is a bit of an epilogue to Cujo, perfectly creepy and one you shouldn’t read alone at night. And Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream? The longest in the collection, and my absolute favorite by far.

Whether or not you enjoy these may depend on what you think of as “horror.” Not all of them have supernatural baddies, or jump scares, or blood and gore. But as you get older and you’ve got a greater lived experience, you come to see a quiet, and maybe even deeper, horror in some of the quieter aspects of life. And Stephen King just absolutely excels at that quieter, deeper horror to the point where it will be living rent-free in your head for much longer than you’d expect.

So uh, if you couldn’t tell, I really liked this book. I know we’re past peak spooky season, but that’s no excuse, if you like horror then you should read this, now. show less

Chef's kiss. No notes. Stephen King ages like fine wine and his short stories keep getting better. These hooked me and didn't let me go. It did of course help that it was narrated by Will Patton phenomenal narration. I don't think anyone else (except perhaps Tim Curry) does it better. Rattlesnakes really stood out as one of the best in this collection and I LOVE that King throws in an old friend (the father from Cujo). That one was dark in twisty in a a truly grotesque way. I also loved the characters in Danny Coughlins bad dream. I was sad when that story ended. All in all, fantastic collection and amazing narration (King also narrates two of them!).

Is this darker? On a King gradient this collection is closer to the mean than to the mean. It's no Bachman revival. Most of the stories have horror elements taking the backseat while telling more mundane stories about aging, loss, love; the products of a more mature writer who's also aged out of any youthful anger to put into horror fiction, and the Cohen inspired title is just picked for sounding neat.
The highlights for me were probably Rattlesnakes (though the 'sequel to Cujo' angle was completely unnecessary), The Answer Man (maudlin slice of life story) and The Dreamers, which came the closest to dark exploring the Lovecraftian mines King likes to flirt with.
The biggest fault of the collection is realizing how fast and badly any show more reference to the corona years, masking and isolating dates a work. Those stories felt decades old already. show less

It's been a while since I've read King, but this short story collection was pretty great overall. There were some unexpected returns to older characters that turned out well and a thrilling paranormal mystery thriller, amongst others. Not his best work, but definitely still a sign that he still has what it takes to be recognized as he is in the literary world.

A collection of short stories, many on the theme of growing older and confronting one's mortality, which makes sense considering King's time in life. About midway through this, with first the happy-ending reworking of Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and then the dog story "Laurie," I thought King might be turning into a softie. Where's the horror? Then I got to "Rattlesnakes"--whoa. That was some nightmare fuel, right there. And just when the reader is relaxing and thinking this isn't so dark. Good work. The final three stories were my favorites in the book, but I also really enjoyed the long one called "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream." Some jewels, some clunkers, overall a good read.