Name: Full Dark, No Stars
Rating: 3.946666666666667 (75 reviews)
ISBN: 9781587672378

Stephen King

Tomislav Tikulin

Full Dark, No Stars

"I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger..." writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting confession that makes up "1922." the first in this pitch-black quartet of mesmerizing tales from Stephen King. For James, that stranger is awakened when his wife, Arlette, proposes selling off the family homestead and moving to Omaha, setting in motion a gruesome train of murder and madness.

In "Big Driver," a cozy-mystery writer named Tess encounters the stranger along a back road in Massachusetts when she takes a shortcut home after a book-club engagement. Violated and left for dead, Tess plots a revenge that will bring her face-to-face with another stranger: the one inside herself.

"Fair Extension," the shortest of these tales, is perhaps the nastiest and certainly the funniest. Making a deal with the devil not only saves Dave Streeter from a fatal cancer but provides rich recompense for a lifetime of resentment.

When her husband of more than twenty years is away on one of his business trips, Darcy Anderson looks for batteries in the garage. Her toe knocks up against a box under a worktable and she discovers the stranger inside her husband. It's a horrifying discovery, rendered with bristling intensity, and it definitely ends a good marriage.

Like Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight, which generated such enduring films as The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me, Full Dark, No Stars proves Stephen King a master of the long story form.
(front flap)

I don't think Stephen King knows how to write a bad book. This was yet another compelling book of his under my belt, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. I personally was least interested in the first short story '1922' than all the rest, I thought the horror elements weren't that terrifying and really just thought overall it was heartbreaking, but the pacing was extremely slow. 

I really loved 'Big Driver' and 'A Good Marriage' because I'm a sucker for strong female characters, and I think Stephen King does a pretty good job writing them convincingly. 

'Fair Extension' was super short, but I still liked it. I feel like it was just a new take on what the meaning of morality is, good luck vs bad luck, the completely random way life changes, the complexities of fairness and equality and karma.

I could definitely see myself reading at least some of these short stories again

Emma Lechner

I don't think Stephen King knows how to write a bad book. This was yet another compelling book of his under my belt, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. I personally was least interested in the first short story '1922' than all the rest, I thought the horror elements weren't that terrifying and really just thought overall it was heartbreaking, but the pacing was extremely slow. 

I really loved 'Big Driver' and 'A Good Marriage' because I'm a sucker for strong female characters, and I think Stephen King does a pretty good job writing them convincingly. 

'Fair Extension' was super short, but I still liked it. I feel like it was just a new take on what the meaning of morality is, good luck vs bad luck, the completely random way life changes, the complexities of fairness and equality and karma.

I could definitely see myself reading at least some of these short stories again

Hailey Rae

This book is FULL of 4 stories by Stephen King that are unforgettable. I loved reading this book, especially since each story was different than the one before and each one was impeccably written. Every-time I thought each story was going to end one way, it would end another. But, this is Stephen King we are talking about and he never misses!

Loren Simonson

Four novellas featuring people seeking revenge/retribution for past wrongs. 1922 felt really long, but wasn’t bad. Big Driver was dark and the tone was practical in a way? Fair Extension was a nice change from the previous two and dealt well with the complications of jealousy. A Good Marriage was the best of the bunch, complex and oddly sentimental. The stories fit well together and it was a great spooky rainy day read.

Hannah Futterman

*1922 - 5 stars *Big Driver - 4 stars *Fair Extension - 4 stars *A Good Marriage - 4 stars

Yulande Lindsay

** spoiler alert **
           I love Stephen King's writing. I do. I am not a horror aficionado, rarely read it in fact, but Stephen King I love. And make no mistake, its the horror I love, the way he explores the deepest darkest places and drags you along with him. He is an excellent story teller and rarely fails to mesmerize. Full Dark No Stars is no exception.

"1922"
I read several reviews of this story and noticed that many persons called it boring, felt that it dragged in places and was not his usual compelling writing. I disagree. For me, with this story, the greatest crime committed was not the murder of his wife, but his willful destruction of his son's spirit and the reason he did it! Not for the land as he repeatedly claims, but because she opposed him and in opposing him question his man-ness (is there such a word?) - at least in my humble opinion. To make your son an accomplice to that, was an unforgivable act and his descent into madness, slowly and carefully is simple justice.

"Big Driver"
God, this one was hard to read. The spectre of rape is one which haunts me. I cannot imagine...! I cheered out loud at times...forget "thou shalt not kill", this one was justified. That twist though, did NOT see that coming.

"Fair Extension"
Bastard, absolute bastard. Simple jealousy. The destruction of someone's life simply because he never had vision, because he couldn't say no...jealousy and with no remorse.

"A Good Marriage"
This one was frightening. Not for any supernatural reason, but because...it could happen. Has happened. King states that he wrote the story after reading about the BTK killer who slaughtered women for sixteen years, at the same time leading a perfectly ordinary life as husband and deacon of his church. He states that many persons found it hard to believe that his wife didn't know what was going on, she must have known. He didn't agree and neither do I. You don't know everything about the person you're with and you never will. Also, for most persons, you only see what you expect to see, and NOBODY is going to expect to see a serial killer under a perfectly normal facade. My favourite story of the collection.

One thing I noticed, four stories, two male POVs and two female. The males both guilty and the females innocents, victims. All killers, but in context. I'd like to see King create a truly evil female protagonist. Not a malevolent ghost (Duma Key, Bag of Bones), but one who's motivation is not driven the need for justice or revenge, just evil. Plain evil. Should be interesting.

Looking forward to the next one!

Amy Maddess

Definitely my favourite short story collection by King

Is it possible to fully know anyone? Even those we love the most? What tips someone over the edge to commit a crime? For a Nebraska farmer, the turning point comes when his wife threatens to sell off the family homestead. A cozy mystery writer plots a savage revenge after a brutal encounter with a stranger. Dave Streeter gets the chance to cure himself from illness - if he agrees to impose misery on an old rival. And Darcy Anderson discovers a box containing her husband's dark and terrifying secrets - he's not the man who keeps his nails short and collects coins. And now he's heading home . . . Like DIFFERENT SEASONS and FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT, which generated such enduring hit films as The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, FULL DARK, NO STARS proves Stephen King a master of the long story form.

Jeremy Sheridan Wells

This is an entertaining selection from King's newer output, with tales of murder and horror seeping out of almost Rockwell-ian settings. Still, the apparitians that tempt and haunt these characters never quite commit to being either supernatural manifestations in our world like in It, or purely psychological and symbolic making it the stories interesting but short of the impact of classic King.

Full Dark, No Stars: featuring 1922, now a Netflix film

Jade Flynn

"Take my hand, Constant Reader, and I'll be happy to lead you back into the sunshine. I'm happy to go there, because I believe most people are essentially good. I know that I am. It's you I'm not entirely sure of".

Full Dark, No Stars

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