Full Dark, No Stars

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Craig Wasson, Jessica Hecht

“The pages practically turn themselves” (USA TODAY) in this collection of four “disturbing, fascinating” (The Washington Post) novellas centered around the theme of retribution from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King.

“1922” (also a Netflix original film): A violence awakens inside a man when his wife proposes selling off the family homestead, setting in motion a grisly train of murder and madness.

“Big Driver”: A mystery writer is brutally assaulted by a stranger along a Massachusetts back road and plots a revenge that will bring her face-to-face with another stranger: the one inside herself.

“Fair Extension”: Making a deal with the devil not only saves a man from terminal illness but also provides rich recompense for a lifetime of resentment.

“A Good Marriage”: The trust forged by more than twenty years of matrimony is irrevocably shattered when a woman makes a chance discovery leading to the horrifying implications of just who her husband really is.

Like the #1 bestselling novella collections Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight, Stephen King’s Full Dark, No Stars is “gripping storytelling” (People) and “an extraordinary collection, thrillingly merciless, and a career high point” (The Daily Telegraph, London).

Great stories, annoying performance

As always, Stephen King has outdone himself.
Unfortunately, the performances by Jessica Hecht are not very good. Her voices for the female characters are too whiney and airy-sounding... read at an annoyingly high register. And she sounds like she is smiling throughout the reading, even when the suspense in the story increases.
I will avoid future performances by Jessica Hecht.

1st Story, Classic King

The first story was awesome. I had to keep the lights on because I was getting creep out. The rest of the book was just okay. Great book, but I just wanted for dark and blood. I enjoyed reading this one.

Keep Writing These Mr. King!

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderul little collection of awesome stories. If you're a King fan, you won't be dissapointed.

Good ideas - some good stories - last one is SLOW

The stories were great! The last one - well - the idea was fantastic, and the story could have been amazing if it wasn't the most unending redundant repeated stuff I've suffered through in a long long time.

I listened to the last story on a 4 hour trip. My wife and I began the trip listening to it. After an hour, she begged me to use earphones. Two hours later, she asked me for an update, and amazingly, it took me two sentences to cover the ground it took this book two hours to cover.

By THAT time, I was so invested in it, I couldn't just put it down. Again - the story was a great idea - but the writing just rambled. And rambled. And rambles. HOW can a story ramble in an annoying way? I can't even remember - it was THAT uninteresting.

So. Enjoy the first three. The fourth one - I'll be happy to give you the 5-minute short story version.

I really enjoyed 2 of the 4 stories ...

This book is 4 novellas or long stories. The first one, about a 1920s era farmer, wasn't worth the time. It went on too long and there was no significant reveal at the end. Man kills wife and screws up son. Yawn. Good prose though (as usual with King). The one about the writer was splendid, as was the one about the woman who makes a truly horrifying discovery in her husband's workshop area. That leaves the last story and I would have given it a more favorable review except for the abrupt ending. The most interesting aspect to a Faustian bargain is the bargainer's comeuppance, which we never saw. I did enjoy the author's post script, concluding comments. I agree with King, what most interests me is ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. He's a master at that. Can't wait for his next work!