05/20/2024

King proves he’s still a master of short fiction in his sterling seventh collection (after The Bazaar of Bad Dreams). Standouts from the five previously unpublished entries include “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” in which the title character has a psychic vision and then accidentally incriminates himself in a murder he didn’t commit, and the eerie yet touching “Two Talented Bastids,” in which a young man discovers the dirty secret that helped his famous father and successful best friend develop their artistic prowess. Among the notable entries previously published elsewhere are “The Fifth Step,” about a recovering alcoholic making amends for his more sinister impulses, and “On Slide Inn Road,” which traces a family’s wrong turn en route to a family reunion in Maine. Themes of fate, morality, and heartache crop up again and again in these tightly coiled tales, and King expertly utilizes them to make every twist of the knife all the more terrifying. This remarkably assured collection will thrill the author’s fans. Agent: Liza Darhansoff, Darhansoff & Verrill. (May)

Praise for You Like It Darker

"A master class in tension and is full of King’s dark humor. He knows what we like, and he delivers. This collection proves King is still king." —The New York Times Book Review

“Stephen King knows You Like It Darker and obliges with sensational new tales... thoughtful... intriguing... surprisingly emotional... the author has a long history of exceptional short fiction... He proves once more that his smaller-sized tales pack as powerful a wallop as the big boys.” —USA Today

“What's obvious is that King's skills as a storyteller remain undimmed, and following him into the dark, the light or anywhere in between is never a bad bet. As if anyone could resist.” —Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“The best of these stories, as is true with the best of King’s work, feature horror tempered with heart.” —Associated Press

“Stephen King is still writing with the giddy abandon of scribes half his age, and more than anything else, You Like It Darker is evidence of that joy.” —Paste

“Stephen King keeps it fresh... very entertaining... sometimes, good things come in small packages.” —Bangor Daily News

“Classic King, stories full of heart, horror, and humanity, each riffing on that eternal question: what if?” —Vulture

“The titular darkness promised is as riveting and all-consuming as ever.” —New York Magazine

"King is writing some of the best work of his long career." —Seattle Times

“King does it again in this collection of stories... there’s no doubt that King is still a master.” —AARP

“King proves he’s still a master of short fiction in his sterling seventh collection... This remarkably assured collection will thrill the author’s fans.” —Publishers Weekly

“King’s first book, Carrie, was published 50 years ago. You Like It Darker proves that he is still at the height of his powers. A triumph.” —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

“Readers will be thrilled by these tales. They all have that King touch.” —Library Journal, STARRED review

“A dozen tales from the master will draw you in—page by page, horror by horror—and hold you fast.” —Kirkus, STARRED review

★ 04/01/2024

In King's (The Bazaar of Bad Dreams) new collection of short stories, a rogue scientist tries to peer past the boundaries of the world by hypnotizing "The Dreamers"; "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream" becomes a nightmare when a police officer mistakes Danny for the murderer of a young woman; and the son of a famous author discovers how his father's writing talent blossomed in midlife in "Two Talented Bastids." There's also a young lawyer in the 1930s who is trying to determine whether he should work at his family's white-shoe law firm or open his own small practice; he's lucky enough to fall into a fold of space and time to find "The Answer Man." In fact, the lawyer will come to find the Answer Man three times in his life; will he like the answers he hears? Meanwhile, in "Rattlesnake," the Constant Readers bump into a character from Cujo long after the events of that book, who is trying to outrun his own ghosts and the ghosts of others. VERDICT King explains in an afterword to the collection that short stories are hard for him to write, but readers will be thrilled by these tales. Some of the stories are darker and more poisonous than others, but they all have that King touch.—Jennie Mills

★ 2024-04-05
A dozen tales from the master of creepiness.

Do you like your short stories on the dark side? Enjoy having eerie images and unsettling plot points turn your dreams into nightmares? Take pleasure in jumping at shadows and feeling your heart beat faster after nightfall? If so, this beefy new collection is for you. In a dozen stories—some considerably longer than others—spanning about 500 pages, King gives the reader a host of things to fear: deadly snakes, ghoulish ghosts of long-dead children, man-eating alligators, stealthy serial killers, plummeting airplanes, mad scientists, mistaken identity. Along the way, he also offers insights about, among other things, the fickleness of talent, the power and pathos of unrealized dreams, the pain and pleasure of relationships, and the meaning and meaninglessness of life and, of course, death. In “Two Talented Bastids,” the son of a famous writer seeks out the source of his father’s success as well as that of his father’s best friend, an artist—and confronts his own limitations. In “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” a man’s dream about a dead body turns into a living nightmare of suspicion and disbelief. “The Answer Man” explores the value of knowing your future; “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to King’s bestseller Cujo (1981), the importance of reckoning with the past. And while the book is not without an occasional misstep (“Red Screen,” about a cop with a nitpicking perimenopausal wife, say), King’s conversational prose, relatable characters, and knack for knowing precisely what you are afraid of will draw you in—page by page, horror by horror—and hold you fast.

The disturbing stories in King’s latest collection will seep into your psyche and haunt you.