You Like it Darker

 

You Like it Darker – Stephen King

Yet another Stephen King book.  How many is this now? 70? 80? More? I can’t keep track, and to be honest, I worry about anyone who does.  This is one of his books of short stories.  Again, I can’t keep up with how many of these King has either.  My guess is that he has more books of short stories than many authors have novels.  This really isn’t good or bad necessarily.  True, a good Stephen King novel is probably more welcome than an abbreviated compilation tales, but his full novels aren’t necessarily a guarantee.  So these offerings are always somewhat welcome even if most fans may not favor the format.

The stories, as always, are a mixed bag.  Some are quite long, some are quite brief. One of the longest offerings was a novella titled ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream’ which was included as a ‘bonus’ in an electronic version of a recent book.  I seem to recall being surprised that he included the entire novella as a bonus (usually you get a chapter or two).  I was also pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the story better than the novel in which it was included.  I didn’t reread it here, so it saved me a bit of time.

Also featured here was also a novella that served as sort of a sequel to ‘Cujo’ called ‘Rattlesnakes’. I enjoyed that one as well. Related note: It also took place close to a place called ‘Duma Key’ which was the name of another Stephen King novel.  I read that one too and enjoyed it, but honestly don’t remember anything about that particular novel. So maybe ‘Rattlesnakes’ was a sequel to that one in some aspects as well?

I do seem to recall that I enjoyed the stories more in the latter half of the book.  The first several seemed a bit forced and not my cup of tea, but opinions will always differ among fans as to what is good and what is not.  Like most of what King writes, there is a level of creepiness to most if not all of these stories, yet that is expected and welcome.

If you’re fan and you enjoy his short story compilations, this one won’t disappoint.  You’ll have some you love, some you like, some you hate, and some will make you go ‘What in the Hell did I just read?”  King delivers here.  It must be nice to have such a gift of storytelling, despite the subject matter that permeates our sane world.