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Title details for You Like It Darker by Stephen King - Available

You Like It Darker

Stories

by Stephen King
Will Patton
Audiobook
3 of 53 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
3 of 53 copies available
Winner of the 2025 Audie Award for Short Stories/Collections

Includes an afterword written by Stephen King and read by Sean Patrick Hopkins
NAMED A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP 10 HORROR BOOK OF 2024
WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR HORROR

"Stephen King knows You Like It Darker and obliges with sensational new tales" (USA TODAY): From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King, an extraordinary collection of stories that are "a master class in tension and full of King's dark humor" (The New York Times Book Review).
"You like it darker? Fine, so do I," writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel "the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind," and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

"Two Talented Bastids" explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream," a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. In "Rattlesnakes," a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In "The Dreamers," a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. "The Answer Man" asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

"King's skills as a storyteller remain undimmed" (The Minnesota Star Tribune) and his ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace is unsurpassed. "The titular darkness promised is as riveting and all-consuming as ever" (New York magazine). You like it darker? You got it.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    May 21, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797174631
      • File size: 586524 KB
      • Duration: 20:21:54

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 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.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Yes, Stephen King, we like it darker--especially when Will Patton narrates the 12 new stories in this audiobook. Patton's usually soft voice explodes with excitement when necessary. Some of the entries from the lengthy collection are crime related, and there's not a single vampire, alien or werewolf to be found. Others are typical King horror fests. "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream," is a 68-chapter novella that dwarfs the rest of the bite-sized works. In it, a humble janitor has a prophetic dream about a murder that he dutifully, though surreptitiously, reports to police and ends up the suspect. "On The Side of the Road," about a family accosted by killers they meet in the woods, is a brief nod to the wisdom of the elderly. And "Rattlesnakes" is a bit of a sequel to CUJO. M.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      Starred review from September 1, 2024

      King (The Bazaar of Bad Dreams) provides plenty of thrills and chills in this new short story collection featuring a mix of previously published and never-before-seen works. From the creepy "Rattlesnakes" to the sweet but gory "Laurie" to the terrifying "Turbulence Expert," King shows off his talent and his ability to offer new takes on familiar characters, places, and stories. Will Patton's narration perfectly enhances the tense, unsettling tone running throughout the collection; King himself provides an engaging narration of "Laurie" and "Turbulence Expert"; and Sean Patrick Hopkins reads the afterword. King pays homage to his fellow authors, including classic suspense and horror writers like Shirley Jackson, Agatha Christie, and Flannery O'Connor; the latter's short story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" inspired King's "On Slide Inn Road." King deftly incorporates current events and pop culture, with references to COVID, The Twilight Zone, and plenty of musicians and bands. VERDICT King's latest collection of short stories offers hours of entertainment for his legions of readers. Though devoted fans will delight at references to his other works, new listeners will also find much to love. Highly recommended.--Elyssa Everling

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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