Full Dark, No Stars [Paperback]

Stephen King (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 20, 2011

FULL DARK, NO STARS.

Five unforgettable short works from the #1 internationally bestselling author . . . “Raw looks at the limits of greed, revenge, and self-deception” (Booklist, starred review) from the greatest storyteller of our time.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month, November 2010: When a master of horror and heebie-jeebies like Stephen King calls his book Full Dark, No Stars, you know you’re in for a treat--that is, if your idea of a good time is spent curled up in a ball wondering why-oh-why you started reading after dark. King fans (and those who have always wanted to give him a shot) will devour this collection of campfire tales where marriages sway under the weight of pitch-black secrets, greed and guilt poison and fester, and the only thing you can count on is that "there are always worse things waiting." Full Dark, No Stars features four one-sitting yarns showcasing King at his gritty, gruesome, giddy best, so be sure to check under the bed before getting started. --Daphne Durham

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Amazon Exclusive: Justin Cronin, Suzanne Collins, Margaret Atwood, and T.C. Boyle Review Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars

"King is Poe's modern heir, and no writer has a richer sense of the dark rooms in the human psyche and fiction's singular power to capture them." Read more of Justin Cronin's review of "1922"	"Fast-paced and beautifully plotted, 'Big Driver' pulls you into Tess's fragmented mind and holds you hostage until the story concludes." Read more of Suzanne Collins's review of "Big Driver"	"It wouldn't be Stephen King if somebody's messily bleeding neck did not sprout a huge white knob. As it were." Read more of Margaret Atwood's review of "A Good Marriage"	"[King's] very ordinary-looking devil has no use for human souls, which, in these enervated times, 'have become poor and transparent things.'" Read more of T.C. Boyle's review of "Fair Extension"

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--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Eerie twists of fate drive the four longish stories in King's first collection since Just After Sunset (2008). In "1922," a farmer murders his wife to retain the family land she hopes to sell, then watches his life unravel hideously as the consequences of the killing suggest a near-supernatural revenge. "Big Driver" tells of an otherwise ordinary woman who discovers her extraordinary capacity for retribution after she is raped and left for dead. "A Good Marriage" explores the aftermath of a wife's discovery of her milquetoast husband's sinister secret life, while "Fair Extension," the book's most disturbing story, follows the relationship between a man and the best friend on whom he preternaturally shifts all his bad luck and misfortune. As in Different Seasons (1982), King takes a mostly nonfantastic approach to grim themes. Now, as then, these tales show how a skilled storyteller with a good tale to tell can make unsettling fiction compulsively readable. (Nov.) (c)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Pocket Books; Reprint edition (September 20, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 143919260X
• ISBN-13: 978-1439192603
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (761 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,953 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. Among his most recent are the Dark Tower novels, Cell, From a Buick 8, Everything's Eventual, Hearts in Atlantis, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Bag of Bones. His acclaimed nonfiction book, On Writing, was also a bestseller. He is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#11 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#2 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#4 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#7 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#9 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#11 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

#2 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#4 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#7 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction

#9 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#11 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

535 of 571 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars King delivers November 9, 2010

By M. SEBOURN

Format:Hardcover

Some of King's best material-- "The Mist", "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", "The Body", "Hearts in Atlantis", etc.-- can be found in his collections, particularly his novella collections. Yes, he's written some long books, many of them already considered modern classics (The Stand and IT come to mind), but the man has ALWAYS delivered when he confines himself a bit.

By delivered, I mean everything: characters, setting, story, emotion.

Read the first twenty pages of "1922." Try not to despise the utter selfishness of Wilfred and Arlette-- even while you're sympathizing with the unfortunate humanity of their situation. Try not to stare wide-eyed in horror at what Wilfred convinces his son to partake in... and just try to look away from the book (although you may have to-- for a breather-- after one grueling scene).

This is an honest book. Each story seems to revolve around the theme that there is a monster inside each one of us.

King is sometimes accused of being wordy, yet he seems to bat every ball out of the park when he confines himself to the constraints of a hundred or so pages.

Pay no attention to the fools who have chosen to lower the star rating of this excellent collection with their whining about the publishing industry and the expensive nature of their digital "books."

I paid fourteen dollars for this book several hours ago-- not a bad deal at all for a new hardback, I'd say-- and it's worth much more than that.

King is a modern master, and we're lucky to have him.

200 of 213 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid addition to my SK Library. November 13, 2010

By Robert "Dimndbangr" Hicks VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Full Dark, No Stars is a collection of 4 novellas that envelope the dark side in us all. The collection gets you started with...

1922 - This first person POV story is a confession of a farmer detailing his deeds which lead to the worst year of his life during the year 1922 in Nebraska. It is written with Mr. King's normal grab your attention right away and then bog the story down for a while throwing in those little blurbs to keep the plot moving. The majority of the story is predictable leading right up to an easily drawn conclusion. However, Mr. King does a nice job of ending the story on anything but relative to typical and in doing so saved it from being a low rating story. I would rate this one in the 3.5 stars range.

Big Driver - Another tale of rape and revenge. Even though this one was really predictable yet I still found it an engaging read, especially at the end. Mr. King does a great job of giving just enough details to get his vision across and at the same time leaves out enough so the reader can fill in the rest. I do feel he could have added more to the characters in this one. I wish he would have added more to the antagonist, but it seems he just let the deeds that were done to be enough to invoke a hatred for the antagonist and it just wasn't enough. The protagonist had her high and low points, but it was actually one of the side characters that seemed to have more to them in just their short scenes. The pacing and flow of the story was well done and so I will give this one a 4 out of 5 stars.

Fair Extension - How remorseless can a person be? Read this story and find out. To me, this one portrayed hatred in its purest form. This one was a really quick read as it is the shortest story in the collection. This story doesn't beat around the bush.... It gets right to it and doesn't let go. One of the things I would have liked was to know more about the "salesman" character. This one felt more like a Richard Bachman story to me, but not as good as the earlier works. So I think a 3 out of 5 would be fair for this one.

A Good Marriage - What would you do if you found out the person you were married to for 27 years had a very dark side? I would have to say this was the best story in the collection. The characters had good depth to them, were well fleshed out, and easy to connect with. It had a good pace to it and flowed nicely. One of the points I enjoyed was the Edgar Allan Poe simile he used. This was definitely a good psychological thriller. 5 Stars out of 5

Afterword - One thing I like is to read what Mr. King has to say about his books and this afterword was written especially for those who ask the question, "Where do you get your ideas?" If you are one of these type of people, then you will be greatly satisfied reading this small section, I know I was.

This book as a whole was entertaining to read and had many aspects of good humanistic horror telling. All the stories are more based on the darker side of human nature. If you are looking for more supernatural monsters, you will not find much here, though there are a couple parts that tow that line and one that steps just beyond it, but the main focus is on human reaction. If you are looking for some really gory parts, then 1922 is the best you will get. For long time Stephen King fans, I would definitely recommend this one and even those of a younger crowd who may or may not have had the chance to read him; I would recommend it to them as well. Calculating all the stories together, I feel this is worthy of a 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading.

-Dimndbangr Read more ›

477 of 536 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great King Book November 10, 2010

By Rod Redux

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I admit, I'm a fan of SK, but that doesn't stop me from NOT liking one of his books if I find it uninteresting. There have been a few-- like Rose Madder, Insomnia and Bag of Bones-- that I just didn't like and couldn't finish reading. Not that they're bad books, just not to my tastes. FULL DARK, NO STARS is one Stephen King book I'm putting in my great list. It was absolutely enthralling and very, very frightening. I'm not real big on bloated books that are more filler than sizzle, but the short novels in this book are lean and mean. I highly recommend this book.

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Now, as far as all the Kindle owners complaining about the price... back in the day, before the convenience of ebook readers and the wonder of having your reading collection all in one 4 ounce e-ink device, if someone could not afford a book they wanted to read, they went to the library and checked it out. They didn't protest in front of the bookstore. They didn't disparage a writer's reputation. They bought it used at a second-hand book shop, waited to find it at a yard sale or borrowed it from someone who is more affluent.

But back in the day, people had a little more pride, and they didn't think they should get everything for free, or next to free, just because they wanted it. Have a little dignity, people! Stop yapping like you think you're the star of your own little reality TV show. If you can't afford it, wait for the price to drop.

The review section is for book reviews, not for pricing complaints.

93 of 102 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Full Dark, Three Stars November 19, 2010

By W.S.

Format:Hardcover

I was looking forward to reading 'Full Dark', especially as it is a collection of stories rather than a novel. The short story suits King perfectly; far less room for the sagging middle section, the proliferation of thumbnail-sketched characters, predictable plot-turns, etc. The writing tends to be both more concentrated AND more pacey; it gathers its wits and gets down to what King does best: telling a great story. At his worst, he coasts along on automatic, happy to let the characters, plots and effects from earlier stories reappear in different guises, and he pads, so that dreary middle section becomes pendulous and plodding.

Since three of the four stories in Full Dark are longish ones (or novellas), there is room for quite a bit of 'automatic' writing. The first story, simply titled '1922' is, essentially, a ghost story, in the form of a prolonged confession by a man who murdered his wife. The murderer is a poor and desperate Nebraska farmer. King establishes the man's voice (contrite but not above self-deception) quite beautifully in the first few pages. Here's a sample: 'I believe that there is another man inside of every man, a stranger, a Conniving Man. And I believe that by March of 1922, when the Hemingford County skies were white and every field was a snow-scrimmed mudsuck, the Conniving Man inside Farmer Wilfred James had already passed judgement on my wife and decided her fate.' But the story has a middle which sags and then some, and by the time the ghost makes its appearance the encounter has been so over-prepared that it is, inevitably, a non-event. And there are rats. Anyone find rats scary? If you do, you may find this tale engrossing, but in my experience an abundance of these critters usually indicates that the fiction will be seriously dilapidated.... There are moments of tension and creepiness, but all of these are frittered (or gnawed) away in the 125 pages. It might have worked, with some serious editing, but it is, unfortunately, the longest story in the book.

The two succeeding stories, 'Big Driver' and 'Fair Extension', are better, but they both have weaknesses. 'Big Driver' starts out enjoyably enough. A woman who writes detective stories (of the Miss Marple variety) accepts an invitation to give a reading and afterwards (on the advice of her host) takes a shortcut. Naturally, she encounters a problem, followed by a considerably bigger one. This is promising King territory; he is great behind the wheel, or with most things road-related (remember 'Mrs Todd's Shortcut' from 'Skeleton Crew' and 'Rest Stop' from 'Just After Sunset'). I motored along with this for quite awhile (it's the second longest story), but eventually the payback angle became tiresome. Revenge may or may not be a dish best eaten cold, but overheated it quickly loses all flavour of beliveability. 'Fair Extension' is a blackly comic anti-morality fairytale. It has some nice touches (particularly in the figure of the devil as down-at-heel roadside hustler), but I far preferred the truly scary 'Man In The Black Suit' in 'Everything's Eventual', one of his strongest collections of stories.

Which brings us to the final story, 'A Good Marriage'. I was tempted to title this review 'Indifferent Seasons', punning on King's 1982 book, Different Seasons, which has a similar shape: four novellas (or in the latter case three novellas and one longish story). But, despite my gripes, to call this offering indifferent would be unfair. 'A Good Marriage' is a great story, one of his best. The plot is easily described: a woman, who has been happily married for a quarter of a century, discovers something unexpected about the husband she thought she knew, the man who hadn't a cruel bone in his body. What happens afterwards is what makes this special. No need to say more. Buy the book, because this one story makes it worth the admission price. Read more ›