You Like It Darker

My first Stephen King book. Wow, I am in awe. Individual reviews under the hood.

Two Talented Bastids 2.5/5 - Cool but honestly too long

The Fifth Step 3/5 - Short but sweet 🗡️

Willie the Weirdo 3/5 - This was also nice and really open ended. You want death? Get a mouthful

Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream - 4/5 Love the thrill. I was waiting for a sick twist at the end and didn't get one. Still enjoyed it nevertheless.

Finn 2.5/5 - Poor boy. I hope he really got out of that one.

On Slide Inn Road 3/5 - Granpop was THE final boss. Respect!

Red Screen 2/5 - Meh

Turbulence Expert 3.5/5 - This Black Mirror typeshit is right up my alley

Laurie 3.5/5 - The bestest and goodest girl everrrr

Rattlesnakes 4/5 - Finally, a horror story! And it slithered its way into my heart

The Dreamers 2.5/5 - Cool concept it didn't make me feel anything though. FIDO, fuck it drive on.

The Answer Man 4/5 - This one hurt. A journey of a man just going through life - experiencing its highs and lows. We are all in this ride. ALWAYS REMEMBER OTHERS HAVE IT WORSE

Stephen King does it again.

I've never read Stephen King (minus [b:The Jaunt|52317884|The Jaunt|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1561266112l/52317884.SX50_SY75.jpg|71429287] and that one short story of his where a man stranded on an island eats himself to death. But after reading this, I get it.

I don't normally write reviews (I'd like to, I've been meaning to, but I've just never got around to actually doing it), but after reading Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream I've been emotionally moved enough to sit down at my computer and write this out. Because it is truly something incredible.

I don't want to spoil anything. Because it's always better if you experience yourself, summarizing it would only negate any suspense or intrigue in the mystery that is Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream. And it is a mystery, albeit an unrelenting one, oh dear, it is unrelenting, it shocks you, angers you, puzzles you. It's a story that captured me far more than anything I've read these past few months, so much so that I could not tear myself away from the book until I had finished it.

I expected untold horrors when I read the title You Like It Darker. All I found was a coldness called humanity. Maybe I found what I expected all I along.

But I suppose that's I like it anyways.

Gave up at 20%.

A very mixed bag of short (and some not short at all) stories, varying from really good (mostly the second half) to really bad (the first half, especially the first 3) and all the degrees in between.

You Like It Darker – 5 Stars

When you’ve been a Constant Reader as long as I have (35 years and counting), you start to worry that the gifts from the King might dry out. Every new short story collection is a treasure to be savored, and I’m thrilled to say that Stephen King is still amazing.

His brain still produces crazy stuff at an unfathomable speed, and his short fiction remains a joy to read (or listen to).

The quality of stories varies from good to great, with Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream being a true standout—a magnificent example of Noir “Stephen King Style”. The collection mixes longer novellas with classic short and dark King stories, like The Fifth Step, making for an incredible anthology from a writer still at the top of his game.

Thank you, Stevie.

How, after all these years, King continues to churn fresh and engaging page-turners is beyond me. I can only suspect that the tale of the Two Talented Bastids is based on his life story, and that the character of Laird Carmody is based on none other than the distinguished master himself.

I read this book on my e-reader and listened to the audiobook at the same time (I highly recommend for the best reading experience). The audiobook’s narrator is outstanding, and the timbre of his voice will pull you in. In one of the stories, a character uses a voice-altering device when making a phone call, and one is used in the audiobook version; it made for a nice touch.

Short story collections are so difficult to rate. I have to say I struggled with the ones towards the end but loved the first 4 as well as the one with the puppy.
I would give a 5 stars to my favourite one, Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream, but for example The Dreamers i did not love.

a delightful variety of styles, characters, and king twists.

HOWEVER - a huge content warning for people who do not do well with little-kids-dying-in-horrible-ways-that-are-described-in-great-detail … skip rattlesnake road.

It's... not bad. In my opinion, it's average at best.

I found this in my local library and checked it out because I didn't know that my friend from Maine, that I always see at our fair had a new book out.

I keep giving his “newer” books a chance and each time... I'm left with disappointed or wondering if his son is ghost writing for him. In my opinion, something happened in 2010/2011 that his books/writing just felt off.
Anyway... I'm rambling.

I checked it out and noticed this is a book filled with short stories. Which I do tend to enjoy. The quality of each one is not the same. I... I'm sad to admit that a lot of this is forgettable. And the ones that I can remember like the answer man are just... Okay.

Fun!

A collection of short stories, that, for the most part, may have been better off left either in the magazines they were originally published in, or forgotten in the filing cabinet in which they were found. The almost constant, and (mostly) unnecessary Covid & Trump references date these stories terribly. In recent years however, King's obsession with both has bled too much into his work, far surpassing “normal” for personal values injected into one's work. This aside, what really bothered me about this book, was how un-scary it is. Especially given the title of the collection, I expected to be kept awake at night, feelings of terror that his older works brought upon my youth. If that too is what you're looking for, you'll be unfortunately letdown. This all being said, I will undoubtedly still pick up the next King I see on the shelves, and I've accepted that I have no say in that matter.

Two Talented Bastids - Again, given the collection's title, I expected the first entry to be scary and dark. Though intriguing, the only real darkness in this story is the allusions to death that has become a staple in Kings recent writings. It's easy to tell King has accepted that he himself is getting older, and this has sat heavily upon his mind.

The Fifth Step - Though one of the shortest entries in the collection, this is one I thoroughly enjoyed. Short and sweet, in a bitter way of course. Be careful of which strangers you talk to.

Willie the Weirdo - Intriguing, short, ends on a high note artistically speaking. Though it seems to be missing something. Definitely not as fleshed out as both the author or reader wants it to be.

Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream - In my opinion, the best of the collection. Enthralling, though again, not scary. Creepy? Dark? Undoubtedly yes to both, but not the King I grew up loving. Nonetheless, a fantastic tale.

Finn - I didn't find the point in this one. At least, not much of one. One of the weakest stories by King I've ever read, perhaps the weakest. At least it was short.

On Slide Inn Road - Well written, I suppose. Not particularly creepy, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Red Screen - Again, well written, but left me wanting more. Ending was dark, but the basis of this one could have been a much longer story. Though perhaps, it's best left this way.

The Turbulence Expert - Interesting basis. Well written. Didn't blow my socks off, didn't disappoint. About as mediocre as it gets. Sadly though, it may be one of the best in the collection looking back on it.

Laurie - A touching story of finding meaning during times of loss and mourning. Has a singular scary encounter. Sweet at points, sad during its “climax” if you could call it that. Again, didn't see much of a point in this story. Alas, that's about the only ongoing theme in the collection.

Rattlesnakes - A forced sequel to Cujo. Didn't need the relation but nonetheless, it was interesting to see what happened to the Trenton's following those hot summer days in that broken down Pinto. I believe I would have preferred to keep my own personal conclusion rather this tale of the haunted pram.

The Dreamers - One of my favorites in this collection. Creepy, still not scary, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose. If any of these get picked up for a movie to be more fleshed out, I see it being this one. I do hope to never see that red house with its green door in my dreams.

The Answer Man - Some things are better left unanswered. In my top three with Dreamers and Danny Coughlin's. Again, ends on a topic I believe to be on King's mind in recent years, and will probably be more and more prevalent in his following stories as he grows older, and the sun begins to set on his metaphorical day.

All in all, did I hate it? Not at all. Did I love it? An even more resounding negative. They can't all be winners, and given King's track record, this can be forgiven. To those saying this will be the last of his they read, be it because of the writing or the unnecessary Trump/Covid references, congratulations. I, again, know that me picking up his next work is out of my control.

3.5 stars

I read this with the #KeeperofKing readalong group on Instagram. We had been taking a break from King this year but when the host asked if we wanted to read this one, we were all on board. This is Kings newest release and it's a collection of 12 short stories, 2 of which were released on their own before this, so they were rereads for me. I didn't hate any of the stories in this collection. There was only one story that left me confused after finishing it. The majority of the stories were ok reads. I didn't hate them but I also didn't love them. After finishing them I was left needing more from them. There were 3 standouts in this collection for me and they were Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream, Rattlesnakes and The Answer man. Of course, 2 of the longest ones would be the ones I liked the most. These 3 stories didn't leave me feeling like I needed more. I felt like we got the whole story, and I was left satisfied upon finishing all of them. Short stories are always hit or miss for me especially when it comes to King but overall, I thought this was an ok collection.

Not his strongest collection, but the last few stories really landed for me (“Rattlesnakes” was a proper creepfest, despite the fact that I've never read Cujo) and I certainly didn't outright hate any of the stories in general, so overall 3 creepy ghosts with adult bodies and baby heads, no thank you out of 5.

His best short story/novella collections since Four Past Midnight and Different Seasons. An incredibly robust lineup without a dud in the group and three or four that are vintage King in all the best ways.

I've always loved King's short stories more than his novels and this was no exception. Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream was by far my favorite, but there wasn't a bad tale in all of it.

Really enjoyed this book! The longer stories are definitely the highlights here though.

Two Talented Bastids
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Fifth Step
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Willie the Weirdo
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Finn
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

On Slide Inn Road
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Red Screen
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Turbulence Expert
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Laurie
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Rattlesnakes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Dreamers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The Answer Man
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

You Like It Darker is a collection of 12 stories by Stephen King, some previously unpublished, and boy what a collection. They come in varying lengths, from the very short to the very long. They also see the welcome return of the author of yore.
Three stories stood out for me. Danny Coughlin's Dream, which was really more of a novella, dealt with obsession, the obsession of a KBI agent in this instance.
Rattlesnakes is a sequel to King's earlier bestseller, Cujo.
The Answer Man was, for me, the most poignant story in the compilation.
I've been a fan of Stephen King since I first read Carrie nearly 40 years ago. I have to confess though, that it's his collections of short stories that I re-read the most. I enjoyed this collection immensely and know that I will read it again some day.

This is one of Stephen King's best in several years. They don't all work, but the majority are good to great and reminded me of classic SK. Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream was the highlight and had me not wanting to put the book down - something that hasn't happened in a long while. The Dreamers was a fun, creepy, Lovecraft style tale. The Answer Man has a great start and ending but felt muddled as it worked its way through the middle. Overall, highly recommended if you've ever enjoyed Stephen King.