Read between: March 15 to March 25, 2015
Edition Details:
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 453
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Full Dark No Stars by Stephen King is a collection of four novellas along with a bonus short story. A The works collected in this book are:
1942
Rating : 3.5/5
First Sentence:
To whom it may concern.
It’s 1930 and Wilfred has decided he can take no more. Eight years ago, in the year 1922, he had committed a crime that’s has been haunting him till now. He had persuaded his son Henry Freeman James to help him to murder Christina Winters James who was henry’s mother and wilfred’s wife. Why did he do that? And how come he was never caught by the authorities? And what happened after they had committed the deed?
It was a gripping tale. It starts with a confession and the reader is taken back to the year 1922. There are all the Stephen King elements in the story: a ghost, a tale that forces you to turn the pages ,an ominous sense of ending and rats that would follow you to hell. The story is about the turns that lives of Wilfred James and his son Henry James take after they commit the crime. On one hand the farm for which the crime was committed ends up being desolated and on the other hand Henry due to circumstances makes his name as a desperado. The story is narrated by Wilfred so more attention is given to his but i think life of Henry can also be a subject of another crime novel. Maybe King sir should think about using it to create the third Hard case crime book. I enjoyed the story and maybe you’ll like it too.
Big Driver
Rating:3.5/5
First Sentence:
Tess accepted twelve compensated speaking engagements a year, if she could get them.
Tess is an author who likes to do speaking engagements so as to put that money in her retirement fund. On one such call she is asked to come to a nearby town called Chicopee. Here she was supposed to give a talk at Books and Brown Baggers. After the event has finished the organiser of the event Ramona Norville gives her a direction which were supposed to save her 10 miles on the journey back to home. But, little does she knows that something omnious is waiting for her there. Who is waiting for her? Will she take the shortcut? What will happen to her afterwords?
This story is very graphic and it was hard to read it. The story is great and there are various twists before it ends. It feels a little too like the movie ‘I spit on your grave’ which is also about a woman author who was raped and who then returns and takes vengeance on people who were responsible for it. I liked the story although the ending kind of seemed little rushed. It could have been better.
Fair Extension
Rating :2.5/5
First sentence :
Streeter only saw the sign because he had to pull over and puke.
Streeter has been suffering from cancer. It’s in the last stage and curing it not an option now. One day while travelling back to home he comes across a guy called George Elvid. George tells him that he deals with extensions of every kind from hair to penile. He asks, what kind of extension does Streeter needs? Can George give him that extension? And if he can then what will be the price that Streeter will have to pay?
It was an okay story. More often than not it appeared as a fantasy that people delve in when they know they can do nothing to change their condition. It’s on the lines of devil asking for something in return of a favor but in this case he asks Streeter for a name that would take his misfortune upon himself. While reading this story, i was hoping that Streeter would feel sorry for what he had done but i was wrong. He was enjoying the fruits of his exchange.
A Good Marriage
Rating : 5/5
First Sentence:
The one thing that nobody asked in casual conversation, Darcy thought in the days after she found out what she found in the garage, was this: How’s your marriage?
The fourth novella of the collection is A Good Marriage. Darcellen was married to Joe Anderson and if somebody would have asked her about her marriage. She would have described it as good. Joe was the perfect husband that she had desired for. He was loving,considerate and the fact that they have been married for twenty seven years said a lot about their marriage. But did she really knew her husband? Well, read the story to find it out.
It is my favorite story in the collection. If a marriage lasts long enough then people tend to think that they know their spouse like the back of the hand. But is it really so? Can we truly know someone? After reading this story, you’ll definitely ponder this question. It really creeped me out as it felt so realistic.
Under the Weather
Rating :3/5
First sentence :
I’ve been having a bad dream for a week now, but it must be one of the lucid ones, because i’m always able to back out before it turns into a nightmare.
Brad works for an advertisement agency. He’s not feeling right lately. He seems lost and people are noticing this about him. They think it’s because his wife Ellen has been ill for past few days. But is it so?
It was a bonus story in the collection. It was good although i could guess what the ending could be. Nevertheless, it forced me to read and i never felt boredom while doing that, so i think it’s worth a read.
It’s not Mr King’s best collection but definitely good. It’s dark though and hence is aptly titled. I liked reading the stories and enjoyed them. If you are fan of King’s work then definitely try it. If you are reading King for the first time then after reading this do give other works of his a try.
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