Full Dark, No Stars

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Craig Wasson, Jessica Hecht

Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

"I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger...." writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting confession that makes up "1922", the first in this pitch-black quartet of mesmerizing tales from Stephen King. For James, that stranger is awakened when his wife, Arlette, proposes selling off the family homestead and moving to Omaha, setting in motion a gruesome train of murder and madness.

In "Big Driver", a cozy-mystery writer named Tess encounters the stranger along a back road in Massachusetts when she takes a shortcut home after a book-club engagement. Violated and left for dead, Tess plots a revenge that will bring her face-to-face with another stranger: the one inside herself.

"Fair Extension", the shortest of these tales, is perhaps the nastiest and certainly the funniest. Making a deal with the devil not only saves Dave Streeter from a fatal cancer but provides rich recompense for a lifetime of resentment.

When her husband of more than 20 years is away on one of his business trips, Darcy Anderson looks for batteries in the garage. Her toe knocks up against a box under a worktable and she discovers the stranger inside her husband. It's a horrifying discovery, rendered with bristling intensity, and it definitively ends a good marriage.

Like Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight, which generated such enduring films as The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, Full Dark, No Stars proves Stephen King a master of the long story form.

©2010 Stephen King. All rights reserved. (P)2010 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved

Critic reviews

"[T]hese tales show how a skilled storyteller with a good tale to tell can make unsettling fiction compulsively readable." ( Publishers Weekly)

"King has gone on record saying he believes that American readers should pay more attention to the virtues of short fiction... if anyone can get reluctant short-story and novella readers into the swing, he certainly can with this book." ( Booklist)

Really enjoyed the narration

Really enjoyed the narration , in particular on the last story with Darcy ☺. The two stories with the women really hit home

awesome stories.

Stephen King is the best. loved these stories. happy i chose this book. amazing.

Great Stories, Dull Narration

If you want a quartet of fantastic, stomach-turning novellas, this is for you. However, the narrators were both asleep at the wheel. Dully inexpressive of voice and robotic to the point where I wondered if they weren't at all paying attention to what they were reading. They missed out on a great chance to emote.

Just Okay

I really didn't like the male narrator's voice; it took something away from the book.

2 Amazing Stories - 2 Ok Stories

Craig Wasson does a fantastic job narrating 1922 and Fair Extension. I have watched the movie 1922 and it captured me immediately. The novella did exactly the same and more. I could honestly hear that character in Craig's voice. Fair Extension is one I would love to see as a TV mini series or movie. I found it fascinating how the man hated his best friend, an actually good guy because he had been so lucky in life. Excellent writing on both stories.

Now for Big Driver and Good Marriage. I thought Jessica Hecht is a good narrator. Her voice is pleasant to listen to and she does a good job changing her voice when needed such as in Big Driver. However, I just personally felt that her voice was too cheery for a Stephen King novel. It took away from the feeling of the stories I felt. Big Driver was a very dark tale, albeit a bit unbelievable in the ending in my opinion. Everything wrapped up a bit too neatly for me. Good Marriage was just ok. I saw the movie made about it and I felt the same way. An ok story. But then I'm not always a fan of stories about marriages. So take it with a grain of salt.

Overall a good listen. Definitely recommend the purchase for 1922 alone!!

better with a different reader

the narrator reads like a bad voice over, not like a human being telling a story.

Terrible reading

Hard to get through due to the terrible reading, especially the woman. Could not enjoy at any time.

Disturbing

The murders committed in this book were increasingly more and more disturbing. Overall I enjoyed the book though.

Excellent both stories and readers

All stories are excellent. The too readers were amazing. Money well spent on this book.

Humanizes the falling light

Stephen King captivates the mind with stories of what people can do in their darkest hour(s).