Full Dark, No Stars

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Craig Wasson, Jessica Hecht

“The pages practically turn themselves” (USA TODAY) in this collection of four “disturbing, fascinating” (The Washington Post) novellas centered around the theme of retribution from the #1 New York Times bestselling author Stephen King.

“1922” (also a Netflix original film): A violence awakens inside a man when his wife proposes selling off the family homestead, setting in motion a grisly train of murder and madness.

“Big Driver”: A mystery writer is brutally assaulted by a stranger along a Massachusetts back road and plots a revenge that will bring her face-to-face with another stranger: the one inside herself.

“Fair Extension”: Making a deal with the devil not only saves a man from terminal illness but also provides rich recompense for a lifetime of resentment.

“A Good Marriage”: The trust forged by more than twenty years of matrimony is irrevocably shattered when a woman makes a chance discovery leading to the horrifying implications of just who her husband really is.

Like the #1 bestselling novella collections Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight, Stephen King’s Full Dark, No Stars is “gripping storytelling” (People) and “an extraordinary collection, thrillingly merciless, and a career high point” (The Daily Telegraph, London).

Stories ruined by narration....

The male narrator was okay - not great, but okay. Definitely not as bad as the female narrator. Each word from her sounded like it was being wrung from a whining drama queen's neck. If I could do over, I'd have just read this book instead of listening to it.

Craig Wasson=great! Jessica Hecht=not so much.

Any additional comments?

All four of the stories in this book are worth the read. Some are better than others. Both stories read by Jessica Hecht were good stories but her narration is very poor in my opinion. Her voice is just plain weird. When she speaks as the character, her voice is lilting and it makes her character sound stupid and flighty.
This is the first book I have listened to with a woman a narrator. I thought at first that perhaps I just needed to get used to it but in the end, I realized it was her, not me.

Delightfully dark

This is the kind of book that makes you really glad to finish it and go back "to the light", as Stephen himself puts it. The stories are great, the editing is great, and the narrator does a GREAT job. Mr Wasson is definitely one of the best!

He terrifies me and yet I cannot stop myself!

Mr. King did not disappoint my desire to scare myself to death! Keep it up, Mr. King, and I will keep on listening! What is wrong with me? :-D

Outstanding Performances

I'm not sure about the first reader in this series, but if it's Craig Wasson reading "Inside Every Man ...." then he is doing a really strict impersonation of Tom Leykis. And that story is perfect for Tom Leykis to be reading, all things considered!

Craig Wasson and Jessica Hecht are outstanding readers also. All three of these short audiobooks are outstanding. The stories are very dark (well, it is Stephen King, after all!) and if Tom Leykis did read the first story, then it added to the performance to have him read that particular story.

Delighted with these stories and the performers.