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)

interesting

Would you consider the audio edition of Full Dark, No Stars to be better than the print version?

i would consider this audio edition to be a little better than the written just for the fact that you are listening to a very well spoken narrator depicted the character to you.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Full Dark, No Stars?

Each story has its own live. I enjoyed each story as it unfolded.

What does Craig Wasson and Jessica Hecht bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

they both breathe live into the characters differently than I would reading it myself. A different twist to the feeling . I feel they both were able to intrigue me to continue longer in my listening .

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I really enjoyed the story about the farmer and his son. It was light and had its funny and enjoyable parts. I shared the audio book with a friend and she enjoyed his sarcasum and wit as much as I.

Good stories, bad narration

Good stories, good writing, but the female narrator ruined it for me. The tales were dark and in some parts vicious, and the narration took away from that with a sing-song tone that didn't do the characters justice and took meaning away from the content.

great read

wow. very good, relatable writing. king always knows how to bring the story to life and in these pieces he does just that.

King still has his muscles

This was a thrill because it has a fresh hard edge to it that I wasn't expecting. There are some callbacks to other King speckled through here but he tries some interesting twists and turns and it is dark and new. A nice refreshing punch in the face. A+ "and he wished for more"

ONE OF KINGS BEST

Would you consider the audio edition of Full Dark, No Stars to be better than the print version?

I CAN'T READ ANYMORE. I ONLY HAVE READ THE AUDIO VERSION.

What other book might you compare Full Dark, No Stars to and why?

HARD TO SAY. IT WAS SEVERAL STORIES. THE FIRST STORY DID NOT APPEAL TO ME BUT THE OTHER ONES DID.

Which scene was your favorite?

I LIKED THE SECOND STORY THE BEST.

If you could rename Full Dark, No Stars, what would you call it?

BEST NOVELLAS BY KING.

Any additional comments?

I BELIEVE THE SECOND NOVELLA COULD HAVE BEEN MADE INTO A FULL LENGTH BOOK. IT WOULD NOT DRAG. IT WAS VERY INTENSE.

Good and bad

Just wanted to say that I enjoyed the male reader more than the female. Her voices for Bob and Darcy made me cringe. I guess it's ok to cringe when listening to Mr King. The shortest story wasn't as good as the other two in my opinion. Just the opinion of an old woman, who shouldn't have stopped reading Stephen King all those years ago. 😳

Great

loved it Steven King has always been my favorite and he didn't let me down

One of the best compliations from King in a while

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes - all of the stories were really good. Just when you thought you knew what was going to happen - BAM! I definitely winced and had an "Oh!" moment in each one of them.

What other book might you compare Full Dark, No Stars to and why?

The Tell Tale Heart in one part!

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The male reader was great - The female reader had a very grating voice - had the stories not been so engaging I don't think I would have made it through hers. She has a weirdly cheery and disconnected voice that did not at all fit the characters - it did not come across well.

King is the master of the short story.

it's one of those books that,when it ends, you almost feel sad. definitely read it.

Great book!

Where does Full Dark, No Stars rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This ranks up there with the best of them and did not disappoint. Stephen King's stories are all different-some true to life and others fantastical but all of them collectively make a wonderful read. The voices did the job of relating well to the characters and each story was wildly captivating. I couldn't stop listening!