Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Full Dark, No Stars

Full Dark, No Stars
perryfran avatar reviewed on + 1178 more book reviews


In his afterword to this collection of four very harrowing novellas, King states "the stories in this book are harsh. You may have found them hard to read in places. If so, be assured that I found them equally hard to write in places." Well, this collection was very dark indeed as the title implies. All four novellas really dug into the darkness of the human experience and left the reader questioning the basic goodness of mankind.

"1922" - This story takes place on a farm in Nebraska where a man decides that he must murder his wife to save the farm. He coerces his son to help him in this endeavor and this act leads to rather dire consequences for the man and his son.

"Big Driver" - The tale of a woman writer of "cozy" mysteries who after giving a presentation at a gathering at a not too distant town's library, is directed to take a short cut back home using her GPS. But by taking this short cut, she ends up with a flat tire and is brutalized and raped by what she thought was a good Samaritan who said he could change her tire.

"Fair Extension" - This is the shortest story of the group but it also packs a punch. A man is dying of cancer and happens onto a vendor named Elvid (scramble of devil) who convinces him he can extend his life for a price. The worst of the price is that he has to pass on his bad fate to someone else, preferably someone he hates. But are these consequences he can live with?

"A Good Marriage" - A woman is married for 27 years to a man who she discovers is actually a serial killer. Can this be true and if so what should she do about it?

I think this is probably the best collection of King's shorter fiction that I have read since DIFFERENT SEASONS which contained some of my favorites of his including "The Body," the basis for the movie "Stand By Me" and "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" also the basis for the wonderful movie. FULL DARK, NO STARS was very DARK and compelling reading that I would highly recommend.