Stephen King – You Like It Darker (2024) – (Review)

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I.” – Stephen King

Twelve new fables from the Master of Horror, who has been tantalising our imaginations for half a century – establishing himself as the god of modern Horror literature in the process. King is of course known for his epic novels over the years. The Stand (1978), It (1986) and the sprawling Dark Tower saga which started in 1982 and culminated in 2004 having spanned half a dozen books. But King has also always been a master of the short-story craft, and it is within this medium that he returns in 2024 with his latest release – You Like It Darker.

Like many successful authors it was the short story genre where King honed his craft, releasing tales in pulp-magazines such as Cavalier and Contraband, and later in publications as diverse as Penthouse, Cosmopolitan and The Magazine Of Fantasy & Science Fiction. His first collection of short stories was published as Night Shift in 1978, and the book featured a number of well known tales that would go on to be adapted into movies such as Children Of The Corn (1984), Sometimes They Come Back (1991) and The Lawnmower Man (1992).

His next published collection Skeleton Crew (1985), provided stories such as The Mist (adapted in 2007) and The Raft – which would be filmed as part of the anthology movie Creepshow 2 (1987). While some his best known movie adaptations have also come from his works of shorter literature, including Stand By Me (1986) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994) – both adapted from novellas lifted from his 1982 collection Different Seasons (The Body and Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption respectively). As well as films such as 1408 (2007) from the book Everything’s Eventual (2002) and Secret Window (2004) from 1990s Four Past Midnight.

So at 77 years of age and with over 250 stories of varying length published, where do we find the legendary writer in 2024 with his latest collection of twelve new tales? Well the answer would seem to be in a very reflective mood. Reflective about life, relationships and friendships lost. An author writing with a vast experience of tapping into the deeper realms of the human psyche, looking back and pondering on ours and perhaps his own mortal existence. Seven of the twelve stories have been compiled from previously released outings (Harper’s Magazine and Esquire among other places) – but interestingly it is the five new stories which absolutely hit the spot.

Two Talented Bastids explores themes of fate and friendship wrapped up in a Science Fiction yarn, as King seemingly contemplates his own twilight years as a best selling author, while exploring the challenges of old age as well as the grief of losing your significant other – a theme which repeats throughout the collection. King builds suspense as well as ever, as he teases the answer to the story’s underlying question – keeping the reveal under his hat until the very end.

Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream looks at the blurring between dreams and reality, providing a slightly supernatural spin on what turns out to be a thrilling investigative crime drama – and a novella which is an absolute page turner. Stylistically the investigative approach to the story can be compared with recent works of his such as The Outsider (2018) and Holly (2023). While he also manages to create a thoroughly engaging and ultimately creepy character in the troubled detective obsessed with cracking the case.

Speaking of creepy, King provides one of his more chilling recent tales that absolutely succeeds in getting under your skin with the book’s stand out – Rattlesnakes. Confirming the reflective nature that King seems to be portraying, the story acts as a sequel of sorts to his 1981 novel Cujo. Returning to the character of Vic Trenton who lost his four-year-old son back in King’s classic book. Now a retired and widowed older man, Vic finds himself attempting to ride out the Covid pandemic by house sitting his friends mansion in Florida’s Ratlesnake Key.

But his stay there turns out to be a haunting experience, and King masterfully teases us in an utterly chilling ghostly tale. He writes the magic as well as he ever has done, and I couldn’t help think of Susan Hill’s classic 1983 gothic-masterpiece – The Woman In Black – as I read this one. With The Dreamers, King taps into the influence of H.P Lovecraft, and with the books last story – The Answer Man, he delivers a mind bending tale which asks us to question themes of fate, and our belief in prophecies and clairvoyance.

Charting the story of a man from his teenage years to the end of his days, whose brush with a character from another dimensions maps out certain decisions made in his life. Before reflecting on his choices at the very end, again tying into the running theme of old age that King has woven together in You Like It Darker. This is an epic decades spanning tale which I could easily see being made into another hit movie adaptation.

Of the shorter pre-published stories, King provides intriguing short sharp twists on both The Fifth Step and Willie The Weirdo, as well as an engaging homage to the classic Invasion Of The Body Snatchers story in Red Screen. Laurie is a poignant fable which again focuses on old age and the loss of a life partner, while The Turbulance Expert taps into the deep rooted fear of flying, which will be engrained in many of his readers. While evoking an idea which is very much delivered in a Phillip K. Dick kind of style.

The two remaining stories – Finn and On Slide Inn Road – are both fine – but perhaps feel a little under developed and don’t quite have the same bite as the tales within the rest of the book. And that’s ok, as across the collection as a whole, King shows that his imagination is still very much up there with the best of them. And as the last decade or so has provided us with a crop of new Horror writers at the forefront of the genre – including King’s son Joe Hill (Heart Shaped Box), Josh Malerman (Bird Box) and Paul G. Tremblay (A Head Full of Ghosts) … King proves once again that he more than has the tools to carry on inspiring the new generation. KZ

9/10

Words by Mark Bates

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Words by Mark Bates