Review: Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars

By now Stephen King has reached the respectable age of 64 years old, but still writes happily for a few hours every day and continues to publish. At the end of 2010, Full Dark, No Stars appeared in the bookshops. A new collection of stories by the master who, with this book, once more proved that he can postpone his retirement for a little longer. Full Dark, No Stars is another beautiful volume.

Four stories

The volume contains four short stories: 1922, Big Driver, Fair Extension and A Good Marriage. The stories are quite typical for King's oeuvre: the "connoisseurs" will characterise it as horror, but the horror can usually be found "between the lines". It rarely becomes explicit, because in all four stories King chooses the main characters instead of the horror. Every main character gets a relatively elaborate introduction, after which things start happening which of course shouldn't happen. As usual, King crawls into the heads of his concotations cleverly and tells four extremely entertaining stories from there.

The title is also significant: for the main characters in the book, there is no star to be seen in the sky. They experience things which will be noted down as pitch-black in their history books. They are again normal characters who end up in unusual situations; a theme King often uses and which continues to work.

1922

The book kicks off with 1922: a man murders his wife because of a fight over the rural estate and hides her in a well on the property. Of course, this is an amazing starting point: every time someone enters the property, the reader slides to the edge of their seat. They won't find her, will they?

And despite the fact that killing his wife is a horrible event, I started to sympathise with main character Wilfred and his son Henry. This is exactly King's strength: he manages to make people empathise with his characters quite often, no matter how bad their deeds may be. Of course he doesn't always succeed, but in 1922 he manages to do it with fervour. The plot twists really touched me too and the ending made me get goosebumps, especially when you look at the symbolism in it. As for the downwards spiral, the story has many similarities to Pet Sematary.

Big Driver

Big Driver does not have the same strong characters as 1922 and it is the only story in the collection which relies more on tension than on the characters. This time the story is about Tess Jean, a writer of several thrilling books. After a somewhat boring lecture in a library, she wants to return home as soon as possible. The librarian gives her a tip: there is a secret route nearby which will get Tess home sooner.

I didn't find Tess that interesting, but the plot definitely is. It is a kind of thriller with the necessary (many) plot twists. On top of that, the ending is exciting and King has developed it very well. It's not as good as 1922, but definitely worth the trouble and included in this collection for good reason.

Fair Extension

The third story, Fair Extension, is the shortest one in the volume, but it is my favourite. Central in this story is Dave Streeter. He has cancer and has started his last phase. His suffering finally seems to end, until he meets the devil himself. Anyone who knows anything about the folklore surrounding the devil will know that the devil has something amazing to offer, but that the "payment" for his service is quite unusual. King does not deviate from this principle, but that's definitely not a bad thing.

The story is filled with (black) humour and makes you think. Dave Streeter's choices are repulsive, but on the other hand they can also partly be understood. The way he is torn is described by King fantastically. In addition, the story takes place in a city every faithful King reader will know. This story also reveals a large secret behind the city. For the "Constant Reader" the devil in this story is without a doubt someone who is incredibly similar to one of King's earlier bad guys. This piece of recognition, in the form of the city and the devil, is what makes this story so fun and King such a good writer. Countless stories are connected to each other, which is why one can genuinely speak of a "King universe". Thanks to the overwhelming plot, the black humour and the piece of recognition, Fair Extension is my favourite in this collection.

A Good Marriage

King ends the book with A Good Marriage. Just as 1922, it is a story which rests on the characters entirely, but A Good Marriage contains a tad more tension and suspense. Darcy Anderson comes across an old box of documents about her husband in the garage. After twenty years of marriage, she suddenly finds something staggering, which puts their entire relationship upside-down. Again an amazing starting point for the story and again King uses it well. This story also contains a main character who has to make a difficult decision, just as in the three earlier stories in the book, and in this story, too, King knows how to set the mood. Incredibly compelling and thrilling; a worthy ending!

Let King write!

Despite his 64 years of age, King luckily remains very active. In November 2011, 11.22.63 will be published, a new tome of over eight hundred pages. I can't wait, but unfortunately I'll have to. For people who are also eagerly waiting for that book, Full Dark, No Stars is a beautiful volume to shorten the wait. Despite the fact that the stories aren't especially long, King brings forward strong characters and lets them make very difficult choices. The stories are compelling and incredibly thrilling, often with references to earlier King books. In short: a collection which must be read!

Sources: www.todio.nl