You Like It Darker, Stephen King
You Like It Darker, Stephen King
11 Rating(s)
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You Like It Darker
Stories

Bestseller

Author: Stephen King

Narrator: Will Patton, Stephen King

Unabridged: 20 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/21/2024


Synopsis

Winner of the 2025 Audie Award for Short Stories/Collections

Includes an afterword written by Stephen King and read by Sean Patrick Hopkins

NAMED A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW TOP 10 HORROR BOOK OF 2024
WINNER OF THE GOODREADS CHOICE AWARD FOR HORROR

“Stephen King knows You Like It Darker and obliges with sensational new tales” (USA TODAY): From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King, an extraordinary collection of stories that are “a master class in tension and full of King’s dark humor” (The New York Times Book Review).

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,” writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel “the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind,” and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

“Two Talented Bastids” explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. In “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In “The Dreamers,” a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. “The Answer Man” asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

“King’s skills as a storyteller remain undimmed” (The Minnesota Star Tribune) and his ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace is unsurpassed. “The titular darkness promised is as riveting and all-consuming as ever” (New York magazine). You like it darker? You got it.

About Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King was born in 1947 in the city of Portland, Maine. He attended the University of Maine, where he received a B.A. degree in English in 1970. He married his present wife, Tabitha, in 1971, and they have three children. King is an American author of contemporary horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. His novels have sold more than 350 million copies. Many have been made into films, television movies, and comics. He has published 54 novels using a pen name (Richard Bachman) for a few of them. Many of his stories take place in his home state of Maine.

He has won about every possible literary award beginning with his 1980 novella, The Way Station. His most notable literary award was in 2007 for the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America.King has had the common human weaknesses including alcoholism and drug addiction. His health during that period was so bad that he barely remembered writing the novel, Cujo. The first novel written after he quit all dependent drugs and alcohol was Needful Things.Stephen King's wife, Tabitha, has published nine of her own novels along with both sons being published writers. His daughter is a Unitarian Universalism Church minister with her same sex partner.

A life altering happening beset King in June of 1999. King was walking on the shoulder of Route 5, in Lovell, Maine, when a driver, who was distracted by an unrestrained dog, struck him from behind. His severe injuries kept him in the hospital until July 9. His lawyer purchased the van that hit him to prevent it from being sold on eBay. It was crushed at a junkyard. King thought that he would not write again, but did resume writing with this caveat, "I'm writing, but I'm writing at a slower pace".

His most notable novels are: Carrie, The Shining, The Stand, Misery, It, The Dark Tower, Under the Dome, and The Shawshank Redemption.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Justin on April 29, 2025

Hell yes! A new collection of Stephen King stories is here, including five never-before-published chillers promised to go as dark as a crocodile-shaped peninsula—or is it a peninsula-sized crocodile?? Amongst the darkness is a sequel to his masterpiece, Cujo. I'm reviewing each story as I read them.......more

Goodreads review by LTJ on July 13, 2024

"You Like It Darker: Stories” by Stephen King was one of the most anticipated novels I’ve been waiting for in 2024. Besides having 12 new short stories, the most hype was “Rattlesnakes,” a sequel to his legendary novel “Cujo.” Before I start my review, I found a bunch of trigger warnings while readin......more

Goodreads review by Trisha on June 05, 2024

"That's how it works for me sometimes - a story will arrive fully formed, just waiting for the right trigger to declare itself. It's a very cool thing." It's no secret - I would read his shopping lists. I will read EVERY story Stephen King will bless us with. Because I know, when I grab one of his bo......more

Goodreads review by Peter on August 11, 2024

The older Stephen King gets the better his stories are. Here we have 12 outstanding pieces of fiction, shorter and longer ones. His characters often are old, near death, they look back on a long life full of experience and everyday horrors. You'll meet a man who dreamed of a dead body and found her......more

Goodreads review by Rebecca on May 27, 2024

Two Talented Bastids - 4⭐ The Fifth Step - 3⭐ Willie the Weirdo - 4⭐ Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream - 5⭐ Finn - 3.5⭐ On Slide In Road - 4.5⭐ Red Screen - 4⭐ The Turbulence Expert - 4⭐ Laurie - 3.5⭐ Rattlesnakes - 4.5⭐ The Dreamers - 5⭐ The Answer Man 4.5⭐ This was an excellent collection! Overall I am going to rate......more


Quotes

"Yes, Stephen King, we like it darker—especially when Will Patton narrates the 12 new stories in this audiobook. Patton’s usually soft voice explodes with excitement when necessary."