Welcome back, Stephen King. Reading some of your later novels--Duma Key, Cell, Under the Dome--I couldn't help but think of Henry James's description of his contemporaries' novels as "loose, baggy monsters." Not that your novels of late have been populated by such monsters (which might have improved them considerably), but rather that they rambled endlessly with less than compelling plots and characters. The four long stories that comprise Full Dark, No Stars, on the other hand, mark your return to what you do best: dark stories featuring fully rounded characters. All four stories here feature morally ambiguous narrators who commit hideous crimes for which the reader can't fully condemn them. And just when I thought you were incapable of surprising me any more, Mr. King, you give us "Big Driver," a story with not one but at least two sudden twists of plot that I, your Constant Reader, never saw coming. Plus, your "Fair Extension" with its take on the Faustian bargain is a wonderful throwback to the days of classic Richard Matheson and Fritz Leiber stories. Thanks for the walk in the dark, Mr. King. Nice to have your wicked guidance once again.