From the Bookshelf of Spells, Space & Screams: Collections & Anthologies in Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Horror…

You Like It Darker

Stephen King

Start date: June 15, 2024

Finish date: July 14, 2024

Discussion: Previous Books of the Month

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Previous Books of the Month

The Mammoth Book of Fantasy (April 2024)
By Lena , Of the Short Story Kingdom · 48 posts · 17 views

last updated Jan 03, 2025 08:12AM

Twenty-First Century Science Fiction: An Anthology (January 2024)
By Lena , Of the Short Story Kingdom · 72 posts · 15 views

last updated Dec 29, 2024 04:17PM

What Members Thought

May 27, 2024 Icy-Cobwebs-In-Space rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2024_mystery_crime_thriller, armchair-new-england, 2024_virtual, library_marathon, 2024_horror, 2024_reads, 2024_fantasy, 2024_sf, 2024_word-complete_ha, may_2024_reads

And it's good that I do [like it darker] because Darker is delivered, right here, right on my Virtual doorstep, and right into the deepest recesses of my mind, where these stories are burrowing in and making themselves at home.

From the perturbing first story, "Two Talented Bastids," which made me concerned for the future of our Earth, through the punch of "The Fifth Step" (OMG), and on I went until I reached the new Novella "Rattlesnakes," and Thank Universe I read this in the daytime!! I can't ...more

24 likes · Like · see review

Nov 17, 2024 Lena rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, collection

The Dreamers ★★★★½
Oh yes, I loved that dark dark trip to Lovecraft Lane. A vet comes back from Vietnam to be recruited by a rich mad scientist looking for what’s behind the Wall of Sleep.

Two Talented Bastids ★★★★☆
I need a minute. That was amazing and kick-in-the-balls depressing. You wonder at his relationship with his children. This is either empathy or a fearsome diss.

The Fifth Step ★★★½☆
A retiree makes the mistake of talking to a needy stranger in NYC. It felt harsh.

The Turbulence Expert ★ ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

May 31, 2024 Jay rated it liked it

Shelves: collections, modern-horror, modern-fiction

Story collections are almost always a mixed bag. Combine that with an inconsistent writer, well...
The best stuff here is fantastic. "Danny Coughlin's..." is a tight paranormal crime story, "The Answer Man" is a bittersweet fable, and "On Slide Inn Road" is a nasty, hard-nosed bit of grime.
But for every great entry there's a mediocre one. The prose is consistently strong (King's craftsmanship has steadily improved through the decades), but the story part sometimes eludes him. He makes occasional ...more

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Jun 08, 2024 Vittoria rated it really liked it

I thought that a lot of the stories included themes that King had already explored, and done so very well and in an exhaustive way in the past.
This is not my favourite short story collection of his, I find that I have already forgotten some of the stories I just read (I went through the book in one sitting).
The ones I loved will keep and stay with me, though.

I'm still tempted to give it five stars because the stories I really liked, I found amazing. ...more

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