I have to admit that this is the only Stephen King book on my shelf, but when I saw it I knew I wanted to read it and I wasn't disappointed with what I found inside! All four stories in this collection were incredible. I would recommend this to anyone!

The first story 1922 is set in Nebraska and tells a story of a father and son trying to live with the repercussions of their actions after the father convinces his very reluctant son to help him murder his wife (the boy’s mother) so they may be able to continue to live their lives in peace and quiet. Of course things do not go as planned and the consequences are tragic, if not horrifying. I found this story mediocre at best, with the plot being dragged out and the narration at times truly annoying. By contrast, the second story, Big Driver, is a fast paced tale of brutal violence and ensuing rage and revenge. An author, who, on her way home from a lecture, gets stranded on a dark, lonely road. A seemingly good samaritan who stops to help her turns out to be a psychotic brute that repeatedly rapes her and leaves her for dead. Her nerve racking escape and subsequent daring actions generates unrelenting suspense. Gripping! The third story, Fair Extension, is about a man who is dying of cancer who gets a chance to save himself at a most vicious cost. By far, the shortest story of the four and my third favourite. The fourth and last tale deals with a woman’s reaction and ensuing actions when she discovers her husband of 27 years is, horrifyingly , not the person she thought he was. Compelling and engaging, this deals with interesting aspects of human behaviour in extraordinary situations. Captivating till the very end.

***MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*** Maybe it’s my age, maybe I’ve seen too many movies but I remember Stephen King to be a lot scarier. Of course the stories in his latest work–Full Dark, No Stars–are disturbing and some are downright gory (such as the opening work 1922), but scary? Nah. Don’t get me wrong, King is a great writer and a fantastic storyteller and the 4 short works in this book will definitely creep under your skin. In 1922 we meet a Depression-era husband, wife and son–happy family, though the wife drives the husband crazy. He wants to tend to the farm and read in the evenings; she wants to move to the big city and open a shop. Then she comes into land–a lot of land. This is probably the scariest story of the book which leads the reader through a journey as the husband deals with unintended consequences. In Big Driver we meet Tess, a writer of mystery novels who makes her income by doing monthly talks around her home base. These talks are usually quick and a steady source of income, until one day Tess decides to take a shortcut home and gets a flat tire. She’s tortured, raped and left for dead. Since she figures she’s a quasi-celebrity she takes matters into her own hands crafting her revenge. In Fair Extension we meet Streeter who has been diagnosed with cancer and doesn’t have much longer to live. One day he meets Edvil–rearrange the letters how you like–who changes his situation, giving Streeter 15 more healthy years–so long as Streeter transfers his bad luck onto a good friend. In A Good Marriage the reader is confronted with the question: How well do you know your spouse? A seemingly-happy couple is suddenly thrown out of their good marriage when Darcy finds one of her husbands secrets–a horrifying secret–in the garage on an innocent mission for batteries. These stories all deal with human nature and less about monsters and things coming back from the grave (hey, I saw Pet Cemetery YEARS ago and it still scares me!): What if you found a horrifying secret your spouse was trying to keep? What if you made a bad decision and it ended up haunting you until your dying day? What if you could take away pain and suffering, transferring that pain and suffering to a friend who seemingly has it all? What if you are faced with meeting the stranger inside you, the stranger you never knew existed? 3/5 stars–still, a great read for a rainy, thunderous night!

When I read this book, I honestly didn't expect much from Stephen King. Some of his never books have caused me to drift away from reading his stories. I read the first short story (1922) and was totally captivated. It truly is Stephen King's best short story ever written. The other stories were, again, average from Stephen King. I think they could all become classics and be made into movies, but 1922 is one that I would like to see become extremely popoular and turned into a movie. If you were to buy one Stephen King book in 2012, let it be this one (or 11/22/63, both great reads)

I truely enjoyed this book. I loved Mr. King's past novel's alot more than his most recent ones. There have been a few recently that I was just totally bored with, however; through most of this novel I really found it hard to put this book down because I had to know what happened next. It was chilling and kinda gruesome in that classic Stephen King flair. Well done!

This was an awesome book of short stories, by Stephen King. The 2nd story seemed fimiliar to me, I know I've read a very similar story line somewhere eles before.....but it doesn't matter, the way Mr. King writes, he makes everything interesting, even a second time around. Definately a good book to read!!!!

As always Stephen King does not disappoint.

The master author of everything dark is back! inside you'll find tales that show the dark side of the soul. There's even a wink to Leland Gaunt in the name of George Elvid...