Stephen King delivers another dozen stories, yes a dozen and not a baker’s dozen either, that travel the backroads of the dark genre. There is pretty much something for everyone in this grab bag, with stories ranging from the Lovecraft Cthulhu mythos to tales that maybe edge their way out of true horror. Mr King might have a few rings in the wood, but he can still deliver exactly what the reader wants from him, tales to amaze and entertain in a down home writing style. Time to check out the latest, as of writing, release from the dark prince of the horror genre.

There is probably no need to introduce Maine’s most well-known writer, so I’m not going to bother overly. If you don’t recognise the name Stephen King then you are probably on the wrong site; there’s a Mills and Boones site just over there, right behind the TaTa fanzines. King has any number of collections published under his name, many of which include some of his most prominent works. I am not entirely sure his latest, You Like It Darker, reaches the heights of previous collections, but hey the beat is still there if you are awake to the music. Let’s break it down and sieve out the gems, no one is going to get out of this collection without a couple of favourite yarns added to their King wonder wall.

Each of the twelve tales included in the tome is well conceived, takes the readers to a place of wonder, and most importantly entertains. While reading this collection I didn’t check how many pages any of the tales had left, but was caught in King’s headlights and pretty much feverishly read page after page before wandering out of the book dazed and confused. The author has the ability to drag the reader into his macabre imagination, makes it real as the kids say, and ensures there is real value for money happening. While there isn’t a single story that goes for the juggler, King very seldom journeys into those darker waters, you will have a feeling of unease as you turn the page. Don’t approach this collection if you are after a light read, King may not be robust but for sure he plays for keeps.

I know this is a dubious undertaking at best, differing readers will have their own favourite stories from You Like It Darker, but to hell with it lets discuss my three favourite tales from the collection. Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream seems a good enough place to start. King poses the question, what would you do if you dreamed of a murder then discovered the body was actually where you dreamed it was hidden. The narrator in this tale informs the police of what he discovers and that is the start of his problems, as an obsessed Detective basically destroys Coughlin’s life as he seeks to prove our central character is the villain of the piece. As usual King’s lead character is perfectly normal, works a blue collared job, and has a perfectly ordered life till chaos enters his world. One of the recurrent themes in King’s body of work is perfectly normal people facing utter chaos, and the impact this has on their relatively comfortable lives. As all good writers do, King has you sympathising with his central character, which gives the reader some skin in the game. Where King really nails this one is by coming out of left field with the conflict, Danny Coughlin might have had a brush with the supernatural, but this isn’t where his real troubles are going to descend from. For anyone who hasn’t yet read this collection, seriously what childhood trauma are you suffering from, King creates another memorable villain in this tale of woe. If you enjoyed the author’s private detective Holly and her troubles, you are going to get a similar character. I was rocking to this story of obsession.

For those after something darker, Dad joke there, King delivers one hell of a ghost story with Rattlesnakes. My personal favourite of the collection, hey love a yarn that hits the chain rattling end of the dark genre. For King regulars there is a surprise in the narrative with the lead character having appeared in a previous book. The story takes place close to site of Duma Key, so more references to previous works, and involves a gradual increase in haunting activity as our protagonist is forced to face the reality of the supernatural. In classic King style, we get the beat from multiple drums and one hell of an original back story. Everything ties together in a neat package, dropping what has to be one of the best ghost stories written in recent times. Hey if you know of something that can dispute that claim then drop me a line. King has his atmosphere working here, and I actually got some chills running down my spine as the story unfolded in unexpected directions. For mine, King at his very best, he can keep this style of story coming at me, I’m one rabid devouring of hauntings.

Finally, hold onto your undies kids, King comes at us with a Cthulhu Mythos outing in the excellent The Dreamers. The Author isn’t tramping new ground here as he has previously ventured into Lovecraft’s playground in Revival, Just After Sunset, and Crouch End to name a few. While Lovecraft was fond of not actually describing his denizens of the macabre reaches of time and space, King is quite happy to go there, albeit we are talking black tentacles and not multi-eyed tentacle waving beings from your worst nightmare. As usual King’s lead character is your average citizen who stumbles upon the chaos purely by accident, in this case the protagonist simply applies for and gets a job, before suffering through an escalation in terror as the story unfolds.

It’s almost impossible to review a Stephen King outing as any problems you may find in the current review item is going to be drowned out by the fandom, who let’s face facts here are as rabid as Donald Trump supporters on a bender for their Orange Messiah. Thankfully I didn’t find any problems with this collection, I was rocking to each and every story, not just the three highlighted above. Stephen King just keeps on keeping on with outstanding tales that range across the dark genre, Science Fiction, and just for the hell of it crime fiction. You will find examples of each in this tome of terror. For fans of Stephen King You Like It Darker is going to be required reading, for those who haven’t dabbled their toes in the dark waters of King’s imagination this collection is going to be a good starting point. Either way I urge you to go grab a copy of this collection, it comes so highly recommended that I was wondering if I might need a step ladder to get up to that recommendation. For sure I like it darker, and I expect so do you, happy reading.