‘You like it darker? Fine, so do I’ writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of stories that delve into the darker part of life – both metaphorical and literal.

Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys and mysteries; each feels iconic. In ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream’, a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. ‘Rattlesnakes’, a sequel to Cujo, sees a grieving widower travel to Florida for respite and instead receive an unexpected inheritance – with major strings attached. ‘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 writes to feel ‘the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind’ and his ability to surprise, amaze and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed.

You like it darker? You got it.

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