Generally speaking, Stephen King's novella collections are incredible. Different Seasons is probably my favorite, but Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, and Everything's Eventual all have iconic stories (many of which have been turned into popular movies). I wish I could say that Full Dark, No Stars (an objectively great name for a collection of novellas about retribution) was in a similar vein, but I found all four of the stories to be... not great.

1922 — The story that convinced me to read this collection was a good take on Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" (one of my all-time favorite short stories), although I think it went on a little too long. For me, the appeal of this kind of narrative is that the tension ratchets up and you really feel the character's mind unraveling, but it took so long to get into that part after the protagonist killed his wife that I found myself skimming the middle part of the story; which is not a great sign for a short novella that's less than 150 pages.

Big Driver — This was an okay story from a pacing and writing perspective, I just didn't really care for the subject matter. The protagonist being raped and abused seemed a little over the top, and then an entire story about vengeance and retaliatory violence being justified isn't something that works for me when it's on a real visceral level like this. It's one thing to watch a movie like JOHN WICK where the bad guys kill his dog and then he kills a bunch of nondescript bad guys... but something intimate like this, where trauma inflicted upon someone and then that person using their trauma to inflict trauma on others... I have a hard time enjoying stories like that.

Fair Extension — This was my favorite story of the bunch, as it really explores a complex idea of benefitting at someone else's expense... and in this case, making the sympathetic protagonist into the antagonist at the end of the story. It was really well done, short enough to be punchy, and thoroughly enjoyable.

A Good Marriage — I thought this novella was just okay. Plot-wise it was interesting and had a lot of potential, but I think after Fair Extension, which was my favorite, it just felt like it fell a little short of living up to expectations.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of Full Dark, No Stars   from Amazon.Com!

Created Apr 27, 2025 at 2:58pm • Submit your own review...