# Full Dark, No Stars (Stephen King)



## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

Stephen King's new book is to be released in November (don't know if it's Kindleized),  and you can read an excerpt from one of the stories here: http://www.stephenking.com/newsletter/link.php?M=216467&N=76&L=123&F=H

Thought some of you King fans (like me) would like to see this.

ETA: It's available on Kindle, to be released November 9th. Price is $14.99. (Ouch!)


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## Daniel W. Koch (Aug 14, 2010)

Thanks for heads up...didn't realize he had another coming out.
Love his stuff!  Salems Lot - my favorite.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

I can't read fast enough to keep up with Steve. Besides, I always waited for the paperback before ebooks, now I can wait for a lower price.


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

R. Reed said:


> I can't read fast enough to keep up with Steve. Besides, I always waited for the paperback before ebooks, now I can wait for a lower price.


Oh my goodness, he would have to release one every month before it would be too fast for me. I devour his books as soon as they are released! I wish he could write faster.


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## Daniel Pyle (Aug 13, 2010)

I won't spend more than $9.99 on an ebook...unless it's a Stephen King book. The day a new Stephen King book comes out has always been like a holiday for me. I find a nice, comfy chair, turn off my phone, and read until my eyes water. I've already pre-ordered _Full Dark, No Stars_ and will start in on it the second I wake up on November 9 regardless of whatever other book I might be halfway through at the time. Am I obsessed? Yes, I can admit it. But when it comes to Stephen King, I don't mind spending a few extra dollars to read the book as soon as possible. I know it's counterproductive, and definitely don't tell the publisher this, but


Spoiler



I'd gladly pay $20...shh


.


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## Danielleqlee (Jun 21, 2010)

lol, I thought the title of your post meant the book was called Full Dark and it received no stars.


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## PinkKindle (Sep 10, 2009)

I'll definitely be preordering it. I'll wait a little bit and keep checking compulsively for a special preorder price (hopefully those days aren't gone!), but if I have to I'll get it at full price. It's Stephen King -- what else could I do? 

For _Under the Dome_ I got the Kindle version AND the hardback (when they were at such a good price) for my shelf, since I have every single Stephen King book in hardcover. I'm not sure if I'll still get the DTB again (I'm trying to become less insane, really I am!), but we'll see how the prices go . . .  I never opened the DTB -- I read it on my Kindle -- but it's there on the shelf.


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

PinkKindle said:


> I'll definitely be preordering it. I'll wait a little bit and keep checking compulsively for a special preorder price (hopefully those days aren't gone!), but if I have to I'll get it at full price. It's Stephen King -- what else could I do?
> 
> For _Under the Dome_ I got the Kindle version AND the hardback (when they were at such a good price) for my shelf, since I have every single Stephen King book in hardcover. I'm not sure if I'll still get the DTB again (I'm trying to become less insane, really I am!), but we'll see how the prices go . . .  I never opened the DTB -- I read it on my Kindle -- but it's there on the shelf.


Patti, I do the same thing with Stephen King books. I've bought all the DTB's and keep them on a shelf, and since getting my Kindle, I've re-purchased several of them. I even have a Collection on my Kindle for just Stephen King books! I can't wait to read this new one.


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

Daniel Pyle said:


> I won't spend more than $9.99 on an ebook...unless it's a Stephen King book. The day a new Stephen King book comes out has always been like a holiday for me. I find a nice, comfy chair, turn off my phone, and read until my eyes water. I've already pre-ordered _Full Dark, No Stars_ and will start in on it the second I wake up on November 9 regardless of whatever other book I might be halfway through at the time. Am I obsessed? Yes, I can admit it. But when it comes to Stephen King, I don't mind spending a few extra dollars to read the book as soon as possible. I know it's counterproductive, and definitely don't tell the publisher this, but
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


I still buy all the DTB's, even though I buy them for my Kindle as well now. I'm obsessed too!


Spoiler



And shh....I agree, I would gladly pay $20 too


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## Barry Eysman (Jul 19, 2010)

Remember when we could pre-order  his Skeleton Crew, his first short story collection in years? So I signed up. Finally it arrived, and contained stories we had read in anthologies and magazines, probably most of us, several times? Just remembering is all.


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## dnagirl (Oct 21, 2009)

I pre-ordered the HB.  King is the only author that I insist having a hard copy of.  I don't know why, considering some of them weigh what seems to be 10 pounds.


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

Most short-story collections are made up of stories that have appeared before in anthologies and magazines, plus one or two new stories -- that's just how short fiction publishing usually works. 

One thing I'm really pleased about with King is that his older books are priced on Kindle like a mass-market paperback -- $5 to $7. I'm sick of seeing things that have been readily available in cheap paperback for 20 years priced at $9.99 to $14.99 as an ebook.


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## MoyJoy (Aug 24, 2010)

LOVE this cover.


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I tend to admire his shorter works than his full length novels (Like, I thought Under the Dome was pretty bloated in parts and he left the ending too open ended (for me))

It looks like this book will have a 'women in pain' or 'suffering women' theme running through it

GREAT cover! That poor girl looks as if she has a massive headache!

I think for 2011 he has stated that he is planning an 8th Dark Tower novel as well as a sequel to The Shining called Dr. Sleep.

I love King and I'd be happy to drop by on occassion and notify you folks about his new projects. I tend to haunt the bookstores when a new short story is due out and I'm hunting for the magazine it's going to be in

The clerks probably think me a bit geeky (But thats okay-- I'm helping to keep their jobs)


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## NickSpalding (Apr 21, 2010)

brickwallwriter said:


> I think for 2011 he has stated that he is planning an 8th Dark Tower novel.


Eughh... Really?

I'd rather he went back and revised the ending of the seventh one...


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Nick, I agree

While I have read them all, I felt they seem more like a group of survivors struggling to live in a post-apocolyptic world than some fantasy place with lobsters and turtles. I prefer my fantasy a bit more realistic

And yeah, the last half of book 7 seemed a little too "Quantum Leap-ish" for me


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## purplepen79 (May 6, 2010)

Thanks for posting this . . . I love the title, and I, like some others here, didn't realize he had another book due out.


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

This is copy pasted off http://www.liljas-library.com/section.php?id=75

'I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger...' writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting confession that makes up '1922', the first in this pitch-black quartet of mesmerising tales from Stephen King, linked by the theme of retribution. For James, that stranger is awakened when his wife Arlette proposes selling off the family homestead and moving to Omaha, setting in motion a gruesome train of murder and madness.

In 'Big Driver', a cozy-mystery writer named Tess encounters the stranger is along a back road in Massachusetts when she takes a shortcut home after a book-club engagement. Violated and left for dead, Tess plots a revenge that will bring her face to face with another stranger: the one inside herself.

'Fair Extension', the shortest of these tales, is perhaps the nastiest and certainly the funniest. Making a deal with the devil not only saves Harry Streeter from a fatal cancer but provides rich recompense for a lifetime of resentment.

When her husband of more than twenty years is away on one of his business trips, Darcy Anderson looks for batteries in the garage. Her toe knocks up against a box under a worktable and she discovers the stranger inside her husband. It's a horrifying discovery, rendered with bristling intensity, and it definitively ends 'A Good Marriage'.

Like DIFFERENT SEASONS and FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT, which generated such enduring hit films as The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, FULL DARK, NO STARS proves Stephen King a master of the long story form.

And the page count of each novella
Here are some facts about the US galley of Full Dark, No Stars:

It has 368 numbered pages and they are divided like this:
1922 is on 132 pages
Big Driver is on 114 pages
Fair Extension is on 34 pages
A Good Marriage is on 84 pages
Afterword is on 4 pages

END SPOILERS END SPOILERS END SPOILERS


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## NickSpalding (Apr 21, 2010)

brickwallwriter said:


> It has 368 numbered pages


That's quite short for little Stevie.


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## bvlarson (May 16, 2010)

I have to admit, when I first saw the subject line, I was wondering "Why did this SK book rate NO stars??" 

-BVL


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## MINImum (Oct 15, 2009)

dnagirl said:


> I pre-ordered the HB. King is the only author that I insist having a hard copy of. I don't know why, considering some of them weigh what seems to be 10 pounds.


Ha! You're right, they are big. I'm with you, though; I have all his stuff in book form and I don't plan on buying this one for the Kindle. Though when I read Under The Dome, I had to go to the gym for a few days beforehand to build up the required muscles, especially since I was so used to my less-than-one-pound K2.


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## Joel Arnold (May 3, 2010)

I'm always happy when a new King book comes out. I love that cover, too!


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## JimJ (Mar 3, 2009)

Thought I'd bump this thread up since the book came out today.  I've already finished the first story, "1922", and loved it. Looking forward to the rest of the collection.


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## amanda_hocking (Apr 24, 2010)

I just bought it because I'm sick and I'll be camped out for awhile and I really enjoy Stephen King's short stories. But did you see the price of it, guys? It's $14.99 for the Kindle. I could've gotten a hardcover for $14.10. But I actually really hate hardcover books. 

That is BEYOND obscene, though. His publishers are just lucky that I'm sick and I'm a sucker.


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## clawdia (Jul 6, 2010)

I keep wondering how long it will take for the price to come down.  I love King's books, and really want this one for my Kindle, I just hate to pay nearly $15 for it - that would be the most I've ever paid for a Kindle book.

If it were the length of UTD, I'd have less problem justifying the price, but it looks much shorter.

I guess it will come down to whether I can wait long enough for the price decrease.  Seems his books always end up on the Best Seller List, but that's no guarantee of a price drop, I know.

I'll probably give in and buy it, but it's a hard call - with my luck, as soon as I buy it, the price will go down.


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## Daniel Pyle (Aug 13, 2010)

clawdia said:


> I keep wondering how long it will take for the price to come down. I love King's books, and really want this one for my Kindle, I just hate to pay nearly $15 for it - that would be the most I've ever paid for a Kindle book.
> 
> If it were the length of UTD, I'd have less problem justifying the price, but it looks much shorter.
> 
> ...


I used to have this same debate with myself.

"Self," I'd say, "you can wait a few months, can't you? If you keep paying $15, the publisher will think they can keep charging $15, which really is ridiculous."

And I would try to wait. Honestly I would. But I just couldn't handle sitting around knowing there was a new Stephen King book out there and I wasn't reading it. In the end, I decided it was worth $5 extra not to go through all the mental anguish.

I know, I'm obsessed, and where Stephen King is involved, the publishing industry has me wrapped around its nasty little finger.


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## sixnsolid (Mar 13, 2009)

I showed no self control.... 

I'm headed on holiday with my husband for our anniversary. There will be minimal car convo because I'll be reading!


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

I'm reading the first story now, called "1922", I'm loving it!


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## Daniel Pyle (Aug 13, 2010)

I said I was going to start reading this today no matter what I was in the middle of reading, but I'm only 20 pages from the end of David Dalglish's _The Weight of Blood_, so I'm going to go ahead and finish that first.

I'll still start _Full Dark, No Stars_ tonight, though.


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

Daniel Pyle said:


> I used to have this same debate with myself.
> 
> "Self," I'd say, "you can wait a few months, can't you? If you keep paying $15, the publisher will think they can keep charging $15, which really is ridiculous."
> 
> ...


You and me both! I would have preordered this book if it were $19.99, or $24.99. Shhh.....don't tell the publishers.


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## clawdia (Jul 6, 2010)

I really was trying to wait.  Then, tonight, I noticed a whole slew of idiots posting one star reviews over at Amazon based solely on the price of the Kindle edition of the book.  I think they should be ashamed of themselves, and I think Amazon shouldn't allow 'reviews' of that nature to be published.

That did it for me - I bought the book and now I can't wait to start reading it.

$14.99?  Phooey - that's 'only' $5 more than I've been willing to pay for fiction by well established authors whose work I like.  I love King's work, and that $5 will enable me to publish the review there that this book deserves, at least helping to offset the idiots who don't seem to know what the word means.

I'm glad I bought it.  I seriously don't think I'd have been able to sleep very well tonight if I hadn't done so.


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

Daniel Pyle said:


> I said I was going to start reading this today no matter what I was in the middle of reading, but I'm only 20 pages from the end of David Dalglish's _The Weight of Blood_, so I'm going to go ahead and finish that first.
> 
> I'll still start _Full Dark, No Stars_ tonight, though.


I held off Stephen King? Um, sweet?

David Dalglish


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## PraiseGod13 (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks so much for the info.... I LOVE SK books!!!!!!!!!  But, I won't be buying this one unless the price comes down.  I really want to buy it for my Kindle.... but I might have to settle for reading it from the library at this price.  I won't pay more than the price of the pb version of a book.... I certainly won't pay more than the price of the HC!  Even if it is from my favorite author......


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## Daniel Pyle (Aug 13, 2010)

Half-Orc said:


> I held off Stephen King? Um, sweet?
> 
> David Dalglish


Just for a little bit.


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## amanda_hocking (Apr 24, 2010)

I finished the first story "1922," and I was a little disappointed in it. It wasn't bad exactly, but I've never been a fan of


Spoiler



a _Tell Tale Heart_,


so maybe that was my problem.

One thing I don't like about reading this on the Kindle is that I can't tell how long each story is. And I didn't even realize I did this until tonight, but apparently, in Stephen King's short story collections, I read the shortest stories first and work my way up to the the longer ones. I never read them all the way through. Which is wacky.

Oh well... I think I'll read "A Good Marriage" next because it was the story I was most excited about. And I can't do things in order.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Half way into the first novella, and it's excellent. Like old times. Vintage wine from The Master


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## dnagirl (Oct 21, 2009)

I can hardly wait!  Come on USPS...or UPS...or however they shipped it!


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## Dave Dykema (May 18, 2009)

King is one of two authors that I want the paper version of for the shelves. Since I started in paperback, I always do paperback for him. In fact, my first few were used, so I used to like them to be beat up a little as well (seems like Freud would have something to say about that).

I've seen that Under the Dome is available in a trade paperback version. Does anyone know if and when a normal paperback version is scheduled to come out?


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## Grrarrgh (Aug 10, 2010)

I've been planning all along to sign onto Amazon first thing yesterday morning to order this for my Kindle, then buy the HB later when I could find it at a UBS. I was pretty ticked, though, when I signed on yesterday and saw that the Kindle version is more than the HB. I was more than fine with paying $14.99 for the Kindle version, but I absolutely will not pay more than the HB price for the e-book. So now I'm stuck waiting until Amazon ships me the HB I had to go ahead and order. I love my Kindle and buy as much as I can for it, but some of the pricing shenanigans really upset me.

I do have to say that I agree with clawdia - there should be something to keep reviewers from basing their reviews on nothing more than the price of the book. That's just ridiculous.


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## PinkKindle (Sep 10, 2009)

Well, I had preordered the HC along with the HC of the new Wheel of Time book, and they've been "shipping soon" since yesterday -- come on Amazon, you're killing me! I just couldn't justify buying the Kindle version at _more_ than HC price when I was already buying the hardcover -- I'll just have to read it in DTB. And, for the WoT book the Kindle version isn't coming out til February and will probably be really expensive, so I guess I'll read my HC of that too! I'm going to really miss my Kindle over the next month.  I think, though, that the fact that I'm sooooo not looking forward to reading DTBs is what's keeping me from being totally insane during the waiting!


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

But giving one star reviews based on criticism of somehting other than the item content, be it price, author views, publisher delays, projected double dipping down the road, etc is common practice on amazon and I think it is a valid way to express your opinion. It has a track record of getting folks attention. Not sure how well it will work for King, but for lesser known authors it can certainly get things changed.

I figure the price will be down to $10 in a few weeks. They will soak the super-fans, then as sales velocity drops off they will drop the price to regain momentum. It is priced like it is to ENCOURAGE hardcover sales, as those are still the only things that get that coveted "Number One Bestseller" title (unless something has changed). So the publisher subtly drives HB sales, but gets to placate e-readers by releasing day and date.

Eventually we will see e-book sales being the driver (as I think they are MUCH easier to manipulate and trip up impulsive buyers) for publishers and an actual print version will be the red headed stepchild they feel obligated to provide to those obstinant p-readers


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## r0b0d0c (Feb 16, 2009)

While I LOVE reading SK, I just can't spend $15 on a Kindle book unless there's a compelling reason. And, at under 400 pages, this is overpriced. 

I'll wait 6 months for a price drop, and let 2 other ereader categories enjoy it now: (1) those willing to pay the inflated price (HIGHER than I can buy the HC book at WalMart already), and (2) those willing to torrent it for free. (which will be more and more people, as long as the greedy publishers continue to gouge ereader buyers)


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

My brother, who shares my account, is a HUGE Stephen King fan. . . .last year I pre-ordered _Under the Dome_ for him to show up to his Kindle as soon as it came out. It was $7.20. It's now at $9.99. It's over 1000 pages.

Now, I don't believe the Kindle edition was released at the same time as the hardcover -- it seems to me it was a couple of days, at least, later. . .maybe as long as a month. I expect someone else will remember for sure.


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## joanhallhovey (Nov 7, 2010)

I'm also a big Stephen King fan and will be downloading Full Dark, No Stars onto my new Kindle, which I'll be opening Christmas morning. I've read them all, most in hardcover.
I had the pleasure of meeting Stephen King at a writer's workshop in London England years ago. A wonderful experience. If you'd like to see a photo of the King and I (pun intended - check out my website at http://www.joanhallhovey.com


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## Daniel Pyle (Aug 13, 2010)

Ann in Arlington said:


> My brother, who shares my account, is a HUGE Stephen King fan. . . .last year I pre-ordered _Under the Dome_ for him to show up to his Kindle as soon as it came out. It was $7.20. It's now at $9.99. It's over 1000 pages.
> 
> Now, I don't believe the Kindle edition was released at the same time as the hardcover -- it seems to me it was a couple of days, at least, later. . .maybe as long as a month. I expect someone else will remember for sure.


I think it was at least a month later. I seem to remember the hardcover coming out in November and the ebook around Christmastime. With _UtD_, I got the hardback on release day. Couldn't wait for the Kindle version, although I would have preferred it. In fact, I still haven't got the Kindle version, but I will when I'm ready to re-read it.


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## Dee_DeTarsio (Oct 26, 2010)

I love Stephen King also, and am a huge fan...surprised it's so expensive though, as I know he is big fan of ebooks, too! (Not as expensive as Ken Follett's Fall of Giants, though...I'm still waiting on that one!)


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## JimJ (Mar 3, 2009)

Just finished it. Really loved it. The only story I didn't really care for was Fair Extension. From the reviews I've read I gather that it's supposed to be funny but I didn't find it funny at all. I loved the other 3 stories, especially A Good Marriage and 1922. I think A Good Marriage is my favorite.


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

You have GOT to be kidding me !!

_This title is *not available * for customers from: Australia _

Not Happy Mr King !!!!


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

I've read three of the four stories so far
Big Driver and Good Marriage (in my opinion) were very very good. Something a bit different from KIng and yet each story had it's twist of horror threaded throughout

I saved 1922 for last and not because it seemed the best plot, it's because it sounded the least interesting but so far, 30 pages in, it seems I may have been wrong in pre-judging ! LOL


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## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

brickwallwriter said:


> I've read three of the four stories so far
> Big Driver and Good Marriage (in my opinion) were very very good. Something a bit different from KIng and yet each story had it's twist of horror threaded throughout
> 
> I saved 1922 for last and not because it seemed the best plot, it's because it sounded the least interesting but so far, 30 pages in, it seems I may have been wrong in pre-judging ! LOL


I loved _1922_, I think I even liked it better than _The Good Marriage_. The ending of Good Marriage was a let down for me, I was expecting something spectacular to happen.


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

Just finished. I especially liked Big Driver and A Good Marriage. Maybe because they were told from a female perspective. I also liked the afterword, very interesting to see where his ideas come from.


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## JackNolte (Oct 28, 2010)

This one's on my list.  Really looking forward to sinking my teeth into it.  Even when he lets me down, it's still a good ride.  And King seldom lets me down.

Jack.


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## WilliamM (Feb 10, 2009)

just finished it..reminded me of the older King material..great stuff ..especially after the ridiculous Under The Dome


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

The price has also dropped since this thread was started. Though at 12.99, still the most I have personally spent on an e-book.


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## Dee_DeTarsio (Oct 26, 2010)

Earth to Stephen King! Where are you? I'm Dancing with myself: http://nigelpbird.blogspot.com/2011/01/dancing-with-myself-dee-de-tarsio.html Thanks to Nigel Bird and his Sea Minor blog!


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## StaceyHH (Sep 13, 2010)

Fair Extension completely blew me away, it was such a malevolent little story.


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## D. Nathan Hilliard (Jun 5, 2010)

I haven't read Stephen King in years. This sounds like a good book to reacquaint myself with him again.


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## MeloniePhillips (Jan 13, 2011)

I liked all four, "Big Driver" and "A Good Marriage" the best.  I wish I would have waited till after Christmas to buy it, because my husband got the hardback from my aunt for Christmas.  Thats how it goes.


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## LRGiles (Apr 28, 2010)

I have to say "1922" was a remarkable. King at his best IMO.


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