You Like It Darker

Author Stephen King
Narrator Stephen King, Will Patton
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton
Run Time 20 hours and 12 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Crime and mystery fiction, Fiction: general and literary, Horror and supernatural fiction, Short stories.

Listen to a sample

What to expect

WINNER OF THE 2025 AUDIO PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION AUDIE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT STORY COLLECTION

'You like it darker? Fine, so do I', writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life - both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel 'the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind', and in You Like it Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

'Two Talented Bastids' explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In 'Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream', a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. In 'Rattlesnakes', a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance - with major strings attached. In 'The Dreamers', a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. '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's ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.

'As classic as King's novels are, his shorter fiction has been just as gripping over the years' - USA Today

'One of the great storytellers of our time' - Guardian

Critics Review

One of the great storytellers of our time

Guardian

As classic as King’s novels are, his shorter fiction has been just as gripping over the years

USA Today

Vintage King brings fate and luck into dark relief . . . among his best

New Zealand Listener

The titular darkness promised is as riveting and all-consuming as ever

New York Magazine

King is writing some of the best work of his long career

Seattle Times

King proves he’s still a master of short fiction in his sterling seventh collection… This remarkably assured collection will thrill the author’s fans

Publishers' Weekly

King’s first book, Carrie, was published 50 years ago. You Like It Darker proves that he is still at the height of his powers. A triumph

Booklist

A dozen tales from the master will draw you in-page by page, horror by horror-and hold you fast

Kirkus

Displays his familiar, unmatched ability to embed moments of fantasy or horror in otherwise social-realist tales

Sunday Times

One of my favourite writers

New Scientist

King demonstrates once again why he reigns supreme in the realm of suspense and terror … With his signature blend of vivid imagination and psychological depth, King delivers a riveting reading experience that will haunt readers long after they’ve turned the final page

Glamour

‘You like it darker? Fine, so do I”, the master of horror writes, and in these 12 stories, which delve into the darkest corners of humanity, King delivers

The i

Entertaining

Daily Mail

King is still the King

Guardian

These 12 stories will have you on the edge of your deckchair. He’s a genius at dialogue, mixing the mundane and the macabre, the bog-ordinary and the bizarre

Saga Magazine

King explores the darkest aspects of human existence through metaphorical monsters and psychological thrills (and sometimes pure realism) while demonstrating how morality always has a chance to prevail

Evening Standard

User Reviews

Book 5.0

Narration 5.0

5.0

bornski 14/07/2024

5.0

The latest Stephen King book and it was a very enjoyable listen. Will Patton is a great narrator in my humble opinion and everything worked very well. Not all King's short stories are good, some are not to my taste at all. However, these were very good, all of them.

Hojohns 31/05/2024

5.0

tigerfuzz 01/06/2024

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