Full Dark, No Stars

Full Dark, No Stars, published in November 2010, is a collection of four novellas by the author Stephen King, all dealing with the theme of retribution.^[1][2] One of the novellas, 1922, is set in Hemingford Home, Nebraska: home of Mother Abagail from King's epic novel The Stand (1978), the town adult Ben Hanscom moves to in It (1986), as well as the setting of the short story "The Last Rung on the Ladder" (1978). The collection won the 2010 Bram Stoker Award for Best Collection and was nominated for the 2011 British Fantasy Award for Best Collection. Also, 1922 was nominated for the 2011 British Fantasy Award for Best Novella.^[3][4]

Contents

The four novellas are:

• 1922
• Big Driver
• Fair Extension
• A Good Marriage

Background information

The titles of the novellas and their synopses were announced on the author's official website on April 2, 2010.^[5] This is King's third collection of four novellas after Different Seasons (1982) and Four Past Midnight (1990).^[6]

Release

Announced on King's official site on February 16, 2010, it was published on November 9, 2010.^[7] Cemetery Dance Publications has released several limited edition iterations of the book: a Slipcased Gift Edition, a Signed Limited Edition, and a Lettered Edition shortly after the original hardcover edition.^[8] The paperback edition released on May 24, 2011 contains an additional new short story "Under the Weather" written in 2011 (ISBN 978-1451648386).^[9]

Critical response

The Washington Post, in its review of the book, called Full Dark, No Stars a "satisfyingly bleak" and "a disturbing, fascinating book."^[10] Amazon placed the book at #25 out of 100 in its "Best Books of 2010" list.^[11]

Adaptations

Both "A Good Marriage" and "Big Driver" were adapted by Stephen King into screenplays. "A Good Marriage" was released theatrically in 2014, while "Big Driver" was released for television the same year (Big Driver (film).

References