⭐️ 1.5/5

It has been over a decade since I have last read a novel by Stephen King. I thought the lead up to Halloween was an opportune moment to take in the genre of horror. “You Like It Darker” is compilation of 12 shorter stories by King that never made it into a full novel format. All I can say is I certainly see why, as the short stories left me in horror of how poor they were, rather than in a frightened state. of the 12 stories, only one actually kept my interest, which was “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream” - which thankfully was the longest story of the novel. However, as for the remaining 11 short stories they left me thankful they were short, as they packed very little entertainment and certainly lacked any sort of horror or suspenseful element.

Now, if I can give the novel a single compliment, it would be the use of metaphors throughout each of the story - it was clever, although still dull. I am surprised to see the novel rated so highly, perhaps it comes with the name of Stephen King automatically.

Have you read this novel? Is there a novel of King’s that I should read to hopefully redeem this lacklustre read? Let me know!