I bought Interstellar Space in a Borders Books when I was 23 and I was…not prepared.

His parting coda at the end: “Horror stories are best appreciated by those who are compassionate and empathetic…a paradox, but a true one.” This struck me because it’s how I regard the writer, whom, after all these years and pages, I can’t help but feel like I know.

me; an escape hatch at the end of hard days. And it all coalesced to this new collection, which is fantastic. You Like It Darker has some of the best stories since Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)…

So, I read them all. 5 collections, 113 stories, and more than two thousand pages. All in time for King’s latest collection, You Like It Darker, released earlier this month.

Earlier this year, perhaps subconsciously thinking of all the time I spent inspecting my dad’s scary books during my formative years, I picked up Night Shift (1978), King’s 1st collection. I’d read plenty of his novels (and some novellas) but never his short stories.