The first story in Stephen King’s latest book returns to time-honored themes in the author’s vast body of work: a main character who is a writer, an unexpected paranormal plot twist and the almost heart-breakingly exacting detail with which King paints a picture of small-town Maine.
And yet, “Two Talented Bastids,” along with the other stories in “You Like It Darker” — his 12th collection of stories, and his 82nd book overall — never feels like it’s rehashing well-worn tropes in the King oeuvre. Rather, it revisits them through the lens of a writer reevaluating where he came from, what he’s accomplished and what his legacy might be.
“Two Talented Bastids,” the strongest of the bunch and one of five previously unpublished stories out of the 12 total, sets the tone for the rest of this collection. Two old friends from a small town in Maine became, seemingly overnight, an acclaimed author and a renowned painter. How that happened is, of course, what the story is all about, and unfolds in typically King-ian fashion — a mix of humor, poignancy and genuinely shocking moments.
“Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,” the longest story in the book, takes some inspiration from another King novel, “The Outsider,” in which the protagonist finds himself implicated in a murder he didn’t commit. “Rattlesnakes” is actually a continuation of the story of “Cujo,” published more than 40 years ago. There are no rabid St. Bernards in this story — but there are snakes, and lots of them, as well as dead loved ones who don’t want to stay dead.
And, there are a few good old fashioned creepers thrown in for good measure, like “Willie the Weirdo,” a fun little nastygram, and “The Fifth Step,” as brutal a story inspired by Alcoholics Anonymous as there ever has been. There are murderers, killer alligators and someone gets beaten to death with a baseball. We spend as much time in rural Maine as we do on the beaches of Florida. It’s all very entertaining.
If there’s a thematic thread through “You Like It Darker,” it’s King pondering what makes a person bad, good, or somewhere in between. And how fate, or luck — again, good or bad — may play a role in how one’s life unfolds. Or, in some cases, how one’s life ends altogether.
King has said that he finds short stories the hardest to write, although you wouldn’t know it, given how many he’s written over the decades. I know I often find myself returning as often to the imagery, characters and plotting from stories like “The Jaunt” from “Skeleton Crew” or “1408” from “Everything’s Eventual,” as much as I do from his full-length novels.
King is known for his massive tomes that can break your nose if you drift off to sleep with them and let it fall on your face. Those are great, too, but sometimes, good things come in small packages.
“You Like It Darker” is being published by Scribner and will be released May 21.
