You like it darker? Fine, so do I writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of stories that delve into the darker part of life - both metaphorical and literal.

Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys and mysteries; each feels iconic. In Danny Coughlins Bad Dream, a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Dannys most catastrophically. Rattlesnakes, a sequel to Cujo, sees a grieving widower travel to Florida for respite and instead receive an unexpected inheritance - with major strings attached. 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 writes to feel the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind and his ability to surprise, amaze and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed.

You like it darker? You got it.