A Gentler King?

I stopped reading Stephen King some years back because my tolerance for dark, violent horror novels decreased dramatically with age. He's probably the best male American writer alive, and he definitely inspires most writers to do better with their stories; I am one of those. I've just always wished he'd do something else besides horror. Well, there was that one book on writing, but that was really an autobiography dressed up as writing advice.

Anyway, I have a family member who does like this author very much, so when his You Like it Darker came out, I invested in a copy as a gift. I didn't intend to read it myself, just like a dieting person doesn't intend to eat a Twinkie they purchase for a friend who never shows up to claim it. It was just sitting there, I can say, for weeks, and it is Stephen King . . . .

The book is a collection of never-before-published short stories, and they're much different from those I read in Night Shift forty-odd years ago. He might think we like it darker, but these stories are much lighter (for King, anyway.) There is horror, and supernatural themes, but the author invests more time and thought into the storytelling and characters. He does what my grandmother called ruminating -- a lot. It's still Stephen King, and the writing is fabulous. It's just a different kind of fabulous: less shocking, more thoughtful.

I think as writers we do change as we mature, and that shows in our work. I read a few of my old books from two decades ago this year and they are very different from what I write now. As a young writer I had a very focused, intense voice, and I thought I knew it all. Now I am older, gentler, and more affectionate toward my characters -- and I've learned to be more critical of myself, also in a kinder fashion. What I know could always use improvement. :) I wonder if that's where Mr. King is now, in the age of self-discovery. If you like the writer, you'll definitely like this book -- but don't expect Night Shift Stephen King. This is an older and perhaps wiser version.