Image from HUBBLE: WINDOW ON THE UNIVERSE by Giles Sparrow, published by Quercus. Full details on the nonfiction page. Image credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)

Stephen King: Full Dark No Stars (Hodder HB)

'I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger...' writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting confession that makes up '1922', the first in this pitch-black quartet of mesmerising tales from Stephen King, linked by the theme of retribution. For James, that stranger is awakened when his wife Arlette proposes selling off the family homestead and moving to Omaha, setting in motion a gruesome train of murder and madness.

In 'Big Driver', a cozy-mystery writer named Tess encounters the stranger along a back road in Massachusetts when she takes a shortcut home after a book-club engagement. Violated and left for dead, Tess plots a revenge that will bring her face to face with another stranger: the one inside herself.

'Fair Extension', the shortest of these tales, is perhaps the nastiest and certainly the funniest. Making a deal with the devil not only saves Harry Streeter from a fatal cancer but provides rich recompense for a lifetime of resentment.

When her husband of more than twenty years is away on one of his business trips, Darcy Anderson looks for batteries in the garage. Her toe knocks up against a box under a worktable and she discovers the stranger inside her husband. It’s a horrifying discovery, rendered with bristling intensity, and it definitively ends 'A Good Marriage'.

Like DIFFERENT SEASONS and FOUR PAST MIDNIGHT, which generated such enduring hit films as The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me, FULL DARK, NO STARS proves Stephen King a master of the long story form.

We should play "what's your favourite" with this book, really, like we do with all Stephen King short story collections. Everyone has a favourite King short story, and mine would be Shawshank, of course, from Different Seasons. It's not often we're treated to short stories or novellas from the King, and this collection is superb, I have to say. My favourite from this collection is FAIR EXTENSION, which rather echoes the theme from last month's crime page, in which I asked "how well do you know your wife?". Actually, though I enjoyed them all - but then the man lulls you into a sense of security because you know he just oozes quality. True, some people believe there have been some novels that maybe he should have left in the box under the bed and never resurrected - I don't happen to think that way. If you like an author, you'll like him no matter what, faults and all, he's always cracking entertainment, and FULL DARk, NO STARS is just that - cracking entertainment. Something to curl up with on a cold dark winter's night, and I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending it.

Bloomsbury have reissued all seven of the Harry Potter novels with brand new covers in the belief that new readers are coming along who will be delighted afresh by the young wizard. Timed to coincide with the release of the first part of DEATHLY HALLOWS, these are new, highly collectable versions of JKR's amazing success story, and will grace any bookshelf.

Stephen King and Mike Garris: Riding the Bullet Deluxe Edition

Cemetery Dance

Featuring the complete original novella and screenplay; creepy movie artwork by Bernie Wrightson; a unique design with two color printing throughout; color wrap-around cover artwork and color interiors by Alan M. Clark About the Book: Riding the Bullet by Stephen King has been described as a "ghost story in the grand manner" and the story of "a young man who hitches a ride with a driver from the other side," but in this special edition only available from Lonely Road Books, we're going to show you King's classic novella in a way you've never seen it before: alongside the feature film screenplay adaptation by director Mick Garris. The road from print to the silver screen is often a bumpy one and much has been written about how a story is sometimes transformed to make it work in moving pictures. This is your chance to experience Riding the Bullet in a way only those close to the production of the film ever have. Start with King's original novella, then flip the book over and read the original script by Mick Garris. Compare what he kept, what he had to change, and even the storytelling flourishes he added to round out the tale. This highly collectible special edition will be published in the same manner as our acclaimed edition of The Arthur Darknell Double — in the tradition of the old Ace Doubles. This is the very first Stephen King Limited Edition to be published in this manner, and we're certain it'll be a huge hit with the collectors. Complete with stunning artwork by Bernie Wrightson and Alan M. Clark, this exclusive Lonely Road Books special edition is going to be one of the most discussed small press books of the year.

About the Special Features:
With an oversized page size and an extremely low print run, Riding the Bullet by Stephen King and Mick Garris is being designed with the ultimate collectors in mind!Plus: Exclusive storyboards, photos from the set, production notes, hand-corrected script pages, and more from the Top Secret "Director's Notebook" kept during the production!

Stephen King: The Secretary of Dreams Volume 2

Cemetery Dance

World Fantasy Award winner Cemetery Dance Publications, critically acclaimed artist Glenn Chadbourne, and New York Times bestselling author Stephen King are proud to announce The Secretary of Dreams (Volume Two). This second venture into the world of Stephen King's stories contains even more artwork and detailed illustrations that could only have come from the inspired hands of artist Glenn Chadbourne!

As you venture into this new volume of The Secretary of Dreams you'll discover "The Monkey," "Strawberry Spring," and "In the Deathroom" presented on beautifully designed oversized pages. These stories are heavily illustrated with spot artwork, full page illustrations, and even multiple-page art spreads. Dozens of painstakingly crafted illustrations bring King's characters to life.

Also within this collection are "Gray Matter," "One for the Road ," and "Nona," which appear for the very first time in full graphic format as imagined by Chadbourne. Not one word from King's original manuscripts has been left out. Instead Chadbourne presents the stories through a variety of techniques: traditional paragraphs of text merged directly into the artwork, handwritten bursts of dialogue to convey emotion, and even multiple fonts to match the mood of each scene.

Like the first volume of The Secretary of Dreams, this is a new collection of Stephen King's greatest short stories presented in a way never before imagined. Glenn Chadbourne has spent over two years creating the artwork within these pages, digging deep inside the text to make each of these classic tales burst off the page.

An original Cemetery Dance Publications publishing event, this deluxe oversized hardcover edition is the World's First Edition and there are no other editions planned of this title at this time.The Secretary of Dreams (Volume Two) continues where the first acclaimed volume left off: combining classic tales of terror from the mind of Stephen King with the haunting artwork of Maine artist Glenn Chadbourne. This unique book displays an incredible and original blend of King's words with Chadbourne's one-of-a-kind B&W illustrations: text and artwork brought together to tell these chilling stories in a whole new way.

Ex-fashion model and successful business woman Laura Ayars' perfect world is shattered at a time which should have been the happiest of her life. On her honeymoon, her sports superstar husband goes for a swim - and never returns. But what has happened to David - is he really dead? Whilst struggling to cope with her grief, Laura is plagued by questions and doubts. Was it an accident? Or suicide? Or some terrible, ill-judged hoax? As events begin to unfold, Laura starts to uncover a conspiracy which reaches deep into the past, and is now slowly beginning to destroy everyone involved. Someone will do anything to keep Laura away from the awful truth - and she has no idea who she can trust . . .

Not Coben's most popular novel, but the audio CD version is terrific - SCOTT BRICK has performed on film, TV and radio. His stage appearances throughout the US include Cyrano, Hamlet and Macbeth. Scott has won over thirty earphone awards, as well as the 2003 Audio award in the Best Science Fiction Category. Having recorded over 300 books to date, Audiofile Magazine named Scott "one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy" and proclaimed him one of their golden voices. I'm not familiar with Scott's work (until now, on this audio CD, that is) but I have to say I agree. He sets you at ease, eases you into the story with just that - a golden voice.