''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 Coughlin''s Bad Dream'', a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny''s 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.