In less than a month, a brand new Stephen King novel will be arriving in bookstores everywhere. The book, titled Holly, is his latest centering on protagonist Holly Gibney (from the Bill Hodges trilogy, The Outsider, and "If It Bleeds"), and it's arriving almost exactly one year after the publication of 2022's Fairy Tale. At the age of 75, the author remains as prolific as ever – and he already has exciting plans for 2024 with a new collection titled You Like It Darker.
Stephen King is the guest on the latest episode of the Talking Scared podcast, and he teases his work on his Holly follow-up during the interview. A release date more specific than "2024" isn't offered, but he does say that the omnibus will feature "mostly new stories – long stories, for the most part," and he adds that the hardcover will be a substantial tome of over 600 pages.
He describes a Lovecraftian tale that will be included called "The Dreamers" – which will feature characters accessing a reality that exists beyond dreams that is "apocalyptic," "dark," and "sentient" – but I will admit that I am primarily curious about whether or not You Like It Darker will feature the first publication of "Rattlesnakes," which has been described as a sequel to Cujo.
Stephen King first described "Rattlesnakes" on a podcast in May 2022, and while he didn't give everything about it away, he mentioned that there will be a "terrible scene" where a pair of four-year-old twins fall into a rattlesnake pit. Precisely how it will connect to the1981 classic about a St. Bernard who goes on a rabid-induced rampage is unknown, but I'm sure I'm like many of King's Constant Readers in that I'm dying to find out. Knowing King, the new story may be more of a spiritual sequel to Cujo, or it could have deep ties and let readers catch up with the lives of Donna and Vic Trenton in the years after the tragic death of their son (for those of you who have only ever seen the movie, the book's ending is a whole lot darker).
You Like It Darker looks to be the eleventh Stephen King collection to be released – part of a special run that includes titles like Night Shift, Different Seasons, Skeleton Crew and Four Past Midnight. Some of King's best and most beloved stories (like "The Body," "Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Mist") have been featured in these books, and we can only hope that his 2024 addition builds on that legacy.
While we wait for more details about You Like It Darker, fans will be able to dig into Holly soon and satiate the hunger for new Stephen King (copies go on sale September 5). And if that's not enough, you can always rewatch some of the best Stephen King films of all time and read about all of the Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV projects that are currently in the works.
