Hardcover, 608 pages
English language
Published Sept. 6, 2022 by Scribner.
Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours.
Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves …
Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours.
Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.
Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time.
A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.
Stephen King is one writer whose style I really admire: it's so transparent and frictionless; seemingly simple, it's very hard to do well, and even his less interesting books slip down easily. Sadly, Fairy Tale doesn't meet this (admittedly high!) standard. It's long, slow, and a slog; not scary nor particularly engaging. Fingers crossed it's a minor blip in an otherwise impeccable career!
This was an amazing book, what a journey. It kept me on the edge of my seat, not in the Stephen King way that I expected. This has been my favorite book I've read so far this year.
An ode to the fairy tales we've all heard, very nicely written. The characters are sympathetic and the plot moves along at a steady, engaging pace. I'd recommend it.
A classic King story with two distinctly different parts. Was mostly charmed with the first part.
A big, sprawling quest book that takes ages to get going. It's full of little nuggets to keep the reader alert like subtle and not-so subtle references to characters and tropes from other folk tales. It was slow-going for me - not a page-turner as so many other King novels are. All it needs is scripting into a movie where the big set-pieces will shine.
Just finished the audiobook of FAIRY TALE by #StephenKing. Among his #Fantasy #Horror books it's far from the best, imho, and certainly can't touch the Dark Tower series.
Among other things, it is arguably too long, but there was at least one setup/payoff moment that was (for me), worth the journey. And I do love King's overall, hm, how to say..."ethical sensibility"?
I really struggled to rate this one. It feels like two books - I enjoyed the first part with Mr Bowditch and Radar a lot, but I felt it went off the rails in a way I didn't expect and that didn't move me. I found the last third of the book a real slog. Having loved Billy Summers a few months ago this one was a bit of a letdown.
Started out promising but the main story felt completely phoned in
I think that King went out on a huge limb here... and boy am I glad he did. This story, like the Shining, It, and the Institute before it, show the magnificent theme of "kid power" that Stephen is so good at. charlie Reade was no exception. I think that if he were a real person, I would want to get to know him, and I would probably hang out with him on a regular basis. Either way, if you want a book that's emotional as it is rivetting, then King does it again. It does have some of his normal horror, but this one gives the reader a bit of a break from that, where we see the more fantastical side of this wonderful and legendary author.
