Fairy Tale: a novel

Stephen King has always been a fantastic writer of fiction, in my opinion, probably one of my best. I absolutely loved his early work, which I started to read in my early teens (I’m now a sixty year old man!), yes, I can hardly believe it myself. Anyway, by the by. Some of his books during the middle of his career, again, in my opinion, fell short of the mark, the endings never really stood up. ‘Revival’ and ‘Duma Key’ spring to mind. This book and possibly ‘11-22-63’ are a welcome return to his best. I can’t say I’ve read everything the man has written, as I’ve said, I sort of went off him, but believe me, this is absolutely fantastic and what a bargain at only 99p on Amazon kindle. I honestly can’t praise this book enough. What a great read!

I really, really enjoyed this book. I read it over three nights, losing hours of sleep because I just couldn’t put it down. I’ve read a lot of Stephen King’s books, devoured some (like this one), enjoyed most, was a bit puzzled by others and didn’t like a few. This one is amazing. The story is an adventure, an escape from reality, a good dream with nightmares too. Right from the beginning, it drew me in.The Amazon review summary suggests that a lot of reviewers have negatively mentioned pacing in this novel but I found the pacing to be perfect. There is a lot of detail and there is a significant backstory to discover but it’s all so captivating. I chuckled, I welled up, I couldn’t wait to turn the next page. The descriptions were so brilliant that I could picture everything so well in my minds eye.I feel like this story took me in a journey and I loved every minute. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. I’ll probably find myself thinking about it in days to come. That’s one true indication of a great book, in my opinion.

A bit unusual for Stephen King, but an enjoyable tale non the less. Brought me back to all the familiar fairy tales.

My book arrived on time. I always enjoy Stephen King. Very easy to read, but enthralling story. The way he writes open up a magical insight into his fantastic imagination. Look forward to reading more of his books

A brilliant story, the characters are excellent and you are taken to a parallel world where all is different yet still the same.

The introduction to the story itself took a good quarter of the book. I’m about 3/4 of the way through the book now and it’s only just getting exciting. I’ve read scarier novels before though. It seems like Mr. King is attempting to include as many fairy stories into one and make them scary. Not worked so far, but who knows, maybe the last 200 pages will change my mind!I’m finally on the last 100 pages and things have picked up a bit and excitement is building. I still think Mr King is trying to mention as many fairy story characters as possible with no clear reason. I’ll edit this at the end of the book now and see if it’s all been worth it.All done now and not a bad ending. I wouldn’t say it was Mr King’s best work and definitely not his most scariest, but it has kept me entertained. It’s not a comedy, but it has made me chuckle quite a few times when I found a new character or reference to another story slipped into the extensive wording.(I believe he’s made a bet with someone that he COULD fit as many innocent fairy stories into one scary novel!)The ending was more graphically described with various horror imagery than the first 400 pages. It did help to push the last part on towards an expected ending so it helped with the climax.All in all, I wasn’t a big fan of this one, but it won’t stop me from other Stephen King books.

I have like many people have read a number of Stephen King’s books and they rarely if ever fail to satisfy. This is really one of his better ones and quite recent also. As always with over 500 pages there is a tiny lull in the middle with descriptions I found slightly tedious to follow. It is something I personally find in all his long novels. However it does not detract from the plot and only marginally slows the pace for a few chapters. I rarely consider this but the book would make a great film in these days of CGI. I love dogs and this book has a four legged central character. Enjoy!

This was recommended to me but I nearly gave up on it once or twice. It did what King's books often do - started so way back in the story as to ramble a bit too much. And then I was sure it was going to be too sad for me. I hate books where dogs die. And then the ending annoyed me a bit as I would not have covered the well up but would have kept it open to keep taking Radar back every so often. I enjoyed it in the end though.

I think everyone should read fairy tale, is one of my favorite king's stories. It's so original and moving, I'm reading for the second time already and can't stop turning the pages.I love how Charlie is very kind and gentle after all life gave him, in the end of the day it's really about the person we chose to be despite the bad things that happened to us

Stephen King's Fairy Tale (2022) is part horror, part fantasy, and even part young adult if you don't mind the colorful language. The book begins with a sad, lonely boy, Charlie Reade, who gets a rough start at life when his mother dies in an accident. His father turns to the bottle and neglects Charlie as alcoholism and depression takeover. Charlie spends his middle school years getting in trouble with an evil friend. His bad decisions are ignored by his father. Charlie turns to God in despair and prays for his father's sobriety. His prayers become bargaining tools. If God could bring Charlie's dad back from his blurry haze, then Charlie could change as well by doing good deeds instead of cruel shenanigans. And God hears him. Charlie's dad comes back from his personal hell through AA. Now it's payback time. Charlie gets an opportunity to pay it forward. His neighbor, Harold Bowditch, a cantankerous elderly recluse, falls in his yard as Charlie is on his way home from school. Charlie helps the man by getting an ambulance and then promising to watch his dog as he recovers. Several months go by and they form a relationship. Mr. Bowditch is a mystery. He oddly doesn't have Medicare or insurance to pay his medical bills. In his desperation, he asks Charlie to go into his safe and take some of his gold to a place that will buy it without questions. Charlie learns that Mr. Bowditch is beyond wealthy. Once Mr. Bowditch is released from the hospital, Charlie continues to care for him and Radar, his German Shepherd that is also not doing well due to old age. He discovers more odd things about his neighbor and friend. When it becomes clear that Mr. Bowditch is going to die due to other complications, he tells Charlie about his shed, a winding staircase that leads down to another world, and a magical sundial that will restore Radar by making the dog young again. After Mr. Bowditch dies, Charlie and Radar descend into the unknown where the fairy tale begins. NO SPOILER!The title, Fairy Tale, is just that. There are lots of tie-ins with the great fairy tales of the centuries. For example, Mr. Bowditch has a fairy tale library in his house. As Charlie reads these classics, King deftly reminds the reader about famous characters and story lines. There are many comparisons with lots of fairy tales, especially Jack and the Beanstalk. Charlie meets several princes, princesses, ogres, monsters, talking animals, and more once he descends into an alternative world below the shed of Mr. Bowditch's house. He gets put into a position to play the hero.Fairy Tale is not Stephen King's best. My personal faves are The Stand and The Shining, but it's solid King that keeps you turning the pages, loving the characters, and connecting with the plot. One of the many interesting things that King does throughout the book, is illustrate the beginning of each chapter. The pictures resemble old wood-cuts from the Hans Christian Andersen tales. Besides the fairy tale tie-in, King brings up God a few times with universal themes of good vs. evil. Besides the AA program with God as a higher power and Charlie's deal with God, King uses the name Gogmagog as the name of the evil force/character that has taken over the fairy tale world. Gogmagog is technically a famous giant and also goes with King's mention of Jack and the Beanstalk. Furthermore, Gog and Magog as separate words are biblical references from Revelation that focuses on the End of Days. The characters in both Charlie's life and his alternative fairy tale life are some of the same, like a mirroring effect. We all have princes, villains, fairy godmothers, ogres, and other archetypes that show up throughout our lives. We have also played these archetypal roles for others. Joseph Campbell, author of Hero with a Thousand Faces, wrote about how mythological and fairy tale characters are ingrained within our psyche. Lastly, Stephen King is currently 75 years old. For decades, he has never failed to entertain us with his infinite imagination. I will always be a fan. Fairy Tale does not disappoint! 5 Stars.

Ottimo

❤️

Una pasada de fantasía, tiene de todo: vintage King