Book Review: Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

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. 

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As mentioned in my earlier reviews of Stephen King's books, they hold a dear place in my collection. When I read the blurb of Fairy Tale it did not quite sound like a typical Stephen King book. I am used to more of a horror and thriller-style book, Fairy Tale delivered a very different kind of story. 

Fairy Tale starts with the full focus on Charlie Reade and his backstory of the damned bridge where his mother died and how his father turned to alcohol. The backstory, though written in a natural flow did feel a bit drawn out compared to what you would normally expect. The story does take quite a different turn when Howard Bowditch comes into the picture. This is where things get interesting. Charlie expects the job to take care of Howard and Stephen King slowly starts to plant the seed of a different world somewhere. If you read the blurb you know that it has to be somewhere but nowhere is there any hint whatsoever in the first half, the whole gold stash in a safe made it even more of an anticipation as to what, where, and who.

After Charlie enters the other world the story really went into a rapid for me. As mentioned before there are none to a few hints in the first parts so finally venturing into the other opened up a whole new experience. I personally like the parts of that feature Claudia and some of the other characters from the other world. I was laughing all throughout those dialogues. You can see Charlie going through his coming of age all throughout the book and referencing other fairy tales and where he is in. 

A few parts though did change the story for me, and of course, this had to be done otherwise it would not have been a fairy tale in itself, was the part where Charlie got captured when leaving the city. We all need a hero right. The other part that was underwhelming was where the gold merchant was murdered all of a sudden, this felt slightly disconnected from the main story and did not offer any other context throughout the remainder. 

If you would remove the name of Stephen King from the book, you would not think that it would have been his book that you were reading. I do not mean this in a bad way in any form. Actually, Fairy Tale reads as something new and is quite refreshing, yes some parts are a bit too long. But do not go into Fairy Tale expecting a classic like The Shining or The Stand. See it instead as a true Fairy Tale, Stephen King paints a beautiful coming-of-age story that naturally comes with highs and lows. One thing to add, as you do need with fairy tales, the illustrations ahead of every chapter did help to the story. Those were a great addition.