I am a huge Stephen King fan. The first book I ever read from him was 11/22/63, which was my favorite book the year I read it. It's so different than his other works, and I feel like I've been constantly chasing the high from that book ever since, searching for another one of his novels that gives me the same feelings that that one did. He has some other great books I've picked up (Misery and Billy Summers to name a couple), but I have yet to find another book in his catalog that hits as hard.
Fairy Tale is one that I was super excited about when it first came out. I had never picked up one of King's fantasy books, and this one, with it's intriguing cover and premise, seemed like a perfect fit for me. Even if it didn't become an all time favorite, if nothing else I expected to have a fun time with it.
Fairy Tale follows a young boy, Charlie, who's life is turned upside down when his mother passes away. He learns to fend for himself as his father spirals into alcoholism. But through a strange turn of events, he befriends a mysterious old man (and his dog, Radar) who introduces Charlie to a new, dark and troubled world that is in need of his help.
The beginning of this book really pulled me in. Charlie is a pretty stereotypical Stephen King protagonist. A young boy struggling through grief and adolescence. The relationship he developed with Mr. Bowditch, the secluded old man in the neighborhood, was interesting, and the subtle hints at the fantasy elements in the beginning were well done.
However, the pacing of this book was incredibly off for me. It's a novel that is close to 500 pages long, and at least the first 200 are exclusively set up. There is a huge build up of suspense that almost felt too drown out. I'm used to more build up in Stephen King's books, and I don't mind it as long as it's actually building up to something worthwhile. But unfortunately, in this book's case, I did not feel like it paid off well at all.
Once the fantasy elements came into the story, I lost all the momentum and interest I previously had for the story. It felt like the first half and the second half could have been two entirely different books, that's how disconnected it seemed.
I just did not care for the fantasy world that King was trying to create. It was definitely a dark world, like a classic fairy tale story, but the "fairy tale" elements felt like a stretch most of the time. There wasn't as much time for the worldbuilding as there was for the initial suspense and build up of the beginning, and I felt very lost throughout the journey Charlie went on.
I also found the characters rather bland and forgettable, including Charlie towards the end. And because I didn't care about what happened to them, I found my mind wandering quite often as I was reading.
I do still absolutely love King's writing, and I believe with some editing and tightening up the plot this one could have at least been an enjoyable romp. But as it stands, I'm sad to say that this is officially my least favorite Stephen King book I've read so far. I am happy to knock this one off of my TBR, though, and will hopefully find some more favorites that he has written eventually.
Rating: ★★
"I think all worlds are magic. We just get used to it." --Stephen King, Fairy Tale
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