Fairy Tale by Stephen King -a Review
It’s been years since I’ve read any King—for a while it felt like everything he put out was a 600 page tome. I’d slog through the first 3-400 only to find out another 2-300 pages later that everyone died anyway. He’s such a well-established brand and there are so many new indie authors out there that frankly, he fell to the bottom of a lengthy TBR.
But then the cover hooked me. I’m a sucker for a fairy tale retelling so if I was going to revisit King, I thought something outside his norm that maybe even had a happy ending would be more to my liking. Here’s where I did something potentially stupid. I didn’t even read the back. There are virtually no authors that can make me do something so rash, but he’s one of them.
The basic premise is a boy and his dog, saving the world. (Not earth, a place called Empis.) Now I am unquestionably a The Dog Doesn’t Die person, so canine + Stephen King gave me serious anxiety. This is the man who wrote Cujo. I wasn’t sure anything was sacred to him. But it was King, and I was committed.
As expected, the first 300 pages were a bit of a slog. The dog in question is a senior citizen: heartstrings effectively tugged right off the bat, and I’m not sure that many chapters were really necessary to establish Radar as a good girl, or Charlie as a good kid. Also, a pet peeve of mine is when it feels like the author is peeking out of a character they shouldn’t. I understand why he set Charlie up as a mature young man, given a past I won’t get into, but there were several times where I felt the ‘young man’ sounded more like a fully grown old man. Not an ‘old soul’, just a grown-ass man. Or do I just not know enough young men?
Regardless, once things got moving, I didn’t want to put it down. I really enjoyed King’s twist on a fairy tale land, a unique curse, a special ruling class, and oh so many references to the tales of my youth. His signature darkness came through in ways befitting a different realm, and unlike some of Charlie’s thoughts, they never felt out of place, and I very much appreciated the clever ways he established Empis as an ‘other’.
I may not be the biggest King fan out there, but I have nothing but respect for the man’s creativity. And I agree with the rest of the world, his character building is thorough. I thought Fairy Tale was a fun read, not horror exactly, though it had its moments and references. I think the King fans out there will enjoy it, but prepare yourself, because this isn’t Carrie.
4/5 Stars