By: Stephen King
“There’s a dark well in everyone, I think, and it never goes dry. But you drink from it at your peril. That water is poison.”
Stephen King, Fairy Tale
*This post contains spoilers for Fairy Tale
Overview:
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.
Fairy Tale
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.
Fairy Tale is so far away from what you would traditionally think a Stephen King book is. I would not put this into the horror category at all. Funny enough I was at the bookstore the other day and saw the book right in the middle of the horror section. Apparently, we can’t separate Stephen King from that genre.
I kept waiting for the horror elements to come out but they were never really there. My best advice to readers of this book is to completely forget that King has anything to do with this. Go in as if you are reading a fantasy novel.
Enough about the expectations of the author.
Fairy Tale, is a fantasy book about a teenage boy named Charlie discovering a world below the property of the town grump, Mr. Bowditch. Charlie befriends this man and has the responsibility of protecting the entryway to this other world after the old man dies. He is also tasked with saving the life of Mr. Bowditch’s dog Radar who has reached old age herself. In this world, there is a sundial that can turn back time thus reversing Radar’s old age.
What really made this book for me was the relationship between Charlie and Radar. Reading about Charlie falling in love with this dog and knowing her life was at its end was heartbreaking. Anyone that has dogs knows what it is like to watch them slow down. I was so happy that this was not a typical Stephen King story and the dog survived to live a long happy life with Charlie.
Also, Radar’s age is turned back relatively early in the story. She also is able to escape when Charlie is captured. Because of this, I was able to pivot to just focusing on Charlie and not constantly worried that something bad was going to happen to the dog.
I really enjoyed the storyline once Charlie was captured and fully immersed into the politics of the world. Being capture and used for the death tournament, the escape and then the final boss take down. All of it was exciting and nothing dragged any longer than it needed to. Which is tough to do in a 600 page book.`
I am a sucker for fairy tales and this book lives up to the promise of one. It was whimsical but also never let you forget that the stakes were real with deadly consequences.
Overall,
It was a great read.
The book truly lived up to its name and was a fairy tale. A cursed land where a prince must embrace his fate to save the kingdom.
Great story, great cover art and the dog lives a happy long life with the people she loves most. What more could you ask for.
Rating: 5/5 stars
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