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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Fairly standard King: a ton of set up that gets you really invested in the characters, then it gets weird, but you're already in for the long haul. It starts out as a story about a boy, an old man, and his dog, and ends with the boy trying to save a kingdom. A lot of people complain about the lag in the middle; I think it was a bit jarring, but it made sense for the story and was no less well-written. It was a shame the dog was sidelined so much in the second half, but this was a great, sprawling yarn from a master storyteller; a fantasy novel like too few of his books.
Loved it, pulled on all the right strings for me. A solid reminder of the awe of the gunslinger world.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Absolutel loved this book, modern world meets fairy tale in such a satisfying way.
9.8/10: Hefty read, but really enjoyed the escapism of this book with the otherworldly setting (such imagination!). It almost ended too quickly, though!
"King Lear, where a character named Edgar says 'Child Roland to the Dark Tower came, his word was still,—Fie, foh, and fum, I smell the blood of a British man.' And something else I don't remember".
I'm fairly certain this was a Dark Tower story, and for that I am giddy. I thoroughly enjoy the Easter eggs and whatnot.
I would die for Radar. Fun book club read!
I'm fairly certain this was a Dark Tower story, and for that I am giddy. I thoroughly enjoy the Easter eggs and whatnot.
I would die for Radar. Fun book club read!
I really think the best of Stephen kings work isn't horror.
This isn't horror. It's excellent.
This isn't horror. It's excellent.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this book. I dabble in Stephen King and have read quite a few of his books. Not all of his books but I feel enough of them to say I'm a fan. This book seems to have mixed reviews but honestly I loved it and I think it was one of my favourites that he's written (that I've read so far.) I liked how the story grew and how it seemed to have the theme of fairy tales weaved through it. I really loved the world of Empis and it's people. But most of all I loved the relationship between Charlie and Radar. I think if you like King's writing style and are a dog lover or ever had a family dog then this book is for you. I have a Labrador and he's such a big part of our family and the way Charlie will do anything to save Radar really hit me in the feels. It was the first King book I've picked up in a while, but I think I'll be reading more of his soon. He really is a master storyteller.
I like the story enough to continue, but this suffers from the same thing that I’ve found King’s books tend to: overly verbose and some of the content feels forced.
3.5 ⭐ actual rating.
This book was totally fine. It was good. But it definitely was nowhere near Kings best work. I am glad that I had the privilege to buddy read this with Celeste and you should go check out her review as she is a way better reviewer than I am!
Fairy Tale was a strange book for me and I realized a couple things about King while reading it, that I'm going to share. First: King is a masterclass in characterization. When he is able to focus on characters interacting with each other and how they face certain problems together the story comes alive in the background and you just want more, more, MORE of that from him. This is why the first third of the book was so good! Meeting Charlie and his dad and Mr. Bowditch was so much fun! Charlie's bond with Bowditch and even more so with Radar is stuff that I could have read all day. Now, I'm a fantasy guy at heart so I couldn't wait to get to the fantasy part of this story! Hurry up and portal to the other world so we can get to that! which leads me to...
Second: King is not very good at world building. Sure there was another world and there were weird anomalies and unique characters, but it just felt bland. After finishing [b:Worm|18713259|Worm (Parahumans, #1)|Wildbow|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519662877l/18713259._SX50_.jpg|26574170] or and Sanderson book or any other number of great fantasy authors where every time you grab the book and start reading you feel transported into a real living world; I just don't get that from this book, or any King novels when I think about it.
So with that being said the world of Empis still could have felt amazing and fun as long as King kept doing what he does best with characters and interacting with each other. But once we get to Empis there is a lot less of that going on. We meet some really interesting characters with tragic stories surrounding them, but it seems that once we get to know them we move on to the next character.
But all that doesn't mean this is a bad book. I certainly enjoyed the first third of the book the most. Which in itself is strange. Not many books where the first third is the best part. But the whole thing was enjoyable enough to read. And I appreciate that, if this is a fairy tale, that it wasn't a happy go lucky one. There are some dark and tragic things that have happened to some of these characters and I really appreciate that about most of Kings stuff. Even with things that could normally be light and fluffy, he can add an edge to it like not many others are able.
While I was certainly expecting more from this book, it isn't one that you should run away from. It's enjoyable. Just don't get your hopes up too much.
This book was totally fine. It was good. But it definitely was nowhere near Kings best work. I am glad that I had the privilege to buddy read this with Celeste and you should go check out her review as she is a way better reviewer than I am!
Fairy Tale was a strange book for me and I realized a couple things about King while reading it, that I'm going to share. First: King is a masterclass in characterization. When he is able to focus on characters interacting with each other and how they face certain problems together the story comes alive in the background and you just want more, more, MORE of that from him. This is why the first third of the book was so good! Meeting Charlie and his dad and Mr. Bowditch was so much fun! Charlie's bond with Bowditch and even more so with Radar is stuff that I could have read all day. Now, I'm a fantasy guy at heart so I couldn't wait to get to the fantasy part of this story! Hurry up and portal to the other world so we can get to that! which leads me to...
Second: King is not very good at world building. Sure there was another world and there were weird anomalies and unique characters, but it just felt bland. After finishing [b:Worm|18713259|Worm (Parahumans, #1)|Wildbow|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519662877l/18713259._SX50_.jpg|26574170] or and Sanderson book or any other number of great fantasy authors where every time you grab the book and start reading you feel transported into a real living world; I just don't get that from this book, or any King novels when I think about it.
So with that being said the world of Empis still could have felt amazing and fun as long as King kept doing what he does best with characters and interacting with each other. But once we get to Empis there is a lot less of that going on. We meet some really interesting characters with tragic stories surrounding them, but it seems that once we get to know them we move on to the next character.
But all that doesn't mean this is a bad book. I certainly enjoyed the first third of the book the most. Which in itself is strange. Not many books where the first third is the best part. But the whole thing was enjoyable enough to read. And I appreciate that, if this is a fairy tale, that it wasn't a happy go lucky one. There are some dark and tragic things that have happened to some of these characters and I really appreciate that about most of Kings stuff. Even with things that could normally be light and fluffy, he can add an edge to it like not many others are able.
While I was certainly expecting more from this book, it isn't one that you should run away from. It's enjoyable. Just don't get your hopes up too much.