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shairah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
My first Stephen King! Not sure if it was a good candidate to represent his work, though.
The horror was mild, and so was the fantasy aspect.
I started off reading strong, but got a little winded with the exposition (lengthy!) - I kept up, though!
And then I started to lose interest after Charlie got separated from Radar. It was literally their reunion when I felt the spark reignite.
I didn’t feel like the stakes were very high, so I didn’t care for the plot tbh. I appreciated the close up, but not necessarily the ending.
And a question:
It wasn’t discussed why Bowditch chose Lynparza?
The horror was mild, and so was the fantasy aspect.
I started off reading strong, but got a little winded with the exposition (lengthy!) - I kept up, though!
And then I started to lose interest after Charlie got separated from Radar. It was literally their reunion when I felt the spark reignite.
I didn’t feel like the stakes were very high, so I didn’t care for the plot tbh. I appreciated the close up, but not necessarily the ending.
And a question:
It wasn’t discussed why Bowditch chose Lynparza?
mathman329's review against another edition
3.0
2022 Book Review - Book No. 20: “Fairy Tale” by Stephen King
Date started: 10/9/22
Date finished: 11/18/22
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️(would recommend reading this if you’re already a fan of Stephen King’s, a fan of fairy tales, and a fan of pets)
Spoiler free review: The first preview I saw for Fairy Tale had me hooked, not that it had to do a lot of heavy lifting. I’m a fan of Uncle Stevie’s (maybe not as hardcore as some Constant Readers, but certainly more than just an occasional fan), so of course I was going to check this out. For whatever reason, that initial preview gave me visions of a Game of Thrones-esque tale, but with the macabre feel of much of King’s works. Unfortunately, that’s not really what we got with this book.
What we do get is an uneven story that plays out over nearly 600 pages in essentially 2 acts. The first third of the book introduces Charlie, our protagonist, and explores his relationship with local hermit Howard Bowditch and his German Shepherd, Radar. This part of the story employs the unknown to drum up feelings of tension and intrigue, and was probably my favorite part of the story. But once the big secret is revealed, the second act kicks off and struggles to maintain the same intensity.
The story serves as an interesting amalgam of typical fairy tale tropes along with more of King’s trademark horror. What was a bit detracting from this was the overt nature with which King points out some of these fairy tale allusions. Rather than leaving the reader to make that connection, Charlie unnecessarily points out many of the allusions throughout his journey. What is much more enjoyable are the allusions King makes to his own Dark Tower universe throughout the story without Charlie’s interference. Ultimately, I was hoping to see a deeper connection to this universe, but I was left wanting more.
Would I recommend this book? If you’re a fan of King, sure. If you’ve never read him before, it certainly wouldn’t be my first recommendation, but maybe eventually. In either case, these 598 pages will probably seem like a slog at times. Good luck should you choose to take on this task.
Date started: 10/9/22
Date finished: 11/18/22
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️(would recommend reading this if you’re already a fan of Stephen King’s, a fan of fairy tales, and a fan of pets)
Spoiler free review: The first preview I saw for Fairy Tale had me hooked, not that it had to do a lot of heavy lifting. I’m a fan of Uncle Stevie’s (maybe not as hardcore as some Constant Readers, but certainly more than just an occasional fan), so of course I was going to check this out. For whatever reason, that initial preview gave me visions of a Game of Thrones-esque tale, but with the macabre feel of much of King’s works. Unfortunately, that’s not really what we got with this book.
What we do get is an uneven story that plays out over nearly 600 pages in essentially 2 acts. The first third of the book introduces Charlie, our protagonist, and explores his relationship with local hermit Howard Bowditch and his German Shepherd, Radar. This part of the story employs the unknown to drum up feelings of tension and intrigue, and was probably my favorite part of the story. But once the big secret is revealed, the second act kicks off and struggles to maintain the same intensity.
The story serves as an interesting amalgam of typical fairy tale tropes along with more of King’s trademark horror. What was a bit detracting from this was the overt nature with which King points out some of these fairy tale allusions. Rather than leaving the reader to make that connection, Charlie unnecessarily points out many of the allusions throughout his journey. What is much more enjoyable are the allusions King makes to his own Dark Tower universe throughout the story without Charlie’s interference. Ultimately, I was hoping to see a deeper connection to this universe, but I was left wanting more.
Would I recommend this book? If you’re a fan of King, sure. If you’ve never read him before, it certainly wouldn’t be my first recommendation, but maybe eventually. In either case, these 598 pages will probably seem like a slog at times. Good luck should you choose to take on this task.
steffhunter's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
devonnkirby's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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? No
5.0
lrhx's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to
Really enjoyed first half
Am attached to Charlie and radar
Really enjoyed first half
Am attached to Charlie and radar
seattle_jeff's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Death, Alcoholism, Grief, Addiction, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Vomit, Cancer, Excrement, and Abandonment
capslock's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jimbowen0306's review against another edition
2.0
Stephen King broadly writes in 3 genres, horror, which I invariably read, crime fiction (often with horrific elements), which I nearly always read, and fantasy which you’d have to drag me to at gun point, if I’m honest. I’m sorry, I’ll always be more Star Trek than Star Wars.
This book starts off all small town, slow build horror-cum-crime, though it’s set in Illinois, rather than Maine like most King books. Then all of a sudden the boy who saved a pensioner, and his dog, is thrust into a fantasy saga, out of nowhere, down a cave in the garden, to save a civilisation that irritated me.
Now I know you’re probably thinking “It’s called Fairly Tale, whatcha expect?”, which is fair enough, but that part of the story felt forced, clunky, and containing too many reminders of the fairy tales that he is referencing.
They say that the best horror doesn’t show too much. King could have been reminded of this here, because the villain ended up reminding me of Noidberg from Futurama, which… irritates.
This book starts off all small town, slow build horror-cum-crime, though it’s set in Illinois, rather than Maine like most King books. Then all of a sudden the boy who saved a pensioner, and his dog, is thrust into a fantasy saga, out of nowhere, down a cave in the garden, to save a civilisation that irritated me.
Now I know you’re probably thinking “It’s called Fairly Tale, whatcha expect?”, which is fair enough, but that part of the story felt forced, clunky, and containing too many reminders of the fairy tales that he is referencing.
They say that the best horror doesn’t show too much. King could have been reminded of this here, because the villain ended up reminding me of Noidberg from Futurama, which… irritates.