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minker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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? Yes
4.5
this book was great read. it was very long and did drag at times. This book contains many curse words and one scene that might be in appropriate for younger audiences. But the theme and the message of the book was good. we had fun guessing the fairytales alluded to as the book progressed. We are hopeful that this will be a TV/Movie adaptation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Minor: Sexual content
nyree42's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
My first ever Stephen King. Picked it up due to... you guessed it... the title, since I love fairy tales and fantasies and "other world" stories.
Well, it delivered exactly what I was looking for, and now that I know that a work of Mr. King was quite enjoyable, I will peruse his catalogue to find out if he has written anything else that might be to my taste.
As for my review... the plot of "Fairy Tale" was a bit slow at times; he is quite a verbose author who seems to like to thoroughly flesh out the character's life and the world around them, but that was fine. I still enjoyed all of it, even if sometimes I put the book down for awhile once I'd gotten to one of the more "drawn-out" parts.
It's not a "scary" tale; just creepy when talking about the villains, the evil, and the bad things that happened to people, but it remained "down to earth" and hopeful even in the face of darkness.
I will be hoping that it is adapted into a mini-series! That or two films (need at least two so that important things aren't rushed over). My preference would be a nice, "true-to-the-book" TV mini-series adaptation though. Amazon Prime or HBO, let's do this! (Sorry, can't bet on Netflix, they might ruin it.)
Reading age: would recommend for, at the youngest, age 16 and up. (Note that it contains violence, some gore/death/injury-depictions, frightening/tense situations, some sexual mentions and lewd jokes and swearing, so it's not child-friendly.)
Since it's about a teenager, there is something that teens would get out of it; yet it's written for adults and with an adult perspective, so if you're in your 20s and up it will probably be more meaningful. I've passed my 20s and it still hit home for me, making me remember what it was like to be an adolescent - although Charlie Reade was a lot more cool than I was at that age.
Well, it delivered exactly what I was looking for, and now that I know that a work of Mr. King was quite enjoyable, I will peruse his catalogue to find out if he has written anything else that might be to my taste.
As for my review... the plot of "Fairy Tale" was a bit slow at times; he is quite a verbose author who seems to like to thoroughly flesh out the character's life and the world around them, but that was fine. I still enjoyed all of it, even if sometimes I put the book down for awhile once I'd gotten to one of the more "drawn-out" parts.
It's not a "scary" tale; just creepy when talking about the villains, the evil, and the bad things that happened to people, but it remained "down to earth" and hopeful even in the face of darkness.
I will be hoping that it is adapted into a mini-series! That or two films (need at least two so that important things aren't rushed over). My preference would be a nice, "true-to-the-book" TV mini-series adaptation though. Amazon Prime or HBO, let's do this! (Sorry, can't bet on Netflix, they might ruin it.)
Reading age: would recommend for, at the youngest, age 16 and up. (Note that it contains violence, some gore/death/injury-depictions, frightening/tense situations, some sexual mentions and lewd jokes and swearing, so it's not child-friendly.)
Since it's about a teenager, there is something that teens would get out of it; yet it's written for adults and with an adult perspective, so if you're in your 20s and up it will probably be more meaningful. I've passed my 20s and it still hit home for me, making me remember what it was like to be an adolescent - although Charlie Reade was a lot more cool than I was at that age.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Bullying, Death, Kidnapping, Body horror, Alcoholism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, and Cursing
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Slavery, and War
halonoid1's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, and Ableism
Moderate: Sexual content
twistykris's review
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
4.0
As a disclaimer, I listened to the ~24-hour audiobook, read by Seth Numrich and Stephen King. For my neurodivergent baddies who have a hard time focusing with audiobooks: try listening at 1.3-1.5x speed. It SINCERELY helped me get through the long patches of King's tendency to go into almost too great detail.
I enjoyed both "parts" of this book, although they had very different vibes. Part one with Charlie and Mr. Bowditch and Radar was wonderful. I loved watching the blossoming, unlikely friendship between a 17-year old and a grumpy old man with a loving, protective dog. It felt very wholesome and heartwarming, until Mr. Bowditch's death, at which point, the magical, fairy tale elements are introduced.
About 40% of the way through the book, I felt like the pacing was off. I almost DNF'd the book merely because I felt it was a case of reading a book at the wrong time (I was on vacation and thought a long audiobook would help with the plane rides.. I almost dozed off on the plane instead). I truly enjoyed the second half, once things picked up, and I consumed the last 30% of the book within a day or so. King does a great job with world-building and it was very easy to connect with Charlie and the characters in Empis.
Along with some of the pacing, I also had issue with the way Charlie spoke. I'm not opposed to swearing or vulgar language but
1. Charlie does NOT sound like someone born in 1996 (the emphasis on why Charlie say "awesome sauce" is just.. bizarre? I was born in 1990 and this didn't seem like a common phrase used, let alone one I would want to translate in another world)
2. The sexualization is just.. so ridiculous in some of King's novels, and this one is no exception. I get it, Charlie is a 17-year old, and "boys only think about sex", but the fact Charlie describes the breasts of different characters (ones he's attracted to or not) is just.. so weird to me.
I enjoyed both "parts" of this book, although they had very different vibes. Part one with Charlie and Mr. Bowditch and Radar was wonderful. I loved watching the blossoming, unlikely friendship between a 17-year old and a grumpy old man with a loving, protective dog. It felt very wholesome and heartwarming, until Mr. Bowditch's death, at which point, the magical, fairy tale elements are introduced.
About 40% of the way through the book, I felt like the pacing was off. I almost DNF'd the book merely because I felt it was a case of reading a book at the wrong time (I was on vacation and thought a long audiobook would help with the plane rides.. I almost dozed off on the plane instead). I truly enjoyed the second half, once things picked up, and I consumed the last 30% of the book within a day or so. King does a great job with world-building and it was very easy to connect with Charlie and the characters in Empis.
Along with some of the pacing, I also had issue with the way Charlie spoke. I'm not opposed to swearing or vulgar language but
1. Charlie does NOT sound like someone born in 1996 (the emphasis on why Charlie say "awesome sauce" is just.. bizarre? I was born in 1990 and this didn't seem like a common phrase used, let alone one I would want to translate in another world)
2. The sexualization is just.. so ridiculous in some of King's novels, and this one is no exception. I get it, Charlie is a 17-year old, and "boys only think about sex", but the fact Charlie describes the breasts of different characters (ones he's attracted to or not) is just.. so weird to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Violence, Death of parent, and Cursing
Moderate: Confinement and Sexual content
Minor: Ableism
_bxllxe_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
tense
slow-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
3.0
This is accessible fantasy for those who don’t gravitate towards the genre, like me! A good, solid read, no more and no less. Radar is the highlight of the whole book, of course ❤️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Body horror
Minor: Cancer, Torture, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, and Racial slurs
vixenreader's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Despite some ableism found in the villains (especially in how ugly appearances are equated with ugly personalities) and some of the reversal of the curse hinges on some disabilities being somewhat reverted, this book is still a dark, exciting reminder that sacrifice and loss of innocence is essential to creating a happy ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cursing, Gore, Alcoholism, Alcohol, War, Blood, Torture, Violence, Death, Addiction, Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, and Excrement
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Medical content, Car accident, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Animal death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Bullying
Minor: Racism and Sexual content
Be prepared for decaying bodies, half-dead soldiers, and said soldiers exploding. There is also some ableism in terms of how little people are treated in the text.heyimberbie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
This was my first Stephen King novel and I wouldn’t say this book was for me, but I do think it was really good.
The writing, the characters, the dog, it was purely an adventure.
I feel as though I would have enjoyed Fairy Tale more if I was well versed in traditional fairy tales to begin with, which I’m not. So, as someone who’s never read the true fairy tales that don’t necessarily end in a happily ever after like Disney does, I thought this book was really good.
I liked the high stakes fantasy while also being able to relate to Charlie Reade, the main character. It was pretty easy to understand what was going on, and for the annotators out there, this book was fun to take notes on and theorize about what would happen throughout.
My main problem with this book, is I feel like it could be shorter. I love long books, but as long as the length is necessary, not just full of fluff.
Like, for instance, this book’s chapters are each at least 50 mins-1 hour long, and we don’t get to even meet Mr. Bowditch until chapter 10 or see any real adventure until up to chapter 20.
So I think there could definitely be some editing somewhere to make the chapters much shorter and events happen more sooner.
Needless to say, I enjoyed the book, but I don’t think I’ll be reading it again. And as as someone living on a very low income, I don’t like that it cost $16 just for the ebook version.
The writing, the characters, the dog, it was purely an adventure.
I feel as though I would have enjoyed Fairy Tale more if I was well versed in traditional fairy tales to begin with, which I’m not. So, as someone who’s never read the true fairy tales that don’t necessarily end in a happily ever after like Disney does, I thought this book was really good.
I liked the high stakes fantasy while also being able to relate to Charlie Reade, the main character. It was pretty easy to understand what was going on, and for the annotators out there, this book was fun to take notes on and theorize about what would happen throughout.
My main problem with this book, is I feel like it could be shorter. I love long books, but as long as the length is necessary, not just full of fluff.
Like, for instance, this book’s chapters are each at least 50 mins-1 hour long, and we don’t get to even meet Mr. Bowditch until chapter 10 or see any real adventure until up to chapter 20.
So I think there could definitely be some editing somewhere to make the chapters much shorter and events happen more sooner.
Needless to say, I enjoyed the book, but I don’t think I’ll be reading it again. And as as someone living on a very low income, I don’t like that it cost $16 just for the ebook version.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Sexual content
Ableism: there is a brief mention of a ‘prank’ pulled on a disabled man that is very sad and could be triggering to those that have physical disabilities Sexual Content: I was a little uncomfortable with the main character, who is a 17 year old boy, having sex. Even though it’s a very brief mention, there really was no need for it. To me it seemed like it was just a plot device.tnb10's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
4.75
This book leads you on an adventure that is imaginative and wonderful. There is a lot that happens, but it is all easy to understand and follow. Part of me wanted Charlie to end up with Leah or at least to stay in Empis, but it wouldn’t be a Stephen King story if it worked out like a typically fairy tale.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual content
tortoisemonster's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Female characters were completely flat, they’re not much more than love interests, one character offering to “lie with” Charlie in a gesture of thanks was very off. King communicates evil characters through describing them as fat and ugly which is disappointing. I find it very odd that the main character (who is Jewish as far as I remember?), in order to become the prince that saves the day, has his hair change to blond and his eyes turn blue? Not sure King’s thinking behind that uncomfortable choice. Quite unremarkable and tedious at times but an uplifting ending to a basic fairy tale story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Murder, Grief, Alcoholism, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Gun violence, and Murder
anoble17's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual content and Death