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boglord's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Gore, Torture, Addiction, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Violence, Ableism, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Body horror, Animal cruelty, Excrement, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Minor: Colonisation, Adult/minor relationship, Cannibalism, Racism, and Rape
billyjepma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Bowditch is the book's highlight, arguably, and viewing him as King's self-insert character (as I did) gives the story some potentially meta-commentary elements that I liked. I doubt this is intentional, as the book doesn't explore those elements, so take my assessment with a grain of salt. King isn't interested in interrogating or subverting the fairy tale ideas he's using, opting instead to enjoy them as toys for a relatively by-the-numbers tale that's content to be a soft remix of the greatest hits. On those terms, Fairy Tale is an easy, enjoyable read, even though I kept waiting for it to become something more.
Ironically, the most effective parts of this book take place outside of the fantasy world, as it's there that King's writing is most touching and memorable. After the fantasy starts, things regrettably grow a little dull. King's characterization and pacing falter, as does his plotting. We're introduced to some wonderful supporting characters and big, exciting ideas; they just don't go anywhere. Charlie becomes a less interesting protagonist, too, as his role in the traditional fantasy adventure is as by-the-numbers as they come. King's attempts at giving it some teeth are more monotonous than anything, too, and eventually, my earlier investment in Charlie took a nosedive.
Still, despite its shortcoming, I love a good fairy tale and getting to read one of the best storytellers of a generation tell one was a ride I'm glad I took. The ending wraps things up on the kind of nostalgia-tinged note I'm always a sucker for and nails the balance between bitter and sweet like all fantasies should. I won't be running back to this one, but the vibes and visuals will happily linger in my head for a while. The book gets a 3.5/5 from me, but Radar the Very Good Dog™️ gets a 12/5.
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Medical content, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Abandonment, Bullying, Cancer, Racial slurs, and Torture
braiths_book_thoughts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It brought me out of a reading slump and allowed me to enjoy the works of Stephen King. I don't enjoy the genre of horror, so when this fantasy book came out I was excited. It did not disappoint!
I completely and utterly fell in love with the characters, they weren't always brave people or good people, some choices they made were cruelty for the sake of cruelty. Yet, they were perfect for this story.
Some things happened too fast, sometimes the story would build up to a fight and it would be over faster than expected, but for me, this did not take away from the joy and pleasure of reading this.
If you love portal world fanatsy, this one is for you.
Graphic: Blood, Terminal illness, Grief, Physical abuse, War, Cursing, Death of parent, Gun violence, Car accident, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Murder, and Torture
kittyswinny's review against another edition
- 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
<Spoiler>I would perhaps say that there weren't as many catastrophes as there should have been. Sometimes it seemed too easy for our hero Charlie to succeed. There were opportunities to have me on the edge of my seat but they fell just a little flat.
Graphic: Murder, Excrement, Death of parent, Confinement, Child death, Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief