Reviews tagging 'Excrement'

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

29 reviews

selenatothemax's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Confinement, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Murder, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism, Torture, and Slavery

Minor: Excrement

cc0906's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Excrement, Medical trauma, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Murder, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Addiction, Car accident, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Confinement, and Kidnapping

likethepickle's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Exactly what the title states. A Fairy Tale in its truest and most messed up sense. Not particularly suspenseful or spooky like others in King’s catalogue, this leans more into uncanny and macabre than the outright dark. 

The hero is very likable even knowing he has the capacity to be unlikable. The story is slow to start, but catches interest and holds it, especially for fans of fairy tales. a little meta in that sense but it works. 

Most importantly, the dog lives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death, Torture, Slavery, Death of parent, and Excrement

wlreed312's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Stephen King has been writing novels as long as I've been alive, so at this point you probably know if his style is for you or not. This one was enjoyable, and reminded me strongly of The Talisman (one of my favorites) in places. I very much liked all the fairy tale references, and like most of the characters a lot (unsurprising. The way King writes characters has always been one of his strong points for me). I will say the dog doesn't die, but it was a rough road, and if you've lost a pet due to old age you might need to skip this. I didn't know much about it going in, but I don't think I would have read it at this time of year if I had realized Charlie was trying to save an aging dog. It definitely endeared Charlie to me, because given the chance, who wouldn't risk everything to have a few more years with their beloved pet? I would give everything I have to have more time with my Tara, so parts of this were incredibly emotional. 

I did have a few issues with it. Number one, it's an incredibly hetero normative world (I refuse to believe Eris and Jaya weren't in love, and Eris hooking up with Charlie at the end made zero sense to me), with no mention of anyone who might be anywhere in the LGBTQIA+ pantheon. There are mentions of homelessness, including a character who is a villain that's homeless, but no examination on any underlying societal issues on what may have led to that. There is some examination on good vs. evil, and quite a bit on repenting and trying to be better, but it is still structured like a fairy tale, with clear distinctions on which characters are good and which ones aren't. Also, it definitely doesn't read like a 17 year old is telling the story (it is revealed at the end that the story wasn't written immediately, that Charlie waited a few years before telling it, so there is at least an explanation for that).

But overall this was a fun ride, I love Radar, and I would love to see what happens to Dora (she was my favorite). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Confinement

Moderate: Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

mandaraffe's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gun violence, Slavery, Body horror, Addiction, Blood, Murder, Physical abuse, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Car accident, Excrement, Gore, Grief, and Violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Ableism, Chronic illness, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, and Incest

delwithit's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Grief, Excrement, Body horror, Terminal illness, Vomit, Violence, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Blood, and Cursing

Moderate: War, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Cultural appropriation, Cancer, Chronic illness, Suicide, and Gun violence

Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pregnancy, and Misogyny

boglord's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Excrement, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, Gun violence, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Body horror

Moderate: Addiction and Torture

Minor: Infertility, Incest, and Racial slurs

kittyswinny's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

As a fan of Stephen King, I'd say this is something quite different to his usual style but extremely enjoyable. For fans of adventure, classic fairy tales with a grotesque twist and a journey, it's perfect! 

<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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Excrement, Death of parent, Confinement, Child death, Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief