Fairy Tale: the number one bestseller from the ultimate storyteller

This book was absolutely amazing ,so many twists and turns ,the book never disappointed me ,I love the detail Stephen king goes into This is one of my favourite stories

SK is in his 75th year, and I wonder how many more books he has left in him — hopefully many more, based on this latest offering. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been reading a lot of challenging books recently but it was just a joy to sink into this novel. The author is quoted as saying he looked to write a novel that would make him happy. Well, this one certainly helped me escape every time I dipped into it. There’s just something about his style that draws you in. He could write a story about the joys of accountancy and still make it interesting. The tale itself revisits certain character types and themes seen in many of SK’s previous books: a young boy who is somehow special but has flaws; an old man who needs some kind of care (qv SK’s recent novelette, Mr Harrigan’s Phone) and a portal to another world. Yet somehow, SK seems to provide fresh perspectives on these tropes. I would say the novel is in two parts — the earthly part and the fantastical part. Part 1 sees the hero, Charlie, having to deal with his mother’s death and the father’s subsequent descent into alcoholism. The boy having to cope with this, and make a ‘deal with God,’ provides the motivation for him helping the grumpy Mr Bowditch who lives at an old house further up the street. The old Man falls and breaks his leg, so Charlie comes to the rescue of both him, and his aging dog, Radar. As Charlie helps the old man recover, they begin to trust each other, and Bowditch lets him in on the secret of the shed in his back garden. This, it turns out, is the aforementioned portal. Due to a number of circumstances, which I won’t spoil here, Charlie ventures into the world beyond the deep portal in Bowditch’s shed and encounters the Fairy Tale world of Empis. This requires a shift in belief-acceptance for the reader, but King leads us in gently through his masterful use of the ‘diary’ first person narrative of Charlie. From here on in it’s into full-on fantasy mode where SK weaves together many Grimm-based elements, together with a Lovecraftian horror in the form of ‘Gogmagog’. There are multiple villains, friends and allies to meet, and this second part makes up the bulk of the book. Some criticise King from a plotting point of view, but for someone who has no idea how a book will ends when he starts it, this accomplishment is all the more amazing, to my mind. Unlike earlier books, the gore-horror elements are downplayed in favour of the characters and suspense coming to the fore. If you’re already a King fan, you won’t be disappointed by ‘Fairy Tale.’ If this is your introduction, it gives a perfect example of where this storyteller is at as he approaches the twilight of his career.

King is writing some cracking novels in the latter part of his career. It’s like he’s got a second wind in the last couple of decades and Fairytale is a great(and unique)addition to the hits. The story of a teenage boy who saves an old man’s life after hearing his dog barking, he visits him in hospital and ends up caring for him when he gets home. At the end of his garden is a shed with a big secret. A portal to another world. A fairytale world that is more brothers Grimm than Walt Disney. A world where Charlie(our teenage hero) goes on an adventure with the dog that drew him to the old man. I really loved this for the most part. It takes its time in the beginning, the actual fairytale element not taking place until maybe a quarter or a third of a way through the book. That was a plus in my book. I really enjoyed the whole relationship between Charlie, Mr Bowditch(the old man) and Radar the dog. It’s a mini book in itself and a great read. When we get into the magical world, there is plenty of magic but even more darkness and some pretty extreme violence. The creative ways that King manages to reference actual fairytales and their characters in this other world are great fun and very impressive. Although a kind of straight forward good against evil story, this is anything but. There’s some really dark passages and some impressively bizarre ideas and characters. As with a lot of King books it’s a little too long. Only just mind. It’s a minor niggle in what is a hugely enjoyable and totally engrossing tale.

I recently read Stephen King's latest book "Fairy Tale" and I have to say that it was an absolute masterpiece. From the very first page, King has you hooked with his evocative descriptions and vivid imagery, transporting you into a world that feels both familiar and fantastical. What I loved most about this book was its characters. Each one was so unique and well-developed, with their own distinct personality and backstory. King has a way of crafting characters that feel so real, you almost forget they're not actually people you know. I found myself rooting for them, feeling their pain and celebrating their victories. The plot of "Fairy Tale" was equally impressive. I won't give away any spoilers, but suffice it to say that King knows how to keep his readers on the edge of their seats. The twists and turns in this book were unexpected, yet made perfect sense in hindsight. And the ending? Let's just say that it left me thinking about it for days afterwards. Finally, I have to mention King's writing style. It's unmatched. His command of the English language is incredible, with beautifully crafted sentences that flow seamlessly from one to the next. Reading King's prose is like savoring a fine meal or listening to a masterful musician – you can't help but be in awe of his talent. Overall, I absolutely loved "Fairy Tale" and would highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good suspenseful story with complex characters. It's easily one of the best books I've read this year, and I can't wait to see what King has in store for us next. Five stars all the way.

Stephen King’s Fairy Tale is definitely different from his usual style, but it’s an amazing read that pulled me in from the very start. Charlie is such a compelling character, his difficult life shapes him, but through his journey, he learns powerful lessons about love, loyalty, and sacrifice. Radar, his beloved dog, absolutely stole my heart. I would have done the same for my own furbaby in a heartbeat, and the bond between Charlie and Radar is one of the most touching parts of the story. There were moments that broke me, and I cried when Radar was suffering, but those scenes made the story even more powerful and real. What truly stood out was Charlie’s dedication, not just to Radar, but to honoring his promise and helping the people of “the other” world. Watching him grow into someone brave and selfless was heartwarming and inspiring. This book is filled with both heartbreak and hope, and while it’s a departure from King’s usual horror, it shows just how versatile and masterful a storyteller he is. A truly wonderful read.

I refuse to give a 5 star rating even if I loved the story, but there were problems with it. The story itself was marred by a huge array of characters who were never sufficiently developed. So during dialogue I had to keep reminding myself who was being talked about when every name came up. Also, in describing the palace, and Empis in general, I felt that his descriptive powers led me to speed read over them. There was a huge amount of detail included, but none of it painted a picture for me. They were just words on the page. I do think large sections of the book were lazily written. The story seems to stutter and start constantly and so the flow is broken many times. For a long book like this that's unforgivable. If you compare this to the 10 books of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, 10 long books that have the same theme -a man goes off to another world- Donaldson's writing is so brilliant that you never forget a name, you never forget a detail, you always imagine easily where you are, and that's a huge feat over 10 long, complicated books. I also noticed many grammatical errors: I don't think I've ever noticed any in a Stephen King book before this one. Also, since when did the English language use apostrophes to denote dialogue? We use double quotes, or quotation marks. This entire book uses apostrophes for dialogue and I found it incredibly off-putting. He also used semi-colons several times when he should have used a comma. In addition, instead of writing 'A cold, dark, mouldy room.' King wrote in the style of 'A cold dark mouldy room' missing out the commas. I honestly wonder if Stephen King wrote this? Loads of rules of the English language were broken in this book and it did make it quite bumpy to read. I think I've been generous giving him 3 stars.

Brilliant! Couldn’t put it down

I have to say from the outset, that this is not the normal Genre of book that I would read. The first part of the story I enjoyed (I won't give any spoilers here) and then you get into the "meat of the book". As already stated, it is lengthy. The further on I got the more I wondered if it would ever end. The stories are fantastical (it is a fairy tale) although it is sprinkled with just about any foul language you could think of; that's a bit different for a fairy tale! There are so many twist and turns, that although I was at times bored with it, somehow, I just had to keep reading it. At last we arrive at the end, which arrives quickly. The peculiar thing is that it does have a "Fairy Tale" ending and when I had finished it, I found myself rather sad that it was over. The characters are so rich that you relate to them. In conclusion, whilst, as I said, it is not really my genre (I purchased it because it was reduced in price), I'm glad I read it. It is an adult fairy tale and clearly you can see why Stephen King is a master of his craft. READ IT.

J'ai vraiment apprécié ce "conte de fées" à la sauce King, qui évoque un peu par moment l'univers de The Dark Tower. N'hésitez pas à vous y plonger !

He leído la versión en inglés para Kindle, buen libro del maestro del terror. El principio algo lento, pero la historia recobra fuerza y vale la pena.

Um ótimo livro com uma história maravilhosa, como todas as que King nos conta. Sou fã, então não sou muito crítico.

"I'd like to tell you I came back to my better self at the very end. To say I felt regret. It wouldn't be true. There's a dark well in everyone, I think, and it never goes dry. But you drink from it at your peril. That water is poison." Charlie is a regular seventeen year old kid. Only Charlie has lived his life mostly looking after himself. After the tragic death of his mother, Charlie's father was driven to drink, barely able to look after himself, let alone a child. A chance meeting with Mr Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill, changes the course of Charlies life forever. After receiving a major inheritance, all of which included a creepy shed down in the back of the yard, Charlie sets out to save a life. In true King fashion, the story is a very slow build, crafting every single moment so you don't miss even the tiniest detail. The story is created based on the old Grimm's Fairy Tales, spun in a new light and modernized to fit with more recent times. The characters and their relationships are put together so beautifully, they draw you in and make you feel for every single one. Not one character feels insignificant. The stunning world building had me lost in a daydream, just imagining the spaces. The read will leave you happy and sad, nervous and excited, I wove through a multitude of emotions on each chapter. This is quite different from most of King's previous works, it is a work of fairy tale art as opposed to strictly horror style novels. There are some quite graphic scenes though, so younger readers may need to be aware of those.

Following the trend of rewritten fairytales, this story, true Stephen King style, writes using the older darker tales, and some classic horror fiction, as its basis. Clichès admitted as such by the author during the narrative and imagery from modern as well as ancient stories, from poppy fields to cthulu, from Rumpelstiltskin to the siren mermaid, with double moons, dungeons and dangers leading to good against evil, neither absolute, both always present.