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midwifereading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It took me awhile to figure out how I felt about this book. I started it on audio, and finished the last 25% via hardback at 2:00 am.
King really is a good storyteller in so many ways, and this book is no exception. It starts slowly, establishing the protagonist, his motivations, and his character really well. I loved the first third of the book the most, actually. Getting to know Charlie, his dad, Mr. Bowditch, and Radar (the best doggo) was wonderful! I liked each of them so much, for different reasons.
Speaking of his dad, I loved him! It's always refreshing to meet a healthy father figure in storytelling. His dad battles alcoholism, enters recovery, stays sober, and is so very present for Charlie. 10/10 dad. Not because he's without fault, but because he does the work of healing without making Charlie his support.
I also enjoyed the hints at something more, something magical lurking in the background somewhere. The world-building is interesting and a bit weird, which is great for an "otherworld" setting. Everything is just familiar enough, but off in all the right ways.
Did I mention the incredible illustrations at the beginning of each chapter? They remind me of illustrations in classic horror novels like Dracula or War of the Worlds! All books should have those whenever possible.
I did have a few issues though, which is why my star rating isn't higher.
1) Swearing. Of course, I expect it. It is Stephen King, soooo... However, when did we start limiting it almost exclusively to the f-bomb? I wouldn't call it gratuitous, but dude. No one talks like that. It distracts from the story at times. Drives me crazy.
2) Charlie is supposed to be 17 years old, in present day. He's Gen Z. But he feels Gen X. His references are those from a kid who grew up in the 80's or early 90's. The TCM movie references make sense, because of his relationship with his dad, though. Either Charlie is an old soul (he's not), or King hasn't hung out with Gen Z-ers enough. Still, he's well written as a whole.
3) The payoff doesn't quite match the setup... There's a massive evil creature to defeat at the end, and his defeat is somewhat anticlimactic for me. Some great imagery, for sure, but it feels too fast.
4) The weird language thing. At first, Charlie discovers he can't say certain words in the Other world, and figures out that he's speaking their native language, not English. Cool thought, methinks. But near the end, he CAN say English words that don't have a native translation, and they just don't understand him. So, it felt inconsistent. I wish an editor had caught that and had King polish it up.
Overall, it was a fun read, complete with a Chosen One and a happy ending. A good October read.
King really is a good storyteller in so many ways, and this book is no exception. It starts slowly, establishing the protagonist, his motivations, and his character really well. I loved the first third of the book the most, actually. Getting to know Charlie, his dad, Mr. Bowditch, and Radar (the best doggo) was wonderful! I liked each of them so much, for different reasons.
Speaking of his dad, I loved him! It's always refreshing to meet a healthy father figure in storytelling. His dad battles alcoholism, enters recovery, stays sober, and is so very present for Charlie. 10/10 dad. Not because he's without fault, but because he does the work of healing without making Charlie his support.
I also enjoyed the hints at something more, something magical lurking in the background somewhere. The world-building is interesting and a bit weird, which is great for an "otherworld" setting. Everything is just familiar enough, but off in all the right ways.
Did I mention the incredible illustrations at the beginning of each chapter? They remind me of illustrations in classic horror novels like Dracula or War of the Worlds! All books should have those whenever possible.
I did have a few issues though, which is why my star rating isn't higher.
1) Swearing. Of course, I expect it. It is Stephen King, soooo... However, when did we start limiting it almost exclusively to the f-bomb? I wouldn't call it gratuitous, but dude. No one talks like that. It distracts from the story at times. Drives me crazy.
2) Charlie is supposed to be 17 years old, in present day. He's Gen Z. But he feels Gen X. His references are those from a kid who grew up in the 80's or early 90's. The TCM movie references make sense, because of his relationship with his dad, though. Either Charlie is an old soul (he's not), or King hasn't hung out with Gen Z-ers enough. Still, he's well written as a whole.
3) The payoff doesn't quite match the setup... There's a massive evil creature to defeat at the end, and his defeat is somewhat anticlimactic for me. Some great imagery, for sure, but it feels too fast.
4) The weird language thing. At first, Charlie discovers he can't say certain words in the Other world, and figures out that he's speaking their native language, not English. Cool thought, methinks. But near the end, he CAN say English words that don't have a native translation, and they just don't understand him. So, it felt inconsistent. I wish an editor had caught that and had King polish it up.
Overall, it was a fun read, complete with a Chosen One and a happy ending. A good October read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, and Medical trauma
Minor: Sexual content
poppy_dandybee's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The first Stephen King book I have engaged with. Listened to it on audio. Very entertaining story, I always wanted to know what was going to happen next and I was always trying to figure out what was happening and why. Some gore and some peculiar things. Not a scary story to me. Similar to any fantasy adventure I've read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gore, Excrement, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
abernathy_33's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, and Sexual content
rissaread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
this was my first stephen king book and i think it was a nice introduction to his writing and his style. i loved this book, i love the story and reading everything charlie was going through. i can of course see why people didn’t click with it, not everyone is into fantasy esque books and that’s fine.
and yes, i can say at some points it felt as though there was unnecessary details or pieces in chapters that were definitely not needed ( like that part in a chapter about the jenny girl charlie knew, kind of unnecessary to me ) some parts did drag and i was like alright get to the point lol but i loved the story!
i also saw some reviews here of people saying once charlie enters empis it got boring and they liked the beginning better but i completely disagree. the whole point of this story was about the other world, the world under the well and it was so fascinating to me. again, i get it not being everyone’s cup of tea but don’t pick up a book literally called fairy tale and expect a normal story about a teenager and a dog.
and yes, i can say at some points it felt as though there was unnecessary details or pieces in chapters that were definitely not needed ( like that part in a chapter about the jenny girl charlie knew, kind of unnecessary to me ) some parts did drag and i was like alright get to the point lol but i loved the story!
i also saw some reviews here of people saying once charlie enters empis it got boring and they liked the beginning better but i completely disagree. the whole point of this story was about the other world, the world under the well and it was so fascinating to me. again, i get it not being everyone’s cup of tea but don’t pick up a book literally called fairy tale and expect a normal story about a teenager and a dog.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty and Sexual content
unicornofblue's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Sexual content, Vomit, and Toxic friendship
depmythmoon's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
“[…] learn to listen so you can listen to learn,” (pg. 413)
“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.” (pg. 446)
This was my first Stephen King book (I know I’m behind, please ✋🏾😭), and I really enjoyed his writing style. If I had to relate it to anything I’ve read before, it would be “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. It’s that descriptive type of writing that tends to have longer sentences and delve into minor details of something a character mentions. He also uses parenthesis more liberally than any author I’ve read before, which I enjoyed seeing. I’m not exactly sure why some people suggest that this isn’t the Stephen King book to start with. It was a great read in my opinion (if the 5 ⭐️ rating was anything to go off of). If this isn’t considered to be one of his best, I’m just glad that I have many more great works to look forward to.
This story has an overall theme that focuses on morality and how nobody is only good or only evil. We follow the male MC, Charlie Reade, who has a less than squeaky clean past, yet he has such a noble role within the story that juxtaposes that past nicely. He can even recognize that he may not be the textbook definition of a protagonist in a story, but he steps up to the plate anyway. The whole reason he even got into this situation is some twisted sense of obligation that hurt my heart for him while also making me think further about the motives of the good deeds that people choose to do. Anything that makes me slightly question how I view the world and others is guaranteed to stick with me and get a good rating.
Radar, the dog that Charlie goes on this mission to save, was both so adorable and heartbreaking. Seeing how her condition deteriorated as the story continued pulled at the heartstrings. Had I been a pet owner, I know for a fact that this book would have made me shed more than a few tears. So, pet owners, please be careful when going into this story. She’s such a good girl 😭
I will say… the big bad if the story did feel slightly anticlimactic while also being fitting for this tale. It left me torn, but I did love how King was able to tie it all back to multiple points that go all the way back to the beginning of the story. It would have been nice to see a little bit more there, of all places, but we were already pushing like 500+ pages at this point, so I don’t exactly blame him for getting it out the way.
“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.” (pg. 446)
This was my first Stephen King book (I know I’m behind, please ✋🏾😭), and I really enjoyed his writing style. If I had to relate it to anything I’ve read before, it would be “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. It’s that descriptive type of writing that tends to have longer sentences and delve into minor details of something a character mentions. He also uses parenthesis more liberally than any author I’ve read before, which I enjoyed seeing. I’m not exactly sure why some people suggest that this isn’t the Stephen King book to start with. It was a great read in my opinion (if the 5 ⭐️ rating was anything to go off of). If this isn’t considered to be one of his best, I’m just glad that I have many more great works to look forward to.
This story has an overall theme that focuses on morality and how nobody is only good or only evil. We follow the male MC, Charlie Reade, who has a less than squeaky clean past, yet he has such a noble role within the story that juxtaposes that past nicely. He can even recognize that he may not be the textbook definition of a protagonist in a story, but he steps up to the plate anyway. The whole reason he even got into this situation is some twisted sense of obligation that hurt my heart for him while also making me think further about the motives of the good deeds that people choose to do. Anything that makes me slightly question how I view the world and others is guaranteed to stick with me and get a good rating.
Radar, the dog that Charlie goes on this mission to save, was both so adorable and heartbreaking. Seeing how her condition deteriorated as the story continued pulled at the heartstrings. Had I been a pet owner, I know for a fact that this book would have made me shed more than a few tears. So, pet owners, please be careful when going into this story. She’s such a good girl 😭
I will say… the big bad if the story did feel slightly anticlimactic while also being fitting for this tale. It left me torn, but I did love how King was able to tie it all back to multiple points that go all the way back to the beginning of the story. It would have been nice to see a little bit more there, of all places, but we were already pushing like 500+ pages at this point, so I don’t exactly blame him for getting it out the way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cursing and Sexual content
wildflower_magic's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
franzis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content and Torture
lissaslibraryxo's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Fairy Tale is a characterful, deeply cool romp through a cruel but enchanting fantasy land called Empis. The book is skilfully plotted in what I would define as quarters - the first is hero Charlie's Illinois reality, the second is his first taste of Empis, the third is his magical, suffering-filled coming-of-age, and the fourth is battle and resolution. Fairy Tale isn't frightening - it is tense and delightfully grim/gross at some points - and is original despite drawing inspiration from well-established fairy tale tropes. Charlie is an endearing, funny and believable protagonist. Empis is highly imaginative, as are lots of idiosyncratic phrases used. Loses a bit of steam in the last quarter and flails slightly, but is bastioned by loveable characters, vivid setting and a great ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Sexual content
immovabletype's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture and Alcohol
Minor: Rape and Sexual content