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A review by oproy
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This was honestly I think one of the worst books I’ve ever read. And I actually love Stephen King. 11/22/63 is one of my favorite books ever and I’m not scared of some length. But I’m truly surprised I even finished this book.
1. The characterization. LITERALLY NO 17yo TALKS LIKE THAT. There were so many parts throughout the book that I was cringing at how awkward the dialogue was. And the 2 like sex scene at the end…I almost got into a car crash while listening that’s how awkward it was.
2. I get that Charlie is supposed to be speaking a different language throughout his time in Empess but he doesn’t have to continue saying “I tried to say electricity but couldn’t” or something of the sort. A one time explanation that it’s a different language would’ve sufficed.
3. Overall I just didn’t love the characters. I felt that Charlie was trying too hard to act like he’s a “bad guy” inside and then somehow is the nicest and smartest 17year old that’s ever lived.
4. I understand that King built an entirely new world here but that’s what it felt like…like he was just pulling random words out of his a**. Night soldiers? Snab? I just couldn’t get into it. Also the snab just felt like an ex machina the entire time. Whenever you needed an out…sir Snab to the rescue.
5. Spoilers for this one. I really thought that the idea of other fairy tales (rumplestiltskin, Cinderella, the other Grimm stories) would have a larger part of the ending of this story. I understand that there was some kind of divine intervention at the end in the name of rumplestiltskin, but it just felt lame. That’s the only way I can describe it. I continued to read because I thought maybe there was a tie-in, but there wasn’t. He was just comparing his life to these other stories and somehow everything worked out in the end. How did it work out for him??? I just don’t understand.
Anyways, this was long and winding. Overall, I would not recommend.
1. The characterization. LITERALLY NO 17yo TALKS LIKE THAT. There were so many parts throughout the book that I was cringing at how awkward the dialogue was. And the 2 like sex scene at the end…I almost got into a car crash while listening that’s how awkward it was.
2. I get that Charlie is supposed to be speaking a different language throughout his time in Empess but he doesn’t have to continue saying “I tried to say electricity but couldn’t” or something of the sort. A one time explanation that it’s a different language would’ve sufficed.
3. Overall I just didn’t love the characters. I felt that Charlie was trying too hard to act like he’s a “bad guy” inside and then somehow is the nicest and smartest 17year old that’s ever lived.
4. I understand that King built an entirely new world here but that’s what it felt like…like he was just pulling random words out of his a**. Night soldiers? Snab? I just couldn’t get into it. Also the snab just felt like an ex machina the entire time. Whenever you needed an out…sir Snab to the rescue.
5. Spoilers for this one. I really thought that the idea of other fairy tales (rumplestiltskin, Cinderella, the other Grimm stories) would have a larger part of the ending of this story. I understand that there was some kind of divine intervention at the end in the name of rumplestiltskin, but it just felt lame. That’s the only way I can describe it. I continued to read because I thought maybe there was a tie-in, but there wasn’t. He was just comparing his life to these other stories and somehow everything worked out in the end. How did it work out for him??? I just don’t understand.
Anyways, this was long and winding. Overall, I would not recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Gore, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder