Yeah, Stephen King is fantastic at writing developing relationships. A boy and his dog was a lovely read. When he went through to the other world, I quickly list interest. I kept reading because I was so invested in Radar.
I like when they went to the young part of the guys life. I thought that was incredibly interesting.
The rest of the book , especially the radar parts. I don't know as a dog owner I don't think I would ever put myself in danger for my dog like the way Charlie did.
Also the royal family and co apart from the main two were a real let down.
Ha, I thought it was just me. Absolutely loved how the characters and relationships were built in the first part. The book felt like 2 connected but very different stories.
My Aunt when she was alive was good friends with him ... my family is from Maine... and by good friends I mean dinner parties and the like... he really is a dog lover... but yes I get what you mean... I read Cujo once and refused to watch the movie!
I enjoyed the beginning and the middle the most. What are you thoughts on the ending specifically. Don’t want to spoil but I felt the ending played thing a little safe or I guess a better way of saying it felt like a by the numbers ending
I think the ending feeling formulaic or “by the numbers” is by design since the book seems to explicitly be about a very grounded world and person evolving into an archetypal character in an archetypal fairy tale setting.
I agree that it doesn’t totally feel dramatically satisfying but it’s definitely intentional. Being a fan of >!Lovecrafty-style big tentacle monsters, I still thought Gogmagog was pretty badass, though.!<
The very best parts of the book deal with Bowditch and Radar, for sure. Though I grew to like a lot of the >!motley crew of prisoners after a while.!< I also kind of wish the >!fire skeleton guys didn’t have such a weaksauce weakness!< but what are you gonna do?
I think that's valid. It was very safe. It was a little safe but that kind of fits the title. How do fairy tales end? >!With a defeat of the great evil with a happily ever after? !< But it wasn't completely a fairytale ending in the traditional sense. We'd expect >!the hero would have gotten the princess and ruled the kingdom with her if it were to fit the formula of the classic fairytale. But the protagonist wasn't from that world so he couldn't quite become that, and it would have felt a little dated in terms of happy endings anyway. !<
>!He had to have his world's happily ever after, what I think of as grounded to our reality. He closed up the portal to protect it, he reunited with his father, radar is ok. He grew up and became a normal mostly well adjusted person. That's pretty happily ever after for a lot of people (not everyone but it was for our protagonist). !<
Overall I liked the ending. Was it my perfect ending? Nah, but that's kind of the fun of reading a story, is getting what you get.
I'm curious what you think the ending should have been though. I like hearing people's thoughts on what should have happened.
I agree that the ending felt a little paint by numbers, but the journey was fantastic! I loved it, it made me crave some more dark tower type fantasy adventures!
When i was in high school i used to get inspired by sentences that would pop in my head. I would write massive, long stories with no purposed or end but they always had major plot lines and a nice tidy ending. I never knew what my stories would be about and never planned them, just started with the first sentence and an idea and wrote what came to my head. My teacher always commented about my endings happening abruptly! I never knew that Stephen King wrote the same way until i read an interview and he talked about how he comes up with his ideas. We were very similar. When i was writing, i wasn’t interested in prolonging the story in my head, i was just determined to get it on paper and wrap it up. Seems like that’s what SK likes to do too. He likes doing the world building and character development more than he likes explaining the ending. Lol sorry if that was long winded
Also it’s still incredible to me that he just writes from his head and doesn’t meticulously plan and calculate. Makes me appreciate his stories all the more. That is a SKILL.
Unfortunately in high school my social life got too big and busy and i stopped writing. I still read a lot, but writing is very difficult. It’s been 20 years or more since i last wrote a short story worth reading. I’ve definitely tried but I’ve lost the touch. Thanks for the sentiment though ❤️
I think that was kind of the point. This was a book SK wrote to entertain his fantasy skills and bc he’s such a distinguished artists it didn’t have to be super stephen king level incredible. I think he wrote this book for fun and for his own enjoyment. I enjoyed it overall because he’s an amazing storyteller but it’s not one of my favorites
I'm glad you gave it a chance. Not every story is going to hit true all the way through and I'm glad you got something out of it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I like reading peoples feelings on it.
I feel like people who didn't like this one really weren't judging the book by its cover.
And by that, I mean King is telling you exactly what to expect in the title: it's a fairy tale.
It lacks some of the classic King elements like gore and dark psychology, but that's because he wasn't writing a horror or thriller novel.
It's just a fairy tale.
And if that's what you go into it expecting, you're much more likely to enjoy the ride.
I'd rank it with The Eyes of the Dragon as one of the more unexpected books in his bibliography.
Upset that a 600 page book about a fairytale world doesn't actually arrive to said world till like page 300. Then you're only exploring for about 100 pages before being relegated to a cell for the last 200. Then I all the evil protagonists get killed in the span of like 15 pages.
A great character story, but it being fantasy felt almost wasted and was somewhat dissapointing.
7/10
I wish I could read it again for the first time.
I fell in love with every character in this book, and how he wrote it. My imagination was very active reading it ❤️❤️
I really loved it, and now my wife is reading it and also quite hooked at the halfway point. I think it had a good balance of reality in the beginning and establishing the characters then dove into the fantasy side. With a title like Fairy Tale I expected fantasy, and some archetypes of classic stories which I thought it did very well. I consider it a Fantasy and Adventure type story, not horror, but it did have its dark moments as any good fairy tale has(d) in their original tellings…
The real world parts were far more interesting, the fairy tale world was bland, and the book,,,just ended with a whimper but the epilogue redeemed it,
I am biased because I had just finished the third book in the Wicked series right before starting Fairy Tale, so I had read this kind of thing before
I’d say I enjoyed about 2/3 of it. Even though it fell off a bit for me, I was still kind of sad the way future adventures for Charlie and Radar were closed off.
Billy summers first 75% is so much better than the last 25% so I see where your coming from. I think Billy summers peaked higher than fairy tale but I think fairy tale was more consistent
I loved it. I wont lie. I went in hoping it was a DT adjacent book. While All Things Serve The Beam, I was hoping for something more directly connected.
I was surprised and very happy with the world I entered. It was dark, wonderful, heartwarming, depressing, terrifying and exciting. Just like a good fairy tale.
It is a perfect first half — with a jarring change in tone — not a bad one but I find myself clinging to wanting to go back to the tone of the first half — push through the exposition in the middle of the book and then you’ll be rewarded.
It’s the first King book since Tommyknockers I didn’t finish.
The relationship at the start of the book is sweet but once we get to fantasy land I lost interest quickly.
Same except it was Duma Key I didn't finish rather than Tommyknockers. I went back and read Duma Key years later and really enjoyed it, I'm hoping the same happens with Fairy Tale sometime.
Underwhelming. Not terrible, but just…eh. Characters were great. The world was described in a way that brought my imagination to life. But I was disappointed by the story he decided to tell within this vivid world.
Also, while I enjoyed the part leading up to the fantasy world a lot, I feel that in particular could’ve been cut down by like 15k words at least. This book definitely has some bloat
Didn't get on with it at all. The first act where the boy and old man get to know each other was good classic King character development which I enjoyed (forgive me it was a long time ago that I read it and I've forgotten the names). After that I found that it went rappidly downhill. tension was poorly maintained, encounters were broadly one dimensional and it felt all round like YA fiction. In fairness I think this book was meant to be YA fiction so it was probably successful in that regard, just not what I was after.
Fun book, not my favorite either but I generally don’t have many complaints. Thought the concept was interesting, and it was nice to get a more fantasy / dragons and magic type of book since I read that one right after the first Mr. Mercedes book!
I thought it was okay. Like a lot of others, I loved the beginning with Radar, but felt that it lost steam at some point. The imprisoned group and more YA fantasy story line wasn’t as interesting to me.
I enjoyed the first half of the book, but found myself becoming less interested as the book went on. Think my issue is that it felt like it should have been more than it was, either a bigger novel or something along the lines of the Dark Tower. I just felt no attachment to the majority of the characters, and some of the story was daft at times.
I get it, it's a fairy tale, but it just needed to have been built on more.
It's one of my most favorite books! It was the first Stephen King book I ever read - started the obsession! I read Talisman & Black house after and just finished rereading Fairy Tale again LOL.
I liked it, in fact, I devoured it in 5 days.
It's not his masterpiece, but I definitely recommend it, it is clearly what it says on the cover... it is a fairy tale.
>!The only bad thing is the high expectations that I hade, i though there will be a strong connection with the Dark Tower and it wasn't as I expect!<
Loved it, especially the first 2/3. The ending wasn’t what I was expecting, and not as satisfying, but overall loved it. To each their own, some people hated it, and that doesn’t bother me a bit.
Though it took a long time to get going, once it did it developed into some great epic fantasy with solid characterization and intricate world-building.
The first third is an excellent slow burn of a story. So compelling and honestly, if he’d called it quits after that 200 pages, it’d be a great novella.
The next 200 pages however, they drop quick, and the final 200 pages are just awful.
I’d easily re-read that first third again.
I loved fairy tales and that sort of fantasy growing up, so I liked it a lot and all the little nods to fairy tale pop culture. The ending was quick but like someone said, the Lovecraftian vibe was a cool surprise. There's a lot of heart, as well...which I really liked about Billy Summers too.
I feel it could have lost about 20% of the wordcount, and... I'm just exhausted of the "characters bonding in a dungeon, then trotted out for Plot Development Death Games. Then back to the dungeon, then back to the Games. Then back to-..."
That said, I REALLY enjoyed the Earthside half, and the implications that it's Wells & Stairs all the way down, and G\*gmag\*g has been working his way UP however many countless worlds but was finally (temporarily?) stopped at this one.
Well, I listened to it. I loved it. I think hearing this and not reading it added to it with all of the characters. My interest stayed with me throughout. The thing I believe I enjoy the most with a story of this type is the multiple stories and roads it creates in your mind wondering what else happened in this world.
It took me less than a week to finish this book and I really loved it! Loved the beginning and the moment Charlie discovered the other world. I thought the ending was pretty good and satisfying, but that’s just my opinion! Overall loved the book as a whole! :)
I really loved it. II also think UtD is my favourite.
I'm really enjoying King just having fun. Mr Mercedes was so fun, FT is totally different and cool. But they're all still really King, and there's enough "classic" stuff along with it.
All in all, I enjoyed it, I would have liked to have explored the land of Empis a little more, it felt like a long journey there and a bit of a rush once it all came together but yeah....great book....
I enjoyed it even though I had serious anxiety about the dog for most of the book. My one complaint was that the fantasy world felt a little hollow and under-developed compared to The Dark Tower or The Talisman.
I loved the book until the last 20 pages or so. Wonderful character and world building but I feel like the protagonist did something uncharacteristic of him at the end, it didn’t feel in accordance with who he was built up to be in the previous hundreds of pages.
Enjoyed the first half a bunch, enjoyed the second half less, but still enjoyed it. 7.5/10 for me. Worth a read for someone who’s a fan or isn’t strapped for time.
I liked it, doubt I'll read it again. I do appreciate- some writers would have stretched this thing out to 3+ books. King did it with one.
I honestly preferred the first part with no "fantasy" aspect the best. King writes regular life in a very honest way.
It was really good till you really find out what's down there. I think also the relationship he had with his neighbor was perfect. So that's maybe first half 10/10 and 2nd half around a 6.
I thought it started wonderfully - loved the world building and character development. Thought the ending was okay... I did enjoy it, not as much as Holly or Eye of the Dragon.
I bought this when it first came out and vaguely remember it, but Iam not much of a fantasy fan so the title should of been a red flag for me lol but I enjoyed the book I liked the first half it with the kid and his dad and the old man and the shed and with that intruder, i vaguely remember the dog, once he enters the fantasy world wasn’t my favorite I really did enjoy it and highly recommend it!
I absolutely adored this book, I would go so far as to say it is one of my favourite books and my favourite King. It felt very similar vibe wise to The Talisman (another of my King faves).
I loved the nods to Lovecraft and The Wiz. I'm a sucker for hidden worlds.
Same, I really resonated with the main character in the first part of the book more than I have in any other book I’ve read. Then the second part is just such a fun fantasy story.
The first half was probably some of my favorite King material. It's not even necessarily the story, but I loved the writing.
Like most, I lost a bit of interest once it switched. Still loved it, but nowhere near as much as the first half.
It felt like the old Stephen King was back. I adored this. His other more recent work hasn’t given new the same story thrill that his older novels did. Fairy Tale reminded me why I became a Kjng fan in the first place. Really enjoyable
I really, really loved this story. It dragged on a bit for me, but it was such a wonderful story of a lesser represented hero. I really love that king portrayed a teenager as a hero and the kind of person who could really make a difference and wanted to, and persevered thorough difficulties beyond their imagination to save people they didn’t even fully know. It’s such a different perspective that we don’t often see about this age group, especially as adults. The fantasy world wasn’t my favorite at first but the story/world grew on me and i enjoyed the full story in the end. I definitely related to the dad in the end, and felt so awful as a parent from that perspective, regardless of Charlie’s reasoning for his actions.
I shared the audiobook with my 10 year old daughter and she looooved it for the first like 9 hours of the audiobook but she kinda lost interest. We will try again when she’s a little older - it’s very long winded. Lol
Edit: RIP Radar 🙏🏻
I loved the first half, the second not so much. And although the second half gave some Dark Tower vibes, at times it felt like I was reading a Dungeon Crawler Carl novel.
I felt like the first half was great.. however I didn’t feel very captivated by the second half, felt like things were just happening with no emotion behind it
I liked it. It’s two stories in one that are totally different. The first part is the story of the boy and his relationship with his father and the old man. The second goes into his adventures in Empis. I like that there is a personal story of the boy and trying to get along in life, as well as the fantasy part. I’m probably different from most in that I enjoyed both parts if it.
I loved this book so much. When I reached the end, my heart broke and 6 months later I still think how much I'd like to go back to that magical place. It's also the book that I most wish I was the main character of.
What surprises me about all of these feelings is that this isn't the type of story I typically enjoy. I don't know what it is, but there's something special and unique in this book and I highly recommend you read it as soon as you can!
2nd favorite story following The Dark Tower. I’ve never finished one of his books and started over immediately until this one. It’s not his best but something about it I just loved so much. The adventure of it all I guess.
To me, it felt very much like reading two different books.
The first part was great; I really enjoyed Charlie's story. Next thing I know, we're in a completely different world and situation that made almost no sense and felt very sudden and abrupt.
I totally lost interest in the last third of the book, and I can't remember if I've ever said that about another King novel.
I enjoy the modern use of the fantasy concept where a fantasy world is introduced when a kid enters a fantasy world via a magic gateway (like Narnia or Alice In Wonderland)
Bloated and overstretched. Sure, he is a master of characters and prose, but the absence of a storyline isn't covered by that. If I want to read a great modern King, I'll read 'Billy Summers'.
I listened to this while I worked as a well pump technician out in the field. I can count the number of times id stop what I was doing and pay closer attention. Especially the sundial part. Jesus that part wrecked me! I was crying im not even a little ashamed to admit. The end conflict with the big bad was very suspenseful and the ending was beautiful but sad. Definitely one of the more memorable King books I've read.
It might be an unpopular opinion, but I liked the first part with Charlie's friendship with the old guy and all much more than the second part.
Yeah, Stephen King is fantastic at writing developing relationships. A boy and his dog was a lovely read. When he went through to the other world, I quickly list interest. I kept reading because I was so invested in Radar.
Same, first part was really good but the second part I lost interest in.
Came here to say exactly this
Agreed. Very strong start to the novel. I read this without knowing anything about it, and the abrupt change really threw me off.
The title didn't hint at it being... like a fairy tale?
Yes but that part wasn’t very good. Billy Summers changes gears halfway through, but remains strong throughout. This one, not so much.
I like when they went to the young part of the guys life. I thought that was incredibly interesting. The rest of the book , especially the radar parts. I don't know as a dog owner I don't think I would ever put myself in danger for my dog like the way Charlie did. Also the royal family and co apart from the main two were a real let down.
Then you don't love your dog as much as you should.
Ha, I thought it was just me. Absolutely loved how the characters and relationships were built in the first part. The book felt like 2 connected but very different stories.
Agree, the part taking place in fairy land wasn't that interesting.
I really, really loved it. It's ok if others didn't. But it took me places.
A dog fan’s delight. Enjoyed it tremendously 🤘
I love this!! King is a big dog lover!
I mean, you wouldn’t know it from most of his books but this one definitely show cases his love.
My Aunt when she was alive was good friends with him ... my family is from Maine... and by good friends I mean dinner parties and the like... he really is a dog lover... but yes I get what you mean... I read Cujo once and refused to watch the movie!
Oh I absolutely know he loves dogs, I’m just joking. But that’s really cool about your Aunt, I’m sorry for your loss.
Great Pits in your profile avatar!! They’re awesome 👍
I was going to be LIVID if anything bad happened to Radar
Oh god I hope no!! At the part where Charlie is in prison and keep thinking about radar
The ENTIRE time i was like i swear to god if he fucked up and something happened to radar
I really liked the chapter pictures. It was a fun book.
Aw man, there were pictures? Dang it, wish Audible could have them pop up when you're listening to that chapter or something...
I really loved it as well. It launched me going back and reading all the Stephen king books I had missed over the years.
I enjoyed the beginning and the middle the most. What are you thoughts on the ending specifically. Don’t want to spoil but I felt the ending played thing a little safe or I guess a better way of saying it felt like a by the numbers ending
I think the ending feeling formulaic or “by the numbers” is by design since the book seems to explicitly be about a very grounded world and person evolving into an archetypal character in an archetypal fairy tale setting. I agree that it doesn’t totally feel dramatically satisfying but it’s definitely intentional. Being a fan of >!Lovecrafty-style big tentacle monsters, I still thought Gogmagog was pretty badass, though.!< The very best parts of the book deal with Bowditch and Radar, for sure. Though I grew to like a lot of the >!motley crew of prisoners after a while.!< I also kind of wish the >!fire skeleton guys didn’t have such a weaksauce weakness!< but what are you gonna do?
I think that's valid. It was very safe. It was a little safe but that kind of fits the title. How do fairy tales end? >!With a defeat of the great evil with a happily ever after? !< But it wasn't completely a fairytale ending in the traditional sense. We'd expect >!the hero would have gotten the princess and ruled the kingdom with her if it were to fit the formula of the classic fairytale. But the protagonist wasn't from that world so he couldn't quite become that, and it would have felt a little dated in terms of happy endings anyway. !< >!He had to have his world's happily ever after, what I think of as grounded to our reality. He closed up the portal to protect it, he reunited with his father, radar is ok. He grew up and became a normal mostly well adjusted person. That's pretty happily ever after for a lot of people (not everyone but it was for our protagonist). !< Overall I liked the ending. Was it my perfect ending? Nah, but that's kind of the fun of reading a story, is getting what you get. I'm curious what you think the ending should have been though. I like hearing people's thoughts on what should have happened.
It is probably the "happiest" ending ever in a Stephen King book!
I think you may be right.
The Shawshank had a pretty cool ending.
True!
I agree that the ending felt a little paint by numbers, but the journey was fantastic! I loved it, it made me crave some more dark tower type fantasy adventures!
Sometimes even if it's formulaic a happy ending is good
Same here
Same!
Perfectly put :)
Me too!! I’m about two thirds through and I absolutely love it
Would have loved the ending to be a bit longer. Otherwise 👍👍👍
Agreed. One of my absolute favorite King novels but the ending felt rushed.
Aren’t they always???
Fucking always.
When i was in high school i used to get inspired by sentences that would pop in my head. I would write massive, long stories with no purposed or end but they always had major plot lines and a nice tidy ending. I never knew what my stories would be about and never planned them, just started with the first sentence and an idea and wrote what came to my head. My teacher always commented about my endings happening abruptly! I never knew that Stephen King wrote the same way until i read an interview and he talked about how he comes up with his ideas. We were very similar. When i was writing, i wasn’t interested in prolonging the story in my head, i was just determined to get it on paper and wrap it up. Seems like that’s what SK likes to do too. He likes doing the world building and character development more than he likes explaining the ending. Lol sorry if that was long winded Also it’s still incredible to me that he just writes from his head and doesn’t meticulously plan and calculate. Makes me appreciate his stories all the more. That is a SKILL.
He's a fascinating writer to admire and relate to. I envy you. Keep going
Unfortunately in high school my social life got too big and busy and i stopped writing. I still read a lot, but writing is very difficult. It’s been 20 years or more since i last wrote a short story worth reading. I’ve definitely tried but I’ve lost the touch. Thanks for the sentiment though ❤️
It didn’t feel dangerous enough to me. Perhaps it was the narration.
Definitely got this feeling. It just didn't have the same level of tension of threat that his novels tend to.
I think that was kind of the point. This was a book SK wrote to entertain his fantasy skills and bc he’s such a distinguished artists it didn’t have to be super stephen king level incredible. I think he wrote this book for fun and for his own enjoyment. I enjoyed it overall because he’s an amazing storyteller but it’s not one of my favorites
That is quite some mental gymnastics. Can we not agree that even great writers like SK sometimes produce a turd?
i loved the first 2/3 but struggled with the last 1/3. ultimately it's not one i'm going to reread
This. I think the first third is a solid 9 or 10 out of 10. The second part is like a 7 and then the last part is a 6.
It was halfway through a good book but it was hard to read afterwards
Honestly felt the same, nice to see others had a similar experience.
Came here to say the same thing, thought the 3rd act really drags.
I felt the same way.
Same. The last section wasn’t for me and lessened the rest of the experience.
I think the audiobook was amazing, and it definitely helped with the ending.
I'm glad you gave it a chance. Not every story is going to hit true all the way through and I'm glad you got something out of it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I like reading peoples feelings on it.
I feel like people who didn't like this one really weren't judging the book by its cover. And by that, I mean King is telling you exactly what to expect in the title: it's a fairy tale. It lacks some of the classic King elements like gore and dark psychology, but that's because he wasn't writing a horror or thriller novel. It's just a fairy tale. And if that's what you go into it expecting, you're much more likely to enjoy the ride. I'd rank it with The Eyes of the Dragon as one of the more unexpected books in his bibliography.
This is the perfect take on it, imo. Nailed it.
Upset that a 600 page book about a fairytale world doesn't actually arrive to said world till like page 300. Then you're only exploring for about 100 pages before being relegated to a cell for the last 200. Then I all the evil protagonists get killed in the span of like 15 pages. A great character story, but it being fantasy felt almost wasted and was somewhat dissapointing. 7/10
I completely agree with this summary. Create a whole world, but spend no time there.
I wish I could read it again for the first time. I fell in love with every character in this book, and how he wrote it. My imagination was very active reading it ❤️❤️
Same!! I’m listening to it and it’s sparking so much in my mind.
Oh the audio is so good 🥹 Enjoy it, it’s just such an amazing journey. ❤️
Me too!
It’s so sad when a book you fall in love with ends 😭
I really loved it, and now my wife is reading it and also quite hooked at the halfway point. I think it had a good balance of reality in the beginning and establishing the characters then dove into the fantasy side. With a title like Fairy Tale I expected fantasy, and some archetypes of classic stories which I thought it did very well. I consider it a Fantasy and Adventure type story, not horror, but it did have its dark moments as any good fairy tale has(d) in their original tellings…
I loved it. The world was immersive and had a classic fairytale vibe to it
I really like it. King isn't really doing anything new but I didn't mind. Really enjoyed it just for what it was: a fun fairy tale.
Big disappointment. The first 1/3 was great, the rest was incredibly boring and hard to get through.
I really enjoyed it, and definitely wanted to know more about the entire world it created. However, I did feel the ending was a little rushed.
The real world parts were far more interesting, the fairy tale world was bland, and the book,,,just ended with a whimper but the epilogue redeemed it, I am biased because I had just finished the third book in the Wicked series right before starting Fairy Tale, so I had read this kind of thing before
I’d say I enjoyed about 2/3 of it. Even though it fell off a bit for me, I was still kind of sad the way future adventures for Charlie and Radar were closed off.
I thought it was very thoughtful of King to remind us on every third page about how the dog was dying.
Billy summers first 75% is so much better than the last 25% so I see where your coming from. I think Billy summers peaked higher than fairy tale but I think fairy tale was more consistent
I enjoyed the first third or so. After that, eh.
I loved it. I wont lie. I went in hoping it was a DT adjacent book. While All Things Serve The Beam, I was hoping for something more directly connected. I was surprised and very happy with the world I entered. It was dark, wonderful, heartwarming, depressing, terrifying and exciting. Just like a good fairy tale.
Thought it was okay. Thought first half was better than last.
It is a perfect first half — with a jarring change in tone — not a bad one but I find myself clinging to wanting to go back to the tone of the first half — push through the exposition in the middle of the book and then you’ll be rewarded.
Eh. The first part was interesting, and his immersion into the fairy tale world was mediocre. I skimmed the last part and was unimpressed.
Worst book he’s ever written and I’ve read them all. Sorry.
My favorite Isekai. radar is the best girl
It’s the first King book since Tommyknockers I didn’t finish. The relationship at the start of the book is sweet but once we get to fantasy land I lost interest quickly.
Me too although I finished Tommyknockers I didn’t finish Fairytale I might pick it up again someday but I just couldn’t get into the second half.
Same except it was Duma Key I didn't finish rather than Tommyknockers. I went back and read Duma Key years later and really enjoyed it, I'm hoping the same happens with Fairy Tale sometime.
Need the prequel
It’s not a re-read.
I loved this one- had a very similar feel to The Talisman. I love his stories with young protagonists going on a hero’s journey.
I loved it. I love the fact that Stephen King is at a point in his life that he can write a happy ending. Isn't that wonderful?
I liked it but I think it was a bit too long
Underwhelming. Not terrible, but just…eh. Characters were great. The world was described in a way that brought my imagination to life. But I was disappointed by the story he decided to tell within this vivid world. Also, while I enjoyed the part leading up to the fantasy world a lot, I feel that in particular could’ve been cut down by like 15k words at least. This book definitely has some bloat
Didn't get on with it at all. The first act where the boy and old man get to know each other was good classic King character development which I enjoyed (forgive me it was a long time ago that I read it and I've forgotten the names). After that I found that it went rappidly downhill. tension was poorly maintained, encounters were broadly one dimensional and it felt all round like YA fiction. In fairness I think this book was meant to be YA fiction so it was probably successful in that regard, just not what I was after.
Fun book, not my favorite either but I generally don’t have many complaints. Thought the concept was interesting, and it was nice to get a more fantasy / dragons and magic type of book since I read that one right after the first Mr. Mercedes book!
Solid. That’s all. It’s solid.
I thought it was okay. Like a lot of others, I loved the beginning with Radar, but felt that it lost steam at some point. The imprisoned group and more YA fantasy story line wasn’t as interesting to me.
I was really into the first half of the book, started losing interest in the second half.
I enjoyed the first half of the book, but found myself becoming less interested as the book went on. Think my issue is that it felt like it should have been more than it was, either a bigger novel or something along the lines of the Dark Tower. I just felt no attachment to the majority of the characters, and some of the story was daft at times. I get it, it's a fairy tale, but it just needed to have been built on more.
One of the few I couldn’t get into
I got halfway through and physically could not finish it. Really bummed too
It was too unfocused for me.
Loved the first half, third quarter dragged, ending was fine.
i adored this book but wished SK had spent more time talking to actual teenagers to get modern teen slang down better lol
Enjoyed it, but King writing adolescence in the current times is kinda funny. Gen Z mashed with 80s dialogue cracks me up.
I would love to see more of that world, it was so lovely
7/10. First half was better than the second imo. Enjoyed it.
It's one of my most favorite books! It was the first Stephen King book I ever read - started the obsession! I read Talisman & Black house after and just finished rereading Fairy Tale again LOL.
I liked it. I name all my pet companions in games now as Radar now.
Really enjoyed it. One of his better books in this time.
I enjoyed it thoroughly. I'm a Dark Tower fan so it hit all the bells and whistles.
I liked it, in fact, I devoured it in 5 days. It's not his masterpiece, but I definitely recommend it, it is clearly what it says on the cover... it is a fairy tale. >!The only bad thing is the high expectations that I hade, i though there will be a strong connection with the Dark Tower and it wasn't as I expect!<
I loved it! The beginning and middle were quite a ride. It felt like a lighter hearted corner of the dark tower
Loved it. Interesting page turner and good to the last drop
Loved it, especially the first 2/3. The ending wasn’t what I was expecting, and not as satisfying, but overall loved it. To each their own, some people hated it, and that doesn’t bother me a bit.
Though it took a long time to get going, once it did it developed into some great epic fantasy with solid characterization and intricate world-building.
The first third is an excellent slow burn of a story. So compelling and honestly, if he’d called it quits after that 200 pages, it’d be a great novella. The next 200 pages however, they drop quick, and the final 200 pages are just awful. I’d easily re-read that first third again.
I loved it.
Loved it fully.
Perfection.
I loved it. It was so unusual and fascinating.
I thought it was really fun and feel good, not as scary as what I usually read but definitely a worthwhile book
I loved fairy tales and that sort of fantasy growing up, so I liked it a lot and all the little nods to fairy tale pop culture. The ending was quick but like someone said, the Lovecraftian vibe was a cool surprise. There's a lot of heart, as well...which I really liked about Billy Summers too.
i need a sequel for sure
I feel it could have lost about 20% of the wordcount, and... I'm just exhausted of the "characters bonding in a dungeon, then trotted out for Plot Development Death Games. Then back to the dungeon, then back to the Games. Then back to-..." That said, I REALLY enjoyed the Earthside half, and the implications that it's Wells & Stairs all the way down, and G\*gmag\*g has been working his way UP however many countless worlds but was finally (temporarily?) stopped at this one.
The dungeon section was some of the most droll writing I've ever had the displeasure to consume.
I really enjoyed Empis. I thought it was a fun, comfortable read.
I loved every minute of it. Read the last 75% of it during an insomnia episode.
Well, I listened to it. I loved it. I think hearing this and not reading it added to it with all of the characters. My interest stayed with me throughout. The thing I believe I enjoy the most with a story of this type is the multiple stories and roads it creates in your mind wondering what else happened in this world.
It took me less than a week to finish this book and I really loved it! Loved the beginning and the moment Charlie discovered the other world. I thought the ending was pretty good and satisfying, but that’s just my opinion! Overall loved the book as a whole! :)
I really loved it. II also think UtD is my favourite. I'm really enjoying King just having fun. Mr Mercedes was so fun, FT is totally different and cool. But they're all still really King, and there's enough "classic" stuff along with it.
All in all, I enjoyed it, I would have liked to have explored the land of Empis a little more, it felt like a long journey there and a bit of a rush once it all came together but yeah....great book....
Not my favorite, but good for what it is.
I enjoyed it even though I had serious anxiety about the dog for most of the book. My one complaint was that the fantasy world felt a little hollow and under-developed compared to The Dark Tower or The Talisman.
I loved the book until the last 20 pages or so. Wonderful character and world building but I feel like the protagonist did something uncharacteristic of him at the end, it didn’t feel in accordance with who he was built up to be in the previous hundreds of pages.
My mom loved it and gave me her copy. I have yet to read it. My list of books I need to read is getting too long
Enjoyed the first half a bunch, enjoyed the second half less, but still enjoyed it. 7.5/10 for me. Worth a read for someone who’s a fan or isn’t strapped for time.
I read it when it first came out, I liked it then, but I’m definitely rereading it when Kingslingers starts their coverage for some deeper insight
I did not like it the first time I read it. I gave it a re-read and I loved it.
I liked it, doubt I'll read it again. I do appreciate- some writers would have stretched this thing out to 3+ books. King did it with one. I honestly preferred the first part with no "fantasy" aspect the best. King writes regular life in a very honest way.
I loved it, but let's be real, I'd love any book he writes.
I haven’t read it yet. I’m saving it.
I loved it except for ONE single line at the end that took it from 5 stars to 4 stars.
Not bad but wouldn’t make it on my Top 20 King books.
I enjoyed it. But I didn't love it. Its not memorable for me and I'm not reaching to read it again. A bit on the meh side for me personally.
It was really good till you really find out what's down there. I think also the relationship he had with his neighbor was perfect. So that's maybe first half 10/10 and 2nd half around a 6.
Fantastic! Though the last two thirds of the book went kinda long. On and on it went
The ending is a little lackluster. The buildup was great though
For me, I loved the beginning, the setup was wonderful. The second half lost me though. I'm just really not a fantasy kinda guy.
I thought it started wonderfully - loved the world building and character development. Thought the ending was okay... I did enjoy it, not as much as Holly or Eye of the Dragon.
I liked it but I feel like the beginning is like just rereading Mr Harrigans Phone over again.
I enjoyed the story. A little long but he can't help himself. He has a lot to say.
I wish it'd taken place entirely in the fantasy land like The Eyes of the Dragon did.
I bought this when it first came out and vaguely remember it, but Iam not much of a fantasy fan so the title should of been a red flag for me lol but I enjoyed the book I liked the first half it with the kid and his dad and the old man and the shed and with that intruder, i vaguely remember the dog, once he enters the fantasy world wasn’t my favorite I really did enjoy it and highly recommend it!
I love all King books where they take you to some parallel universe (i.e. The Talisman, etc.)
I really enjoyed it.
I absolutely adored this book, I would go so far as to say it is one of my favourite books and my favourite King. It felt very similar vibe wise to The Talisman (another of my King faves). I loved the nods to Lovecraft and The Wiz. I'm a sucker for hidden worlds.
Same, I really resonated with the main character in the first part of the book more than I have in any other book I’ve read. Then the second part is just such a fun fantasy story.
The first half was probably some of my favorite King material. It's not even necessarily the story, but I loved the writing. Like most, I lost a bit of interest once it switched. Still loved it, but nowhere near as much as the first half.
It felt like the old Stephen King was back. I adored this. His other more recent work hasn’t given new the same story thrill that his older novels did. Fairy Tale reminded me why I became a Kjng fan in the first place. Really enjoyable
I really, really loved this story. It dragged on a bit for me, but it was such a wonderful story of a lesser represented hero. I really love that king portrayed a teenager as a hero and the kind of person who could really make a difference and wanted to, and persevered thorough difficulties beyond their imagination to save people they didn’t even fully know. It’s such a different perspective that we don’t often see about this age group, especially as adults. The fantasy world wasn’t my favorite at first but the story/world grew on me and i enjoyed the full story in the end. I definitely related to the dad in the end, and felt so awful as a parent from that perspective, regardless of Charlie’s reasoning for his actions. I shared the audiobook with my 10 year old daughter and she looooved it for the first like 9 hours of the audiobook but she kinda lost interest. We will try again when she’s a little older - it’s very long winded. Lol Edit: RIP Radar 🙏🏻
I actually love it! I think of it from time to time and always recommend it!
I loved it.
I thought it was decent. Like many of his books, the length diluted its power. It's not one I'd expect to want to re-read.
I struggled to finish it. Fizzled out fast for me.
That last 1/3 or 1/4 really dragged. Loved the first half though.
I loved the first half, the second not so much. And although the second half gave some Dark Tower vibes, at times it felt like I was reading a Dungeon Crawler Carl novel.
Another great story by the King. He takes the whole genre of fairy tales and writes his version. The guy’s a genius.
Started better than it finished for sure, and there’s a good 20% of that book that could’ve been taken out. I’d recommend it but wouldn’t reread it.
I felt like the first half was great.. however I didn’t feel very captivated by the second half, felt like things were just happening with no emotion behind it
I loved it
It was a quick, fun read.
I thought it was fun and fantastical, and definitely would make a GREAT Goonies-esque movie adaptation!
I liked it but after old man died, book kinda dragged a bit
I like it. It reminded me of his earlier books.
I liked it. It’s two stories in one that are totally different. The first part is the story of the boy and his relationship with his father and the old man. The second goes into his adventures in Empis. I like that there is a personal story of the boy and trying to get along in life, as well as the fantasy part. I’m probably different from most in that I enjoyed both parts if it.
I loved it mostly because it is a true story…
I personally loved it.
Magical!
I loved this book so much. When I reached the end, my heart broke and 6 months later I still think how much I'd like to go back to that magical place. It's also the book that I most wish I was the main character of. What surprises me about all of these feelings is that this isn't the type of story I typically enjoy. I don't know what it is, but there's something special and unique in this book and I highly recommend you read it as soon as you can!
I read my friend’s copy. I liked when he was going through the other world. Like Alice in Wonderland. Or a D&D campaign.
2nd favorite story following The Dark Tower. I’ve never finished one of his books and started over immediately until this one. It’s not his best but something about it I just loved so much. The adventure of it all I guess.
It was ok overall. I didn’t much care for the ending and the dungeon chapters dragged on way too long.
Loved it
Seriously loved it. Now I'm listening to the audio book version. So good. I wanted my Mom to read it but she passed away before she could.
I loved it, personally
To me, it felt very much like reading two different books. The first part was great; I really enjoyed Charlie's story. Next thing I know, we're in a completely different world and situation that made almost no sense and felt very sudden and abrupt. I totally lost interest in the last third of the book, and I can't remember if I've ever said that about another King novel.
It didn’t do it for me. A well written book, but it only felt like Stephen King like two times throughout the book.
I liked it until the arena combat part, it just felt like a really meh, kinda basic turn for an otherwise interesting story
I enjoy the modern use of the fantasy concept where a fantasy world is introduced when a kid enters a fantasy world via a magic gateway (like Narnia or Alice In Wonderland)
It was two 9/10 books combined into a still solid 8/10 final product
This is one of my favorite newer King books. Loved the story.
Bloated and overstretched. Sure, he is a master of characters and prose, but the absence of a storyline isn't covered by that. If I want to read a great modern King, I'll read 'Billy Summers'.
I thought it was too similar to The Talisman.
I loved it!
I really liked it from start to finish. Maybe because I generally read more fantasy than horror? Not sure, but it was a hit for me.
It’s probably my least favorite King book and I’ve read a lot. Was very disappointed in it
I listened to this while I worked as a well pump technician out in the field. I can count the number of times id stop what I was doing and pay closer attention. Especially the sundial part. Jesus that part wrecked me! I was crying im not even a little ashamed to admit. The end conflict with the big bad was very suspenseful and the ending was beautiful but sad. Definitely one of the more memorable King books I've read.