Fairy Tale

Plot

Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football … a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad.

When Charlie is seventeen he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape.

When Mr. Bowditch dies he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder.

Review

There have been several Stephen King books that I’ve been excited to read.  It, Needful Things and Mr. Mercedes to name a few.  Fairy Tale brought about an equal share of enthusiasm, but for a completely different reason.  This was the very first King book I read after finally finishing his entire bibliography (to-date). 

So of course, Amazon delivered it a couple of days late even though I had pre-ordered it months prior.  Lesson learned Constant Readers: head to your local bookstore!

Fairy Tale was a combination of The Eyes of the Dragon and The Talisman.  Set in a parallel universe, it takes reader on a journey of good vs evil and more importantly, of bravery vs cowardice.     

It was that last concept that I found incredibly unique and unquestionably interesting.  The main protagonist in this novel is a 17-year-old kid (Charlie) who has always felt like he owed the world one favor for a promise he made as a younger child.  As a result, Charlie feels obligated to help those who cannot help themselves in this Upside-Down universe he discovers.  

Charlie runs into a whole bevy of characters on his journey, although I would point out that none of them are really truly developed.  This is a singular person story and one that utilizes the setting and surrounding cast of characters to help build Charlie into the hero he feels he has to become. 

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this new Stephen King book.  It was fun, had climatic sequences throughout and had me fully engaged.  While not one of King’s best, it still was good enough to earn a five-star rating from me on Goodreads.  Seeing that it currently averages a 4.23 rating, it appears a lot of my fellow Constant Readers thought the same.

Details

Pages: 608

Dates Read: September 8, 2022 – October 20, 2022

Quote: “A brave man helps.  A coward just gives presents.”

Best Part: I’m a sucker for tournaments and although the bracketing/seeding was certainly debatable, I loved reading about the 32-man competition … to the death.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.