Fairy Tale

by Stephen King

Book Overview

A New York Times Bestseller and Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist!

Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher--for that world or ours.

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 seven, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself--and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from it.

Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world.

King's storytelling in Fairy Tale soars. This is a magnificent and terrifying tale in which good is pitted against overwhelming evil, and a heroic boy--and his dog--must lead the battle.

Early in the Pandemic, King asked himself: "What could you write that would make you happy?"

"As if my imagination had been waiting for the question to be asked, I saw a vast deserted city--deserted but alive. I saw the empty streets, the haunted buildings, a gargoyle head lying overturned in the street. I saw smashed statues (of what I didn't know, but I eventually found out). I saw a huge, sprawling palace with glass towers so high their tips pierced the clouds. Those images released the story I wanted to tell."

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1668002175
• ISBN13: 9781668002179
• Release Date: September 2022
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 608 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 6.2" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Love it. Stephen King

Adults

I’m a fantasy reader and I loved it

First and foremost this is very different for Stephen King. If you are expecting his classic horror this is not it. I went into the book with a fantasy lovers mindset and forgot who the author was for a moment. Needless to say I loved it! Every time i expected it to finish another twist would pull me back in.

Like Stephen King ? Skip this. New to Stephen King? Read almost anything except this one. Pet Sem

Big scarey death knight are allergic to...water? The villain is HR Puffenstuff? Wtf King?

King = overrated

I used to read King all the time. Couldn't wait to get my hands on anything new by him. Then....I stopped. I hadn't read anything by him in YEARS. So, this intrigued me and I picked it up. I have never wanted to quit a book, especially 400 pages in. I had to force myself to finish it because I'm not a quitter. Complete garbage. I feel he can write anything and slap his name on it and it will sell - this book is the prime example of that. Don't waste your time.

Stephen King

Awesome read Stephen King is the best

Wasn’t his best performance n my opinion

I love SK and voraciously read anything he puts out. I loved the first part of this story- but the fairytale part was a bit too rushed, lacking in details and context, and was a bit anticlimactic. I felt cheated, knowing what SK is capable of

Surprise

There are any twist and turns in this story.

Once Upon a Time In R'lyeh

A wonderful trip through a world of the real stories underlying fairy tales. A boy goes to save his dog, and then visits the incredible land of faery. Strangely enough, our old friend Cthulhu appears here, too, and he is about to release a much greater evil if they can't stop him...A mix of the Brothers Grimm and H. P. Lovecraft, bizarre, spooky and highly satisfying.

Sad it had to end.

Really enjoyed this book. I'm a King fan and this is now on the top of my favorite list right under The Shining and The Stand.