Title:

Fairy Tale

Author:

Stephen King

Category:

Fantasy / Science Fiction

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

July 23, 2023

airy Tale is Stephen King's latest foray into writing fantasy fiction. It checks in at 598 pages in the hardcover edition, so perhaps a better title might have been Fairy Tome or Fairy Saga. Because Stephen King is the author, there are still some aspects of horror writing; King channels his inner H. P. Lovecraft to create an ominous sense of foreboding in various scenes, such as the eerie descriptions of the unseen menace of the deserted city, the horrors in the dungeon depths, and especially the other-dimensional entity that is Gogmagog. I haven't read Lovecraft in a long time, but I remember his stories as being truly creepy. King doesn't quite match Lovecraft's level of unsettling horror, but his tale is still pretty good.

The story is narrated in first person by Charlie Reade. Charlie is a senior in high school; big, strong and smart - he is the star player for the high school football team. One day, walking past a dilapidated old "haunted" house, Charlie hears a weak cry for help. He investigates and discovers old Mr. Bowditch has fallen off a ladder and is grievously hurt. While Bowditch is recuperating in the hospital, Reade takes it upon himself to feed and care for the once-feared, now ancient German shepherd, called Radar, who is Bowditch's only companion. Impressed by Reade's selfless action, Bowditch eventually tells Charlie that the shed in the backyard actually contains a deep well - descend down deep into the earth, and then walk through a long dark passage, and you will find yourself in a new world. A world of magic and monsters. With gold and princesses. At the heart of the city is a sundial, that, if it is spun backwards while someone sits upon it, will make you younger. Mr. Bowditch reveals that he is actually ancient, he has used the magic sundial twice to make himself younger. Of course, the sundial is guarded by a violent giant.

Radar, the old German Shepherd, is on her last legs. It is clear her days are numbered - so Charlie decides he will bring Radar to the magic sundial and restore her to youth again. And so Charlie and Radar follow the passage to the other world, and that's where the fantasy tale really takes off.

Fairy Tale is a big book, and I feel it is a bit padded. It takes the first 200 pages to get Charlie to make his first visit down the well to Empris. Once he is the fantasy landscape, meeting strange characters and dealing with a myriad of threats, the tale takes off. But getting Charlie that far is a bit of a slog. I felt the first two hundred pages could have been boiled down to fifty pages. True, it is Stephen King who wrote those first 200 pages, so they are not bad or boring - but they aren't great either - I grew impatient waiting for Charlie (and King) to get on with the fantasy world adventure. I didn't need to know so much about Mr. Bowditch and his long convalescence. I wish Bowditch had been more trusting, and told Charlie about the secret shaft that led to the alternate world sooner in the narrative.