Fairy Tale

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Seth Numrich, Stephen King

Length: 24 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Legendary story teller 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 their 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 10, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is 17, he meets a dog named Radar and his 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 about another world than ours, in which good is pitted against overwhelming evil, and a heroic boy—and his dog—must lead the battle.

©2022 Stephen King (P)2022 Simon & Schuster Ltd

Wow

Fairy Tale by Stephen King is a magical and entrancing masterpiece that will leave you spellbound. In this novella, King takes us on a journey through a fantastical world of fairy tales, reimagined with his trademark eerie and suspenseful style. From the very first page, I was hooked. King's prose is masterful and immersive, drawing the reader into the story and keeping them there until the very end. The characters are vividly drawn, each with their own quirks and motivations, and the plot twists and turns with a captivating sense of mystery.
One of the things I loved most about Fairy Tale is the way that King plays with the conventions of the fairy tale genre. He subverts our expectations at every turn, weaving in elements of horror, fantasy, and even science fiction to create a world that is both familiar and entirely new.
But beyond its genre-bending storytelling, Fairy Tale is a book with heart. At its core, it is a story about the power of imagination and the resilience of the human spirit. King explores the darker aspects of the fairy tale world, but he never loses sight of the wonder and magic that make it so enduringly popular.

All in all, I cannot recommend Fairy Tale highly enough. It is a book that will stay with you long after you've turned the final page, a testament to Stephen King's enduring talent as one of our greatest storytellers. Five stars, without hesitation.

Review by @StuartBrknJohns Twitter/Goodreads author

A Masterclass in Preamble

People who want to cut to the chase and are purveyors of fine instant gratification won't like this book.

What King does so extraordinarily is to build two worlds and to make you feel like you are right there. Plus you will fall in love with a dog- and if you have a dog of your own you will find yourself hugging it and loving it while you listen. You will also give it extra treats.

The narration was some of the best I've experienced... all I can say is it's totally rad.

Finishing this book hasn't sunk in yet and I'm still at a loss for words and reassimilating into normal life. I'm buying a copy to read myself so I can experience it in another way. I feel sad and lost like the well has closed forever.

love the performance, story was anti climatic

the story can be divided into 3 parts. for me thr 1st part about the love of a dog was the best. the rest was rather anticlimactic. the narrator however was excellent with his many voices and clear diction, he was superb and elevated the otherwise at times long winded repetitive story.

Second half hard to follow

I love King in general, with Eyes of the Dragon being one of my all time favourite books. The story build beautifully, peppered with true King suspense. Unfortunately I found the fairytale portion of the book less engaging and difficult to follow. Would love to see more fantasy novels from King in the future.

Thoroughly enjoyable story

I loved every minute of this journey, it would have to be one of my favourite Stephen King books.
A few said it went on a bit, but not for me, I found it engaging every step of the way. The reader was excellent, the occasional longer pauses really added to the suspense in places. I highly recommend this book, perfect for long car rides or tedious work assignments.

Loved this book

Cleverly written, old fairytales make their way into this book with familiar one liners
Loved the voices, story. Read it and enjoy

Magic

A brilliant tale, well told. It’s long but disappears in moments. Mind blown! Once upon a time there was a table told so beautifully that you didn’t want it to end.

Awesome Read

This is not that kind of fairy tale and the protagonist, Charlie is not that kind of prince. Having said that this is one of my most enjoyable read since a very long time. Highly recommended for the fantasy book genre. And for those who rated this book poorly, just remember - this book is not written by the Stephen King of our world but that of another world.

Sublime

One of the best stories I've ever had the pleasure of being told. The characters are so well done and I felt myself so consumed and invested in their success. The half way point was totally unexpected and I urge readers to stick with it - you WILL NOT be disappointed!

Outstanding

This was an outstanding book to listen to. The story was fabulous (of course), but the narration was absolutely perfect. I thoroughly enjoyed it and went looking for more books narrated by Seth Numrich.