Fairy Tale (novel)

2022 novel by Stephen King

Fairy Tale

First edition cover

Author| Stephen King
Audio read by| Seth Numrich
Illustrators|

* Gabriel Rodríguez
* Nicolas Delort

Cover artist| Will Staehle
Language| English
Genre| Dark Fantasy
Publisher| Scribner

Publication date

| September 6, 2022
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print (Hardcover)
Pages| 608 (hardcover) 624 (paperback)
ISBN| 978-1-66800-217-9

Fairy Tale is a dark fantasy novel by American author Stephen King, published on September 6, 2022, by Scribner.[1][2] The novel follows Charlie Reade, a 17-year-old who inherits keys to a hidden, otherworldly realm, and finds himself leading the battle between forces of good and evil.[3]

## Plot

[edit]

Charlie Reade, a 17-year-old boy, lives in Sentry's Rest, Illinois, with his widowed father, George. When Charlie was seven years old, his mother was struck and killed by a van; the resulting grief led his father to alcoholism, from which he eventually recovered with the help of a friend and co-worker, though Charlie remains fearful that he will someday resume drinking.

One day in April 2013, Charlie discovers his elderly neighbor, Mr. Howard Bowditch, injured in his yard. Feeling indebted to a higher power for his father's recovery, Charlie agrees to care for Mr. Bowditch's elderly German Shepherd, Radar, while he stays in the hospital. He also looks after Mr. Bowditch himself when he returns home. During that period, Mr. Bowditch shares with Charlie both his .45 caliber handgun and a surprising stash of gold pellets that he uses to pay his hospital bills.

Several months later, Radar's health has significantly declined, and Mr. Bowditch dies of a heart attack. He leaves Charlie a recorded message, revealing that he was actually 120 years old, and that the locked shed in his backyard contains a portal to another world. In this world exists a magical sundial that was the secret to his longevity. He also reveals this world as the source of his gold and urges Charlie to keep it secret to prevent its exploitation. Determined to save Radar's life, Charlie decides to seek out the sundial and revitalize her.

Armed with two handguns, Charlie travels with Radar to the other world, which he learns is called Empis. He meets a shoemaker named Dora and exiled members of the Gallien royal family: they are Leah, Stephen "Woody" Woodleigh, and Claudia, who provide Charlie with guidance and food. Charlie learns of Flight Killer, the great evil that purged the royal family. The surviving members were cursed with disability and disfigurement, and the inhabitants of Empis are afflicted with an illness known as "the gray".

Charlie navigates to the deserted city of Lilimar and finds the sundial, restoring Radar to her younger self. On their way out of the city, interference causes Charlie to become lost, and they are ambushed by an army of undead "night soldiers." Radar escapes, but Charlie is taken captive to an underground prison called the Deep Maleen. There, he and the other inmates are forced to train for a gladiatorial-style tournament known as the Fair One. Charlie learns that Flight Killer is actually Leah's brother, Elden. He also discovers that his formerly brown hair and eyes are turning blond and blue, respectively, which the inmates believe is a sign that he is their true prince and savior. Eventually, the Fair One begins; Charlie survives the first round, but before the second round begins, he and the remaining inmates escape with the help of a warder named Pursey.

Charlie is reunited with Radar, Dora, and the Gallien family. They tell Charlie of Elden's past: as the two youngest siblings, Leah and Elden were very close. Elden, however, was badly bullied for his appearance and deformities. At some point, he discovered the Deep Well, which can only be opened when the two moons of Empis touch in the sky, and is the dwelling place of an evil creature called Gogmagog. Elden opened the Deep Well, which led to him becoming Flight Killer, attaining power as Gogmagog's puppet and cursing Empis out of revenge for his mistreatment. They plan to return to Lilimar and defeat Flight Killer before the moons collide again and he can open the Deep Well once more. Leah is conflicted due to her love for Elden, refusing to believe that her brother is actually Flight Killer. However, Charlie convinces her to join them.

Charlie, Leah, and Radar lead a small group to infiltrate the city and eventually find the Deep Well, with Flight Killer waiting at its entrance just as the two moons collide and the well opens. Leah, finally seeing Flight Killer with her own eyes, accepts what he has become and stabs him with her dagger before he is dragged into the well by Gogmagog and killed. As Gogmagog emerges, Charlie—reminded of the story of Rumpelstiltskin—repeatedly declares its name, causing it to retreat back into the well in defeat. They return to the surface, where Charlie announces their victory and proclaims Leah as their new queen.

Charlie recovers from his injuries sustained from the encounter, and his hair and eyes revert to their original color; meanwhile, the citizens begin to rebuild the city. At last, Charlie and Radar say goodbye and return home through the portal, arriving back in Sentry's Rest in February 2014. Charlie, who was reported missing in the four months that he was in Empis, reunites with his father in a deep embrace. In the epilogue, Charlie takes his father on one last trip to Empis to prove to him its existence before sealing off its entrance with concrete, preventing anyone else from finding it.

## Background

[edit]

The release date, September 6, was officially announced by Entertainment Weekly on January 24. The article also featured an excerpt from the book.[4] On August 11, 2022, Simon & Schuster also featured King on their YouTube page, where he narrated a chapter from Fairy Tale as a part of its promotion.[5]

## Reception

[edit]

In a review, Matt Bell of The New York Times described Fairy Tale as "a solid episodic adventure, a page-turner driven by memorably strange encounters and well-rendered, often thrilling action".[6] The novel topped USA Today's Best-Selling Books list starting the week of September 15, 2022, beating out Colleen Hoover's It Ends with Us and Verity, and Delia Owens' Where the Crawdads Sing.[7] The Michigan Daily's Emilia Ferrante, while praising King's work for its "sense of wonder and curiosity" and his storytelling abilities, notes that the work does walk the line of falling into the familiar controversial trope of equating physical disfigurement with being scary, one that disguises itself behind body horror.[8] Kirkus awarded the book a starred review, stating that the book was "at once familiar and full of odd and unexpected twists".[9] Similarly, Alison Flood from The Guardian described the novel as "vintage, timeless King, a transporting, terrifying treat born from multiple lockdowns".[10]

## TV series adaptation

[edit]

On September 15, 2022, Deadline Hollywood reported that British filmmaker Paul Greengrass, known for the Jason Bourne film franchise, would adapt, direct, and produce a film adaptation of the novel, with American film producer Gregory Goodman co-producing the film alongside Greengrass.[11] On October 16, 2024, Deadline Hollywood reported that the project was being turned into a ten episode series, with J.H. Wyman as showrunner.[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ King, Stephen (2022). Fairy Tale. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781668002179. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
2. ^ Cuyler, Chloé (January 31, 2022). "Add to Cart: You Can Pre-Order 'Fairy Tale,' Stephen King's New Book". Sarasota Magazine. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
3. ^ "Stephen King Fairy Tale". stephenking.com. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
4. ^ Collis, Clark (January 24, 2022). "Read an exclusive excerpt from Stephen King's forthcoming novel Fairy Tale". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
5. ^ Stephen King Reveals a Chapter from His New Book, FAIRY TALE, August 11, 2022, retrieved September 18, 2022
6. ^ Bell, Matt (September 1, 2022). "Stephen King's 'Fairy Tale': A Portal to a Fantasy Kingdom". The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
7. ^ Cadden, Mary. "Stephen King takes Colleen Hoover's crown: His new book 'Fairy Tale' is a No. 1 best seller". USA TODAY. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
8. ^ Wray, Julian (September 8, 2022). "Ableism and uneven pacing hinder the magic of King's 'Fairy Tale'". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
9. ^ FAIRY TALE | Kirkus Reviews.
10. ^ "Fairy Tale by Stephen King review – a terrifying treat". the Guardian. September 3, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
11. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 15, 2022). "Hot Package: Paul Greengrass To Adapt & Direct Stephen King's New Bestseller 'Fairy Tale'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
12. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 17, 2024). "A24 Revives Stephen King Fantasy Epic 'Fairy Tale;' Paul Greengrass Cracking 10-Episode Series With 'Fringe' Showrunner J.H. Wyman". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 17, 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Stephen King

* Bibliography
* Short fiction
* Unpublished and uncollected
* Awards and nominations

Novels|

* Carrie (1974)
* 'Salem's Lot (1975)
* The Shining (1977)
* The Stand (1978)
* The Dead Zone (1979)
* Firestarter (1980)
* Cujo (1981)
* Christine (1983)
* Pet Sematary (1983)
* Cycle of the Werewolf (1983)
* The Talisman (1984)
* It (1986)
* The Eyes of the Dragon (1987)
* Misery (1987)
* The Tommyknockers (1987)
* The Dark Half (1989)
* Needful Things (1991)
* Gerald's Game (1992)
* Dolores Claiborne (1992)
* Insomnia (1994)
* Rose Madder (1995)
* The Green Mile (1996)
* Desperation (1996)
* Bag of Bones (1998)
* The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999)
* The Plant (2000; unfinished)
* Dreamcatcher (2001)
* Black House (2001)
* From a Buick 8 (2002)
* The Colorado Kid (2005)
* Cell (2006)
* Lisey's Story (2006)
* Duma Key (2008)
* Under the Dome (2009)
* 11/22/63 (2011)
* Joyland (2013)
* Doctor Sleep (2013)
* Mr. Mercedes (2014)
* Revival (2014)
* Finders Keepers (2015)
* End of Watch (2016)
* Gwendy's Button Box (2017)
* Sleeping Beauties (2017)
* The Outsider (2018)
* Elevation (2018)
* The Institute (2019)
* Later (2021)
* Billy Summers (2021)
* Gwendy's Final Task (2022)
* Fairy Tale (2022)
* Holly (2023)
* Never Flinch (2025)
* Talisman 3 (TBA)

| The Dark Tower series|

* The Gunslinger (1982)
* The Drawing of the Three (1987)
* The Waste Lands (1991)
* Wizard and Glass (1997)
* Wolves of the Calla (2003)
* Song of Susannah (2004)
* The Dark Tower (2004)
* The Wind Through the Keyhole (2012)

|

Richard Bachman novels|

* Rage (1977)
* The Long Walk (1979)
* Roadwork (1981)
* The Running Man (1982)
* Thinner (1984)
* The Bachman Books (1985)
* The Regulators (1996)
* Blaze (2007)

Short fiction
collections|

* Night Shift (1978)
* Different Seasons (1982)
* Skeleton Crew (1985)
* Four Past Midnight (1990)
* Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)
* Hearts in Atlantis (1999)
* Everything's Eventual (2002)
* Just After Sunset (2008)
* Full Dark, No Stars (2010)
* The Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015)
* If It Bleeds (2020)
* You Like It Darker (2024)

Nonfiction|

* Danse Macabre (1981)
* Nightmares in the Sky (1988)
* On Writing (2000)
* Secret Windows (2000)
* Faithful (2004)
* "Guns" (2013)

Screenplays|

* Creepshow (1982)
* Cat's Eye (1985)
* Silver Bullet (1985)
* Maximum Overdrive (1986; also director)
* Pet Sematary (1989)
* Sleepwalkers (1992)
* A Good Marriage (2014)
* Cell (2016)

Teleplays|

* "Sorry, Right Number" (1987)
* Golden Years (1991)
* The Stand (1994)
* The Shining (1997)
* "Chinga" (1998)
* Storm of the Century (1999)
* Rose Red (2002)
* Kingdom Hospital (2004)
* Desperation (2006)
* "Heads Will Roll" (2014)
* The Stand (2020–21)
* Lisey's Story (2021)

Comics|

* Heroes for Hope (1985)
* American Vampire (2010)

Musical
collaborations|

* Michael Jackson's Ghosts (1997)
* Black Ribbons (2010)
* Ghost Brothers of Darkland County (2012)

Anthologies
edited|

* The Best American Short Stories 2007 (2007)
* Six Scary Stories (2016)
* Flight or Fright (2018)

In-universe
concepts|

| Characters|

* Carrie White
* Margaret White
* Sue Snell
* Rita Desjardin
* Kurt Barlow
* Richard Straker
* Father Callahan
* Jack Torrance
* Danny Torrance
* Wendy Torrance
* Dick Hallorann
* Rose the Hat
* Roland Deschain
* Randall Flagg
* Crimson King
* It
* Bill Denbrough
* Beverly Marsh
* Richie Tozier
* Georgie Denbrough
* Gage Creed
* Johnny Smith
* Annie Wilkes
* Tanya Robertson
* Holly Gibney

|

Locations|

* Castle Rock
* Derry
* Jerusalem's Lot
* Shawshank State Prison
* All-World

Family|

* Tabitha King (wife)
* Joe Hill (son)
* Owen King (son)

Related|

* List of adaptations
* Dollar Baby
* Bibliography of works on Stephen King
* Raymond H. Fogler Library archives
* Rock Bottom Remainders
* People, Places and Things
* Philtrum Press
* Six Stories
* Stephen King Goes to the Movies
* Charlie the Choo-Choo
* Hearts in Suspension
* The Secretary of Dreams
* King on Screen

* Category

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