BOOKS: Fairy Tale: Stephen King

Sep. 24—New Stephen King book? I don't even bother to see what it's about. I buy it.

He's just one of those authors whose name is enough for me to just go ahead and buy the book.

For years, decades really, I ignored Stephen King books. Didn't matter that my high school girlfriend was a huge fan of all Stephen King books, I wasn't interested. Friends in later years ... didn't care.

My loss.

About two decades ago, can't remember what King book it was, but something clicked. I picked it up, read it and liked it. Bought "The Shining" and I was hooked. Bought every new one since and plenty of his past books, too.

So, I enter into a new Stephen King book, with some idea of what the overall effect will be but not necessarily what road he will take.

Same with his latest, "Fairy Tale."

Even in the book jacket blurb, King doesn't give too much away. and having read the book that's probably the best way to handle it because "Fairy Tale" unfolds at its own pace and readers should discover some things for themselves.

The book introduces Charlie Reade, a teenager who lost his mother at a young age and had to watch his father struggle with grief and alcoholism.

Charlie rescues Howard Bowditch, the neighborhood recluse, after a fall. Charlie befriends the old man and his dog, Radar.

Eventually, Charlie discovers that Bowditch has lived an extraordinary life that has taken him, and soon Charlie, to another world. ... and a battle of good vs. evil.

It takes King about 200 pages to get to the "Fairy Tale." Most publishers would push most authors to get to the crux of the story faster. Most authors couldn't pull off such a long wait to get to the meat of the story like King can.

Because those 200 pages of "set-up" make the "Fairy Tale" all the more satisfying.

King is almost always good but he's at his best here.