I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’ve never read a Stephen King novel. I’ve read “On Writing” and the novella “The Long Walk,” but never a novel from the acclaimed, prolific author.
The main reason for this glaring omission is that I read before I fall asleep. I don’t want to have nightmares, and I associate King with horror. His main non-horror book I’m aware of is the Dark Tower series, which has intrigued me, but I’m always hesitant to jump into a new epic series.
So when I heard he was releasing a book called Fairy Tale, I saw an opportunity to delve into the worlds of Stephen King in a space that’s comfortable for me: fantasy. It’s a big book, so it took me a few weeks to read, but I finished last night.
One of the most unexpected surprises about the book–this isn’t a spoiler–is how much of it isn’t a fantasy at all. It’s just King telling an everyday story about an Illinois teenager, his father, and an old man and his dog. There are hints that something fantastical could/might happen, but otherwise it’s a perfectly ordinary story, and it’s written so well that I was compelled to continue reading even without a speculative hook. I could see why King has attracted millions of readers over the years.
In fact, I would have been perfectly content with a 200-300 page book that only consisted of that early content. The next 300-400 pages are fine, but it felt a bit like a movie script was unnecessarily stretched into a TV series. It’s hard to describe (King would do it better), because the story is fun to read throughout–I just didn’t need quite so much of it for it to have the same impact.
That said, I’m glad I read Fairy Tale, and I would recommend it. If you’re a fan of King’s work, I’d love to hear your recommendations for other non-horror books of his, particularly if they’re a little more tightly edited than Fairy Tale.
As a kid I did not like horror, but I enjoyed reading “The Eyes of the Dragon”. It’s a stand-alone dark fantasy novel.
Thanks! I’ll check it out. 🙂
I highly recommend “The Eyes of the Dragon” a book he wrote for his daughter. It is my favorite King book and not horror!!
Thanks Mary!
You will probably also enjoy “11-22-63”. Also not horror but time travel which I know you like.
I second The Eyes of the Dragon for non-horror. YA, but enjoyable world-building for many ages. That being said, I am a horror fan & I particularly favor The Shining. Psychological horror that got me hooked on that genre at a young age (maybe younger than I should have read it lol). I couldn’t get into Gunslinger, not without trying because I do so enjoy him as an author. But, you may want to try it as it’s not directly horror.
Thanks Joy! Sounds like we have a winner here. 🙂
Based on my posted time, I 3rd the same book 😉
I have to say I’ve fallen out of reading every new King book (I’m about 15 yrs behind) probably because I’d usually buy them as a gift for my mother (RIP) and then read them after her. That said, you may like Insomnia, Tommyknockers (aliens), Desperation, The Sand Lot, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and a co-authored book The Talisman that he wrote with Peter Straub. Thinner is a fabulous book, but not so much to be read before bedtime.
Thanks Sara!
Hi Jamey!
I am a big fan of many of Stephen King’s books, though my favourites are indeed horror, or psychological thrillers. “It” is probably my number 1, though “Salem’s Lot”, “The Stand”, “The Shining” are all outstanding. However, you did say that you are looking for non-horror, and although it is not a full novel, I recommend you check out “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”. This is the novella that the movie “The Shawshank Redemption” was based on. It’s many years since I read it as a teenager, but I read it before seeing the movie and I loved it!
Thanks Pat! I totally forgot that Shawshank was based on a King novel. 🙂
11-22-63 was very good, I thought.