With Stephen King being the chosen author for this month's book club at work, now seemed like a good time to try out a book I've been wanting to read since it was released. This Fairy Tale includes all of the magic and wonder of your childhood bedtimes stories, but with that unique twist that makes King an iconic writer and master of his craft.

The first couple of hundred pages do feel quite slow going, building up out main character, Charlie Reade, and the premise of the story in great detail. And yet, it reminded me so much of the beginning of '11.22.63' - it has that same domestic and yet not feel to it. Plus the premise of an 'ordinary' person meeting someone with a bit of mystery about them, then heading through a portal to another world is basically identical. But it works just as well here!

For me, the book is something of a story of two halves. Despite the slower pace, I found myself loving reading about Charlie's life and his growing attachment to Mr Bowditch and Radar. His emotion poured off the page, and all of the characters took root in my head as their relationships with Charlie were explored. The sympathetic yet frustrated portrayal of Charlie's Dad as an alcoholic, and his pride and wariness at his recovery, is a particular highlight. Mr Bowditch's entire character arc is pretty much perfection, and the story of Radar the dog is beautifully done. I know animals are a big trigger for some, but King makes this lovable dog an absolute star. She may not speak or have any supernatural traits, but she is just as important as any other character and the emotional investment with her is huge. I'm not a dog person, but I adore this pooch!

The book is fantastically written throughout, and it's incredibly easy to picture the various locations, even if they are somewhat random! Equally however, when we get to The Other World  there are moments is which feel a bit rushed and the worldbuilding just doesn't feel quite as on point as it should be. I found that I couldn't fully immerse myself in the story, although I'm not entirely sure why. And nor did I really develop any attachment to the band of people who help Charlie on his quest. I could understand Charlie's bond with them, but in an abstract way rather than feeling it myself which, after having all the feels in part one, left me a little disappointed.

Some of the characters have verbal tics or common phrases used in their language which make repeated appearances within their speech. It's not a problem to read, but at the same time I just couldn't 'hear' it in the same way I usually do when a character speaks, so I struggled a bit to place this verbal punctuation, its intonation etc. Plus, the only thing I could hear every time someone says "Nah, nah" is Jim from 'The Vicar of Dibley'.... "No, no, no, no, no, no, no.... yes."! Not helpful!

Overall, it's another case where I was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed a book by an author I'd previously only associated with horror and thus avoided at all costs. While it doesn't hit the heights of 11.22.63 for me, it was still a very good read! And I'm definitely open to exploring more of his books now!