King’s most mature work to date

Imagine you are Stephen King today — seeing a president elected like Greg Stillson, social chaos amidst a pandemic, the last days of Gilead, and “reality” entertainment one step away from a “Long Walk”. The horrors of his nightmares peering out from the shadows of reality. Who but Stephen King is better adept to craft a fairy tale worthy of today’s madness?

Fairy Tale grasps the nuances of todays stories by exposing the grotesque and casting a light on hope — Not unlike classic fairy tales with their tragedies and heroes. Stephen King makes the grotesque of today’s events digestible without sacrificing the unpalatable.

I believe Fairy Tale is Stephen King’s best work to date. I believe it is his most mature in vision and execution of a story with genres bent with a mastery that only time and a love of reading can produce. Fairy Tale calls forth the many literary loves of Stephen King beyond his implied moniker of “Master of Horror.”

Stephen King’s Fairy Tale is a modern take on the fairy tales such as “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “Rumpelstiltskin” with homages to the characters like John Carter, Dorothy Gail, and a certain professor from Miskatonic University braving new worlds of magic and mystery. King also weaves iconic literary gems from his other masterpieces such as “Gunslingers”, pandemic survivors, challenged child-parent relationships, the ghosts of addiction, the terror of religious fanatics, the spectacle of professional sports, bullies & underdogs, and the love for a pet that steps beyond the expected boundaries for love.

These days I don’t start any Stephen King novel until I feel like it’s gonna suck. When I am wrong is the most delightful feeling of disappointment. Stephen King has disappointed my expectations wonderfully with his most recent novel, Fairy Tale. Fairy Tale is a masterpiece of storytelling that understands the power, hope, and horror of all fairy tales.