FAIRY TALE by Stephen King

“The past is history.  The future is a mystery.”  I had never heard this saying before reading this book, but I plan to quote it often.  Seventeen-year-old Charlie Reade loses his mother to an accident and then is basically losing his father to alcoholism.  He attributes his father’s eventual recovery to a bargain Charlie made in a prayer and then goes out of his way to perform good deeds, including befriending and taking care of his grumpy, reclusive neighbor, Mr. Bowditch.  The reason for the title does not become apparent until about two hundred pages in.  Then Charlie embarks on a magical but dangerous adventure in an effort to rejuvenate Bowditch’s dog.  OK, I think we need a more pressing motive here, but then Charlie finds a kingdom in need of a superhero.  Whether or not Charlie fits the bill remains to be seen, but the author goes wild with the fairy tale references, plus some homage to the movies Star Wars and Gladiator.  I actually found the first part of the book more engaging and something of a feel-good story while Charlie was repaying the gratitude he felt for his father’s sobriety.  The fantasy that follows is a swashbuckling kind of thrill ride but also very predictable.