4.5 starsThis is the first book I've read by Raymond E. Feist and I must say I enjoyed it. As a fan of the fae, I'd say he does a great job of creating a creepy world that is vivid, melancholic, and disturbing. He takes his time in the beginning of the book. No rushing. Sets up the characters and the normal world with twinges of the odd and unsettling. It took me a long time to read the book just because I haven't had a lot of time to read in the past month, but I always looked forward to getting back to the Hastings and finding out what was up with the weirdness in their world. For me, the nice mix of characters in the family contributed to the plot, but Sean and Patrick are the stars. I'd definitely nominate them as the main characters for a sequel. I also liked Barney.This is a darker version of faerie, alongside a more normal world, if that makes sense. One thing I really loved about the book was its theme.(view spoiler)[ It shows how sexually preying upon youth corrupts and perverts the natural development of their own healthy drives. Although the book was written in 1989, this is an even more relevant premise today. I interacted a bit with the author on FB and he made a comment about updating the book. I'd say no update necessary…give us a Book 2:D Today, now. This could be as riveting or more so, exploring the oversexualizaton of our youth via this creepy and mysterious realm of faerie. Another reviewer mentioned Dan Brown. Interesting, the Da Vinci Code (released into 2003, but I read it first) came to my mind as well with the conspiracy part of the story. Midway through, that was my least favorite aspect of an otherwise impeccable tale (maybe conspiracy theories aren't my thing!), however the ending pulled things out very nicely… with all that chanting and forgetting.I'd recommend this book for when you're in the mood for something a bit bleaker. If you've read The Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, her fae are also highly sexualized, but they have a comedic quality. Feist's fae don't. (hide spoiler)]
Parts of this book were quite good. It had the makings of a fine story.However, it was ruined by a few things.1) Too many Mary-Sue characters. The father is an uber successful author/screenwriter that can afford anything. His wife is a semi-famous actress that could retire early due to husband's wealth. The daughter has a trust fund in the millions, and her boyfriend is somehow also a great screenwriter in the making. Everything about these characters is just too perfect, they have everything going for them.2) A bit of SPOILER here. I do NOT like books that contain rape. I just don't feel like many authors get it right and it disturbs me. Feist doesn't do a very good job with it either. At one point the daughter is raped by... a bad faeirie. But it was sloppily and disturbingly written. Like it was just pushed into the book for effect. I DID like how the family reacted, it was a good concern for their daughter.However, they didn't seem too worried that there might be a terrible rapist running around in the woods. They only change their routine by making their two sons stay near the house. That is it. The daughter has some reaction to being raped, but it is mostly her reaction to the strange faeirie happenings in the area, and NOT about her violation.The last part of the book just spiraled downward and ended about how you might expect.
Do You like book Faerie Tale (1989)?
Really a 4.5...a deliciously creepy tale of what happens when the Hastings family bump up against the local fairy population, with dark results.As usual in this type of book, it's the kids who really see what's happening and have to take it upon themselves to do what the adults can't, which makes the story far more effective. The adults were a little two-dimensional, with the character of Mark Blackman in particular being there simply for exposition, but the fairy encounters more than made up for it.A great read that draws upon those fabulous Celtic myths, letting the reader in on the dark side of the fae.
—Lisa
Agree with older review, 'Did not like this. Did not like the plot, the characters, or the "tension" or much of anything else about it.'Bought this when published in 1988, and it has sat on my shelf collecting dust since then. Finally caught my eye to read, and it did not meet my expectations. I was expecting Stephen King-type novel, but instead it was just muddled fantasy (in line with, but done much better by, Neil Gaiman).The last third of novel is better because there is finally some action and interaction with the faerie world. But getting to that point is not really worth it.I am not really tempted at all to read anything else by Feist.Glad I finally read it - now I can make room for another book in its place on my book case!
—Ryan
To give this book ANY stars would be giving it too many. The concept is good, but the pacing is terrible (a slow, ponderous plot), there's a surplus of characters (none of them terribly engaging or real), and it takes seemingly-forever to get to the point. Worst of all, this book seems to have heralded the start of what my friends and I (at the age of TWELVE) disgustedly referred to as Raymond E. Feist's "rape-fantasy period" in which he seems to relish explicitly describing the rape/abuse of his female characters. This book appears to have been the first and was easily the worst as the female character is actually described as WANTING it to take place for a portion of the rape. That scene alone told me more than I ever wanted to know about Raymond E. Feist's psyche, and when i realized that nearly every subsequent book he wrote up until 1995 (when I stopped giving him the benefit of the doubt) ALSO included a similar scene, I gave up on him as an author and literally threw all the Feist books I owned from that period in the garbage. He may have improved after that, I don't know and I haven't bothered to find out.If you want a good take on a similar theme, I recommend just about anything by Charles De Lint or Holly Black -- steer clear of this one however.
—[Name Redacted]
