Raymond E. Feist

Faerie Tale walks a fine line between dark fantasy and horror, and lands mostly outside of horror only because of its subject--which is to be taken as something of a warning for dark fantasy readers, as the gore, the trauma, and the various resolutions tread territory that's often closer to what I'd expect from horror vs fantasy.

All that said, this is a fast-paced and fairly fun read. It does read as somewhat dated--there's so much head-hopping there, I often rather wished it were written from a more contemporary style--and the women in the book are especially stereotypical (though, truth be told, most of the characters do come across as fairly superficial/undeveloped, maybe partly because there are just so many POVs here and the action takes all of the focus). But if you can get past that dated quality and just fall into enjoying the story, there's plenty of entertainment to be had here.

Will I recommend this book? To anyone interested, given the caveats, yes. Will I read more of Feist's work? Likely only if the concept really jumps out at me, as plot gets a lot more focus in this story than character, and I more often enjoy books that are at least partly driven by engagement with character.… (more)