Faerie Tale [Hardcover]

Raymond Feist (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1988

Phil Hastings was a lucky man-he had money, a growing reputation as a screenwriter, a happy, loving family with three kids, and he'd just moved into the house of his dreams in rural of magic-and about to be altered irrevocably by a magic more real than any he dared imagine. For with the Magic came the Bad Thing, and the Faerie, and then the cool. . .and the resurrection of a primordial war with a forgotten people-a war that not only the Hastings but the whole human race could lose.


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Feist, author of the popular Magician fantasy trilogy, turns to the horror genre in this slick, only partially successful novel of a very modern family newly settled into a house on the edge of an enchanted woods. Each member of the familyretired actress Gloria Hastings, her novelist and screenwriter husband Phil, his teenage daughter by a previous marriage, their twin eight-year-old boys, and a dog and a catis touched in some way by "the Bad Thing," as the boys call it, which turns out to be a forest spirit out of ancient folklore. Feist builds atmosphere with intimations of the supernatural that soon escalate into outright violence. It is the boys who most clearly perceive the Bad Thing, and who eventually confront and defeat it. While the plot has some intriguing features, the book is afflicted by a superficiality of characterization and a flat, uninteresting style. 150,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; BOMC and QPBC selections.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Californians Gloria and Philip Hastings migrate to upstate New York to live in an old farmhouse near a stretch of virgin forest. The three Hastings children are soon caught up in a love-hate relationship with Celtic creatures of mythology that inhabit the dark and mysterious wood. An oft-told tale of a new family in a haunted house/land, this better-than-average dark fantasy novel features solid writing, strong development of both human and nonhuman characters, and a well-realized sense of geography. A tantalizing sense of foreboding permeates the novel and makes it highly readable. By the author of Magician , this is recommended for middle-sized and larger public libraries. BOMC featured selection. James B. Hemesath, Adams State Coll. Lib., Alamosa, Col.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 420 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (February 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385236239
• ISBN-13: 978-0385236232
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #496,643 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Raymond E. Feist's previous novels include the first volume in the Darkwar Saga, Flight of the Nighthawks, as well as the Conclave of Shadows: Talon of the Silver Hawk, King of Foxes, and Exile's Return; Magician; Silverthorn; Faerie Tale; Prince of the Blood; and The King's Buccaneer; as well as the four books of the New York Times bestselling Serpentwar Saga: Shadow of a Dark Queen, Rise of a Merchant Prince, Rage of a Demon King, and Shards of a Broken Crown; and the three books of his Riftwar Legacy: Krondor: The Betrayal, Krondor: The Assassins, and Krondor: Tear of the Gods. Feist lives in Southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully well-written book from Feist's early days, May 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Faerie Tale (Mass Market Paperback)

With "Faerie Tale," Feist allows his readers a glimpse into the world of Phil Hastings and family. Though not what one might call the typical American family, the author invokes our sympathy by making the Hastings family a realistic one (i.e. a divorced family with a teenager from one and two small children from another marriage). The Hastings clan makes the mistake of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They become caught up in a situation that few could comprehend - indeed, the only person in the novel that has any conception of the situation is an old Irish alcaholic. Feist very cleverly weaves ancient Irish myth and modern life together in a work that keeps its reader on the edge of his seat. This book is a terrific example of today's industrialized society clashing with the gods of yesterday. It is a ghost story that reminds us that some things from the past are best left unknown. This was the first book I read by Mr. Feist and I belive it to be the best of his works. In my career as a bookseller, I recommended this book dozens of times and have never come across anyone that was able to stop reading. I forced all of my colleagues at the bookstore to read it and years later, they still recommend it. In fact, I think I may be personally responsible for keeping this book on the shelf! If you enjoyed any of Feist's other works, I strongly suggest you try "Faerie Tale." Fans of the suspense/horror genre will also find this an entrancing read. I have been an avid reader for many years and this book has definitely made my top ten, if not my top five.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FAERIE TALES CAN COME TRUE..., December 17, 2006

By 

Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Faerie Tale (Mass Market Paperback)

Let me cut to the chase. I loved this book! I simply could not put it down. I only lament the fact that I had left it sitting unread on my bookshelf for years. It is really unlike anything else I have ever before read. The book that comes closest is "The Stolen Child" by Keith Donohue. So, if you enjoyed that book, you will definitely enjoy this one.

In this book, the author, who is renowned for his epics in the fantasy genre, gives the reader a contemporary tale interspersed with elements of fantasy and horror. Well-written and highly imaginative, the author fully engages the reader with this finely crafted story about a family that, seeking respite from the pressures of our modern day world, moves from California to a small hamlet in upstate New York. Little do they know that their new home, set in a bucolic, rural setting, is really a gateway to another world, one that is inhabited by creatures of ancient lore. They will soon discover that looks can be deceiving and that ancient forces are at work all around them.

Be prepared to be swept away by magical portents and a faerie world that exists side by side with our world. Know that the battle between good and evil is ever present. This is a wonderfully told tale of a family that finds itself engulfed by events beyond their ken. So skillfully does the author tell this dark, well-crafted story that the unbelievable quickly becomes believable, fully engaging the reader in an absorbing book that the reader will find impossible to put down. Bravo!

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Suspenseful contemporary fantasy, December 12, 2002

By 

Lleu Christopher "www.liminalworlds.com" (Hudson Valley, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faerie Tale (Mass Market Paperback)

Faerie Tale is a fast-paced, compelling story about a family who encounters the ancient mythic race known as faeries in modern upstate New York. It begins, as do many tales of the supernatural, when the family buys an old house in the country. The Hastings are an affluent family; Phil is a successful writer, his wife Gloria a former actress. They have a pair of twins, Sean and Patrick, who love to play baseball and hike in the woods. Phil's daughter Gabbie (from a previous marriage) is an heiress from a wealthy family on her mother's side. Unusual things begin to occur in and around the house. The twins sense a dark, evil presence beneath the aptly named Troll Bridge. Gabbie is almost raped my a mysterious man who then vanishes into the woods. The Hastings learn that the house was previously owned by someone with ties to a secret society that dabbled in the occult. What I like best about the novel are the vivid descriptions of the faeire folk and their mysterious behavior. Feist packs the story with a lot of genuine folklore. By the end, some of this gets mixed up in original and probably not historically accurate ways, but that's not a problem with a fantasy. I found the mundane aspects of the book less compelling than the supernatural. The family interaction sometimes seems a little too stereotypical. Some of the plot devices, such as Gabbie meeting the love of her life practically the day the family moves in, seemed a bit contrived to me. Another thing that I found annoying, which probably won't bother many readers, is the way the Hastings seem gratuitously rich. It seems that some books and movies give characters lots of money simply because the public enjoys being exposed to wealth. To me, this actually lessens the story to some extent, as it makes the characters less vulnerable; they could always buy another house and move if things get too scary. I found the excursions into Otherworlds and the vivid descriptions of the faerie folk to be original and exciting. Hastings also portrays the faerie world as very sexual, something not often focused on in this type of tale, and which adds another dimension. There is much here to recommend for fans of fantasy, Celtic mythology and faeries.