Faerie Tale (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Raymond Feist (Author) "Barney Doyle sat at his cluttered workbench, attempting to fix Olaf Andersen's ancient power mower for the fourth time in seven years..." (more)
Key Phrases: Bad Luck, Bad Thing, Erl King Hill (more...)

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (January 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553277839
• ISBN-13: 978-0553277838
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #329,593 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 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

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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intense!, March 5, 2002

By	Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When Phillip Hastings moves his family from California to upstate New York, he believes that he is moving them to an area of peace and quiet. Little does Phil know that his new (old) house is build upon Erl King Hill, literally "Hill of the Elf King." Faeries dwell in the vicinity, and these are not the cute little pixies of science fiction, but the mischievous creatures that haunt the dark corners of folklore. A particularly evil faerie has plans for the Hastings family...nightmarish plans.

I must admit to some apprehension when it comes to reviewing this book. I found the book to be very intense, going far beyond any of Mr. Feist's other books...

This book is quite intense, swaying as it does between fantasy and horror. And yet, I enjoyed almost every minute of it. Mr. Feist is a highly talented author, and this book is shows his talents off masterfully. I highly recommend this book.

12 of 14 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

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.