Raymond E. Feist is most well known for his fantasy series The Riftwar Saga. However, his best work may possibly be the novel Faerie Tale in which he explores the question of the fantasies, legends, and superstitions surrounding the world of elves and faeries. The novel hinges on the question if these beings were reality and we collided with those realities today, what would it look like?
Faerie Tale is the story of screenwriter Phil Hastings who has escaped from the Hollywood scene and moved into his dream house in upstate New York. Unfortunately, Hastings’ move corresponds with the attempt of those who live near us but not with us to escape their agreed upon bondage.
The Author
Raymond E. Feist had written five books for his fantasy series The Riftwar Saga when he made a sudden departure into the realm of terror and suspense. However, his book was not your typical slasher suspense or query into the mind of a psychotic. He delved deep into the underlying fears of humanity; the fears that find their way out in stories of unreal, surreal, mythical, and super-human beings.
In an interview about this book in 1999, Feist explains his motivation for leaving his genre and doing something a bit different. He stated that the serial fantasy genre wasn’t allowing him to write about issues of modern life and culture that interested him. He wanted to explore daily relationships in modern society and develop the emotional side of his characters. In other words, he wanted to ‘stretch’ himself as a writer.
Feist also wanted to explore the idea that while civilization as known by humans is old, the earth is believed to be much older. If the earth is so incredibly old, what or who was here before humans? He used ancient myths and legends, to present ideas of pre-human civilization and older races. If older races existed, how and why did they disappear?
Faerie Tale is Feist’s fascinating exploration of these subjects.
The Book
Feist’s exploration of daily relationships was straightforward, each member of the family had a substantial role in the book so that we could get to know them and could appreciate the relationships and dynamics and how they played out as the narrative unfolded.
The Book – with Potential Spoiler
Feist’s exploration of the ‘faerie’ and the relationship of humanity to the ‘older’ race is much more complex and fascinating. Feist’s basic hypothesis is that all the legends and myths about fairies, gnomes, brownies, sprites, and other super-human beings are based on a reality that we can’t see but occasionally, slips through into our ‘real’ world.
The faerie preceded us on earth’s timeline and at one time ruled the earth. However, they were eventually surpassed and subjugated by mankind, so that they cannot harm man or interfere with humanity.
The Hasting’s family finds themselves in the middle of a potential war between humanity and the faerie when the Erl King manipulates the situation and the compact is broken. Once the compact is broken, it is a race against time to restore the balance between humanity and the faerie.
In Conclusion
If myths and fairy tales fascinate you and if a bit of suspense makes you read faster, then Raymond E. Feist’s book Faerie Tale should be on your list of books to read.
