10 books you should read in September, including Stephen King’s Fairy Tale and Alex Ross’ Fantastic Four: Full Circle

Also check out All The Women In My Brain And Other Concerns, a candid collection of personal essays from Emmy Award-nominated actress Betty Gilpin

By Cat Auer | August 24, 2022 | 9:00am

Books News Fairy tale

10 books you should read in September, including Stephen King’s Fairy Tale and Alex Ross’ Fantastic Four: Full Circle

Clockwise from bottom left: How Not To Drown In A Glass Of Water (Image: Macmillan); Fantastic Four: Full Circle (Image: Abrams ComicArts); Rules Of Engagement (Image: Berkley Books); Fairy Tale (Image: Scribner), Ducks (Image: Drawn & Quarterly); The Furrows (Image: Hogarth); The Storm Is Here (Image: Penguin Press); All The Women In My Brain And Other Concerns (Image: Flatiron) Graphic: Libby McGuire

Every month, a deluge of new books comes flooding out from big publishers, indie houses, and self-publishing platforms. To help you navigate the wave of titles arriving in September, The A.V. Club has narrowed down the options to 10 books we’re most excited about, including a trope-twisting dark fantasy novel from horror master Stephen King, an interdimensional journey through the Negative Zone with Marvel’s original superhero squad, and a collection of comical musings from GLOW star Betty Gilpin.

Fairy Tale, Stephen King (September 6)

Stephen King’s latest is not horror but “dark fantasy,” and it’s just as full of magic, adventure, and the temptations of treasure as the title implies. High schooler Charlie Reade, narrator and protagonist, feels he owes the universe after his alcoholic dad finally gives up booze. Repaying that cosmic debt—by helping a mysterious neighbor who, it turns out, has a doorway to another world—sets Charlie on a quest to save his beloved dog and defeat evil in a cursed land. In Fairy Tale, King takes tropes and twists them, making for a highly entertaining read as Charlie fights to find his way home and earn his happily ever after.

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