The Eyes of the Dragon

¡Me ha encantado! este libro es una verdadera delicia, podría decir que me siento sorprendida, pero es Stephen King y de este hombre podemos esperar cualquier cosa, sin duda alguna King es todo un digno representante de la literatura contemporánea.

En una historia del tipo "Erase una vez, en un reino muy, muy lejano..." King nos introduce en un cuento en donde hay un Rey, no es muy bueno, pero tampoco es muy malo, no es precisamente muy inteligente, ni tampoco es guapo, pero necesita tener descendientes, así que aconsejado por su mas cercano hombre, el mago Flagg, busca una esposa y se casa.

Y así entre la caza un Dragón, un mago oscuro, dos pequeños príncipes, envidia, codicia, celos, bravura, inteligencia y mucha intriga, me he show more introducido en un cuento donde no hay princesas que salvar, donde el que queda encerrado en lo alto de una torre es un príncipe, guapo, inteligente y valiente.

Una prosa maravillosa, una narrativa inteligente, fascinante y por demás prodigiosa, he disfrutado enormemente de este libro. show less

This is Stephen King's contribution to the fairy tale genre, best suited to older middle-grade readers and young teens. I read it to my 9-year-old (a reread for me). Although not strictly set in the same universe as The Dark Tower books, this would make a good entry point into that series. Admittedly, it is far too long for what it is and could easily be cut by half, with way too much setup, but once it reaches the daring-escape climax, King kicks into high gear and the book becomes unputdownable. The characters were all terrific and, especially important, the dog does not die! When we were done, my son asked me to email Stephen King and get him to work on a sequel right away (ha!).

3.5

“Once, in a kingdom called Delain, there was a King with two sons. Delain was a very old kingdom and it had had hundreds of Kings, perhaps even thousands; when time goes on long enough, not even historians can remember everything.”

King used a unique narrative style for this fairy tale, where he flexes his writing muscle and offers something much different than his usual fare. Fans of the Dark Tower series will see some name similarities and tributes here like King Roland (much different personality than our beloved gunslinger) and Flagg, who is as evil as always. Set in historical fantasy-land times, it's a story about two young brothers rising to become Kings while the kingdom is really being ruled by a demented magician.

I show more loved how King tied in two childhood habits into the story later as major game changers. I enjoyed the characterization - Peter and his allies were formidable forces for good, Roland and Thomas among many who struggle between right and wrong, and then finally Flagg - pure evil badassness with his laboratory and potions. It follows fairy-tale tropes with kingdoms, towers, betrayals, and the day old struggle of brotherly love/envy and living up to a father's ideals.

It's not gory, but there are disturbing scenes, such as the use of a certain dragon-influenced poison. King again indulges in weird body humor - scenes with the King farting and picking his nose. King does this often so I guess it's a humor he enjoys, although I could have done without some of the scenes. Gross!

Overall it's a well written book and easy to follow, but the pacing lags after the first 1/4th. While the story is a good one, there's just not enough action and variances to justify it's length. Not ridiculously long at 380 pages, but my interest started waning. show less

I haven't, in the rereading of King's work, read his collaboration with Peter Straub as yet. I'm saving [b:The Talisman|59219|The Talisman (The Talisman, #1)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1170530286l/59219._SX50_.jpg|3324421] and [b:Black House|10607|Black House (The Talisman, #2)|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388263466l/10607._SX50_.jpg|1738813], along with the Dark Tower series until the end.

I consider The Talisman to be his first misstep, the first time I read something by him and was disappointed, but I'd put it down to the perenially disappointing Peter Straub (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know, he's good blah blah blah. I do show more not like his stuff. Get over it.)

But with this book, King officially produced his first solo stinker. King is a very versatile writer, and he can write horror, thrillers, mysteries, coming of age stories...he's good in so many areas. But when he turns his hand to either SF or Fantasy, I'm sorry, but he simply stinks. The things that save the Dark Tower series (and believe me, there are times when it stinks too), is that, while it's essentially fantasy, he throws everything in that pot. Westerns? Sure. Horror? Yep. SF? Definitely. Comics? Why not? Harry Potter? What the hell, it takes all kindsa critters to make Farmer Brown's fritters, right?

So, ugh. Eyes of the Dragon. This was likely more of a chore the second time through, because I knew there was really no payoff. The first time, at least I could anticipate something (please God, anything) happening.

King trots out every damn fantasy cliche here. The befuddled ineffective king. The good king that is prevented from ruling. The pathetic king ruled by someone else. Prison towers. Unendingly loyal subjects. And even a half-assed dragon.

Remember when King wrote two books side-by-side, [b:Desperation|10584|Desperation|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1395764566l/10584._SY75_.jpg|14015] and [b:The Regulators|10596|The Regulators|Richard Bachman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554402378l/10596._SY75_.jpg|955346], one under his own name, one under the Bachman tag? They had some passing similarities, but they were also remarkably different in tone, story, and quality? Yeah, I feel like this is the same thing.

Stick with me here for a moment. So, remember King's excellent Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption novella from [b:Different Seasons|39662|Different Seasons|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329662611l/39662._SY75_.jpg|2248680]? Of course you do.

So, to me, it feels like King borrowed some Dark Tower names, stuck them on Shawshank Redemption characters, then moved the story to a fantasy setting, so now, instead of Andy Dufresne taking years to escape Shawshank, you've got Peter the Good taking years to escape the Needle. But with none of the engaging prose, characterization, or heart.

Even Flagg, a character he's had fun with in a few books up to now, and who actually starts out fairly creepy in the start of this story, turns into a drooling, raving idiot by the end. And he, like everyone else in the story, has no motivation whatsoever. Peter is good because he's good. Thomas is ineffectual because, well, dad didn't love him enough. Flagg is a mustache-twirling Snidely Whiplash type here.

Yeah, this book deserves to be buried deep and forgotten, perhaps surviving only as a footnote about a not-very-good curiousity, oddly connected to his Dark Tower series.

Like I said. A stinker.

His next one would be [b:The Tommyknockers|17660|The Tommyknockers|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394210331l/17660._SY75_.jpg|150226], but we'll deal with that particular stinking pile when we get there, won't we? show less

This is a proper fairytale with an actual dragon, though it doesn’t survive past the first act, because the king kills it (rude). How is it still relevant enough to be featured on the book cover if it ended up dead? You’ll have to read the book!

In the Authors Group Chat post’s comment section, several lovely folks mentioned Stephen King writing The Eyes of the Dragon for his daughter (1984). I wouldn’t call it a children’s book. This was more like a dark-ish YA epic fantasy with light emotional damage.

🎧 Listening to the audiobook feels like a father sitting at the edge of a bed, telling his kid a story before the lights go out.

⚔️ Read this if you:
• love fairytale-style fantasy with a dark edge
• are looking for show more something to read with an older kid
• don’t mind that the dragon is dead

📖 Maybe skip if you:
• are expecting King’s signature horror
• don’t have the patience for a narrator who occasionally wanders off point

👑 Overall, this is a well-written fantasy that would’ve been even better as a shorter story. It has violent moments and creepy imagery, but carries that classic good-vs-evil fairytale-style intimate storytelling vibe. show less

This is a book that can make you fall in love with fairy tales all over again. I read it when I was in middle school and wrote to Stephen King to ask him if Flagg and Randall Flagg from "The Stand" were the same character. When he responded and told me they are, it sent me on a quest to see how many of his books I can spot Flagg in. (I've counted four.)

Being a fairy tale doesn't take anything away from what makes King's novels so great. It simply provides a backdrop for a book that has wonderfully fleshed out characters. Certainly, being longer than the average fairy tale, the characters seem more alive and the reader can form attachments to them that one usually just doesn't feel for Snow White or Cinderella.

Lest we be lost in this show more make believe realm, King brings us back to reality right at the end. This is my favorite quote from the book: "Did they live happily ever after? They did not. No one ever does, in spite of what the stories may say. They had their good days, as you do, and they had their bad days, and you know about those. They had their victories, as you do, and they had their defeats, and you know about those, too. There were times when they felt ashamed of themselves, knowing they had not done their best, and there were times when they knew they had stood where their God had meant them to stand. All I'm trying to say is that they lived as well as they could." show less

This book was ... different, in terms of Stephen King's style. I knew to expect a fantasy with one of my favourite of King's villians, Flagg, but I didn't expect it to read like a Young Adult book that gave little to no reminisce to King's earlier writing style.

This is not to say I hated this novel, I did give it 4 stars for a reason, it just wasn't what I expected.

The Eyes of the Dragon follows the story of the old king Roland (not Roland Deschain from the Dark Tower series) and his two sons, Peter and Thomas. The inner chambers of the king's palace have been infiltrated by the evil that is Flagg, the dark man, who we know is evil from the get go, but the characters aren't so inclined. Flagg sees that Peter, the exemplary son of show more Roland, might be too "good" for the kingdom of Delain and the ruin he plots, so he seeks to get rid of him.

Like I mentioned before, the writing style in this book is different. It reads incredibly easily and it feels narrated. I wouldn't be surprised if this book is classed as Young Adult. It just doesn't read or feel like a Stephen King novel. Going into this book, I expected a nitty gritty fantasy about a dark magician who is constantly plotting to kill the "good" son that represented the rawness of Stephen King's earlier novels. This book is not it, which is not a bad thing per se, but it was a bit weird to expect a certain style and be completely wrong.

This book has illustrations, which was a great addition. Also each chapter number was inside the eye of a dragon. Neat!

The plot was predictable, which is another reason that it read like a Young Adult novel, but not bad. I loved the characters, especially Flagg (always my favourite). Thomas was a wonderful character and I wish there were more chapters around him.

I actually think that if this book had more in it - more background, history, character depth etc - it would've been a five star read. This fast paced and straightforward novel was a great break from the heavier books I've been reading but I was definitely expecting more from this book.

Flagg is forever and I will read any book with the Dark Man in it. He is an absolutely amazing villian. I kinda want to read The Stand again. show less