GENERAL INFORMATION
TITLE: THE EYES OF THE DRAGON
AUTHOR: STEPHEN KING
PAGES: 427
PUBLISHER: WARNER BOOKS
YEAR: 1987
GENRE: YA FANTASY FICTION
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eyes_of_the_Dragon
BLURB FROM THE COVER
A captivating tale of heroic adventure, of dragons and princes, of mysterious mice and magical men, as only Stephen King can tell it.
The king is dead, murdered by a strange and horrible poison. But while the land of Delain mourns, the magician Flagg, unscrupulous, greedy and powerful, plots. Soon the king’s oldest son, Peter, is imprisoned at the top of a high tower, the Needle, for his father’s murder, while his younger brother, Thomas inherits the throne.
Only Peter knows the truth of his own innocence, and the truth of the evil that is Flagg. And only Peter can save Delain from the horror Flagg has in store. He has a plan, but it is dangerous and desperate and if he fails there will be no second chance. And all the while, Flagg’s words echo in his mind: ‘I’ll carry your head on my saddle-horn for a thousand years. Here I come, Peter! Coming for your head!’
EXTRACT
Once, in a kingdom called Delain, there was a King with two sons.
REVIEW
The Eyes of the Dragon reminds me of the Dark Tower novels. Not least the similarity in some of the characters. I can easily imagine Roland telling his ka-tet this tale around a camp-fire as they had along the path of the Beam.
The Eyes of the Dragon is written in the style of a traditional fairy tale / bedtime story. All the expected elements are here. Good versus evil. Murder. Corruption. Treachery. All the elements of a good fantasy romp.
The villain in The Eyes of The Dragon is a nasty magician called Flagg. King fans know this name well. Flagg appears in many forms and with different names in countless King novels including The Dark Tower novels and The Stand. I love it when King does this. I love the little threads that link his novels together. The little linking strands that a non-king fan would never pick up on.
The Eyes of the Dragon is a simple tale, much simpler than King’s other novels. That’s the beauty of this little gem. The Eyes of The Dragon is a traditional story or a fable. I can imagine Roland from The Dark Tower novels being read this story tucked up into bed by his mother.
I love The Eyes of The Dragon, I absolutely love it. I’ve read this novel five or six times. I love it more each time.
RATING
