(Stephen) King Of The Castle (The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King)

Member Name: tom1clare

Product:	The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King
Date:	14/07/03 (176 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent characters, Good Setting, A bit different from King's usual

Disadvantages: May not be to everyones liking

Written in 1987, the year that Stephen King turned 40 (and I was born!), The Eyes of the Dragon was perhaps his biggest detour of styles to date. Classed as horror on the back cover, it really leans closer to the fantasy genre. A bit of a gamble for a man known predominantly for gruesome spine-chillers, and its not just the genre of his work that is different here, his whole writing style has changed. But The Eyes of the Dragon triumphs thanks to his story-telling abilities alone.

Peter has a fine life - the son of a King, next in line for the throne and a popular person. Things take a turn for the worse though when his father, the King of Delain, unknowingly drinks some poisoned wine and dies. Someone has set Peter up, he is charged with his fathers murder and locked away at the top of the 'needle', a very tall, thin tower.

The plans of the evil court magician Flagg are working wonderfully - the strong-minded Peter is locked away and so his younger brother Thomas takes the throne. He has a less confident, more reclusive nature to him and Flagg finds him easy to manipulate. Soon Flagg will be able to grasp total power in Delain and plunge it into darkness. But unknown to Flagg, Thomas watched him give his father the poisoned wine through the eyes of the dragon the dead king had slain, a peeping hole Flagg himself had shown to Thomas when he was younger. Quietly at the top of the needle, Peter is plotting a daring and risky escape, which he has had to wait a very, very long time for. But time is running out - Flagg senses something is wrong and it is only a matter of time before he comes for Peter: 'Here I come Peter! Coming for your head!'.

The characters in this story are extremely strong, with the evil Flagg proving the best (why is it that King's best characters are always psychotic maniacs?). Flagg's masterplans and ruthless foul-play (hiring someone to kill Thomas' mother, making it look like she died whils
t giving birth was rather nasty) together with his ability to concoct some eye-watering potions and spells means he is a constant source of worry, especially towards the end. Flagg's motives for wanting rid of Peter are obvious - Peter was close to his father and developed a strong-willed, determined personality. However, Thomas felt like an outcast - he didn't particularly share the same interests as his father and was quietly unpopular, blamed for the death of his mother. Flagg cunningly preys on the weakness of his character throughout. Other characters have roles to play - Dennis, Peter's old servant, wants to help him along with his childhood friend Ben. The escapades of several characters all join together towards the end for an excellent finale.

Though there is a fair bit about the characters pasts to read about, this actually proves a great deal more interesting than 'The Shining''s opening section (also talking about characters pasts), which droned on without any truly significant information being revealed. By comparison, The Eyes of the Dragon builds a clear picture of the characters and environments in the readers mind and you know exactly how everything stands going into the final part, which involves the escape attempt.

Something that struck me about The Eyes of the Dragon is how well presented the book is. I have a paperback edition which features some genuinely outstanding illustrations from David Palladini, which pop up just a handful of times throughout. Though this doesn't effect the story, it makes the book as a whole a bit classier and better value.

An interesting point I thought I would mention is that the book is dedicated to Naomi King and Ben Straub. Nothing unusual there but read the story and you will find a couple named Ben and Naomi. Coincidence? I seriously doubt that!

A fantasy tale with a dash of horror - The Eyes of the Dragon is a memerisng read and thoroughly enjoyable
, as King shows he doesn't necessarily have to scare the reader to engross them.

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