#6 – The Eyes of the Dragon

Plot

Taking place in a medieval-inspired fantasy world, Stephen King’s fantasy novel The Eyes of the Dragon tells the story of Flagg, a devious magician who plots to destroy the Kingdom of Delain and its fair-minded ruler, King Roland.

Review

Stephen King is most known as a horror writer, but that categorization would be too narrow.  Sure, he got his break as a horror specialist, but King has written plenty of novels that delve into other genres.  The Eyes of the Dragon was his first non-horror book and Constant Readers did not like it.  As I learned in Cool Runnings, “people are always afraid of what’s different.”

The first couple seasons of Game of Thrones were phenomenal television. It involved a fantasy backdrop and included incredible dialogue/well-developed characters with simplistic plotting.  The Eyes of the Dragon personifies this throughout.

Reading this novel in a couple of sittings, The Eyes of the Dragon catapults readers into a fantasy world with kings, queens, and wizards.  It takes them on a good vs evil journey involving scheming magicians and backstabbing relatives.  It’s pure fantasy and pure story.  A great combination.

The Eyes of the Dragon also is told by an unnamed narrator who provides commentary throughout.  This 30,000-foot narrator view of the story was unique and fit well with the pacing and the plotting.

Details

Pages: 372

Dates Read: August – September 2021

Quote: “I think that real friendship always makes us feel such sweet gratitude, because the world almost always seems like a very hard desert, and the flowers that grow there seem to grow against such high odds.”

Best Part: Why would anyone ask for a dollhouse and a napkin while locked away in a tower cell?

Hint for #5: This trilogy-opener eventually turned into a three-season TV show starring Brendan Gleeson.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.