The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

 

The Eyes of the Dragon

by Stephen King

This is probably King's biggest departure from his previous books other than The Gunslinger, and it has direct linkages to that book, specifically.

The story follows two young princes whose father, King Roland, dies when his magician (Flagg) poisons him with a rare and deadly green sand in his wine. The logical heir is Peter who has all of the makings and commanding presence of a king. However, Flagg favors the younger brother, the jealous and easily manipulated Thomas. Flagg orchestrates the murder of the king to be blamed on Peter who is sent to prison in the Needle, a tall tower impossible to escape. Thomas is then crowned king and is guided (because he is young and afraid) by Flagg who is hell-bent on bringing destruction to the kingdom of Delain. A cast of characters all play their parts in either seeing Flagg's plan to fruition or foiling it by discovering what really happened and helping Peter to freedom.

This is a fantasy story through and through, told with a different voice than I am used to for King. It is a voice that is conversational with the reader, while also reading like a bedtime story. The book is dedicated to Naomi (King's daughter) and Ben Straub, author Peter Straub's son. Both children have character namesakes counterparts in the story, which is very sweet.

The story does what it sets out to do, but it doesn't have the happiest of endings because Flagg gets away. This is not a spoiler because Flagg appears in many King stories. In fact, I believe that the Roland in The Gunslinger, and the person he hunts (Flagg, I believe) come directly from this story. Some things that are interesting to note in The Eyes of the Dragon are: King Roland has no interest in women or sex with them (he only has sex with his wife a few times across the years of their marriage) and he defies Flagg with regards to his son Peter having an interest in playing with a dollhouse. Flagg says it's unnatural, but Roland thinks there is nothing wrong with it. An interesting position for a book written in the 1980s. Flagg is also said to appear when something needs to be destroyed; he's appeared many times before (and will again).

The story is well-told, but simple. Not exactly suspenseful. A little predictable. But it has a charm to it, as if it was written for children or young teens, despite its semi-graphic nature in parts. It is a solid 3-star book. Good, but not great. However, it is notable in the universe of King's characters of Flagg and Roland. Another interesting inclusion in the book was the reference to a "horrible It," a black scent that "did not belong to a man." This made me think of the book IT and a possible connection between Flagg and the evil entity in that story. 

All in all a good story for what it is.