Book Review: The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King

A beautiful YA fantasy novel focusing on the tale of King Roland of Delain and his two sons, Peter and Thomas, with the story being told by an unknown narrator. King Roland is killed by an unusual poison, with his son Peter being accused of murder and imprisoned at the top of a high tower, following the meddling of a certain Randall Flagg, the King's magician. What follows is an exciting story looking at themes including, but not limited to, friendship, loyalty, heroism and adventure.

"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 there against such high odds."

Stephen King? Young adult fantasy, you cry?! What's the Master of Horror doing in this genre? Part of the reason I found this book so sweet was that he had written it for his daughter Naomi. When she was young, he asked her what she liked reading about, and she said "Dragons", and this is what came next. He even named a minor character after her too - adorable!

Initially I felt apprehensive as I'm not a huge fan of young adult, nor am I really into the fantasy genre, apart from a few exceptions (The Dark Tower series, Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones - okay, maybe I do like fantasy!!). This is also my friend Sadie's favourite King book, and she is a huge fantasy fan too, so there was also a little pressure to enjoy it, or else she might fly over here and resort to violence. But luckily within about 10 pages, I was hooked!

One of the best parts about this book was meeting Randall Flagg again. That guy really is everywhere, scheming and causing trouble. This time, he wants to see the Kingdom of Delain crumble and fall, all whilst he hides in the shadows and watches. Another highlight for me was the narrator himself, the storyteller. No-one, and I mean no-one, can fill this role like Stephen King himself. When he tells his stories to us Constant Readers, it feels like we're all sitting around a campfire, elbows on our knees, head in our hands, absorbing it all. So it was fun for him to tell this story in a more traditional storyteller prose, similar to his introductions where he speaks directly to the Constant Reader. The illustrations in my edition were incredible too, I loooove illustrations. It really helps bring the characters and locations to life.

This is a nice book to direct people towards if they don't like horror, but wish to read some Stephen King. It's also a nice starting point for young readers, a stepping stone to the more macabre and adult books. I can imagine myself reading this to a young child at bedtime (perhaps leaving out more adult parts at the beginning surrounding sex!). This book is really proof that King is able to transcend across any genre he likes. So far, I have read the following from King: horror, romance, fantasy, young adult, supernatural, sci-fi... the list goes on. And he has excelled at all of these.

So, enough fangirling for now... I give this fairytale 5 stars out of 5! It appears I'll be taking a short break from King, but sometimes it's good to branch out to other authors. This is me trying to convince myself. Anyway...until next time! Long days and pleasant nights.

Johann

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