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Dec 17, 2009

Silvercharmer rated it:

i need to preface this by saying that this was the first stephen king book i ever read. he is my father's favorite author, and i grew up staring at the dozens of hardback books all in a row on the shelves of his office, all with king's name on them. i really wanted to read one, see what it was dad read, and the reason he handed me this one was the same reason king wrote it: so his kids could read something he had written. in other words, it's kid-friendly, and actually written as a children's bo More...

2 comments like (16 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2012

Mike (the Paladin) rated it:

Interesting and slightly odd mixture of Stephen Kings story telling and a slightly more classic/mythological tale than we're used to from the modern prince of horror.

This is described by some as Stephen King doing children's literature". Well, I wouldn't really call it that. I'm aware that Mr. King dedicated this to his daughter...but I would suggest that you read it yourself first before giving it to a child, at least a child younger than say, 12. Just my opinion. It's how I'd More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

May 21, 2008

Nick rated it:

At times, King's approach to writing from a storyteller's perspective is a little cloying, and there's a lot of old-fashioned narrator presence in this one. "I'm sorry to say," "It's not for me to tell," "You'll have to make up your mind"; to me, this stuff is cute in very small doses but betrays a little too much the mechanics behind writing itself. It's difficult to get really lost in a story when the author continually reminds you that it's a story. Other than th More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 25, 2007

Jon rated it:

Stephen King. For kids? Yeah, sometimes. Eyes of the Dragon is as close as King comes to being for all ages.

This is a shift from most of King's other writings, but carries much of King's traditional thematic and style. Stephen King's world is connected to our own and it's in that world that all his stories hang out, blending together in fascinating and engaging ways. One can't help but see the connections in Dragon to other books; The Stand, It, The Dark Tower. Maybe it's just More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Matt rated it:

Before he began his quest for the Dark Tower, King took an earlier foray into the fantasy genre with a book called The Eyes of the Dragon. Written for his thirteen-year-old daughter who didn’t much appreciate his horror stories, Eyes takes place in Delain, a kingdom like many another. The court magician Flagg plots to assassinate King Roland and frame the murder on his heir, the noble Prince Peter. With Peter imprisoned, Flagg has free reign with younger Prince Thomas under his sway.

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1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Nov 15, 2011

Terri rated it:

I am not a Stephen King fan, mainly because of his apparent fascination with and despairing acceptance of the evil in life adn the way in which he treats animals in his books. I enjoyed this novel, however, as that element of King's worldview was not as strident as in many of his adult novels. The story has fairy tale elements, which I always enjoy, and the characters are vividly individual -no cardboard cutouts here! The story is entertaining and captures one's interest from the beginning. More...

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Nov 06, 2011

Dawn rated it:

This book is amazing - in a completely non-traditional Stephen King way. If you like traditional Stephen King horror, you will not like this novel. It is a completely cliche story of good against evil set in a fairy-tale world, complete with an evil advisor to the king, two young princes (one the 'classic' handsome, older brother, and the other the younger, forgotten brother) and murder, injustice, struggle, and triumph.

The book is an extremely easy read, but by saying that I hop More...

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Sep 08, 2011

R.G. rated it:

I don't really know why I've resisted reading Stephen King's The Eyes of the Dragon since it was originally published during the Reagan Administration. Maybe it was my own personal distaste for high fantasy, or my inability to wade through the King/Peter Straub collaboration The Talisman, or the simple fact that I know King is at his best when lifting the shroud on urban/suburban horror rather than his forays into fantasy. Whatever the reason, in my panic over the impending end of summer, I wa More...

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Feb 17, 2011

Simon rated it:

This is one of the other Stephen King books I have read since The Dome. I love fantasy type books and I was shocked to see that Stephen King himself have attempted to write such a book. The book is pretty mediocre. I'm not going to write about what the book is about since I'm sure you can find that out yourself. The book is written and told from a narrator's perspective. Sorta like a story-teller talking to you. It's not a new idea but it worked very well for this story.

One of my main More...

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Jan 11, 2011

lynne rated it:

This is a tale targeted towards kids. It reads like a fairy tale. The narrator is all too present, too prominent, dropping too many hints of "oh if only so-and-so knew of the room full of such-and-suches, would it have made a difference? I'll let you decide," that might be amusing at first, but irritating after a while.

That said, I rather enjoyed this book.

Stephen King obviously had his Dark Tower characters on his mind when writing this: the land is named Delain (v More...

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Apr 20, 2010

Lins rated it:

Wow, when I started reading this book I had to double check who the author was. It is so very different from Stephen King's normal genre. And yet, looking back at it having finished it, it's not too far a leap.

A fantasy tale involving two princes, a rather boorish king, and an advisor who keeps to the shadows and deals in poison. Pretty classic really in a swords and sourcery way (and there is plenty of both). And a nice little tale about good versus evil, about justice and truth co More...

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Dec 29, 2009

Jadewik rated it:

"The Eyes of the Dragon" is a story about an evil demon, wizard named Flagg who has spent centuries putting the kingdom of Delain under his thumb with the intent of causing anarchy and the ultimate destruction of the kingdom.

I hated the story.

My husband convinced me to read this-- he is a huge fan of Stephen King's horror novels. I haven't been able to choke down one of King's horror novels because I don't like the blatant over-use of sex as a plot device (that More...

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Jul 24, 2009

Evan rated it:

I have terrific memories of reading this book. As my brother and I left our sisters house one summer afternoon, she shoved this book into my hands and told me I'd like it. On the forty-five minute drive back to our house I started reading it out loud to my brother. By the time we got home we were both hooked. We took turns reading out loud to each other, doing voices for the different characters and the narator until we finnished it. The experience was almost like that of William Goldman, when h More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 28, 2011

Veronika rated it:

This book has sat on my shelf for almost as long as I can remember and never once did it occur to me to read it. King and I have a difficult relationship in as much as I own most of his books, so when the time comes to read another I have a hard time choosing one. However, when my brother bought me a hardback version and it sat proudly before me, I decided that it was time and I am happy I did. Written in an old school fairytale style, the storyteller recounts a kingdom in distress when their Ki More...

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Apr 17, 2010

Noel rated it:

This fairy tale is a far cry from Stephen King's usual supernatural and horror genre. Although the right mix of magic and mystery would make this enjoyable for a bedtime story for any child. The characters well drawn and the villain, Flagg, pops up to create chaos in the land of Delaine, as he has done in King's Dark Tower Series and his epic the Stand, for those who have read this series and the stand get an insight into Flagg's need for destruction of the conform and utter hatred for good. More...

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Jul 11, 2011

Nicholas rated it:

Pretty standard fantasy tale. Not of the epic variety either. This one felt more political than magical, but fun and well-crafted nonetheless. I had a bit of trouble getting into this one. I knew it was King, deep down, and he reveals himself in some of the narration with some of his usual narrative ticks, but the tone felt rather assumed and forced. Took a while to get the hang of the epic mode he was assuming and a lot of the time it just felt false.

This story was written for King More...

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Jun 23, 2011

Luckness Rabbit rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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May 15, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

Between the scattered pictures throughout the story and the easy concepts and vocabulary, The Eyes of the Dragon seems like it is a children's book. While the book is devoid of Stephen King's patented terror, it's still chock full of his wry humor and warped mind. This is definitely not for the little ones.

The Eyes of the Dragon takes place in the same world as Stephen King's Dark Tower series and was the first book he published that was completely apart from the horror genre. The ti More...

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Dec 16, 2010

Hailie rated it:

The Eyes of the Dragon exhibits Stephen King at his most innocuous and least abbrasive level. However, this novel also seems to have lost a little bit of King's spirit in exchange for less graphic material. For example, in King's novel Misery, he fearlessly puts his characters through gore and profanity, as well as sexual content and plaguing fears. The Eyes of the Dragon appeals to a younger audience than King's other novels, but the author is not totally out of his depth. He busts out the More...

1 comment like

Sep 12, 2010

Amy rated it:

This was the first Stephen King novel I managed to read through to the end. It details the story of a king who was the puppet of an evil sorcerer. He had two sons, the elder being the cliche charismatic, intelligent, attractive, natural born leader and the younger taking more after his father: clumsy, dumb, but a good eye for shooting. The younger son sees his father die through the marble eyes of the dragon his father had killed earlier on in the novel. From then on, the son is guilt-stricken a More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 11, 2010

Kristian added it

this book is about this prince who, looses eveything he loved. not his kingdom but his wife and kids. he got too greedy as a prince that he forgot about his family. when he finally realizes what he has dont to his life, he runs off into the woods nd attepts to die. he jumps off of a ledge and survies. when he wakes up he is at gunpoint . he doesnt not realize this familier face. but the boy does. the boy holding the gun was his son. he was about to pull the trigger. when a wolve broke off and at More...

2 comments like

Feb 02, 2009

Maria rated it:

I've always been jealous of people who remember their childhood well. I can hardly recall even a few things I enjoyed doing when I was a child. I do, however, remember how I used to read the books I liked at night, hiding under the blanket so my parents wouldn't have noticed. One of these books was Stephen King's The Eyes Of The Dragon. I find it's funny that I'm doing the very same thing now, and, though it's not by far as thrilling as it was with my parents constantly trying to catch me, it More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 02, 2007

Anne rated it:

Read this quite a while back, i'm not sure how long a year or so at least. Another good Stephen King story, I have always liked his work in the horror genre so when i came across this one I wasn't immediately sold on it. Also, normally i'm not really into fantasy but figured that i would give it a chance, it was an interesting story that is worth checking out about a prince accused of poisoning his father.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 31, 2011

Julie rated it:

I have had this book recommended to me several times over the years and I never could bring myself to read it. I plead total ignorance. The title threw me. I'll admit it. It wasn't a very King like name for a book and I convinced myself that it couldn't possible be any good. Boy was I wrong! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! This book was wonderful! I am a total schlub for not reading it before. So, to everyone who did recommend it, I am sorry I ignored you!

Peter has now passed into the rea More...

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Oct 21, 2009

Kathryn rated it:

This book is completely unlike anything I've ever read by Stephen King. The first time I read it, I was in seventh grade, and I was shocked to see something written by King in my school's library. Not only that, but this book was among a group of books they were advertising for the students to read.

I loved it when I first read it. It was amazing, and I couldn't predict anything that was going to happen.

This second time that I've read it- six or seven years later- it was n More...

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Nov 26, 2011

Sara rated it:

This was the first Stephen King book that I have read. It was a solid story with a few excellent parts, but I will say that I was somewhat disappointed. I have heard so much about King as an author that perhaps the "hype" had been overdone... or perhaps it was this one particular book. I shall have to read another to answer this question.

"He always camp hooded, a man who seemed almost to have no face, and he never came as a King himself, but always as the whisperer in th More...

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Nov 11, 2011

Christopher rated it:

A nice fantasy story.

Characters: I like Thomas the best, as he goes through the most character development in my opinion, trusting Flagg and then steadily trusting him less as the story goes on.
His older brother Peter is good and stays good, and while that sort of character is nice I prefer a round one. I like how King portrayed people in the monarchy as being kind of rude and even sloppy, knowing that they could get away with it because they were kings and lords.

Plot: H More...

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Sep 23, 2009

Manami rated it:

A solid high fantasy novel, with interesting twists and turns. The plot is good when one looks back on it, and the characters are solid, though the heroes are a bit typecast. The main problem with this book, I am sorry to say, is the writing. It's long, tedious and backtracks often, meandering through too many character's viewpoints, and too often reminding the reader that it is told from a third person narrator, like a fairy tale would be. A good detail oriented story should give facts with More...

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Jul 10, 2009

Daniele rated it:

Non male per un cambio così radicale di genere da parte di King(considerate che e' successivo in ordine temporale a "IT"). Si vocifera che il libro sia stato scritto perche' la figlia si lamentava di non poter leggere nulla di quello che il padre scriveva; ed ecco qua una bella storia di fantasia con maghi ed intrighi di palazzo. Non fatevi fuorviare dal titolo, non e' l'ennesimo libro sui draghi fortunatamente, al contrario di fantastico c'e' veramente poco e si rimane quasi sempre vi More...

0 comments like

Feb 27, 2009

Amanda rated it:

As otherworld fantasies go, it wasn't that bad. However, it was kind of run of the mill. The characters were very stereotypical, with the one exception being the evil brother, usurper of the the throne, who delivered a little twist at the end. In essence, there wasn't a whole lot of development. I felt that I didn't really care about the characters, but Stephen King's narrative made me want to know what happened. His style was not at all weird in this kind of old world vein, in fact, the way he More...

1 comment like

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