Stephen King loves doing what he does. I think, both in life and in writing, that for him includes breaking rules.

This novel — this modern fairy-tale — has a lot of tell and little show. Winded paragraphs composed of short sentences and barely any dialogue.

It read magnificently to me. I could hear the narrator speaking into my ear. I wish this were my first King story. And while I understand why this book tanked, I wish he wrote more things in this vein.

His characters are wonderfully realized as ever. [Flagg is the wicked villain here, which should make King fans go "uh oh."]

Once upon a time, in the kingdom of Delain far away....

Seriously, why didn't this book started that way? I can hear someone in the background barfing at the cheesiness of it but this chick right here lives for that kind of beginning in fairytales. ESPECIALLY in a Stephen King's book.

The Eyes of The Dragon is all things fantasy. Something I have never read from The King of Horror. It's always a big fun to read an author stepping out of his usual comfort zone. And King nailed it!

This book may be purely set in a fantastical world but it does has King's usual grit, and lo and behold! The villain in the story is Flagg himself.

Part time Royal Advisor, Part time Dark Magician. He whispers into King Roland The Good's ears, making him do as he[Flagg] bids. In a way, Flagg has the upper hand in controlling the whole kingdom. He is practically the ruler. When Peter was born, First son to Queen Sasha and Roland, Flagg felt that his lifelong plans will be thwarted. He sought to destroy the perfect prissy boy and leave the throne ready for his weak-willed little brother, Thomas. The better to control Delain and lead the kingdom into years of bloodshed.

I fucking love this book. For so long, I've been searching up and down for a decent fairytale. I loaded myself with Young Adult fairytale retellings hoping it will sate my thirst but even those still left me empty. Meanwhile, this isn't decent. It's fucking great, more like.

I love how it's written. (Duh, It's King!) The writing didn't peeved me off the way it did to some people. In fact, I'm really comfortable with Stephen King writing in the narration of a Storyteller. It's like he's directly talking to the readers and it made me feel more connected.

I can find no flaws in this book.

Good writing? Check.

Solid characterization? Check.

Amazing, spot on world building? Check.

High dosage of tensions? Check.

Legit villain? Check.

Originality? Check.

CHECK. CHECK. CHECK .CHECK.

My nitpicky brain shut down and for once, I was actually reading words without a pause. I was reading in enjoyment. And that was so fucking great.

I didn't miss out on the fact that one of the characters here is named after King's own daughter, Naomi. It's so sweet that he wrote this book for his little girl. That explains a lot of things to me because in some cases, I felt that things were toned down slightly here!

I need more grit though and definitely more of Flagg. MORE.

5 stars.

Aunque la leí hace tiempo no es lo mejor de King pero me resultó entretenida, me la pasé bien y aunque no he leído La torre oscura, sé de sobra que hay referencias en este libro.

Mi opinión es que creo que es una buena historia, muy bonita y disfrutable para un público no tan adulto. Parece un cuento de hadas pero contado con los matices oscuros de King sin perder la magia de la literatura fantástica. Los personajes tienen su papel, sin embargo, los sentí muy sosos a excepción de Dennis, Sasha, (aparecen muy poco) Thomas y Flagg que son los mejores para mí, a pesar de que a este último lo vi muchas veces como una caricatura. Sentí que el villano estaba muy bien hecho pero que le faltó más; sé que no fue todo su potencial y lo limitó bastante que la historia fuera dirigida para niños. Eso se nota hasta sin gafas.

Peter, el príncipe heredero se me hizo un Gary stu de manual y si bien la historia me gustó, tiene unos deus ex machina que no se pasan por alto. También entiendo que es literatura infantil, pero alguien que ha leído bastante del género se da cuenta de los pequeños detalles que no concuerdan. Al final, lo único que espero es saber más acerca del encuentro entre Thomas y Flagg porque me dejó muy picado y fuentes confiables me han dicho que esto pasa en La torre oscura.

Although I read a good deal in the speculative genres in which King characteristically writes, he's never been a "go-to" author for me. (Originally, that was probably part of a broader pattern; I don't generally seek out the work of most other best-selling authors either, because I innately distrust the hype, and prefer to pick my own reading rather than letting other people in effect pick it for me.) But back in my days as a public librarian, I decided that since his work was so popular with the patrons, I should try to cultivate at least a bit of first-hand knowledge of it, just for purposes of readers advisory services. This novel was one a couple of his that I read at that time, recommended to me by a library colleague as works that I might be more apt to like than others more typical of his output. My wife Barb and I actually read it together, and both liked it moderately well. (As is sometimes the case, that puts my rating solidly in the middle of the spectrum in my friend circle, other ratings there ranging from five stars all the way down to one.)

This is a capably written, entertaining conventional fantasy, utilizing a low-tech, medieval-like world mostly resembling real-world Europe, in a realm governed by hereditary kingship, and drawing a strong conflict between good and evil. Evil here is incarnated in the malevolent person of the king's wizard, Flagg (a.k.a Randy Flagg the Dark Man, a villain who appears also in several other King works such as The Stand, and who promotes the cause of darkness across various dimensions of the author's fictional multiverse). The plot involves murder, framing the innocent, and intrigue surrounding the royal succession. It's not an especially outstanding or ground-breaking work of its type, IMO, but it's well done for what it is. If it has any particular strong or distinctive point, I'd say that would be its recognition that sometimes people can be manipulated or misled for bad purposes without themselves being bad people as such (something we all tend at times to forget, sometimes at the expense of fairness). Related to this, the characterizations are commendably realistic, and (except for Flagg) believably nuanced.

King apparently wrote this originally for his kids, when they were still in grade school. As a result, it doesn't have any particular bad language that I can recall, and not much in the way of sexual content, certainly none of it explicit. (There is an element of implied teenage sex at one point.) Being set in a fantasy world, it lacks the political references that King sometimes inserts into other works (to ensure that everyone has their ideological labels on perfectly straight, apparently), as well as the slurs against evangelicals that he frequently works in when he's using a real-world setting. It's also a much more normally-sized novel, compared to the ultra-thick behemoths that are more typical of his work. Nonetheless, I don't know that I'd characterize it particularly as a children's book; kids and YAs could certainly read it, but the tone, reading level and general vision are such that wouldn't necessarily fall short for adult tastes, either. (As a trigger warning, one of my friend's reviews mentions a scene of animal cruelty. though I don't actually remember that one myself --it's been nearly 30 years since I read the book.) If you're into traditional fantasy, this isn't a must-read, but I don't believe it would disappoint, either.

Read this for a Booktuber Picks My TBR Reading Vlog collab with Liene's Library: https://youtu.be/C-4VnEhxCOY

This is the very first Stephen King book I've read, I had never heard of it before, but I LOVED it! This is a fantasy novel which isn't what he's known for, but I found it to be a very readable, tongue-in-cheek take on a fairytale that deals with sibling rivalry and an evil magician trying to overthrow a kingdom. It was fun and engrossing and made me much more interested in trying other things from this author. Fun fact, this book was written the year I was born (1987) and his fans were mad at him for writing outside of horror. Their responses inspired the book Misery, which I find fascinating having seen the film adaptation.

I was told I might want to read this book to gain a slightly deeper insight into the Dark Tower series that I've started. Yes, it's entirely too easy to rope me into reading yet more books.

Make no mistake, technically this is not part of the DT series. Instead, it is an early standalone fantasy novel quite unlike other King books. In fact, it is a straight up fantasy, no twists and turns, everything pretty much on the nose and following the usual formula for such books.

We have a kingdom that isn't doing too badly. We have a king who, while not being the brightest candle on the cake, is actually quite nice (though often also awkward/clumsy). We have a queen who dies tragically while giving birth to her second son - and not by entirely natural causes. We have two little princes who end up on two very different sides of the age-old good-versus-evil equation. What we also get - and here Dark Tower (as well as a few other books) comes in - is a wizard! Randall Flagg (King fans will recognize the name), faithful adviser to the king. Or is he? *snorts* Of course not! He's a scheming little shit with a voice like Harry Potter when he speaks in Parseltongue.
The wizard is also several hundreds of years old and has come and gone in several guises, always with the intent to wreak havoc on this kingdom, sow discord and bring chaos and ruin. He thrives on mischief (though personally, I think that is too mild a word for what he does).
Thus, he manipulates the younger prince, frames the older (since he couldn't win that boy over) and after having the older prince imprisoned and the younger one crowned king, he then ruins the kingdom to his heart's content. Until the older prince is ready to fight back (yes, King is realistic enough even in this setting not to let everything happen within the span of a lunch).

So far so good. And let me be frank here: I often enjoy such stories, no matter how simple the pattern. However, a simplistic pattern plus King's very detailed description of EVERYTHING didn't go well together, I thought. I didn't skim and it wasn't torture, but I really did want them to finally get a move on and fight it out - somehow. I liked how realistic King's timeline for the events was and that he didn't tell the story in linear form but with flashbacks, from different POVs and later revelations, but the book could have been shorter without the story suffering.
What I LOVED in this book was the narrator. By which I don't mean the guy reading the audiobook (though he was good, too), but the narrator King used to tell this tale. Different and quirky and it worked for me.

By the way, there is only one dragon in this book - right at the beginning for about a page, then stuffed on the king's wall. *sobs* That was just cruel!

I really didn't know how to rate this book. Better than some fantasies I've read, not up to King's usual standard even in older books though, enjoyable on one side but also too long-winded until about the 60%-point. Still, I'm quite glad I read it.
Just how important it really is regarding the afore-mentioned insight into a certain Man in Black's thoughts and character remains to be seen.

3.5 stars (I'll decide later if rounding down or up is more appropriate)

Well, that was different.

Well written of course. It wasn't bad at all....Just not what I was expecting (or really wanted--see King's reaction to that view below--if we all would have loved this one--we would have missed out "miserably"). Perhaps I would have rated it higher if I knew what was coming....or what age group this is really written for? Or if I was extremely ill in bed slurping down chicken soup and my mom came in to read it to me (and blush at the mention of the King's "iron") Hmmmm. And...there is some to learn about the vile Flagg in this. He's very very old.

The most interesting thing about this book was Stephen King's response to it's so-so-reception. He found out most readers didn't want a "fantasy" book from him.

It seems he felt "chained" to his desk to write a certain type of book....namely, horror. So....he immediately wrote Misery, a book about an author being forced to write a type of book he didn't want to. And, ironically, it is one of his most horrific books.....

So, I guess his fans won.....but he certainly didn't lose out either. Misery was one of his best book to film adaptations yet. (And I really hope the writing of it helped release his frustration at the ungrateful fantasy readers!)


One final thing I heard....it's possible the Syfy channel is doing something with this book... could be interesting.... I'd probably give it a try.

I'm feeling a little let down by this story if I'm being totally honest. While I did enjoy it for the most part, I feel like it could have been SO much more! I was expecting an epic fantasy and while it was definitely fantasy, I don't think I'd call it epic.

I've grown used to a certain calibre of writing from King and while I did catch glimpses of it, I mostly felt like he was dumbing himself down so the reader could understand him. I know it is technically a YA fantasy and so naturally it can't be on the same level as his adult works. But I still felt cheated in a way, if that even makes any sense...

I know I'm making it sound like I hated this book but I swear I didn't! I really loved the storyline, it captured my attention from the start and held it throughout. I also really enjoyed the characters, especially Flagg! Getting to see more of his background was a real treat after meeting him in previous King works.

I think what it comes down to with this one is that I was expecting something along the lines of King's usual work and this is definitely very different than his usual. And if this had been written by anyone but him, I think I definitely would have given it five stars!

One of my favourite King books since teenagedom.

4⭐️s

In my journey through SK’s catalogue, I skipped this one and committed to coming back to it. I think it was because at the time, I had just drudgingly finished the Gunslinger and tried unsuccessfully to read The Talisman, and just couldn’t stomach the thought of any more fantasy tales. I’m glad I skipped it at the time because coming back to it with fresh eyes allowed me to appreciate this story for what it is… a fun, playful, classical, regal fantasy romp.

n  Why You Should Or Shouldn’t Read Itn

You should. It’s King. It’s a fun YA-type of jaunt through mid-world, and despite it lagging a bit in the middle, the tale is memorable and resonant.

n  One Lesson I Learnedn

Trust is delicate and fickle. So is family

n  One Thing That Will Stick With Me n

Napkins

Titulo: Los Ojos del Dragon
Autor: Stephen King
Motivo de lectura: #StephenKingChallenge
Lectura / Relectura: Relectura
Mi edicion: Tapa dura, 325 paginas, Circulo de lectores
Puntuacion: 3.5/5



Este es un King absolutamente distinto a lo que veniamos acostumbrados hasta ahora.
Stephen se sumerge en el genero de la fantasia como un acto de amor para con su hija Naomi, para quien va dedicado este libro (ella tenia 13 años entonces).
Teniendo en mente este hecho, y la edad de su hija, es entendible que este libro este muy cercano a un middle grade/YA.

En general la historia entretiene, pero en mi caso no me gusta la fantasia, asi como tampoco las lecturas middle grade o YA (por un tema obvio que hace rato que no soy target de esta clase de libros). Igualmente recalcar que un adolescente sin dudas disfrutaria de la historia.

Es grato ver las conexiones entre sus obras, asi que aca nuestro Ranfdall Flagg esta presente..



..un personaje recurrente en el multiverso de King, esta vez presentado como un mago envenenador de mentes.
Me gusto mucho el guiño para Lovecraft usando el nombre Alhazred.

La trama es muy predecible, y el final parece desaparecer en una neblina, como si perdiera fuerza.
Es lo mejor de King? No! Es lo peor de King? No! Es una obra con un nivel intermedio, que sinceramente pienso que esta dirigida hacia un publico infantil/adolescente.

Hands down, this is my FAVORITE Stephen King book.
I'm not saying this is his best piece of work, but (personal preferences and all) this is just what I happen to enjoy the most. It's one of those books that I find myself re-reading every few years.
So.
Erica has a stellar review that explains why this book should be revered above all other King books.
The gist is is actually a fairly simple fantasyish tale.

The Fearsome Dragon...



The Wise and Beautiful Queen...



The Evil Sorcerer...



The Decent but Stupid King...



The overlooked, sad, spiteful, kinda stupid, (Baby-Brother) Prince...



Prince...
n  actual size may varyn



Oops! Wait.
The Good and Decent Hero Prince...


The thing that I love about this story is that it has that classic good over evil vibe to it. There are twists, but nothing mind-blowing. It reminds me of the kind of fairytale/fantasy stuff my mom would read to me before bedtime.
Well.
Ok. She never read me anything with adult content in it, but that's not what I'm talking about.
This is just...
Good wins and Evil takes a beat-down.
Sometimes it's nice to pretend that you're a kid, and you still believe that you know?
Be noble, be kind, do the right thing...and everything will work out.
Remember that?
sigh
So, that's why I love this one.
The End.

Re-read 2020 & 2021
I just finished listening to the audiobook and it was amazing. Bronson Pinchot did a fabulous job, and I can't recommend this one enough.

Bronson Pinchot - Narrator
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Edition: Unabridged
Awards:
Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement
Grand Master Award