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The Eyes of the Dragon
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...once, in a kingdom called Delain...
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The Eyes of the Dragon
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The Eyes of the Dragon seems to be, at first, a stunning departure for King: this is not a horror novel, but a fairy tale of Kings, and of Queens, and of magicians. On closer inspection, though, this tale fits in comfortably next to King's stories of shapeshifting killer clowns and telekinetic girls; one just needs to look a little harder to see it.
Originally, this story was written for an audience of one: King's daughter Naomi, who didn't much care for her father's scary stuff. King has stated that, while The Eyes of the Dragon started off as being Naomi's, it became his -- that is, he played fair with the story by giving himself fully to it. And it shows.
The book itself concerns a Kingdom called Delain, its King Roland, and his two sons, Peter and Thomas. Peter is a through-and-through good boy -- thoughtful, moral, and kind. Thomas, however, is more complicated: in anoher family, perhaps he would have been seen as ordianary, normal. Next to Peter, however, he pales in comparison, being neglected of the love Roland showers upon Peter. Thomas is a sad, weak, misunderstood boy (but who, as we are frequently told, is not really a bad boy.)
There is also a dark character here: the King's magician, Flagg. (Those who have read The Stand will recognise this character, and immediately fear him.) Flagg's intent is that of mayhem and mischeif, and as he watches Peter grow, he decides that the boy cannot inherit the throne when Roland passes on. In response, he concocts a devious plan to muder Roland, and have the blame placed on Peter, making Thomas the King of Delain. And making Flagg his Cheif Advisor.
Thus, Peter becomes jailed at the top of a towering prison known as The Needle -- the highest structure in Delain (throughout the story, King often uses exaggerated superlatives -- the tallest, the widest, and the phase "since time out of mind" appear frequently.) Delain begins to slowly crumble; the nobles are murdered or exiled, the people live in fear of the chopping-block, and King Thomas himself becomes a withdrawn, scared, and frightened man.
There is only one hope for the survival of Delain: Peter's ingenuity. He requests two things for his cell: his mother's dollhouse, with which he played frquently as a boy, and a royal cloth napkin at every meal. His mother had taught him (before she, too, died as a result of Flagg's doing) that a proper person must use his napkin at every meal, and he has never forgotten the lesson. It is with this firmly ingrained lesson that Peter's life, and the life of the Kingdom, hangs in the balance.
I will not go into the end of the story, or divulge one of the many secrets which make this story special. I will say that it is a swiftly paced, ingenious tale, packed with action and intrigue, with secrets and magic. More, the characters, though in a way stereotypical, are deeply felt; we cheer each of Peter's victories, pity poor Thomas and understand his pain, fear each breath Flagg takes, and read with swift anticipation the breathtaking final chapters.
The Eyes of the Dragon was written for a child, and, as such, reads much like a child's story. But -- but -- it is a child's story that does not pander, and that does not talk down. In addition, the book is one of a series of novels surrounding the world of King's Dark Tower series; the inclusion of Flagg here is an indicator, but the explicit mention of Thomas and his butler and friend Dennis in the third Dark Tower novel The Wastelands drives the point home. This is not a single volume of dragons and princes and enchanted worlds -- it is one of many. And the open end of this volume promises more to come: one can only hope that the next Dark Tower volume picks up where Eyes left off.
A magical, entertaining, and beautiful story, The Eyes of the Dragon is one you shouldn't miss.
Personal Observations
I love The Eyes of the Dragon. This is weird for me, because, with non-King authors, I prefer hard science fiction to fantasy. But this story (and it is a story, not a "novel"; the writer is not so much an author but a storyteller. It's a subtle difference, but it's that much more inviting.) is less a "fantasy" per se than a tale of mystery, suspense, and intrigue. True, the structure of royalty, the fact of a Magician, even the title lend itself to fantastic motifs and symbology. But consider this:
My reasoning is this. Far more often than not, King is an amazing storyteller. I'll read anything he writes at least once, be it horror, nonfiction (Danse Macabre), fantasy, crime (The Dark Half), science fiction (The Long Walk, The Running Man), mainstream (Roadwork, Dolores Claiborne), or even Gothic romance (Wizard & Glass). King once said it was the Voice more than anything, Stephen King's Writer Voice -- and he's right there.
In conclusion, The Eyes of the Dragon is an amazing acheivement, one of King's most overlooked masterpeices, and I've read the book four times (including one I read in a four-day rush recently.) Go read now!!!
In 1984, King published The Eyes of the Dragon through his own Philtrum Press, in lieu of the third installment of the now defunct The Plant. He chose the artist (Kenneth R. Linkhauser, or Kenny Ray Linkous, depending on which name he's using now), he supervised production, and well, he wrote it. Not until the later Six Stories has King ever been this involved with the production of one of his own books, and the finished product is one to see. Beautifully illustrated (putting the mass-market illustrations to shame!), paper the quality of fine linen (the napkin connection is appropriate), bound handsomely: this is one terrific book. I only hope to own one before too much longer goes by.
It was distributed through a complex "lottery" system (the later first-come-first-serve of Six Stories worked much better!) and only a few hundred were produced. It's quite expensive (in the $400 range) but worth it. Check out Bad Moon, Betts, or the Overlook at my links page!