Book Review: The Eyes Of The Dragon
By Alex Child
The Eyes Of The Dragon by Stephen King follows the royal family of Delain as they confront the insidious threat of Flagg, the court magician and advisor of the king. Rife with intrigue and teeming with subterfuge, The Eyes Of The Dragon whisks readers to a believable, yet delightfully treacherous world.
While most people won’t think of fantasy when they hear the name of Stephen King, I found his tone carried well into the genre. Even though the main characters wielded considerable power, they still felt working-class and relatable (as is typical of characters in King’s stories). The magical and otherworldly events did nothing to diminish the relatability of the characters or the validity of their emotions. The conflict flowed well, building up steadily but in unpredictable ways; it felt like a subplot ripped straight from Game Of Thrones. Danger managed to feel omnipresent without becoming overbearing, with the King’s dry wit routinely granting a respite from the chaotic world of Delain.
He bent over the goblet and inhaled deeply. There was no danger now; when the sand was mixed with a liquid, its fumes became harmless and undetectable. Dragon Sand made deadly vapors only when it touched a solid, such as stone.
Such as flesh.
While the story itself was well crafted, it’s apparent that King’s writing abilities have grown since this book. It may have been my inner editor popping up, I nitpicked at some pieces of word choice or sentence flow throughout the story. It did little to detract from the book’s overall enjoyability, but it was distracting in some cases.
Despite some minor flaws in writing structure, The Eyes Of The Dragon weaves together a compelling narrative that uniquely combines Stephen King’s realism with court intrigue and dark fantasy. By no means the benchmark for either genre; this story is still worth reading.
Writing has a unique power, and Alex Child is just smart enough to know that he's nowhere near smart enough to accurately describe it. Between working half as hard as he should and twice as hard as required at his day job, he continues pursuing that indescribable emotional swell from relating to a literary character and sharing their experiences. He hopes his story brings you even just a portion of that rush.