King, Stephen
THE EYES OF THE DRAGON
Stephen King
Signet Books 1987
Pb 380 pages
ISBN#
0451-16658-2
Once upon a time there was a king who
killed a dragon. . . . Stephen King's THE EYES OF THE DRAGON is
written in fairy-tale style, and even has a few illustrations.
It's not gory or bizarre. It's a true "Once upon a time in the
kingdom of..." type of story where lives a king with sons, who
unfortunately also has an evil magician in court. This
magician, Flagg, is more ancient and powerful than anyone
knows. He keeps to the background so that the chaos he foments
will not splash back at him. He arranges the death of the queen
and no one ever finds out. But, when he plots to murder the
king . . . , ah, now we get to the story:
King Roland isn't the smartest guy around,
not even the best king the kingdom of Delain has ever had. But
his is a good king. The people's hopes are pinned on his eldest
son, Peter, however, for they know he will make a great king
when his day arrives. That's what worries Flagg. King Roland
needs the services of a powerful magician, Peter won't. Peter
has a younger brother, a little boy named Thomas who is so like
his father that Roland really doesn't care for the boy. So
Flagg decides to push fate into the shape of his choosing, a
future where Thomas will rule with Flagg always behind him
whispering in his ear.
Ah, but I get ahead of myself. This is
story about a dragon, is int not? No, it's a story about the
dragon's eyes. One day King Roland slew a great dragon and had
its head mounted on the wall of his den with his other hunting
trophies. Flagg managed to get it arranged so that the dragon's
head backed up to one of the castle's secret passageways. Flagg
could then sneak in and watch the king unobserved through the
glass eyes of the dragon. One day, while in one of his
mischievous moods, Flagg took Thomas into this secret room.
Flagg's goal was to win Thomas to his side. Though very evil,
Flagg was not omnipotent--he had no idea how this one gesture
would turn fate on its ear.
Much later, when the day finally came that
Flagg poisoned Roland, Thomas was secret witness to the deed.
But Thomas was so terrified that he immediately became ill and
subconsciously buried the horrific event where his fore-mind
wouldn't have to deal with it--remember, he is just a boy after
all. Peter gets framed for the regicide and sent to the top of
a tower (the "Needle") to live out his days as a prisoner. Now
all the people hate Peter and welcome Thomas as their new king
(if only for the reason that they want to get on with their
lives in peace and are tired of this upheaval).
Now: How do our princes get out of this
mess? Flagg is very ancient and very powerful. Well--I'm not
going to tell you. It's a good book and worth the read!
[Recommended for fans of court intrigue and magic; suitable for
most readers.]
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