Stephen King - Eyes of the Dragon - 8

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Kvetch
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Stephen King - Eyes of the Dragon - 8

Post by Kvetch »

Eyes of the Dragon : a story

This is the first King book I've read, and I did enjoy it. In essence, the story is a fairy tale with a down-to-earth narrator stopping it seeming too cliched - and it works quite well.

The plot is inherently an old one, being primarily a combination of the stories of Bluebeard and Goldilocks, with a few snippets of other tales thrown in for seasoning. On the other hand, the characters are nicely drawn if in the monochrome of the genre - from the pure and good prince, to the evil magician, to the faithful butler. This is quite well disguised by the setting itself, which is a little more down to earth than it's characters (it has taxed and droughts and civil unrest).
The real stylystic gem of the story if the narrative voice chosen - the whole story is told (along with editorial asides) by the omnipresent Storyteller, who manages to humanise the archetypical characters, and mythologise the prosaic kindgdom where the action is set, allowing him to slip seamlessly between the epic and the mundane - making the whole thing seem like it could really happen.


All in all, the story does absolutely nothing new, and isn't even outstandingly well written - but it is free of horrible flaws, and maintains it's conceits strongly. This is I think going to be my example of a book that does everything in the average - it has no visible flaws, but nothing really excels either. That said, the book had me hooked, and it wasn't time wasted reading it - indeed, I would recommend it to just about anyone.




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mccormack44
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Post by mccormack44 »

I enjoyed it also, but have never reread it. Hmm—I wonder where it is (was listed in the destroyed part of the database and hasn't been re-entered).

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Post by Aunflin »

This is the only SK book I've read from beginning to end. I enjoyed it--it was fun.

I've been able to read but never finish his numerous other novels------I don't understand why Stephen King is so popular...

I find it interesting that the only SK novel I liked and finished was "Eyes." Everything else just irritated me....
"A writer's chosen task is to write well and professionally. If you can't keep doing it, then you're no longer a professional, but a gifted amateur." L. E. Modessit, jr.
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Blair
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Post by Blair »

Didn't King write this as a children's book?
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Kvetch
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Post by Kvetch »

It is a fairy tale, but it is no more a children's story per se than LotR is - it is very accessible, but it doesn't over simplify either.
"I'm the family radical. The rest are terribly stuffy. Aside from Aunt - she's just odd."
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