Finished Eyes of the Dragon *spoilers*

[dharmageek]

Alright I just put down The Eyes of the Dragon... it's probably blasphemous to say this in this forum but I'll go ahead and say I didn't like it

I guess reading this after a beast as was The Stand, my hopes with this book were too high. I don't know, I wasn't expecting it to be a Lord of the Rings or something but I never really got into it. There was no quest, no exploration, no monsters besides the dragon and maybe the two-headed parrot. I didn't have enough fantastic elements for me =/

I didn't really connect with the characters either. And after reading the sypnosis I thought Peter would be out of the Needle and in some sort of adventure by the hundredth page but it dragged along the whole book, and everything took place in the castle and it's surrounding area

And *spoiler for The Stand* it didn't really seem the same Flagg as The Stand's. Except at the ending of course, but during the rest of the story he just didn't seem to be the same guy to me. Do you guys think Flagg was in Delain after or before coming to The Stand's post-apocaliptic US? Love that he dissapeared the same way when almost dead though

Also please don't spoil me on The Dark Tower, I've seen a few careless mentions in this Eyes of the Dragon part of the forum about Flagg's parts in The Dark Tower that I haven't read yet =/

It was a neat story and a light read, I just... expected more of a King story

[Spideyman]

This book was written for his daughter, Naomi. I Don't believe it was meant to be his typical style of horror, but rather a classical fantasy.
This comes from "inspiration" found in The Library of SK.com

Eyes of the Dragon, The

Inspiration:

Although I had written thirteen novels by the time my daughter had attained an equal number of years, she hadn't read any of them. She's made it clear that she loves me, but has very little interest in my vampires, ghoulies, and slushy crawling things.

I sat down one night in our western Maine house to start this story, then called The Napkins. Eventually the tale was told, and Naomi took hold of the finished manuscript with a marked lack of enthusiasm. That look gradually changed to one of rapt interest as the story kidnapped her. It was good to have her come to me later and give me a hug and tell me the only thing wrong with it was that she didn't want it to end.

[GNTLGNT]

DG:
As Spidey indicated, it was meant for his daughter(and children world-wide)...I've always viewed it as a good piece to introduce King to the younger set, much like "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon"...and I must admit-it appealed very much to that raucous ornery inner child of mine...but we aren't all going to like the same things, if we did-we'd need to change the name of our site to "The Adoration Board"...keep on lettin' us know what ya think...

[Pucker]

I wouldn't be too concerned about "blaspheming" on the board, dharma. It's okay not to like a particular story -- or, perhaps, to like it less than some others. We've all got our favorites and those we set aside. Frankly, I'm dubious of anyone who unilaterally claims that everything Mr. King has written is a masterpiece and won't hear a dissenting opinion on the subject (you know who you are ). Myself, I liked Eyes of the Dragon very much particularly because it was a departure from what I had read to that point. In the ensuing years, Mr. King has woven a fairly intricate (some might say "convoluted") web of overlapping themes and related story ines, given us recurring characters and created an entire universe filled with many wonders, passing and strange . . . but I'm a firm believer that sometimes a story should just be a story -- and to me, that's what Eyes of the Dragon is -- something to keep you up late by the fire, wondering what's going to happen next.

[GNTLGNT]

KC, we are kindred spirits on that...

[GLewman]

I just started Black House for the 4th..5th time. It has been several years since I've read it and am surprised at all the DT references. Crimson King etc... in the first 100 pages. Nice to get re-aquainted with Jacky boy and Henry Leyden again I loved Eyes of the Dragon. I may have to read it again soon too.

[dharmageek]

Yes I read after writing all that that it was a story he wrote for his daughter but still it didn't really do it for me. I guess it's good I didn't waste a lot of money to get it on hardcover as I was planning to
Thanks, I didn't really think you were a bunch of King zealots but still, one can't help to be a little hesitant writing that you really disliked one of King's books in his official message board...

Oh a small nitpick that really bugged me: Peter cuts his wrist the night before the escape to write Dennis the letter in blood... and the next night he goes down the rope with his wrist cut and presumably still hurting?

[guardianofthebeam]

This book was written for his daughter, Naomi. I Don't believe it was meant to be his typical style of horror, but rather a classical fantasy.
This comes from "inspiration" found in The Library of SK.com

Eyes of the Dragon, The

Inspiration:

Although I had written thirteen novels by the time my daughter had attained an equal number of years, she hadn't read any of them. She's made it clear that she loves me, but has very little interest in my vampires, ghoulies, and slushy crawling things.

I sat down one night in our western Maine house to start this story, then called The Napkins. Eventually the tale was told, and Naomi took hold of the finished manuscript with a marked lack of enthusiasm. That look gradually changed to one of rapt interest as the story kidnapped her. It was good to have her come to me later and give me a hug and tell me the only thing wrong with it was that she didn't want it to end.

Thanks Spidey I didn't know that and it's wonderful. And I love the original title-the story (within the story) of the napkins is a lovely fairytale in itself.

I recently finished the book and adored it-but it struck me from the outset that it was a different sort of SK story. Although it has deep rooted links to The DT series and The Stand, the style is gentler (classical sounds apt to me) and at times I had to remind myself I was reading Stephen King at all.

But not in a bad way. Thinking of it as a bed time story to a daughter works for me.

[~Ally~]

Oh a small nitpick that really bugged me: Peter cuts his wrist the night before the escape to write Dennis the letter in blood... and the next night he goes down the rope with his wrist cut and presumably still hurting?

Yet if you look at it as a matter of life or death, then I'm pretty sure he would descend the rope and deal with the pain. I know I would if it gave me a chance of survival. It's amazing what kind of pain the body can withstand in an emergency, especially when the adrenalin kicks in and takes over.

I enjoyed this story.

[blunthead]

I'd recently finished DT when, for some reason, I decided to read Eyes. It made me happy to hear Calla language again. I'd been missing it! Part of my enjoyment now, is in discovering direct connections, as I move from book to book. (Another case in point: I'd just finished UTD and decided to finally read Carrie, which I was going to read after DT but didn't, and it seemed to pick up the UTD theme of cruel children tormenting an innocent person ).