The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Advantages: Simple language, no real horror, some cross-over characters
Disadvantages: Simple langauage, no real horror

...good king, he just does the best he can. He's brought two sons into the world, (with the not inconsiderable help of Sasha, who could very have been described as a good queen), and the land of Delain is peaceful and prosperous. When King Roland dies of a mysterious poison, his eldest son Peter finds himself accused of regicide and only he and The Dragon's Eyes know who the true murderer is….. I have to say that I've spent the last few months wading ...
...comparisons between those books and The Eyes of the Dragon than there really were. Even reading the back of the book, I wondered is that "The Roland", however I soon discovered that this could not be the case, King Roland does not share any of those characteristics, he is a nice enough character who is fairly well drawn (as are many of the others), there is a true multi-dimensionality about him. He tries to do his best, but in the end he has the ... Read review

Advantages: enjoyable,easily read,perfect intro to genre
Disadvantages: hard to put down

...less well known book is the ideal introduction. I first read it as a 16 year old in 1987 having bought it in an airport shop (because the front cover captured my imagination) and finished reading it mid air wishing I had bought a few more King books. It is an easily read story with well written characters that brings out every kind of emotion from the reader, it has good over evil; loyalty and friendship that crosses the class system; internal struggles ...
...know that the wonderfully evil Flagg will be outdone but it doesn't stop you worrying about Peter, Ben and even Thomas! I re read this book recently half expecting to find it a bit too easy to read and was pleasantly suprised to find that it is every bit as compelling now as it was as a teenager. I would definately recommend it to yourself or for you to buy for a new starter to fantasy as it is an excellent way in and before you know it your shelves ... Read review

Advantages: Enjoyable, straightforward
Disadvantages: Too simple???

...perhaps, but for Stephen King. The American author has made millions from a series of horror novels, and has, to his resigned disappointment, become somewhat typecast. People only see him as a horror writer, and that is doing the man a disservice. Eyes of the Dragon is a book that is initially more like a fairy story than a serious novel. This impression remains throughout, although events do take a supernatural turn or two, it seems quite normal ...
...I'm trying not to give the plot away to anyone yet to read it, but the story concerns a King, Prince, the Prince's brother, and a wicked magician. It is a straightforward story, with little or no external plotlines. It is free of graphic violence, and though there are some violent acts, it is all fairly acceptable stuff. There is no sex, no foul language, another thing which makes the book markedly different from the stereotype. If you've not yet ... Read review

Advantages: Related to Dark Tower, good story
Disadvantages: Basic story line not that orginal maybe!

Probably the 'purest' fantasy book written by King. Totally different from other books he has written. Excellent story, and another appearance from 'Flagg' will make his constant readers interested! The story takes place in a world during medieval times. It centers on the King's death. Flagg insures that the older, and more honest son, is imprisoned for his murder. Flagg then corrupts the younger son and new king. The inevitable, but rather ingenious, ... Read review

Advantages: extremely enjoyable fantasy
Disadvantages: theres nothing wrong with it

...wizard who plots to kill the king and make his other son king who he can take control ofg and rule the kingdom. It is unputdownable and extremly entertaining and a bit dark and creepy at times. It is a less well known piece of his work but dont underestimate it because i loved it. A great bit of fantasy witha great plot and great characters. I dont want to go into too much detail as you must read it for yourself and see. The son who is supposewd ... Read review

Advantages: Good writing style, very descriptive and involving
Disadvantages: When's it going to end?

...I've loved fantasy novels since I read The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King, in the early eighties. From that one book I have now collected nearly two hundred fantasy novels of which I rate Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series one of the best, easily bettering Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The Wheel of Time consists of nine novels at present (the rumour is that it will finish at thirteen). Book 1 - The Eye of the World - 1990 Book 2 - The Great Hunt - 1990 Book 3 - The Dragon Reborn - 1991 Book 4 - The Shadow Rising - 1992 Book 5 - The Fires of Heaven - 1993 Book 6 - Lord of Chaos - 1994 Book 7 - A Crown of Swords - 1996 Book 8 - The Path of Daggers - 1998 Book 9 - Winter's Heart - 2000 The books are originally published in the US by Tor books and by Orbit in the UK. The series starts in a little place called the Two... Read review

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Advantages: A classic of the genre, easy to read, good characters
Disadvantages: None that I can think of

...Of all the fantasy books that I have ever read, Magician is probably the only one that I read every year. It is such a great story (and I read so many books) that i re-read it just to refresh my memory and so that I can escape this often mundane world of ours. I first started reading fantasy novels after reading Stephen King's 'Eyes of the Dragon' which he wrote for his children. (I was a big horror fan in my teens.) Then I read the first three Dragonlance novels and it was while reading these that a friend noticed and loaned me Magician by Raymond E. Feist. Such is Feist's narrative and style that I didn't put the book down for three days (I was on holiday), except to eat etc. It is an epic tale, mainly about an orphaned boy, Pug, taken in by his home castle's cook. The cook has a son, called Tomas, of the same age and the first... Read review

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Advantages: Amazingly well written, Great character build up, ingenious storyline
Disadvantages: very long story! Shop around as buying each book could be costly

...about the Dark Tower; the plot is too big, too grand, to sum it up in a few words. A lot of Kings earlier works are starting blocks for The Dark Tower, with some characters appearing in earlier works (such as Insomnia, The Eyes of the Dragon and The Stand) which goes to show how long this masterpeice has been on Stephen Kings mind! This also makes you feel a certain kind of closeness to this series, as if this is the authour had been planning all along. As is Kings way, it is a very magical feeling! Even if you haven't read Stephen King before I urge you to get down to the local bookstore or library. This is one peice of work I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on having the joy to read. (After shopping around I have found that one of the cheapest sites to purchase all of the collection is Amazon, where you are able to buy them all... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful