Photo: Beth drooling over Stu's copy of Eyes of the Dragon limited http://www.flickr.com/photos/diannewood/212653413/sizes/l/in/photostream/ .
Just finishing up Eyes of the Dragon . . . as I wait patiently for The Stand cd's to arrive. So patiently. . . so patiently . . . MAN THE MAIL IS SLOW!
. As I've already noted, the narration is awesomely energetic. King often pauses to speak directly to the reader, something I really like.
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Plot:
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The Stephen King Universe says that this novel could easily be seen as "a segment of the Dark Tower series, and just as important, if not more so, than such other linked works as The Stand, Insomnia, and Salem's Lot." p.63
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The story is straight forward and not complicated by a lot of sub-plots. King stays focused on his primary story an avoids the temptation to ramble. He does preach every now and then, sharing with us that Thomas isn't a "bad boy" exactly. In fact, he spends quite a while developing Thomas' character. And the bluntness from King is appreciated.
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The novel really speeds up toward the end. In fact, it moves like an LA freeway. . . from slow crawl to 85 mph. This is really aided by the audio recording, which is played "straight" throughout, until the end. Flagg seethes throughout, but the reader all out screams in echoing terror. Bronson Pinchot did a great job. I'm thrilled Viking put several of King's older work to audio.
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Once Peter is locked up in the Needle, the novel focuses almost completely on Thomas' reign as King and Peter's plan to escape. Of course, the question is: how do you get out of a tower with only a window? well, I'm not going to tell you, but the answer is brilliant.
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Characters:
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The dedication reads, "This story is for my great friend BEN STRAUB, and for my daughter, NAOMI KING." So it is no surprise that we discover Ben and Naomi are Peter's loyal subjects who are faithful to the end.
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Flagg: He is the court magician who used Dragon Sand to kill King Roland. He framed Peter for the murder. He used to be Delain's chief executioner. He is also known as Flagg the hooded and The Dark Man.
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At the end of The Stand you will remember that Flagg appears at a tribal village -- apparently having somehow escaped nuclear annihilation. Delain fairs better than our world (via the Stand), but Flagg is a slippery dude to get your hands on. Is this the same Flagg we meet in The Stand -- or just a favorite bad guy name? I think it's the same dude, Satan himself. In fact, he's flat out called a demon in Eyes of the Dragon.
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The Stephen King Universe notes, "The gunslinger recalls that he saw the creature called Flagg near the end of the chaos that destroyed the realm of his birth, and that Dennis and Thomas were in pursuit of him. This is the first indication that the Dark Tower saga and Eyes are closely linked." p.61
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Flagg also makes appearances in:
The Stand, (both editions. But more so in the revised.)
The Dark Tower series
Hearts in Atlantis. By the way, in Hearts in Atlantis, the villian is Raymond Fiegler (RF -- Randall Flagg.)
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Delane and The Dark Tower:
The Kingdom of Delane is not part of our world. Does it stand alone in the S.K. unvierse? It does not! It is actually part of the Gunslingers world. (One connected to ours in many ways, most literally by a series of doors on the beach!)
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In volume 7 of The Dark Tower, King reveals that Delane is Flagg's hometown. More is revealed in The Little Sisters of Eluria. In that short Dark Tower novella, Roland encounters a boy from Delane which is a kingdom Roland is aware of and expects to pass through on his quest. This gives unmistakable evidence that Delane is part of Roland's world.
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George Beahm writes in his book The Stephen King Companion, "In the Wastelands King makes those connections explicit. While in the city of Lud, Roland and Jake hear the story of a dark magician who had passed through long before, pursued by two young men named Thomas and Dennis. The closing pages of the eyes of the dragon show a repentant Thomas relinquishing the throne in favor of the rightful king, thus restoring true order. With his friend Dennis he starts on a quest to find Flagg in his world or others -- and take vengeance on the magician; the narrator assures readers in the final paragraphs that 'Peter ruled long and well, and that Thomas and Dennis had many strange adventures, and that they did see Flagg again, and confronted him." p.247
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Thomas: Peter's little brother. King's real skill as a writer pops up when dealing with Thomas. He is a person who does unlovely things, though he personally is not a bad character. He's a weak person. Tormented because he lives with the pain of the past. He grew up with a father who showered favor on his brother and did not appear to love him deeply.
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Thomas is not a natural leader, so he allows others to push him around -- most notably, Flagg. He imposes high taxes on the people, causing discontented people to leave and threatening open civil war. This reminds me of Rehoboam -- Solomon's son who raised taxes and saw the kingdom divide. (1 Kings 12)
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Peter: The true King of Delain. He has a King's heart. Peter is a natural leader, comfortable in the role of making difficult decisions. He is smart, patient and upbeat. His one sign of immaturity is weeping at the wrong moment (in one scene). Peter is like his mother Sasha.
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Roland: Called "Roland the good", his is the King of Delain during a period of relative prosperity. Not a great leader, Roland is constantly pulled between his two advisers. We discover, by looking through the eyes of the dragon, that he is much more like Thomas than Peter.
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Important Stuff:
- Dragon Sand
- Two headed parrot
- The eyes of the dragon
- Royal Napkins
- Dollhouse
- Miniature Sewing machine
Like a children's book:
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One Amazon reviewer wrote: "plot line is really weak, more like a children's book." Genius. King wrote the book because he said his pre-teen daughter Naomi had read many books -- none of them his!
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Illustrations
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The book is nicely illustrated with pencil drawings by David Palladini.
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Connection to Lovecraft:
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The Stephen King Universe gives us the following note: "In Eyes of the Dragon, Flagg reads from a book of darkest magic, bound in human skin, which was written by a madman named Alhazred on the Plain of Leng. this is an obvious nod to horror grandmaster H.P. Lovecraft, whose own book of darkest magic, the Nercronomicon, was also supposedly written by a madman named Alhazred." p.60
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Self Published:
The Stephen King Companion (original, not revised) had an interesting note on the publication of this book. King originally self published the book. This was because his publishing schedule was full through 1988 and a trade edition was not a viable option. It also allowed him to give it away as a Christmas gift that year (instead of The Plant).
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Beahm notes, "Because the Eyes of the Dragon was published by King's own Philtrum Press, it, more than any other King book, reflects the author in every stage of publication." p.210
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Of course, the book would sell out immediately, so how to distribute the book in a fair manner was an issue. A lottery was held and a thousand names were drawn. The cost: $127. ($120 for the book, $7 for the shipping.) If you're a collector, finding a copy of this would be a dream come true.
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