By: Sam Defazio

Happy Holidays everyone! Everyone has different thought processes on what defines this time of year. To me, there is only one common theme to the holidays, and that’s being around friends or family. To some, this time of year represents a magical time of year. The snow falls, the wonderful lights placed outside most homes on your street, the feeling in the air that pleasant times are ahead. The book I have today only shares two common threads of the holiday season; family and hope for better days.

Eyes Of the Dragon is a fantasy-like tale about a kingdom in disarray. The kingdom is ran by King Rolland and his advisor, the main antagonist, Flag. The story centers around Flag murdering the King, blaming the perfect son Peter for the murder. Peter is locked up in the highest room in the tall tower called The Needle Point for a murder he did not commit. His brother Thomas, a brother of much jealousy and dim wit, becomes the King, who is controlled by Flag, to become his wrecking ball of havoc. Will Peter’s name be cleared or will he be locked up for life watching his kingdom fall?

If anyone is expecting a complicated read from a fantasy novel written by Stephen King, you might be left a little puzzled. This book comes across as more for a young adult audience than his normal adult aim. The book takes almost 100 or more pages explaining Peter’s time in the Needle in detail, along with other things. With this being for a young adult audience, it makes more sense to explain everything the way he does. Stephen King takes more of a J.R.R. Tolkien approach in his 1987 novel by really diving into being the narrator of a timeless story to be told for centuries. I don’t personally believe he succeeds completely, due to that style of writing feeling out of left field with how he decides to end each chapter. Readers will either be entangled into the story too much to care about or they will be thrown off by this type of storytelling.

I personally am on the half and half section here. I love the fact that Stephen can tell really any kind of story he wants to and still makes the reader care about what’s going on. My biggest love in this story is Flag as our villain. Everything from his dungeon lab, to his quarters, to his overall vibe of character. He is bad to the bone. No way around that. He carries a lot of this story for me and I’m glad he does. Sometimes, a story’s conflict is only as good as its villain. If you are looking to pick up a book for your young ones, don’t be thrown off by Stephen King’s name on it. It is very much for anyone to be able to enjoy. Any book that can make me leave reality even a little is worth it in my head. (3/5)

Image Sources: Amazon.com