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carriehaley89's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Murder
frankiejo's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I had mixed feeling throughout this novel, but my end thoughts were mostly positive. It was difficult to get through at times, but I feel it was worth it.
Unlike my previous two reviews, my main gripe is not that it should have been longer. It was the right length, but I felt its time could have been better spent. King does an odd thing here. The narrator (whose voice and style I really enjoyed, for the most part) would describe in brief what was about to happen, and then spend a dozen chapters describing it in detail. I constantly felt like I was playing catch-up, and lost some emotional investment in these moments because I already knew what was going to happen. I would have preferred it if those summaries of what was about to happen were axed, and the time they took up in the narration (quite substantial, all things considered) to be devoted to other, more important things. Naomi, maybe. I did like her character a lot, but she just kind of...appeared? I would have liked to at least have a brief appearance from her earlier on before she abruptly becomes a major character. I'm sure the real Naomi loved to have a character named after her though, especially one of the heroes, but the feeling of "this character was included for his daughter" was so strong that it took me out of the otherwise immersive story. I would have preferred for her to be, again, introduced earlier, and to have more development.
Speaking of characters, my other gripe (that isn't nitpicky) is with Flagg. Now, admittedly, I haven't read The Stand nor any of the books in The Dark Tower, I understand he's in both and perhaps I am missing something about him in having not read them. With that said, this is a stand-alone novel, and should be able to stand on its own merits. Which it mostly does! My issue with Flagg is that he felt excessively and cartoonishly evil. He wasn't scary at all and I laughed out loud at several lines of his that I'm certain were meant to be dramatic. This is not a horror novel, I understand that and did not go in expecting that, but Flagg is supposed to be scary here. And he wasn't. Very much "I'll get you and your little dog too!" vibes, if that makes any sense. There's little to no indication that Flagg has some glamour (a la It) that makes others take his obvious evilness in stride. I do not believe for one second that such a blatantly evil man would be allowed to rise to the rank he did, let alone countless times over thousands of years. I would have preferred to see him played as either having that glamour (a la It) or to be faux pleasant. Either, I felt, would have made him a more effective villain. This issues were especially glaring in contrast to Thomas, which brings me to the second half of my review: the things I liked.
THOMAS. My god, I loved Thomas' character. This is how he is introduced:
Unlike my previous two reviews, my main gripe is not that it should have been longer. It was the right length, but I felt its time could have been better spent. King does an odd thing here. The narrator (whose voice and style I really enjoyed, for the most part) would describe in brief what was about to happen, and then spend a dozen chapters describing it in detail. I constantly felt like I was playing catch-up, and lost some emotional investment in these moments because I already knew what was going to happen. I would have preferred it if those summaries of what was about to happen were axed, and the time they took up in the narration (quite substantial, all things considered) to be devoted to other, more important things. Naomi, maybe. I did like her character a lot, but she just kind of...appeared? I would have liked to at least have a brief appearance from her earlier on before she abruptly becomes a major character. I'm sure the real Naomi loved to have a character named after her though, especially one of the heroes, but the feeling of "this character was included for his daughter" was so strong that it took me out of the otherwise immersive story. I would have preferred for her to be, again, introduced earlier, and to have more development.
Speaking of characters, my other gripe (that isn't nitpicky) is with Flagg. Now, admittedly, I haven't read The Stand nor any of the books in The Dark Tower, I understand he's in both and perhaps I am missing something about him in having not read them. With that said, this is a stand-alone novel, and should be able to stand on its own merits. Which it mostly does! My issue with Flagg is that he felt excessively and cartoonishly evil. He wasn't scary at all and I laughed out loud at several lines of his that I'm certain were meant to be dramatic. This is not a horror novel, I understand that and did not go in expecting that, but Flagg is supposed to be scary here. And he wasn't. Very much "I'll get you and your little dog too!" vibes, if that makes any sense. There's little to no indication that Flagg has some glamour (a la It) that makes others take his obvious evilness in stride. I do not believe for one second that such a blatantly evil man would be allowed to rise to the rank he did, let alone countless times over thousands of years. I would have preferred to see him played as either having that glamour (a la It) or to be faux pleasant. Either, I felt, would have made him a more effective villain. This issues were especially glaring in contrast to Thomas, which brings me to the second half of my review: the things I liked.
THOMAS. My god, I loved Thomas' character. This is how he is introduced:
Thomas was not exactly a good boy, but you must not think that made him a bad boy. He was sometimes a sad boy, often a confused boy (he took after his father in another way, as well—hard thinking made his nose stuffy and his head feel like boulders were rolling around inside), and often a jealous boy, but he wasn't a bad boy.
This, I feel, is an apt description. King does an excellent job of portraying him in the exact right way to shift the reader's opinion from "fuck this kid" to "oh my god, does this world have therapists?" I won't go into too much detail, to avoid spoilers, but man I was not expecting to feel this sympathetic towards a character who (minor spoilers. like very minor spoilers. first sixty pages)
Like I said before, I really enjoyed the narrator. The way the story was told, I felt like somebody's grandfather was reading me to sleep. Not my grandfather, he's racist and doesn't think Covid is real, just the archetype of a grandfather. It reminded me a lot of The Princess Bride, except without the satire. It was like The Princess Bride if everything was played straight.
I enjoyed the middle and end of this book far more than the beginning. As the story goes on, the pacing issues get less and less obtrusive, and the narrator eventually stops with their weird habit of telling you in fifty words what will happen in the next fifty pages. I know I wrote more about the negative than I did the positive, but that's simply because a lot of what I enjoyed involves spoilers or is, like the narrator's voice, simpler to describe than the more complex negative issues.
All in all, what I'm saying is that it's a good book despite its flaws. Is it King's finest? No. Is it a damn good read once you get into it? Hell yeah.
Cheers,
Frankie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Murder, Alcohol, Animal death, Confinement, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse, Violence, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Grief, Ableism, and Police brutality
ggcd1981's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The eyes of the dragon é a minha Terceira obra de Stephen King. Minha jornada de leitura de King está sendo guiada pelos livros relacionados a série The dark tower do mesmo autor. Pesquisei a ordem de leitura online e a tenho seguido. Por essa razão esse livro tão controverso do autor (dizem que a recepção de The eyes of the dragon pelos fãs foi o que o inspirou a escrever Misery) foi escolhida como minha terceira incursão no universo de King.
Mas o que penso da obra? Complicado. É difícil escrever uma review para esta, pois há algo que me impede de dar uma nota mais alta a história, mas eu mesma não sei exatamente o que. Assim vou tentar explicar da melhor maneira possível. Dividindo a obra em estilo e história eu posso dizer que tanto gostei do estilo quanto da história. Mas, estranhamente, sinto que o estilo não combina com a história. Essa sensação gerou um certo estranhamento e desconforto com a obra que não sei realmente explicar, eu apenas não sentia empolgação para continuar, apesar de não encontrar defeito no livro. O estilo que King adotou em The eyes of the dragon é diferente do estilo das outras duas obras que li dele (Cycle of the werewolf e The stand). A escrita é bastante compreensível e habilidosa e pode-se dizer que é um estilo quase cômico. Mas apesar de ser excelente não combina com a narrativa, pois está é uma história séria e em certos momentos trágica. Então fica a sensação de tragédias sendo narradas de uma forma cômica. Acho que isso gerou um choque na minha mente de forma que mal compreendo porque não consigo dar uma nota mais alta. Sendo direta o estilo foi ótimo, e a história, apesar de não ser épica, foi muito boa. Contudo os dois juntos não harmonizaram no meu cérebro.
Tendo dito isso vou resumir alguns pontos positivos e negativos segundos os meus gostos pessoais. Pontos positivos: o estilo divertido de narrativa; uma história focada na natureza humana de traição, inveja e fraqueza apesar do contexto fantástico; os personagens em si que são bastante carismáticos a seu jeito com destaque para o Príncipe/Rei Peter, Ben seu melhor amigo e o fiel, amável e corajoso Denis, o meu favorito. Quero também elogiar o audiolivro que foi muito bem interpretado por Bronson Pinchot.
Os pontos negativos baseados no meu gosto pessoal são: como já apontado o contraste de tom entre o estilo e a história; o uso do velho e desagradável recurso de crueldade contra animais para mostrar o quanto um personagem é mal, ou de moralidade cinza; a relativa redenção do personagem Thomas que, a meu ver, fez atos horríveis o suficiente para merecer que alguém realmente lhe mostrasse condenação por suas ações (inclusive contra o pobre cachorro).
Em resumo, foi uma experiência de leitura que me deixou confusa, mas acredito que em geral foi positiva. Desta forma dou 3.5 estrelas.
Trigger Warning: Animal Cruelty, Animal Death, Blood, Rape, Death of parent, Death of Elder
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy
Minor: Bullying and Vomit
yodamordecai's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This high fantasy novel takes place in the kingdom of Delain, ruled by King Roland. The king is growing old and his advisor seeks to have complete control over the new king, one of Roland's sons. But his oldest son, Peter, is strong-willed, and cannot be controlled, so he hatches a plan to place his younger brother, Thomas, on the throne instead.
The book starts of slow. I was greeted by pages of exposition, most of which is not necessary for the plot of the rest of the book. The characters are introduced, but not developed in any way. When I got into the middle of the book, I found the pace was picked up and the characters were given a bit more depth. The climax is well written, but not very climactic, though I wouldn't say it was anti-climactic. It was a more plot driven story and the characters were mostly vessels to carry out the plot. I would recommend it if you want a well-written, interesting book, but not if you expect a story with great depth and character development.
The book starts of slow. I was greeted by pages of exposition, most of which is not necessary for the plot of the rest of the book. The characters are introduced, but not developed in any way. When I got into the middle of the book, I found the pace was picked up and the characters were given a bit more depth. The climax is well written, but not very climactic, though I wouldn't say it was anti-climactic. It was a more plot driven story and the characters were mostly vessels to carry out the plot. I would recommend it if you want a well-written, interesting book, but not if you expect a story with great depth and character development.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
canadabooks's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
catapocalypse's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was technically a reread, as I'd first read this way back as a teen, at a time when I read a lot of Stephen King. I had enjoyed this one quite a bit, and wanted to see how it held up. Unfortunately, I didn't care for it so much this time around.
I think this book is unusual among Stephen King's other early works, in that it is primarily a fantasy adventure with only a sliver of horror. It follows two princes: Peter is the eldest and a good boy, but he is framed for the murder of their father. Thomas is the younger and fairly troubled, and he struggles in the shadow of his older brother until this murder... when he then must struggle under the shadow of knowing the real cause of their father's death while still assuming the throne that is not rightfully his.
The story starts at a slow pace, but reads quickly as it progresses. There's a lot of fun stuff, including a dragon, an evil magician, an incredibly intricate dollhouse, and even dogsledding. But there are missteps as well. It started off on a bad foot, basically beginning with the 50-year-old king marrying a 17-year-old girl, including his having to explain to her how things were going to work on their wedding night. It felt gross and unnecessary. This is the main reason I would not consider this middle grade/children's as I've seen some shelves describe it... The tone of the storyteller narrator does treat it like a children's tale, though.
In the end, it's not a terrible book, but it's not a great book, either.
I think this book is unusual among Stephen King's other early works, in that it is primarily a fantasy adventure with only a sliver of horror. It follows two princes: Peter is the eldest and a good boy, but he is framed for the murder of their father. Thomas is the younger and fairly troubled, and he struggles in the shadow of his older brother until this murder... when he then must struggle under the shadow of knowing the real cause of their father's death while still assuming the throne that is not rightfully his.
The story starts at a slow pace, but reads quickly as it progresses. There's a lot of fun stuff, including a dragon, an evil magician, an incredibly intricate dollhouse, and even dogsledding. But there are missteps as well. It started off on a bad foot, basically beginning with the 50-year-old king marrying a 17-year-old girl, including his having to explain to her how things were going to work on their wedding night. It felt gross and unnecessary. This is the main reason I would not consider this middle grade/children's as I've seen some shelves describe it... The tone of the storyteller narrator does treat it like a children's tale, though.
In the end, it's not a terrible book, but it's not a great book, either.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Physical abuse, Blood, Homophobia, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
annapox's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was not well-executed; it's full of plot conveniences and holes. Nevertheless, it was mildly entertaining.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Police brutality, Murder, Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Blood, Pregnancy, Classism, Cursing, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Fatphobia
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