The Eyes of the Dragon
Stephen King, 1984
★ 3.94 from 150.7k ratings on Goodreads
Stephen King's fairy tale: a kingdom, a scheming magician, and a narrator who tells it like a bedtime story with teeth. A warm storyteller's voice guides you through a kingdom of wonder and dread, with wit and tenderness and a slow, old-fashioned pace.
Feels like wonder, dread and tenderness. About faith, family and morality.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy fairy tales with a scheming villain, clear good versus evil, and a narrator who sounds like he's telling a bedtime story. Some readers find the narrator intrusive and the pacing slow, and a few wanted more action or horror.
Why read it
It offers a clear-eyed fairy tale about growing up and power, told with wit and dread; read it for the pleasure of a story that knows both wonder and menace.
A page from the book
Growing up isn't a decision you make; it's a dust that settles.
She was a grown up now, and she discovered that being a grown up was not quite what she had suspected it would be when she was a child. She had thought then that she would make a conscious decision one day to simply put her toys and games and little make-believes away. Now she discovered that was not what happened at all. Instead, she discovered, interest simply faded. It became less and less and less, until a dust of years drew over the bright pleasures of childhood, and they were forgotten. What readers say
Readers often describe this as a charming, nostalgic fairy tale that is easy to escape into, with a memorable villain and satisfying good-versus-evil arc. Some found the narrator intrusive and the pacing slow, and a few wanted more action or horror.
Stephen King.King wrote it for his daughter Naomi, who didn't like horror, and first published it through his own Philtrum Press in 1984.
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Where to get it
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Questions readers ask
- Is The Eyes of the Dragon for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy fairy tales with a scheming villain, clear good versus evil, and a narrator who sounds like he's telling a bedtime story. Some readers find the narrator intrusive and the pacing slow, and a few wanted more action or horror.
- What is The Eyes of the Dragon like?
- A warm storyteller's voice guides you through a kingdom of wonder and dread, with wit and tenderness and a slow, old-fashioned pace. Feels like wonder, dread and tenderness. About faith, family and morality.
- What should I read after The Eyes of the Dragon?
- If you liked The Eyes of the Dragon, try The Silver Chair (C.S. Lewis), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J. K. Rowling) and The House in the Cerulean Sea (T.J. Klune).
A taste of the feed
What if the only water is guarded by what frightens you?
I daren’t come and drink,“ said Jill. Then you will die of thirst,” said the Lion. Oh dear!“ said Jill, coming another step nearer.”I suppose I must go and look for another stream then.“ There is no other stream,” said the Lion.
The Silver Chair · C.S. Lewis
The elegant non-answer of someone who knows exactly what he is doing.
Oh, I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts’ secrets, Igor. Only this morning, for instance, I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I had never seen before, containing a really rather magnificent collection of chamberpots. When I went back to investigate more closely, I discovered that the room had vanished. But I must keep an eye out for it. Possibly it is only accessible at five thirty in the morning. Or it may only appear at the quarter moon - or when the seeker has an exceptionally full bladder.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire · J. K. Rowling
The difference between the posters on the wall and the laughter behind the door.
He was about to leave through the front door when he paused at a bright burst of laughter coming from the kitchen. Against his better judgment, he tiptoed toward the sound. He passed by posters nailed to the walls, the same messages that hung in all the DICOMY-sanctioned orphanages he’d been to. They showed smiling children below such legends as WE’RE HAPPIEST WHEN WE LISTEN TO THOSE IN CHARGE and A QUIET CHILD IS A HEALTHY CHILD and WHO NEEDS MAGIC WHEN YOU HAVE YOUR IMAGINATION?
The House in the Cerulean Sea · T.J. Klune
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