I finished a book!

From Joanna's bookcase:

I have been working on The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King for a while now. King is one of Jordan’s favorite authors and he thought I would enjoy it. After banging my head against The Casual Vacancy, I was willing to give anything a try.

The Eyes of the Dragon is described as an epic fantasy. It begins with the not so stellar King Roland and his two son’s. The favored eldest son and heir to the throne is Peter. Peter is everything you want in a future king: smart, disciplined, and beloved of all he meets. His young brother Thomas is far more like their father. As King points out, he is not a bad boy, but a bit dim. More importantly, Thomas is malleable. He longs for the love and attention his father gives to Peter and is easily misled by his longing and jealousy.

Naturally, this is not a simple story of sibling rivalry. The kingdom is thrown into turmoil when King Roland somewhat unexpectedly dies and Peter is imprisoned for the murder. The sinister Flagg, your classic evil King’s magician, is behind the crime and imprisonment. Flagg is quick to mold Thomas to his liking. Will all things get set to rights? Will the kingdom be saved from the chaos? I’ll let you read and find out.

I enjoyed the story. Some of the narration wasn’t thrilling for me and I could certainly have done without over a page of detailed descriptions of a guard picking his nose (I was eating lunch, so I just skipped ahead). I found some descriptions were lingered on a bit too long and became tedious. It may just be the narrator in this particular book that I did not care for. I’d probably have loved it if the book was condensed into a short story or novella, instead of a full length book.

I did like how King reminds the reader at several points that certain characters are not really bad people and others truly are. They become more sympathetic. Just like real people, most of his characters are the product of their upbringing and circumstance. King does a good job of laying the groundwork for understanding his characters in the present action of the story.

Despite not loving The Eyes of the Dragon, I would willingly give King another go. I suppose I don’t have a choice. Many years ago I promised Jordan (prior to entering the shackles of matrimony with him, actually) that I would read the Dark Tower Series in exchange for him reading one of my favorites (The Dresden File). He has fulfilled his end. One of these days I need to fulfill mine.

But… for the moment I’m shifting genre. Apparently, I am in a nonfiction mood.