View Full Version : Eyes of the Dragon - Let's Discuss! *SPOILERS*
BeDaN
10-01-2008, 01:57 PM
I just noticed that there is no "Lets Discuss - EotD" thread, I'm 3/4 through this book and I've had it less than a day. I am absolutely in love with this book right now and I can't wait to discuss it, I'm going through it so fast I almost forgot to put a library hold on the Talisman, so I would have been without something to read for a day or 2 (Can't even comprehend what that would be like)
Anyway wasn't sure if this was something anyone could do or if it had to be a mod. I don't like to step on toes.
jhanic
10-01-2008, 03:26 PM
You can go ahead and start a forum.
As for Eyes of the Dragon, I also really enjoyed this book. I first read it when the limited edition was published (yes, I read my copy of the limited) because at that time (1984), there were no plans to publish a trade edition. The trade edition came out in 1987.
The interplay between the brothers I found very interesting, as was Flagg's urging Thomas to betray his family. Flagg really was a bad guy!
John
Jackie
10-01-2008, 03:57 PM
Yes i loved this book too :excited:
jayson
10-01-2008, 04:04 PM
EotD is one of several King books that I've reread numerous times. I've always loved this book, mostly for the reasons John named in the spoiler-tagged part of his post.
I also like that it's a very quick and easy read. It makes for a nice change of pace from the longer epic King novels (which I also love).
BeDaN
10-01-2008, 04:24 PM
Could a mod maybe change the title to something a little more appropriate for the book? Seems I can't edit it.
yeah, why not just make this the EotD thread?
I just finished reading my second time through. Last year this cool Russian teacher named Mr. Barbarisch suggested it to me. (actually i think he may have threatened my health. just kidding. i think.). It. was. awesome!
Odetta
10-01-2008, 08:36 PM
done
BeDaN
10-01-2008, 09:14 PM
Thanks Odetta! :excited:
Letti
10-02-2008, 12:08 AM
I loved this book a lot. King is amazing. It's a book I would read out from my 4-year-old girl as well. And that's something.
BeDaN
10-02-2008, 08:00 PM
My big question is, it seems that the narrator hints to other stories in which some side stories are involved. I'm thinking along the lines of when the 2 leave at the end he says that in fact they do eventually catch up with Flagg and confront him, but there are more through the story. Are there some short stories somewhere that finish the tale? I really really want to know what happens. Grrrrrr
EotD was the second King story I ever read. It was astounding and so absorbing I stayed up all night reading it. I was 15 and read it because my brother told me I should. He was sooooo right.
I've often wished since learning of the end of Flagg's story that we had heard of the middle part where Thomas and Dennis caught up with him, but King decided to leave that open ended (like most fairy tales).
EotD is the book that truly hooked me. It spurred me on to want to see what else this author had to say, and I have never looked back. I have reread EotD probably half a dozen times easily, most likely more.
EotD is the book that truly hooked me. It spurred me on to want to see what else this author had to say, and I have never looked back. I have reread EotD probably half a dozen times easily, most likely more.
It's funny I was just finishing the first King book I ever read (Misery) and while leafing through the list of published books I noticed I've never (can you believe it), read EotD. I did a bit of Googling on the title and I had no idea how closely linked the characters are to TDT.
Now the tricky part. I've scoured all the second hand stores for a copy with no luck. I may have to bite the bullet and go to the big box Chapters. meanwhile I've reserved a copy through the local library and should have it within the week. I'm very much looking forward to the read.
I'll be joining some discussion on the matter I'm sure once I've finished the book though.
Check ya all later
Look on ebay, you should be able to get a decent hardcover on the cheap. It's worth owning so you can read it again at your leisure.
Well I've finished it and I have to say it's a real nice story.
I can't see me reading it again so I'm glad I borrowed it from the Library.
It sure doesn't compare to the literary style of his later works.
I too would like to read a story of how Thomas catches up with Flagg.
jayson
10-07-2008, 10:23 AM
I too would like to read a story of how Thomas catches up with Flagg.
Yeah, so would the rest of us. I've been waiting years for King to deliver on that one.
3 DOORS DOWN
10-07-2008, 11:32 AM
I'm sure i read eotd when it first came out in the uk in 1988.
After looking at some of the posts here i gave it a reread,you know what i
could not recall any of the story but i am still sure i read it back in 1988.
Anyway it was a great story,i wish i could forget the DT books so i could
read them again for the first time.If you have not read eotd give it a go.
alinda
10-07-2008, 12:49 PM
*Ok, takes book down from the shelf, starts a reread.* :D
Letti
10-07-2008, 11:08 PM
What did you feel about Thomas? Could you be really angry with him?
Somehow I couldn't. I liked his character so much. He was so weak and so human-like. The way I see it he wasn't an evil or a bad person still he could do horrible things.
I'm shocked that you didn't seem to care for it Ryan. Maybe it's because I was younger when I first read it, but this story drew me in so much that I had to keep turning the pages. When I finished, I had to read more by this man who dragged me into his world and held me hostage. I have read the story more timea than I have read any other book, and each time I find something new about it. I'm sorry you did not have a similar experience.
KaLikeAWheel
10-08-2008, 01:45 AM
What did you feel about Thomas? Could you be really angry with him?
Somehow I couldn't. I liked his character so much. He was so weak and so human-like. The way I see it he wasn't an evil or a bad person still he could do horrible things.
Huh...I answered this question two hours ago and it's not here! Damn! Now I have to remember what I said.....:arg:
Thomas is a prime example of why Stephen King is my favorite author. Thomas is so three dimensional, you could see yourself behaving the way he does if put in the same circumstances. He was merely a boy who wanted the love of a father who already had a favorite son. When Thomas overhears his father say the boat Thomas worked so hard to make for him looked like "a turd with a sail," (or something like that) I just cringe for him! Considering the way Flagg manipulated him, beginning at an early age, it's easy to understand why he behaved the way he did. Thomas is as much a victim as Peter. I've never really thought of Thomas as a bad guy at all.
Donna
I'm shocked that you didn't seem to care for it Ryan. Maybe it's because I was younger when I first read it, but this story drew me in so much that I had to keep turning the pages. When I finished, I had to read more by this man who dragged me into his world and held me hostage. I have read the story more timea than I have read any other book, and each time I find something new about it. I'm sorry you did not have a similar experience.
S'Ok. They can't all be gold. I think now a 'younger' audience is key here. He writes on the jacket that it was his daughters favorite at 13. I can see that. I think it's the right age group for this book. Dragons, mystery, suspense... very teenage. No offence intended to any and all.
I'm sure I would have had a different perspective had I read this novel at a younger age. As with all things though, there's no going back.
BeDaN
10-09-2008, 07:12 AM
I felt very sorry for Thomas, I believe how we act is a product of our environment. And with his father acting and saying things about Thomas the way he did you could see something like that coming
S'Ok, now I'm curious.
While tripping around the DT web site just now I scroll to the bottom and click "connections". Here I scroll down to see, other than Flagg, how this book connects to the DT series. It mentions "In addition to Flagg, the characters of Thomas and Dennis make brief appearances in books 2 and 4 as they pursue Flagg."
I'm trying as best I can to remember in the DoTT where and what Thomas and Dennis are doing and I can't for the life of me remember. Nor do I remember what part they play in Book 4 WotG. :pullhair:
Can anyone, as I'm sure there is, help me out here.:grouphug:
jhanic
10-10-2008, 05:16 AM
Ryan, I vaguely remember someone commenting to the Gunslinger Ka-tet that there were rumors of two men, Tomas and Dennis, looking for Flagg. I'm not sure which books this occurred.
John
Brainslinger
10-10-2008, 03:17 PM
The reference to the two men, and Flagg is during Drawing of the Three, when Roland is on the beach. He is thinking about the different wizards he has met, and he remembers a wizard who he thinks is a demon called Flagg, who was pursued by two men, Thomas and Dennis. The scene isn't expanded on.
In Wizard and Glass, I think Flagg is briefly referenced but only in the sense that Flagg mentions having seen Roland before during the fall of Gilead.
cozener
12-30-2009, 06:31 AM
Entertaining enough but damn the ending was abrupt. Suckilly so. This book also makes me even more annoyed at the way Flagg meets his end in DT.
ICry4Oy
12-30-2009, 07:10 AM
I'm shocked that you didn't seem to care for it Ryan. Maybe it's because I was younger when I first read it, but this story drew me in so much that I had to keep turning the pages. When I finished, I had to read more by this man who dragged me into his world and held me hostage. I have read the story more timea than I have read any other book, and each time I find something new about it. I'm sorry you did not have a similar experience.
S'Ok. They can't all be gold. I think now a 'younger' audience is key here. He writes on the jacket that it was his daughters favorite at 13. I can see that. I think it's the right age group for this book. Dragons, mystery, suspense... very teenage. No offence intended to any and all.
I'm sure I would have had a different perspective had I read this novel at a younger age. As with all things though, there's no going back.
I must be a kid at heart then! I didn't read Eyes until I was 52 years old and I enjoyed the living hell out of it.
pluginbaby
01-06-2010, 08:43 PM
One of my favourite books ever, a real fairytale. I was probably a teenager when I first read it but I still love it today, in fact I had to replace it when the cover fell off my original copy!
JameseyLefebure
01-07-2010, 03:25 AM
I remember reading this about 7 years ago and not really enjoying it that much :( but i'm always willing to have a little re-read (especially if it's tower related) so i've just bought a copy for £2 on Ebay with no postage n Packaging :) so when I finally finish the final dark tower book i'll probably work my way round to reading it :)
Jamesey
xxxx
cozener
01-07-2010, 08:19 AM
I wasn't enthralled either. Pleasantly diverted, sure. I was certainly never tempted to put it down and never come back (like I did with Insomnia) But as was previously said, "they can't all be gold". And again, I really hated the abrupt ending. I have this vision of Mrs. King walking into SK's study and saying:
TK: Dinner's ready!
SK: But honey, I'm almost done..just few more pages.
TK: I"m sick of your "few more pages" shit! Get your ass downstairs and eat your goddamn dinner that I just spent 2 hours making!
SK: Dammit woman! You're breaking my train of thought! I might not be able to pick it up again!
TK: Oh boo fucking hoo!
SK: Well, fuck! Its too late now! Dammit! *takes a predinner bong hit* Thanks for fucking up my ending, bitch! All for your shitty meatloaf and peas!
futuramaguy07
01-07-2010, 04:27 PM
I really liked this book. Im pretty into fantasy stuff, and something about this at the time i read it was just what the doctor ordered.
Otter: http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bearmood_hahaha.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bearmood_hahaha.gifhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bearmood_hahaha.gif
<...>I was certainly never tempted to put it down and never come back <...>
I was.
Letti
01-08-2010, 01:26 AM
I wasn't enthralled either. Pleasantly diverted, sure. I was certainly never tempted to put it down and never come back (like I did with Insomnia) But as was previously said, "they can't all be gold". And again, I really hated the abrupt ending. I have this vision of Mrs. King walking into SK's study and saying:
TK: Dinner's ready!
SK: But honey, I'm almost done..just few more pages.
TK: I"m sick of your "few more pages" shit! Get your ass downstairs and eat your goddamn dinner that I just spent 2 hours making!
SK: Dammit woman! You're breaking my train of thought! I might not be able to pick it up again!
TK: Oh boo fucking hoo!
SK: Well, fuck! Its too late now! Dammit! *takes a predinner bong hit* Thanks for fucking up my ending, bitch! All for your shitty meatloaf and peas!
LOL, oh man this is kickass. Perfect.
I found it to be a great adventure story. I also enjoyed seeing two more names for Flagg.
I wasn't enthralled either. Pleasantly diverted, sure. I was certainly never tempted to put it down and never come back (like I did with Insomnia) But as was previously said, "they can't all be gold". And again, I really hated the abrupt ending. I have this vision of Mrs. King walking into SK's study and saying:
TK: Dinner's ready!
SK: But honey, I'm almost done..just few more pages.
TK: I"m sick of your "few more pages" shit! Get your ass downstairs and eat your goddamn dinner that I just spent 2 hours making!
SK: Dammit woman! You're breaking my train of thought! I might not be able to pick it up again!
TK: Oh boo fucking hoo!
SK: Well, fuck! Its too late now! Dammit! *takes a predinner bong hit* Thanks for fucking up my ending, bitch! All for your shitty meatloaf and peas!
I <3 this. :rofl:
lowdown
01-14-2010, 06:06 PM
any King medieval/fantasy is welcome i loved it 10 years ago and its still a good book ......it's short too ..............not a big commitment for somebody
pathoftheturtle
03-10-2010, 02:42 PM
<...>I was certainly never tempted to put it down and never come back <...>
I was.Seriously, Jean, how come?
Ageless Stranger
03-10-2010, 04:34 PM
The reference to the two men, and Flagg is during Drawing of the Three, when Roland is on the beach. He is thinking about the different wizards he has met, and he remembers a wizard who he thinks is a demon called Flagg, who was pursued by two men, Thomas and Dennis. The scene isn't expanded on.
In Wizard and Glass, I think Flagg is briefly referenced but only in the sense that Flagg mentions having seen Roland before during the fall of Gilead.
Yes, I remember him thinking about:
Being back in Gilead from Mejis and seeing Flagg pass through with "Two young men" hot on his heels.
In my second reading of the DT series, I almost highlighted sentences that touched on other books and wrote in the margins which book they were from. In the end, I couldn't bring myself to deface even mass market paperbacks. :)
<...>I was certainly never tempted to put it down and never come back <...>
I was.Seriously, Jean, how come?
Because it was unprecedentedly boring, pointless, poor in characters, and just lacking common logic. To prevent possible arguments: bears love books for children. Every third book they read or reread is a children's. But there are good children's book, and poor ones; for me, TEotD belongs to the latter group. (so does Coraline, for that matter)
pathoftheturtle
03-21-2010, 11:21 AM
Well, you at least have to respect SK for trying to practice what he preaches.
"...Most parents quite rightly recognize the fact that children are mad, in the classic sense of that word. But I'm not altogether sure that killing Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy is the same thing as 'rationality.' For children, the rationality of madness seems to work remarkably well. For one thing, it keeps the thing in the closet at bay."
~ Danse MacabreEotD certainly is not overburdened with logic.
This is more fable than fairy tale. King doesn't achieve archetypes. His players are just shallow caricatures.
We get several nice morals, but that's not the real purpose of good prose fiction, a point which SK himself had often stressed before.
Still, if you're going to write a thinly-veiled philosophical tract, you could do far worse in choosing the philosophy.
"...Pigs also do God's bidding, I believe, and my shame and grief are very great. If God wills me to live, I must, but if God wills me to die and has sent such a pig as you to do the killing, that is very well."
~ The Eyes of the Dragon
RolandLover
08-17-2011, 02:42 AM
This is the next King book I'm going to read since I've read it has some similiarities with DT like the kingdom was in the land of Delain, the Gunslinger kingdom was also in the land of Delain, the queen was from a poor western Barony like Susan Delgado was from Mejis, and the King is named Roland as our Gunslinger.
Hammer
08-17-2011, 08:42 AM
to predictable for me was ok nothing great
Darkthoughts
08-17-2011, 10:32 AM
It's one of my favourite King books. I think you have to throw logic away when it comes to true fairy tales, I have the original Grimm Tales and some of those are only three paragraphs and as nonsenical and illogical as you like, but that's the style. It's whimsy with the occasional moral chucked in.
WeDealInLead
08-17-2011, 11:29 AM
This is the next King book I'm going to red since I've read it has some similiarities with DT like the kingdom was in the land of Delain, the Gunslinger kingdom was also in the land of Delain, the queen was from a poor western Barony like Susan Delgado was from Mejis, and the King is named Roland as our Gunslinger.
Here's my two cents no one asked for. I'd rather read something like Hearts in Atlantis than The Eyes. I find HIA has more to do with King's literally world and levels of the tower than TEOTD. Sure, Flagg is in it but HIA is more in line with the parallel worlds theory.
It's one of my favourite King books. I think you have to throw logic away when it comes to true fairy tales, I have the original Grimm Tales and some of those are only three paragraphs and as nonsenical and illogical as you like, but that's the style. It's whimsy with the occasional moral chucked in.well, first, Eyes of the Dragon is no fairy tale, and next - much worse than this - it is far longer than three paragraphs...
Ben Staad
08-17-2011, 12:22 PM
It's one of my favourite King books. I think you have to throw logic away when it comes to true fairy tales, I have the original Grimm Tales and some of those are only three paragraphs and as nonsenical and illogical as you like, but that's the style. It's whimsy with the occasional moral chucked in.well, first, Eyes of the Dragon is no fairy tale, and next - much worse than this - it is far longer than three paragraphs...
:o
well, yes, Eyes is on the top of my list of least liked King books
Ben Staad
08-17-2011, 12:31 PM
well, yes, Eyes is on the top of my list of least liked King books
It's certainly not an intense or deep read but I still think its a fine tale. For me this book has a whimsical and experimental feel to it which I like. Sorry to hear this is towards the top of your least liked list but as you know you are not alone on this one.
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_sad.gif
RolandLover
08-17-2011, 04:17 PM
This is the next King book I'm going to red since I've read it has some similiarities with DT like the kingdom was in the land of Delain, the Gunslinger kingdom was also in the land of Delain, the queen was from a poor western Barony like Susan Delgado was from Mejis, and the King is named Roland as our Gunslinger.
Here's my two cents no one asked for. I'd rather read something like Hearts in Atlantis than The Eyes. I find HIA has more to do with King's literally world and levels of the tower than TEOTD. Sure, Flagg is in it but HIA is more in line with the parallel worlds theory.
I haven't read HIA either but it's on my list now!
I created a thread in the collecting subforum, but perhaps I should've just asked my question here:
http://www.thedarktower.org/palaver/showthread.php?15019
I did a search and couldn't find anything on the subject. Sorry if it came up before. It probably did, but oh well. It's been bothering me for a long time. Obviously, I have the Viking edition, as the Philtrum edition is way too expensive for me. I know the book was revised between the two editions. So the question is, what exactly was changed?
mtdman
05-07-2012, 05:02 PM
I'm going to have to try to actually read this book. Bronson Pinchot reads the audio version and I couldn't take it.
mystima
05-07-2012, 06:12 PM
I wasn't enthralled either. Pleasantly diverted, sure. I was certainly never tempted to put it down and never come back (like I did with Insomnia) But as was previously said, "they can't all be gold". And again, I really hated the abrupt ending. I have this vision of Mrs. King walking into SK's study and saying:
TK: Dinner's ready!
SK: But honey, I'm almost done..just few more pages.
TK: I"m sick of your "few more pages" shit! Get your ass downstairs and eat your goddamn dinner that I just spent 2 hours making!
SK: Dammit woman! You're breaking my train of thought! I might not be able to pick it up again!
TK: Oh boo fucking hoo!
SK: Well, fuck! Its too late now! Dammit! *takes a predinner bong hit* Thanks for fucking up my ending, bitch! All for your shitty meatloaf and peas!
Can you really see Tabitha doing that?....LOL
I personally have a special place in my heart for this book because it was my first King book...I read it when it came out many moons ago...My mother read it first and said it was more for my age than hers. It helped me get through a lot of shit when I was young, I was able to lose myself in that world and forget the bad stuff at that time.
CyberGhostface
05-14-2012, 09:41 PM
Eyes of the Dragon is still one of my favorites. I guess it's a bit quaint but it's one that I have come back to again and again.
I actually lent it to a friend who was new to SK (I had previously given her Girl who Loved Tom Gordon) and she loved it. I also remember how she hated Flagg and at one point she said out loud when reading it, "No [Thomas], don't listen to him!" :D
The Losers Club podcast episode on the book is out:
https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/03/episode-58-stephen-kings-the-eyes-of-the-dragon//
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