The Eyes of the Dragon
| Written by: | Stephen King |
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| Synopsis: | |
| Genre(s): | Fantasy |
| First published: | 1984 |
The Eyes of the Dragon is a novel written by Stephen King, published in 1987. Contrary to what you might expect from Stephen King, it's a high fantasy novel.
Roland the Good, the king of Delain, has tried to be the best king he could be. As he nears the end of his life, his son Peter will soon take his place - unless the king's magician, Flagg, can make sure Roland's younger son Thomas ascends the throne instead.
Tropes used in The Eyes of the Dragon include:
- 100% Adoration Rating: Sasha, as well as Peter before he is framed.
- Action Girl: Naomi
- All Men Are Perverts / All Women Are Prudes: Entirely inverted with Roland and Sasha. Not only does he have little interest in sex (and usually needs Flagg's potions to have it in the first place), but when he does sleep with his wife it is for her pleasure, not his own.
- Bedsheet Ladder: Peter manages to make one out of threads plucked from the embroidered napkins given to him daily and woven together on the tiny but functional loom in the dollhouse he requested to keep in his cell over the span of several years.
- Canon Welding: Flagg first appeared in The Stand.
- In The Dark Tower series, Roland mentions that he met Thomas and his steward Dennis during their pursuit of Flagg after the end of the book.
- Chekhov's Gun: Many. The peephole in the dragon skull that Flagg shows Thomas, where Thomas sees Flagg poison his father and Dennis finds out, years later, that Peter was innocent, bringing about Flagg's downfall. Peter's need for a napkin at every meal and his mother's old dollhouse are this as well.
- Chekhov's Skill: Archery is mentioned as being Thomas's best skill, the one thing he is better at then Peter. He gets a chance to demonstrate it when he puts an arrow through Flagg's eye.
- Death by Childbirth: Sasha, while giving birth to Thomas. At least, that's what Flagg set it up to look like.
- Drowning My Sorrows: As a king, Thomas becomes an alcoholic because he knows that Flagg poisoned Roland and framed Peter for it.
- Evil Chancellor: Flagg
- Eye Scream: Thomas shoots an arrow, the same one that killed Niner, through Flagg's eye. The wound is apparently not fatal for Flagg, however.
- Here There Were Dragons: Although magic still exists in Delain, dragons themselves do not; the last one, named Niner, was killed by Roland.
- Lemony Narrator: The unnamed storytelling narrator, who often speaks directly to the reader and shares opinions on the characters.
- King on His Deathbed
- Parental Favoritism: Roland favors Peter over Thomas, interestingly because Thomas is just like him; not very smart and unattractive.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Flagg persuaded the king to marry Sasha because he believed that she, a commoner, would be weak and easily manipulated. He was proven wrong when Sasha turned out to be intelligent and clever, and the king genuinely came to love her so much that Flagg backed out of a murder attempt on her because he felt the king's love for her was so great that he would not have rested until he uncovered her murderer. Although it didn't stop him from eventually figuring out a way to discreetly dispose of Sasha.
- Portrait Painting Peephole: The titular eyes of the dragon Niner, rather than a traditional portrait; it serves the same purpose.
- Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner: You told me only lies, magician.
- Puppet King: both Thomas and his father were this.
- Rightful King Returns: The plot in the latter half of the novel.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Peter is essentially the golden child, being handsome, intelligent, multitalented and beloved by all, whereas Thomas is a meek boy who feels overshadowed by his older brother, his only talent being archery.
- Unexpected Successor: Thomas