Although Stephen King is most often associated with horror stories, he has a talent for drawing the reader into the world of fantasy. "The Dark Tower" series and "The Eyes of the Dragon" are superb examples of King's creativity, imagination and over-all skill of developing a story to the point of being impossible to put down.
Other readers have made the following comments about these novels:
Stephen King is best known for being a horror writer, covering everything from evil cars to telekinetic high-schoolers. But "The Dark Tower" is a gritty fantasy with a few horror elements in it, and though it has some grotesque images, it's more fantastical than icky. Not to mention that it has homages sprinkled through it to "Lord of the Rings," the "Childe Roland" story, "The Wizard of Oz," and even King's own books.
King's writing is full of slam-bang action, even if it doesn't excel in the technical sense. And the gunslinger is an excellent lead character, a mixture of rock-hard determination and affection for his friends. Eddie comes across as rather annoying at times, but he's evidently supposed to; on the other hand, Susannah is remarkably complex with her double personality. And Jake serves as a surrogate son for Roland, while displaying his own brand of eleven-year-old toughness.
I only recently decided to enter the world of Stephen King's Dark Tower. This boxed set provided me with an excellent chance to do so.
The Dark Tower series is King's ultimate opus. It's a saga that entertains and constantly evolves with each book. In my opinion the series is a must read.
Eyes of the Dragon is a definite departure from King's usual horror-esque genre. It is a work of pure fantasy that won't disappoint King fans because it sticks to King's tradition of examining the morality of good versus evil with his uncanny knack for adding plot twists. It is also a great story for those who want something lighter (and prefer not to stay up all night with images of pure gore).
I have read SK for many years now and one of the first books I read was "The Eyes of the Dragon". I was quite young when I started reading Stephen King books on a regular basis and the way this book was written was ideal for a younger reader. It is not as detailed and events are not as drawn out and complicated as in some of his other books.
I liked this book back then based on the ease with which I could read it. I like it now, some 16 years later, because it is a neat fantasy tale with a nice tie in to King's ultimate fantasy/horror epic, "The Dark Tower".
By itself this tale is great for a younger reader, coupling an easy read with magic and dragons. It is NOT the same type of book as say, "IT", "Salem's Lot", or "The Shining". Where this book goes on to score big points for older readers is its tie in to "The Dark Tower".
Overall to me this is a good book by itself, which becomes a great book with incorporation into King's masterpiece "The Dark Tower". If you don't like fantasy you should spend your money elsewhere, if you like fantasy this is a cool read, and if you are any kind of a Dark Tower fan then you cannot pass this book up.
You can purchase and enjoy either of these selections by clicking on the banners below.
