Despite his great fame, Stephen King's work has often been somewhat underrated by the masses. He is labeled a horror writer, and those who dislike horror will avoid him because of that. Does he write flat-out horror on occasion? Absolutely. But King is a versatile author whose stories are as varied as they are many.

I'd say that The Eyes of the Dragon has very little to do with horror. There are gruesome moments, yes, but that's just King being his morbid self. This is much more of a fantasy story. It's not his first time dipping his toe in that genre, though; we do, after all, have his magnum opus, his The Dark Tower series - other books also have, at least to some degree, fantasy elements in them as well - but I'd say The Eyes of the Dragon is the purest fantasy-themed book he has written, almost like a dark, adult fairytale.

The narration is quite unique this time, which I appreciated. It mixes King's typical style (including the aforementioned morbidity) with a more formal, old-fashioned, "once upon a time" approach. And it works in the classic sense, too, as many of the old, traditional fairytales can be rather dark and violent (I'm looking at you, Brothers Grimm).

As such, the narration also feels a bit more compact. To be a bit hyperbolic real quick, there are times when King can end up writing four whole pages just about a guy who's about to sneeze, but the flow of this story is quite smooth and moves along at a comfortable pace.

This is also another novel that further builds on the mystery that is Flagg, and his knack for showing up in several of King's stories, sometimes under different names. It's fascinating to keep learning how he is some sort of evil entity, possibly the Devil himself, capable of moving through time and King's multiverse; we have a King Roland here, but it's not the same Roland as the one we meet in The Dark Tower. But Flagg is still Flagg, even though he poses as a mischievous magician in this story.

I also find that usually, when Flagg appears in a story, there are themes of good vs. evil, manipulation, greed, and moral ambiguity. He is very much like a demonic serpent who attaches itself to people in positions of power and corrupts them. And even though The Eyes of the Dragon is an ensemble of characters, Flagg has such a distinct personality and is such an invading force in the story that he almost feels like the main character this time. Certainly the main antagonist.

Yeah, I absolutely liked this one and might read it again one day!