D E S P E R A T I O N . D K - E Y E S O F T H E D R A G O N

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DESCRIPTION

Written : 1987

Intended original title : The Napkins

'A once upon' -fairy tale...

Synopsis :
Once upon a time, in the Kingdom of Delain, King Roland is murdered and his son and heir, Peter, is framed for the crime. Peter and his loyal friends must battle an evil wizard and Peter's usurper brother, Thomas, for the throne. Imprisoned in a tower, Peter conceives an escape plan that will take him years to execute before taking on Flagg, the powerful sorcerer who has masterminded this coup.

INSPIRATION

"Although I had written thirteen novels by the time my daughter had attained an equal number of years, she hadn't read any of them. She'd made it very clear that she loved me, but had very little interest in my vampires, ghoulies, and slushy crawling things. I sat down one night in our western Maine house to start this story, then called "The Napkins." Eventually the tale was told and Naomi took hold of the finished manuscript with a marked lack of enthusiasm. That look gradually changed to one of rapt interest as the story kidnapped her. It was good to have her come to me later and give me a hug and tell me the only thing wrong with it was that she didn't want it to end."

REVIEW

A kingdom is in turmoil as the old king dies and his successor must do battle for the throne. Pitted against an evil wizard and a would-be rival, Prince Peter makes a daring escape and rallies the forces of Good to fight for what is rightfully his. This is a masterpiece of classic dragons-and-magic fantasy that only Stephen King could have written!

EDITIONS

FIRST EDITION

Philtrum Press 1984.

26 signed and lettered A-Z, 250 signed in red ink these were not sold but privately distributed.
1000 signed and #ed
Price: $120

NOTE: It is widely held that these books are one of the finest examples of printing available SK self published this book. They were sold by lottery and many people did not respond to the notice that they could buy, so a second drawing was held.

FIRST EDITION

Viking 1987.

"First Published in 1987 by the Viking Press" on copyright page.

Dust Jacket price: $18.95

MY EDITION

Signet Novel 1988.
380 pages.
ISBN 0 451 16658 2.
On Copyright Page: 20 19 18 17 16 15

Copyright © Stephen King, 1987.
Illustrations copyright © David Palladini, 1987
Fiction: Fairy tale

DEDICATION

This story is for my great friend BEN STRAUB,
and for my daughter, NAOMI KING.

BOOK BREAKDOWN

_consists of 142 chapters_

BACKCOVER

Once upon a time -
there was terror
and dragons and princes... evil wizards and dark
dungeons... an enchanted castle and a terrible secret.
With this enthralling masterpiece of magical evil
and daring adventure, Stephen King takes you in his
icy grip and leads you into the most shivery and
irresistible kingdom of wickedness...
THE EYES OF THE DRAGON

"The sorcery of Stephen King...expertly seductive...
the kind of book that keeps you up, red-eyed with
fatigue, until 2a.m., because it is just not possible
to stop turning the pages."
-Washington Post Book World

"Memorable, compelling, suspenseful, brimming
with action!"
-Chicago Sun-Times

ALSO KNOWN AS

Dragens Øjne (Denmark)

Die Augen des Drachen (Germany)

A sárkány szeme/A mágus (Hungary)