The Eyes of God

by John Marco

Book Overview

Akeela, King of Liiria, was a young and idealistic scholar who was determined to bring peace to his kingdom--a land that had been plagued by war with the neighboring kingdom of Reec for decades.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0756400961
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: DAW
• Length: 784 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.7" x 4.4"

Customer Reviews

Rekindled my faith in fantasy

After reading a few mediocre fantasy books, most recently that horrible book by Williams, something about a dragonbone chair (Could somebody please instruct these fantasy authors about a PLOT? I don't want to read 200+ pages about some dimwitted kitchen boy as he tries to learn magic while bumbling around the castle. BORING) Tolkien was enjoyable but his writing style is horrendous. Please don't mimic him. Thankfully, Marco is no Tolkein! This book's plot kicked off on page one. A refreshing change. The characters were deep and fleshed out. THere's only a few battles in this book, but each one is monumental and pivotal to the plot. There's tension in this book right off that bat, and the nice thing about this story is there's conflict at every turn, and in many different forms. All human emotions are involved here. Jealousy, arrogance, pragmatism vs idealism, romance, betrayal, tragedy; it's all here and it flows wonderfully together to form a cohesive, stand - alone story. Yes, another thing Marco can teach other fantasy writers is the art of writing a stand alone story, even when it's part of a trilogy. This is a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. The ending does leave room for further stories, but it's not a cliffhanger and does end the story nicely. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy and have a new fantasy author to watch.

A great time.

First off, the attribute I most apprectiate from Marco as a writer, is his ability to create flawed characters. The story starts out with a tale of King Akeela and his Bronze Knight, Lukien. In a world of vicious rulers and selfish lords, the young king Akeela is an idealist who wants to bring peace to his kingdom Liiria, something his long ruling father was never able to do. Akeela has a good heart which can be perceived as weakness by others. Lukien, on the other hand, is an infamous knight who maintains a legendary reputation in battle. Both of these primary characters are like brothers as Akeela literally, as a young teen, took Lukien off the streets of Liiria, where Lukien fought to just survive. Of course nothing could ever separate these two. However, as many others before him, Marco introduces us to a woman by the name of Princess Cassandra, who will ultimately test the loyalty of these two blood brothers. There were many twist and turns in this novel, and it is hard to predict where Marco is going, as he is full of surprises. The characters, even the good ones, have major flaws and are guilty of doing the wrong things and/or making the wrong decisions at any time. Marco even allows us to sympathize with some of the villains as we are shown why they have turned to evil. This is the case with General Trager who has always been jealous of Lukien. Marco is a master at describing battles and at times I had to wonder if Marco actually was a military history major as his detail is quite impressive. Personally, I ejoyed the travels to unknown parts of the world. In the case of this book, these are far away places called Jador and Grimhold. There is magic but we are not overwhelmed with it. Most importantly, it is just a good dam tale of two men, a beautiful young woman and the a magical place called Grimhold. Enjoy.

A 5-star thrill to read, in a cluttered industry

I'm frankly tired of reading the epics about farm boys turned kings, where a train of ragtag characters follow them all over the place. "The Eyes of God" is a beautiful departure from this mold, and while its plot will undoubtedly remind you of King Arthur and his relationship problems, the book is such a fun read that you won't care.The character development in particular is stunning--Akeela transforms gradually, so that you don't even realize what is happening to him until it shocks you full in the face. Only at that point will you see with a sudden realization that the author has brilliantly set up his character change perfectly and subtly from the start. If for nothing else, take a look at this book for its complex characters. Definitely a worthwhile read.

Fantastic Read

Reading "The Eyes of God" by John Marco was a breath of fresh air. Marco creates some of the most complex and interesting characters in the industry -- and better yet, he isn't afraid to use them and he doesn't let them use him.While other authors in the fantasy field protect the precious characters with meaningless drama, Marco puts them in the thick of it with rousing politics and battle, complex and meaningful romance, and eventual life and death situations that happen when "evil" perks up in good people.This is a fast read; Marco's writing is beautiful but it doesn't stumble. Although I'm satisfied with the book overall, I'm drooling and waiting for the next installment, "The Devil's Armor." (On Feb 1, 2003, Marco's website mentioned it was on its way to the publisher for a late 2003 release.)Thank you John Marco!!!

A superb fantasy from an emerging master...

Buy this book and read it. There, that's why you're really reading this review right? Well you probably want to know why you should read this book. There are characters that are as believable as the people you know. The world and nations are mirrors of those in our own world. And magic, what would a great fantasy novel be without a dose of magic? There's that too, don't worry. Marco has created a world of wondrous lands such as the kingdom of Liira, the distant land of Jador and the magical land of Grimhold, home to the Inhumans, a group of strange people, each with their own special knack or ability. Add to this the shining Bronze Knight Lukien, his king Akeela, the magical Eyes of God and Devil's Armor and you have all the ingredients necessary for your typical Fantasy. From the opening sentence "He was a giant," we are given a sense of epic proportion to this novel. You can't help but feel that this story will be grand and large. At the end of the almost 800 pages of this book, you will feel as if you've lived the triumphs of the Inhumans, the tragedies of Akeela and the lands of Jador and the complexities of Lukien's many choices. As big as this book is, every word, scene and word spoken by the characters is essential and necessary.The novel starts with the ending of a quest which is where many a story or novel ends. In The Eyes of God, we see what can happen AFTER the journey, when what you've quested after is achieved. To the nth degree, we see that the end of the quest is not the answer your looking for and sometimes, life doesn't exactly get easier once you get what you've been reaching for. The answers get harder to find because the questions change.The relationship between Akeela and Lukien is a strong one, whether they are on the same side or opposing sides. Raised almost as brothers, their bonds run pretty strong and when all is said and done, their friendship is perhaps the strongest and most defining aspect of this novel. You will find yourself empathizing, almost sympathizing, with even their most despicable acts. Marco sets up so many events you expect to happen, only to twist your expectations into something better. None of these characters are defined by "good" or "evil," rather by their strongest beliefs and motivations and reaching what they feel is the right thing. Marco created some of the most believable characters I can remember reading, I felt emotionally tied to all of them. There were little things that Marco sprinkled throughout the story that added, just a few words while he was putting you in the heads of various characters. There is resonance of Arthur in Akeela, Lancelot in Lukien and Guinevere in Cassandra and of course Camelot a bit in Liira. Overall, John Marco has created a rich, bountiful novel that will (excuse the pun) be a classic years down the road. I would not be surprised to see this book short-listed on more than one genre award ballot. John Marco progressively gets better with