Rating: 
Summary: Feh!
Review: Pedantic, pedestrian and painful to read.
Here are a few little problems with this book: poorly written characters with no redeeming qualities, a trite and over-used plot, and flat, uninteresting writing.
Please, for your own well-being, and the well-being of those around you who don't want to hear you yelling in frustration at trying to get through this drek, find something else to read.
Rating: 
Summary: An author worthy of attention!!
Review: Read his trilogy before reading this work. Good Arthurian retelling, with Akeela more realistically responding to being cuckholded. Two of the main characters seem to be extensions of characters from the first trilogy. Akeela=Emperor Biagio and Trager is definitely a more developed admiral Nicabar. Marco is a good fantasist, a cut above such authors as Goodkind, Jordan and the present day Raymond Feist, but he's no George R.R. Martin.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Read
Review: 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!!!
Rating:
Summary: A Memorable, Stand-out Story
Review: Right off, let me say that this is a very good book. Not a perfect book (Is there such thing as a perfect book? Let's get real), but a very good, solidly entertaining novel. John Marco is becoming a very popular authors these days judging by the recomendations I've seen of his work on discussion forums, and after reading this book I'm inclined to say that his reputation is mostly well-deserved. There are glowing praises of him on the back of this book that make him sound like the second-coming or something (these blurbs are always overkill), but for the most part I found myself agreeing with those who sing his praises, because he is a unique talent in the world of epic fantasy. As has already been pointed out here, the story is obstensibly about a pair of magical amulets, but really it's a much deeper story than that, and therein lies Marco's true talent. He juggles so many different themes and plotlines in this book that it's hard to pin the story down. It simply defies categorization. The Eyes of God is part quest book, part military adventure, part romance, and even part polemic. It's a book that makes you think while you're reading it, and makes you remember it after you've finished. Why should you read this book? If you're looking for an engrossing story with unusual characters who don't always do what you expect them to do (or what you want them to do), and if you're not into the cookie-cutter wizard-types who shoot fire from their fingers without explanation, then this book would be a good choice. It's certainly in the new vein of "grey" fantasy like Martin and Erikson. But don't read this book if you're looking for set pieces. This is a compelling, sober epic with real emotional impact that makes you care about the characters. Like many others here, I look forward to the sequel and expect more good things from John Marco.
Rating: 
Summary: Big fantasy beefsteak, not fully cooked
Review: TEOG is a sprawling, medieval fantasy novel that looks to be the first in a new series. The seed for the next book (The Devil's Armor) is planted well in the first, and I hope more of the good than the bad from the first book carries over. TEOG consists of three parts. (And before that, a beautiful cover--one of its very best features.) The first is basically a rehashing of Camelot's love triangle. The book does open very well indeed with excellent, fresh introductions of the scholarly King Akeela the Good; his handsome champion, Lukien the Bronze Knight; and his new bride, Cassandra, the beautiful seal on a peace treaty. However, even with the twist of Cassandra's mysterious illness and Lukien's quest to heal her, the first part fails to escape Camelot's shadow--it simply starts too squarely within it. The second part begins sixteen years after the first, depicting how the consequences of the first have transformed Akeela the Good into the drunken, insane Akeela the Ghost. A crippled boy, Gilwyn, born in the first part, takes center stage and finds himself drawn into the tragic current of the past, which is sweeping the kingdom and a peaceful, foreign land into an even more destructive future. This theme continues in the third part, which introduces a hidden sanctuary of "Inhumans," persons born or made deformed, and the mysterious woman and spirits who lead and assist them. Marco's main strengths are his no-nonsense writing style and ability to describe large battles. However, these are often hindered, and in places overcome, by some very poor dialogue and questionable plotting. At times, the noble/successful/intelligent characters make utterly capricious decisions that, in retrospect, seem to have been made just so that the plot could follow a fixed outline. (A minor quibble/example: over a period of years, wouldn't even the most inept husband be able to make love in total darkness to his wife? A strange question, I know, but the book's answer--for the plot's sake--is apparently not.) Sporadic grammatical errors (and some typos) also distract from what could have been so much more. A big, beefy page-turner that's sadly on the too-raw side. Recommended as a library loan or used-paperback buy. However, Marco does have a "feel" for storytelling that makes him one to watch.
Rating:
Summary: John Marco gets a grim hold on your imagination
Review: The days of innocent fairytales are gone. Those of you who expect fantasy to be the tale of sword and sorcery, of knights in shining armor riding out to save the princess from the devils' grip are in the wrong place with Marco. A lot of readers who are looking for a bunch of do-gooders will be lost soon for John comes threatingly close to reality. In the series "of Tyrants and Kings" we had to deal with the grim horror of war and the villain Roberto Biaggio, head of the secret service who had an appetite for young boys, but who nonetheless managed to develop some likeable treats and tried to attone for his sins. Now there is "the Eyes of God" and we meet king Akeela, who comes to us as an idealistic do-gooder, but no doubt to the shock of many readers, turns out to be ruthless in achieving his goal: The Library. Which raises the question to all of us: Does the end justify the means? Are we ourselfs not blinded by our own ideas that may appear just and for the good of all but oversee the harsh consequences? Akeela's fall from grace does not stop here. After discovering his wife's adultrous affair with his best friend, Lukien, he grows even darker. Love is a beautiful thing, it can blind people, but where love is wronged it also blinds. The grimness of Marco is not that there is a clear choice but that it is a subtle shift of the balance in a smooth story that makes the course of events unavoidable. The reader knows well that Akeela has no other choice but to turn this into a vendetta that puts the whole kingdom at risk. First Lukien is banished and many years later, Cassandra the queen dies when Lukien lays eyes on her again and the spell is broken that keeps her alive, the enchantment of the amulets; the Eye of God. Lukien tries to attone himself and returns to the Jadori from whom he had stolen the amulet in the first place, by orders from his king. Now Cassandra is dead, Akeela drums up the cavalery and chases Lukien across the world, determined to kill Lukien, no matter what the cost. No matter how many innocent have to die. Nor does it matter that the expedition completely depletes the Liirian treasury. Akeela's wrath has to be executed and it does not matter that there will be no kingdom left to return to. Gone is the quest for the Holy Grail, gone the knights that ride forth to battle evil and protect those who cannot protect themselves. Here is the story of a madman who in his anger is focussed solely on the object of his rage. Soldiers, peasants, nations become just pawns in the game and are considered collateral damage. They should not have stood between him and his target. Aside from the one man's rage Marco presents us another thought. We all know how people treated the disabled in our own Dark Ages, and in Liira and the world around it, there is no difference. Deformed, handicapped people are treated as outcast, seen as monsters. But, have we changed? Have we grown beyond that? How many times do we not neglect those less abled than ourselves and do we walk the extra mile just to avoid them?
Rating: 
Summary: A flat tale devoid of emotional involvement
Review: The Eyes of God is a story of how a single decision made for the sake of love leads to a series of unjust tragedies. Authors on the outside and inside covers commend it for being vague about what is for good and what is for ill. But while some authors, George RR Martin being my favorite, can write a story that is wholeheartedly grey or even black and still have their readers twined around their fingers, the Eyes of God only manages with its neutrality to make the reader care less about the characters. Every character but the villain and antihero is the same... they care deeply for human life but have a hard streak if you touch the wrong topic. They have a great weakness, but have learned to overcome it with time. This lack of distinction made it difficult to associate with any characters after the first three that were introduced. It would seem the author realized that with the characters' lack of individual charisma, he needed something else in order to make the reader take sides. The "good guys" not only have higher moral standards, but are also protecting a keep full of defenseless cripples. The "bad guys" are not only aggressors without moral cause, they are also murderers and psychopaths. My complaints could go on, but I have a word limit to deal with here. I should put in a few words about why I gave this a 2 instead of a 1. The anti-hero King Akeela follows an interesting path of descent to redemption throughout the book. He is without a doubt the most dynamic character contained within. Also, the plot, while not being full of suprises, follows a fairly unfamiliar path if the Arthurian love triangle is cast aside. If you like stories of medieval wars and aren't huge on characters, this story might be for you, but don't say I reccomended it.
Rating:
Summary: A flat tale devoid of emotional involvement
Review: The Eyes of God is a story of how a single decision made for the sake of love leads to a series of unjust tragedies. Authors on the outside and inside covers commend it for being vague about what is for good and what is for ill. But while some authors, George RR Martin being my favorite, can write a story that is wholeheartedly grey or even black and still have their readers twined around their fingers, the Eyes of God only manages with its neutrality to make the reader care less about the characters. Every character but the villain and antihero is the same... they care deeply for human life but have a hard streak if you touch the wrong topic. They have a great weakness, but have learned to overcome it with time. This lack of distinction made it difficult to associate with any characters after the first three that were introduced. It would seem the author realized that with the characters' lack of individual charisma, he needed something else in order to make the reader take sides. The "good guys" not only have higher moral standards, but are also protecting a keep full of defenseless cripples. The "bad guys" are not only aggressors without moral cause, they are also murderers and psychopaths. My complaints could go on, but I have a word limit to deal with here. I should put in a few words about why I gave this a 2 instead of a 1. The anti-hero King Akeela follows an interesting path of descent to redemption throughout the book. He is without a doubt the most dynamic character contained within. Also, the plot, while not being full of suprises, follows a fairly unfamiliar path if the Arthurian love triangle is cast aside. If you like stories of medieval wars and aren't huge on characters, this story might be for you, but don't say I reccomended it.
Rating:
Summary: A Love Triangle and a Quest, For Starters
Review: The Eyes of God is the first novel in a new fantasy series. Liiria has been warring with the neighboring kingdom of Reec for decades. Now the King of Liiria is determined to bring peace between the kingdoms and has come to Hes, the capital city of Reec, to parlay with the King of Reec. In this novel, King Akeela has come with gifts for King Karis. Akeela brings his Royal Chargers, lead by Lukien, the Bronze Knight, for protection against betrayal. Lukien and the Chargers are not as certain of their peaceful reception as their king, but follow anyway out of loyalty and love. At the gates of Hes, they find a honor guard of mounted soldiers with sheathed swords, a procession of Reecan citizens watching in awe, and a band playing brassy parade tunes. Lukien and his lieutenants, Trager and Breck, enter first and the smiles on the faces of the Reecans become somewhat twisted. The Liirians are welcomed to the city by Earl Linuk and King Akeela says a few words of thanks. The Reecan crowd then claps and shouts in joy and the band plays even louder over the clamor. The Reecan welcoming party escorts the Liirians to their king's castle and Lukien notices that the crowd obviously adores King Akeela, but is hostile to himself. In the throne room, King Akeela presents King Karis with the gifts, contributed by the citizens of Liiria, all gold or gold trimmed, except for one gift in a crystal flask wrapped in blue linen: water from the river Kryss. King Akeela is giving the river to Reec, subject only to the right to traverse it with trading vessels. The river has been the subject of 28 years of warfare and Akeela wants to stop the bloodshed, so he has cut the Gordian knot by giving away the river. In return, King Karis gives Akeela his youngest daughter, Cassandra, in marriage. In Koth, the capital of Liiria, a baby is born to the widow of a Royal Charger, but he has a club foot and other abnormalities. Another baby, a girl, has been born to a farmer's wife, but she is blind and the farmer drowns her; later he meets a little woman, Minikin, with an amulet around her neck, and her giant bald-headed servant, Trog, who holds him head down in a rain barrel until he drowns. After their betrothal, King Akeela leaves Cassandra in Hes and returns to Koth to prepare for their wedding. He leaves Lukien with Cassandra as his representative. Unfortunately, the propinquity and exotic nature of the princess and the knight lead them into an infatuation, which over time turns into love. After their marriage, King Akeela discovers that Cassandra is subject to a strange illness which the physicians identify as an inoperable growth in her abdomen. However, the librarian, Figgis, finds mention of the Eyes of God in an old book of Jadori history and folktales; the twin amulets are said to protect the wearers from all disease. Akeela sends Lukien with Figgis to find these Eyes of God. This novel is a quest for a cure to Cassandra's illness, yet is also a romance and much more. These are betrayals and sacrifices, hatred and love, plots and battles, and still more. This series promises to be even better than the author's Tyrants & Kings series. This story has been compared to the Arthurian legend, but why stop there? What about the story of Jason and Medea? Love triangles are an ancient plot device, but many a divorce is due to such affairs. And many a murder is motivated by jealousy. Our emotions are governed by a very old part of our brain, which is still powerful enough to override our rational faculties on occasion. Recommended for Marco fans and anyone else who enjoys fantasies with political intrigue and battles and romance.
Rating:
Summary: A great new book by John Marco
Review: The Eyes of God is the latest book by John Marco. With this book John Marco has left the world he created in his superb Tyrants and Kings series. So for a while we won't be wandering around in Lucel-Lor or Nar. The new book starts in a world country Liiria, which is ruled by the young king Akeela. After years of war Liiria finally is at peace with its neighbors. What his father couldn't accomplish by warfare, Akeela did by talking. Because of this and his will to protect and serve his people Akeela is called Akeela the Good. On his way to talk with his last enemy king Karis of Reec, Akeela is joined by his childhood friend Lukien. Lukien is known as the Bronze Knight, or not so flattering the Butcher of Reec. Unlike Akeela Lukien isn't a scholar, he's trained to be a soldier and that's what he's best at. When Akeela and Lukien arrive in Hes, the capitol of Reec they receive the warmest of welcomes. The Reecians, tired of all the years of bloodshed, do welcome peace as much as Akeela does. To seal the peace between Liiria and Reec king Karis proposes a marriage between his youngest daughter Cassandra and Akeela. When Akeela sees Cassandra he instantly falls in love with the girl, and so they get married. When they all get back to Koth, the capitol of Liiria things start to go horribly wrong. Cassandra gets life threatening sick, and the only thing that can safe her are The Eyes of God, magical amulets of which isn't even sure if they exist. And to make everything just a bit more complicated Lukien and Cassandra fall in love with each other....... John Marco made a decision most fantasy writers can not or will not make, he stepped away from a well appreciated world and set of characters and started working on a complete new world. The Eyes of God is very different from the Tyrants and Kings series, but it has all the good things from the previous books. The book is full of romance, magic, intrigue, warfare and most importantly realistic characters. And thankfully John kept his fast paced writing style. The story goes on and on without ever getting boring. Like I said before, John is capable of creating strong, believable characters which you can hate one moment and love the next. With writing this book John Marco has succeeded in his goal of writing something different then his previous books. And more important for his readers, the Eyes of God is just as good as not better then the Tyrants and Kings series. Just read and enjoy, and find out that this is one of the best pieces of fantasy in years. Pieter W. Lak
21-02-2002, Oude Tonge
| 
