The Eyes of A King

Catherine Banner  (author)

Corgi Books, UK: 2008; 427pp

ISBN: 9780552556590 

Genres: adventure, fantasy, war

Issues: war; family, grief/loss, identity, loyalty

Note: extension concepts

An absorbing, challenging and at times disturbing novel set in parallel worlds.

Leo North stumbles across a curious leather-covered book on his way home from military school. He is mystified - and fascinated - when a strangely familiar story begins to appear in dribs and drabs on the blank pages. The handwriting is unfamiliar but Leo and his young brother, Stirling, gradually realise that the story has a strong element of family history.

Later it seems to Leo that the arrival of the black book was the triggerpoint, the moment when his already difficult life changed forever. Living in an unhappy, fearful family within the violent, unhappy land of Malonia, Leo and Stirling have longed for change. Perhaps the return of the exiled Prince Cassius in fulfillment of the great Aldebaran's prophecy would heal their troubled world?

But Leo, beset by dreams of the fairytale parallel world of England, soon realises that any change in either world brings pain and loss, despite more positive outcomes. There are no certainties, no magical solutions, only a troubling search for identity and the difficult path between love and duty.

This is a remarkably complex novel, more about character and choices than straightforward plot. Beneath the unfolding events of the dual narratives, Banner explores the concept of parallel worlds within the fantasy structure. The struggles of Leo (in Molonia) and Ryan (in England) echo on another, as do those of Maria (Molonia) and Anna (England) and the boys' relationships with them.

Within the very believable worlds and cultures she's created, Banner explores with great sensitivity the intense uncertainties of adolescence as individuals struggle to understand and accept themselves, their relationships with and responsibilities to those around them, and the mistakes that we all make during the process that is called living.
An absorbing, challenging and at times disturbing novel, it is the more remarkable given that the author began writing it at fourteen years of age, the book being published five years later. This is sophisticated, polished writing, interweaving a broad cast of characters and showing remarkable care and attention to details such as small differences in the pacing and structure of dialogue of Molonian and English characters. These details create subtle and convincing differences between the two worlds.
Highly recommended, especially for gifted readers. This is a truly remarkable piece of writing.