The Eyes of God and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
$3.96 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
Kindle Edition
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
The Eyes of God
 
 
Start reading The Eyes of God on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

The Eyes of God [Mass Market Paperback]

John Marco (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)

Price: $8.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
  Special Offers Available
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Only 9 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Tuesday, May 29? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition --  
Hardcover --  
Paperback --  
Mass Market Paperback $8.99  

Book Description

January 7, 2003

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. Lukien, the Bronze Knight of Liiria, had been taken in by the royal family when, at fourteen, he saved Akeela's life, but he'd never forgotten the brutal lessons of the streets he'd grown up on. A bond of loyalty stronger than blood linked these two men—but no two souls could be more different.

And as Akeela and Lukien entered their enemy's stronghold on a mission of peace, neither man could forsee the turmoil this historic mission would wreak on their lives. For, to seal the peace, King Karis of Reec would bestow upon Akeela the hand of his charming, beautiful, and accomplished daughter Cassandra.

But Cassandra hid a terrible secret. She was experiencing the first symptoms of a disease which would threaten her life and cause unimaginable strife for all who loved her. For Akeela and Lukien, the quest for Cassandra's salvation would overwhelm every bond of loyalty, every point of honor, every dream of peace. For only the magical amulets known as the Eyes of God could halt the progress of Cassandra's illness. But the Eyes of God would also open the way to a magical stronghold which could tear their world apart and redefine the very nature of their reality.


Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • This item is eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion. Eligible products include select Books and Home & Garden items. Buy any 4 eligible items and get the lowest-priced item free. Here's how (restrictions apply)

Frequently Bought Together

The Eyes of God + The Sword of Angels + The Devil's Armor (Daw Books Collectors)
Price For All Three: $26.97

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together
  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Sword of Angels $8.99

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Devil's Armor (Daw Books Collectors) $8.99

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

John Marco, author of the muscular Tyrants and Kings series, departs from the lands of Nar and Lucel-Lor with The Eyes of God--a sprawling juggernaut of high fantasy filled with political intrigue, fairy-tale wonder, flawed heroes, and sympathetic villains. Changing tactics from his Nar books, Marco opens The Eyes of God not with a battle scene but with a peace offering. The young king of Liiria--Akeela the Good--and his champion Lukien, The Bronze Knight, ride into the lands of their ancient enemy Reec to make peace. To seal the deal, Akeela takes a Reecian princess as his Queen, and the stage is set for a full helping of betrayal and woe.

Marco's tale of Akeela and Lukien and the love that destroys them both begins with a deceptively sentimental and occasionally maudlin first act. But just when the reader thinks he or she has inadvertently stumbled into a bodice ripper, Marco brings the hammer down and his idyllic Kingdom of Liiria is twisted without remorse into a decaying kingdom with madness on its throne. Despite some cliché dialogue and a few loose plot ends, this is no lightweight book. Marco's characters are complex and multidimensional, and his seemingly simple story is a rich, complex exposition of high fantasy with an underlying brutal reality. This brutality is punctuated with Marco's skill as a military writer--like his Nar books, the battle scenes in The Eyes of God are massive in scale while remaining rich in exquisite, personal detail. --Jeremy Pugh --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Accompanied by his lifelong friend Lukien, the Bronze Knight of Liiria, King Akeela rides to a rival city to offer a peaceful end to a long and bloody war. In return, he brings home a bride, unaware of the tangled threads of destiny that unite him, his new wife, and his longtime friend in an age-old triangle of love and betrayal. Marco (Jackal of Nar) offers a sprawling tale of military battles, personal and political intrigue, magic, and star-crossed love set against a richly detailed land of warring kingdoms and hidden magic. For most fantasy collections.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  • Mass Market Paperback: 784 pages
  • Publisher: DAW (January 7, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0756400961
  • ISBN-13: 978-0756400965
  • Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #643,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hello. Thanks for visiting my author page here on Amazon. In case you don't know me, I'm John Marco and I'm a fantasy writer. I've written seven books so far, including the Tyrants and Kings trilogy and the books of the Bronze Knight Lukien. My next book, The Forever Knight, is due out in November 2012. I also write short stories from time to time, and these you can find at Amazon as well. Like a lot of fantasy fans, I'm a proud nerd and often blog about nerdy things over at my blog--thehappynerd.com. Or, if it's easier for you to remember, just type in johnmarco.com and that will take you over to my blog as well. Hope to see you there!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
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.

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
21 of 27 people found the following review helpful
A departure for Marco August 18, 2002
By Nathan
Format:Hardcover
Having read John Marco's previous novels, of the TYRANTS AND KINGS trilogy, I went into THE EYES OF GOD with high expectations. T&K, despite characters that were usually pretty weak, was an amazing military fantasy, featuring some the best-written and most inventive battle sequences I've ever read, and quite a bit of interesting strategizing. THE EYES OF GOD, however, is a very definite departure from what Marco has written before. This novel is much more character-driven than his other novels; it is not about a war, but about the interactions of its characters. This was an ambitious move on Marco's part, considering how weak many of his characters have been in his previous novels, and it provides mixed results.

This book is broken into three parts, each better than the last. Truth to tell, I really had to force my way through much of Part One; there was very little originality there. Part One was mostly just a retelling of the whole Arthur/Lancelot/Guenevere story, with a few twists, but it really served to make me a bit wary as to what the rest of the novel would hold. Part Two picks up nearly twenty years later, and basically is there to get all the characters in position for Part Three, which is where the final confrontation between characters occurs. Not only did my level of interest in the plot grow with each successive part -- Marco's skill at writing believable characters grew, too. At the beginning of the novel, many of the characters' actions seemed kind of spontaneous and didn't really work with what we knew of the characters, but by the end the characters all seemed real and natural.

THE EYES OF GOD is a massive book, an epic fantasy that is truly worthy of the name. Like all of Marco's previous novels, this one stands alone even though it is part of a series. This is a book about love and betrayal, passion and madness, loyalty and honor, cowardice and paranoia and guilt. There are some battles, though frequently not on the scale of Marco's previous novels. There are nations at war, but they are not the point of this book. There are magical amulets, characters with "magic," monstrous beings, intrigue and revenge.

Overall, despite a shaky start, this novel is definitely worth reading, and Marco's definitely an author to keep your eyes on.

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I don't have too much to say about this story. I felt like Marco may have been trying to create some dramatic tension for future books, but what we get here is largely awful people doing awful things and just a lot of misery with no payoff. If you enjoy disappointment, this book is for you.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
One of my favourites
The Eyes of God is a wonderful story full of adventure, romance, battle, betrayal, and all the best qualities a book can have into one. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Tara
Awesome
I purchased this book for an amazingly low price, with the promise of quick shipping. The shipping was indeed quick and the book was in great condition. Read more
Published 5 months ago by jkettinger
Boring, bland and occasionally offensive
John Marco gives us a very basic fantasy with Eyes of God. There's kingdoms and Good Kings and Bad Kings and Valiant Knights and caricature Middle Easterners and beautiful... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Sarah B. Castillo
A decent story - but I was left wanting
This was a big book - 779 pages. It bordered on becoming a page turner, but never quite grabbed me. I think the problem with the story was that the characters seemed generally one... Read more
Published 11 months ago by orbops
Poor writing, shallow world, deeply flawed characters
I'm not sure I'd have given this even one star, but there was nothing less, so there you are. Not only is the plot predictable, the culture borrowed from our own world, but the... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Sharon
Sigh.
Ok. This book was consistent in one thing- drawing you in with an interesting premise, then utterly letting you down with a ridiculous follow thru. Read more
Published 14 months ago by JMV
Lackluster effort from a good author
Having read the author's earlier works I had higher hopes. This tale was enough to keep me reading, but like others I found the first part of the book predictable and dull. Read more
Published 19 months ago by B. Wilson
Not All Gambles Pay Off: A would be epic that sputters
I'll give John Marco credit for rolling the dice. He decided he would bring out one of the biggest cliches in the fantasy genre: the Arthurian love triangle. Read more
Published on February 1, 2010 by Kevin M. Derby
Fast-paced fantasy
THE EYES OF GOD moves far faster than any book with 779 pages should. I finished it and still had time to read a couple of other books and write 1,500 words in one day. Read more
Published on January 15, 2009 by Liviania
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... Read more
Published on August 25, 2008 by Ben Wand
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:








i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...