Book Review: Eon

Title: Eon

Author: Alison Goodman

Genre: YA Fantasy

Book Blurb: 

Sixteen-year-old Eon has a dream, and a mission. For years, he's been studying sword-work and magic, toward one end. He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye-an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.

But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a twelve-year-old boy. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured.

When Eon's secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne. Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic...and her life

Review:

Did you read the book blurb yet? If not, go read it and then come back--don't worry, I'll wait. Did you do it? Good. Now you'll understand my initial reaction after reading the backcover of Eon.

Yep--the whole set ups just screams "Mulan"! (Which, by the way, is one of my Disney faves)

Before I continue this review, let me clear up some confusion. This book is published under three different titles: Eon, Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, and Two Pearls of Wisdom. No, I do not know why the same book has three different titles...but for the sake of simplicity, I'm just going to refer to this book as Eon in this particular review.

A quick back story (feel free to skip this if you would like.) My sister read this book many months ago and said it was really good. I took one look at the book and said, "Cool" before going back to (re)reading Legend.  Fast forward to present day. I went to the library with my sister and she saw this book and wouldn't stop pestering me, trying to get me to read it. So, in order to shut her up (and I say this as lovingly as possible), I decided to give Eon a whirl.

I'm glad I listened to her. (I'm pretty sure she has a "told-you-so" expression on her face right now)

Eon is unlike anything I've ever read before. It's a thick book (500+ pages) and I read it in two days (but I'll count it as 1 day since I only read 30 pages the first day.) Right away, Eon(a)'s character intrigued me. Eon(a) has to watch her every move, careful not to do anything that might give her gender away, which immediately made even the most simplistic tasks a challenge/interesting. Plus, did I mention she's a cripple? An "accident" (you later learn it really was no accident--but I won't spoil it for you and say what really happened) crushed her hip, leaving one of her legs next to useless.  As a cripple, she's often considered bad luck and is ridiculed. The only reason why she was considered a possible candidate to be a Dragoneye apprentice is because she could see the dragons at will.

Let me explain the dragons (cause this is a fantasy novel after all.) The kingdom (which is suspiciously like ancient China/Japan) is ruled by the emperor who takes advice from the Council. The council is comprised of 12 members, each a Dragoneye--someone who can connect with a specific dragon (12 in total--one for each of the zodiac animals.) The Dragoneyes have the power to bring rain, change the tide, move mountains, etc...basically their job is to help the kingdom prosper. 

The book starts out pretty slowly for the first 100 pages or so. It doesn't really pick up pace until your about 150 pages in and then by the end of the book (last 100 pages) your zipping along like nobody's business.  But honestly, the first 100 pages was rather tedious. There was just so much bloody details details details. I like details--they keep things interesting--just not that much details. Think the beginning of The Hobbit or one of those really long monologue paragraphs in Eragon dedicated to details and you have a pretty good grasp of what I mean.

A word to the wise before you start reading this book: there is a lot of...um, gender conflictions? I don't know how to quite word this. I think these 3 main characters can probably sum up the message I'm trying to get across. Eon--girl who dresses and pretends to be a boy. Lady Dela--a man who has a "woman's" spirit and dresses like a lady. Ryko--dude who can't, um, reproduce due to earlier life choices made by free-will. These are just a few examples. I don't mind stuff like this--it just kind of caught me off guard.

***SORT of SPOILER***

What do I mean by sort of spoiler? Well, I thought the "plot twists" were kind of obvious...I predicted the outcome 200 pages before the big "secret" was revealed. Let me give you the info provided to readers within the first half of the book. The Mirror Dragon has been missing for 500 years, but chooses to reappear when Eon(a) vies for the Dragoneye apprentice position. Eon(a) can sort of see the Mirror Dragon, but finds that her ability wanes when she starts taking Sun drugs (think steroids).  Hmm...can you put two and two together?

Final thoughts: This was definitely a gripping book with several "cringe" moments. Although the plot was rather predictable (and I didn't even get to talk about the Prince--another kinda major character who I predict will play quite an interesting role in the sequel--in this review!) I still thoroughly enjoyed Eon. I would recommend this book if you liked The Demon King, Eragon and historical fiction/fantasy cross overs.

Rating: