If you want a hardcore fantasy set in a deliciously elaborate and complex world, pick up EON: DRAGONEYE REBORN. Goodman's majestic tale brings to mind the works of fantasy masters like Garth Nix, Robin McKinley, Diane Wynne Jones, and more. Eon's world is well wrought, engaging, and one hundred percent fascinating.
The world of EON: DRAGONEYE REBORN is reminiscent of ancient Asian cultures, and is a careful and studied mixture of the spiritual and the physical. I loved the idea of dragons being a part of the energy world, of Dragoneyes connecting with the dragons to share a mutual power. At the same time, the physical setting is incredible: a place full of beauty and treachery, awe and horror. Alison Goodman weaves for readers a multisensory setting that's a treat to experience.
The characters are far from lacking either. Eon is a brilliant, three-dimensional protagonist: his internal conflict of adhering to the tradition of male Dragoneyes versus breaking protocol and acknowledging Eona is heartbreaking and enthralling. Readers may be able to guess things that the often-obstinate Eon misses, but all in all Eon is a fascinating character to follow in this highly charged story.
At a little over 500 pages, EON: DRAGONEYE REBORN may seem like a daunting read, but every chapter is worth it, even the few that you wish would speed up to Eon's long-awaited revelations. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel, EONA: THE LAST DRAGONEYE, to come out, so that I can read more about Eon/Eona and his/her adventures in this magnificently complex world.
The world of EON: DRAGONEYE REBORN is reminiscent of ancient Asian cultures, and is a careful and studied mixture of the spiritual and the physical. I loved the idea of dragons being a part of the energy world, of Dragoneyes connecting with the dragons to share a mutual power. At the same time, the physical setting is incredible: a place full of beauty and treachery, awe and horror. Alison Goodman weaves for readers a multisensory setting that's a treat to experience.
The characters are far from lacking either. Eon is a brilliant, three-dimensional protagonist: his internal conflict of adhering to the tradition of male Dragoneyes versus breaking protocol and acknowledging Eona is heartbreaking and enthralling. Readers may be able to guess things that the often-obstinate Eon misses, but all in all Eon is a fascinating character to follow in this highly charged story.
At a little over 500 pages, EON: DRAGONEYE REBORN may seem like a daunting read, but every chapter is worth it, even the few that you wish would speed up to Eon's long-awaited revelations. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel, EONA: THE LAST DRAGONEYE, to come out, so that I can read more about Eon/Eona and his/her adventures in this magnificently complex world.
Right away I will say that I didn't realize this is the first book of two. So anyone who is thinking about reading this book should know that. This book does not resolve any part of the story and really leaves you hanging. It is an okay book overall; there are some things about it that are amazing and some things that are really annoying. I listened to it on audio book and the audio book quality was good; although sometimes the narrator got a bit shrill when reading parts where Eon goes into a panic.
Eona is a Dragoneye candidate. She is passing as Eon, a male candidate, because females are not allowed to be candidates. Eon is special because she can see all the dragons in the spirit world. Her Master is desperately hoping that Eon will get chosen to be the new Dragoneye Apprentice.
The story is a good one. There is a ton of attention to detail with regards to the Asian feudal society and the beliefs and rituals of that time. Eon is a good character that treads a tough path; in the beginning she seems weak but she ends up having a core of toughness that is admirable.
Unfortunately there was a lot more that bothered me about this book. The plot moves very, very slow for the first half of the book. Part of this is because of the great amount of detail the author puts in. Some of it is interesting but a lot of it is unnecessary. For example at one point Eon is going in to bathe; the author needs to describe how stressful it is for Eon, how the tiles look in the bathing room, the temperature of the water, etc. I actually fell asleep for 5 minutes in the car and when I woke up I asked my husband what was going on. He laughed and said that Eon still hadn't quite gotten into the bathtub. This is how this book went. It seemed like some action was imminent (like taking a bath) and it would take 15 minutes (for the audio book) to get through all the descriptions and Eon's panicking to finally get to that action; it made for horrible pacing. Both my husband and I found it wearying and boring to the point where we almost stopped listening a number of times.
The other large thing I didn't like about this book was Eon in general. Eon was susceptible to almost constant attacks of panic and self-doubt throughout the whole book. Even as she became more powerful she would still drop into lengthy digressions about how dangerous something was, how she might be caught, how she didn't know if she could do it, and what if she wasn't enough? This is understandable for a character to go through once in a while, but Eon did this very frequently and it didn't get better as the book went on. I understand that Eon lived in constant fear. As a reader we understand this, we don't need that character to go into lengthy panicky digressions every other page; it didn't add a lot to the story and took up a lot of page space.
My last complaint is that the book doesn't resolve anything. You are pretty much left in the middle of a battle. The next book isn't released until 2010 sometime. That is a long time to make your readers wait. If you are looking at reading this duology I would recommend waiting until the second book has been released.
Overall this book wasn't a favorite of mine. The pace was just too tedious, the detail painful, and Eon exceptionally whiny and panicky. I will read the next book though because nothing is resolved in this book.
Eona is a Dragoneye candidate. She is passing as Eon, a male candidate, because females are not allowed to be candidates. Eon is special because she can see all the dragons in the spirit world. Her Master is desperately hoping that Eon will get chosen to be the new Dragoneye Apprentice.
The story is a good one. There is a ton of attention to detail with regards to the Asian feudal society and the beliefs and rituals of that time. Eon is a good character that treads a tough path; in the beginning she seems weak but she ends up having a core of toughness that is admirable.
Unfortunately there was a lot more that bothered me about this book. The plot moves very, very slow for the first half of the book. Part of this is because of the great amount of detail the author puts in. Some of it is interesting but a lot of it is unnecessary. For example at one point Eon is going in to bathe; the author needs to describe how stressful it is for Eon, how the tiles look in the bathing room, the temperature of the water, etc. I actually fell asleep for 5 minutes in the car and when I woke up I asked my husband what was going on. He laughed and said that Eon still hadn't quite gotten into the bathtub. This is how this book went. It seemed like some action was imminent (like taking a bath) and it would take 15 minutes (for the audio book) to get through all the descriptions and Eon's panicking to finally get to that action; it made for horrible pacing. Both my husband and I found it wearying and boring to the point where we almost stopped listening a number of times.
The other large thing I didn't like about this book was Eon in general. Eon was susceptible to almost constant attacks of panic and self-doubt throughout the whole book. Even as she became more powerful she would still drop into lengthy digressions about how dangerous something was, how she might be caught, how she didn't know if she could do it, and what if she wasn't enough? This is understandable for a character to go through once in a while, but Eon did this very frequently and it didn't get better as the book went on. I understand that Eon lived in constant fear. As a reader we understand this, we don't need that character to go into lengthy panicky digressions every other page; it didn't add a lot to the story and took up a lot of page space.
My last complaint is that the book doesn't resolve anything. You are pretty much left in the middle of a battle. The next book isn't released until 2010 sometime. That is a long time to make your readers wait. If you are looking at reading this duology I would recommend waiting until the second book has been released.
Overall this book wasn't a favorite of mine. The pace was just too tedious, the detail painful, and Eon exceptionally whiny and panicky. I will read the next book though because nothing is resolved in this book.
Reviewed by The Story Siren for TeensReadToo.com
This book was spectacular! I really enjoyed reading it, very addicting. The story takes place in a sort of Asian themed world. Although the world itself is purely created by the author, Goodman did mirror some of the past elements of Asian culture and society, which I thought was a wonderful addition to the overall setting. Beautiful descriptions!
The plot, while steady throughout the novel, seemed to fly by the last quarter or so! There was some predictability, and I was frustrated with Eon/a for not figuring it out earlier when it's so blatantly obvious! For a fairly smart boy/girl, she was considerably dense when it came to this aspect!
Despite my frustrations, it did play out nicely within the plot, and while I became increasingly frustrated in this one element of the story I totally missed the obviousness of another! But perhaps that is what Goodman had planned all along.
The characters were all fascinating and well-developed. My favorites had to be Lady Dela, Ryko, and Chart.
Goodman's writing is filled with rich details! I loved the descriptive elements! Did I mention that already!?
Can I just say that I really had no idea what a eunuch was and not come across as ignorant? I actually learned a thing or two while reading EON: DRAGONEYE REBORN.
My only complaint is the ending - total cliffhanger. I need the next book, like now.
This book was spectacular! I really enjoyed reading it, very addicting. The story takes place in a sort of Asian themed world. Although the world itself is purely created by the author, Goodman did mirror some of the past elements of Asian culture and society, which I thought was a wonderful addition to the overall setting. Beautiful descriptions!
The plot, while steady throughout the novel, seemed to fly by the last quarter or so! There was some predictability, and I was frustrated with Eon/a for not figuring it out earlier when it's so blatantly obvious! For a fairly smart boy/girl, she was considerably dense when it came to this aspect!
Despite my frustrations, it did play out nicely within the plot, and while I became increasingly frustrated in this one element of the story I totally missed the obviousness of another! But perhaps that is what Goodman had planned all along.
The characters were all fascinating and well-developed. My favorites had to be Lady Dela, Ryko, and Chart.
Goodman's writing is filled with rich details! I loved the descriptive elements! Did I mention that already!?
Can I just say that I really had no idea what a eunuch was and not come across as ignorant? I actually learned a thing or two while reading EON: DRAGONEYE REBORN.
My only complaint is the ending - total cliffhanger. I need the next book, like now.
Be pre-warned, this is a page turner by a gifted storyteller! There is relentlessness of plot that keeps you up all night and on into daylight to finish it up. The characters are real people with real lives and you get caught up in the 'real' world of Alison Goodman's creation. Everything is based on an oriental style world that is easy to see and believe in. The main character Eon, is steeped in danger, deception and the machinations of court intrique, how will Lord Eon cope?
We have to go along for the ride and pray that the Dragoneye apprentice finds his courage and his hope. The only major downer...it's the first of two books and we have to wait for the next. Good reading.
We have to go along for the ride and pray that the Dragoneye apprentice finds his courage and his hope. The only major downer...it's the first of two books and we have to wait for the next. Good reading.
EON tells the story of a well-built world, populated with great characters. It was very nice to see a story with magic and mysticism built around Asian themes as opposed to the more common witches, wizards, etc.
I took away a star because while the story was well plotted and the characters were intelligently written, I spent about 50 pages cursing the main character for being slow to realize the "twist".
I took away a star because while the story was well plotted and the characters were intelligently written, I spent about 50 pages cursing the main character for being slow to realize the "twist".
I think this is the best example of teen fiction I have ever read. What a great book, and what a great epic story. Eon shows you what a person can be capable of when facing adversity. I couldn't put it down - this would be enjoyable for adults and teens, and I certainly recommend it for young readers. The second book was as good if not better!
I really thought I would enjoy this book. So much so that I bought the 2nd book in the series before reading this one. What a mistake! I found this book to be so boring. It was so hard to keep my mind from wandering. There were no endearing characters, it was very predictable, main character constantly making the same mistakes, moves at a snail's pace. As much as I just wanted to put this one down, I stuck with it thinking it will come around. It never really did. I did give it 2 stars because I thought was were a very few good parts in it. I will not be reading the 2nd book!
I liked the idea behind this novel. I'm really into female empowerment and really going for what you want even if it means hiding your true nature (like becoming a man) to get to your goal.
With that said, this book was what I thought it was going to be and not at the same time. I love dragons and fantasy. And, like before, I love girls dressing up as guys. But this book was ehhh.
I felt confused throughout the book and I felt like this story had so much potential but it just fell short. The dynamics of Eon's story was just bland to me. Yeah, he/she goes through a lot to get where she is but her beginnings weren't really explained and when the book ended, it did not make me want to go up and get the sequel.
With that said, this book was what I thought it was going to be and not at the same time. I love dragons and fantasy. And, like before, I love girls dressing up as guys. But this book was ehhh.
I felt confused throughout the book and I felt like this story had so much potential but it just fell short. The dynamics of Eon's story was just bland to me. Yeah, he/she goes through a lot to get where she is but her beginnings weren't really explained and when the book ended, it did not make me want to go up and get the sequel.
