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talia03's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
camilla_dinardo's review against another edition
4.0
Eon was a fascinating book that was full of great mythology and wicked dragons. As the story progressed, I found that it got better and it became easier to understand. I struggled to wrap my head around the mythology in the beginning because it's just so... intense and intricate. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was great, but at times I got a little confused. The mythology is incredible in a way that had me dumbfounded, and yes, a little lost. The pacing was a little slow for me as well, at times, I got a little bored and was anxious for the adventure to pick up. But, the book was 500+ pages, so it's understandable that Eon took a little longer to read new conflicts, plot points and plot twists.
I found Eon to be extremely unique. Alison Goodman writes this book in a way that allows you to have a visual image of the book for the entirety of the novel. Her words create the world to become very real and extremely enticing. I enjoyed following our main character and learning about the world that Goodman has created. If you do not like to read about really detailed and intense mythology, than maybe this isn't the book for you. However, aside from that, I feel that the main characters story truly made up for the things I wasn't fond of in this novel.
Our main character is Eona, but she begins to go by the name Eon to hide her true identity and gender. This is because she lives in a world that doesn't allot girls to do certain things, like become a Dragoneye. Eona's world consists of twelve dragons, and every year, one of the dragons comes forward every year and seeks more power and gains leadership. That one dragon then seeks Dragoneye as an apprentice. This year, The Rat Dragon steps forward and will choose the boy that will become his apprentice. This is where Eona decides that she will become Eon, a boy who wants a chance to become the Dragoneye.
Eona's adventure begins as she must hide who she really is and become Eon, a convincing male who seeks the power and money that comes with being a Dragoneye. When the time comes, and The Rat Dragon must make his choice, Eona is shocked and learns more about herself than ever before. Her struggle to maintain Eon's image and decide whom she can trust kick starts this great adventure.
The two things I loved about this novel were the characters and the plot twists. They really made the book exciting an captivating. I enjoyed the last half of the book better than the first half because the mythology became easier to follow and I became more comfortable with understanding the world and all of the elements that it consisted of.
I look forward to reading the second book and final book in this Duology!
I found Eon to be extremely unique. Alison Goodman writes this book in a way that allows you to have a visual image of the book for the entirety of the novel. Her words create the world to become very real and extremely enticing. I enjoyed following our main character and learning about the world that Goodman has created. If you do not like to read about really detailed and intense mythology, than maybe this isn't the book for you. However, aside from that, I feel that the main characters story truly made up for the things I wasn't fond of in this novel.
Our main character is Eona, but she begins to go by the name Eon to hide her true identity and gender. This is because she lives in a world that doesn't allot girls to do certain things, like become a Dragoneye. Eona's world consists of twelve dragons, and every year, one of the dragons comes forward every year and seeks more power and gains leadership. That one dragon then seeks Dragoneye as an apprentice. This year, The Rat Dragon steps forward and will choose the boy that will become his apprentice. This is where Eona decides that she will become Eon, a boy who wants a chance to become the Dragoneye.
Eona's adventure begins as she must hide who she really is and become Eon, a convincing male who seeks the power and money that comes with being a Dragoneye. When the time comes, and The Rat Dragon must make his choice, Eona is shocked and learns more about herself than ever before. Her struggle to maintain Eon's image and decide whom she can trust kick starts this great adventure.
The two things I loved about this novel were the characters and the plot twists. They really made the book exciting an captivating. I enjoyed the last half of the book better than the first half because the mythology became easier to follow and I became more comfortable with understanding the world and all of the elements that it consisted of.
I look forward to reading the second book and final book in this Duology!
geneags's review against another edition
4.0
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn is certainly unlike any book I've ever read and I'm at a loss at how to go about reviewing it. First of all I didn't have any expectations of how I would receive it but has it turns out I really enjoyed it. One of the things I really liked about it was the Chinese and Japanese influences in the story. I've always been interested in the Chinese Zodiac Animal signs. And this is basically the main angle of the book, young male contestants enter a yearly competition to become the Daragoneye Apprentice for the upcoming Animal sign.
Eon was a candidate for his Master Heuris Brannon, who put all his eggs in one basket hoping Eon would be chosen as the Dragoneye, and help him reclaim his position as a Lord and get in a position to hinder the corruption in the counsel trying to dethrone the emperor. But you see the thing about Eon is, he's not male and is older than twelve, the age of all dragoneye contestants. I guess being poor and laboring in the salt farm most of her life gave Eon a small frame. I liked Eon's strength on how she handled and accepted the burden of all her masters hopes that was put on her, even though continually living her life as a boy did cause her some confusion. Soon Eon would realize more than her master's hope would be on her shoulders.
There are so many elements to this story that made it very interesting and enjoyable. The different types of characters in the story for example, the Eunuchs, and the Contraires especially were an interesting facet. Eunuchs should be self-explanatory but the Contraires are said to have two souls, one male and one female. In the end for me, this was the epic story of Eon's journey to finding his or herself.
Eon was a candidate for his Master Heuris Brannon, who put all his eggs in one basket hoping Eon would be chosen as the Dragoneye, and help him reclaim his position as a Lord and get in a position to hinder the corruption in the counsel trying to dethrone the emperor. But you see the thing about Eon is, he's not male and is older than twelve, the age of all dragoneye contestants. I guess being poor and laboring in the salt farm most of her life gave Eon a small frame. I liked Eon's strength on how she handled and accepted the burden of all her masters hopes that was put on her, even though continually living her life as a boy did cause her some confusion. Soon Eon would realize more than her master's hope would be on her shoulders.
There are so many elements to this story that made it very interesting and enjoyable. The different types of characters in the story for example, the Eunuchs, and the Contraires especially were an interesting facet. Eunuchs should be self-explanatory but the Contraires are said to have two souls, one male and one female. In the end for me, this was the epic story of Eon's journey to finding his or herself.
jitka_c's review against another edition
3.0
Eon se mi četl fakt dobře :) Příběh byl nový, inspirace východními tradicemi nebývá až tak obvyklá, a myslím, že si s tím autorka poradila se ctí. I tak se ale několik připomínek našlo a tak zůstávám u tří hvězdiček. Už teď se těším, až se pustím na další díl - základy má slibné :)
shelbyheartonmysleeve's review against another edition
4.0
While there were a few chapters that almost lost me, the storyline and concept of the book drove me forward. The last 150 pages made the book amazing and I can't wait for book 2! Definitely a unique read--nothing like I've seen in teen or adult fantasy before.
robotnik's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Eon is kind of one of those fantasy stories that I really enjoy when I'm not thinking too hard about the flaws in it, and it definitely has it's flaws.
As a storyline, Eon isn't the most unique, but the writing is interesting and we rarely ever get to see a chosen one story in this sort of setting, so that helps set it apart. The reveal that takes place closer to the end of the story is also something you should probably see coming from a mile away if you're paying enough attention, but even that's alright.
Eon is a mixture of Chinese and Japanese, but has weird names that often sound like neither and sound like weird western words, which kind of throws me off of them a lot of the times. I'll admit to being one of those nerds that watches a lot of Asian television and movies, and hearing these sorts of names almost sounds like an invitation to pretend this is an eastern setting with a bunch of white people in it, which is icky (though I know that's not the intention, don't get me wrong on that bit; I just know some readers have poor reading comprehension, like that whole "why is Rue black?" fiasco).
Like I said, the storyline is interesting, Eon is a good and strong protagonist, Ido is an excellent villain and the rest of the cast is very nicely developed. I think because of these things, it's easy to not mind the flaws that it comes with as now of them are too jarring and they don't really take you out of the story.
If you're in need of a good dragon story that isn't like the usual, Eon is a good bet.
As a storyline, Eon isn't the most unique, but the writing is interesting and we rarely ever get to see a chosen one story in this sort of setting, so that helps set it apart. The reveal that takes place closer to the end of the story is also something you should probably see coming from a mile away if you're paying enough attention, but even that's alright.
Eon is a mixture of Chinese and Japanese, but has weird names that often sound like neither and sound like weird western words, which kind of throws me off of them a lot of the times. I'll admit to being one of those nerds that watches a lot of Asian television and movies, and hearing these sorts of names almost sounds like an invitation to pretend this is an eastern setting with a bunch of white people in it, which is icky (though I know that's not the intention, don't get me wrong on that bit; I just know some readers have poor reading comprehension, like that whole "why is Rue black?" fiasco).
Like I said, the storyline is interesting, Eon is a good and strong protagonist, Ido is an excellent villain and the rest of the cast is very nicely developed. I think because of these things, it's easy to not mind the flaws that it comes with as now of them are too jarring and they don't really take you out of the story.
If you're in need of a good dragon story that isn't like the usual, Eon is a good bet.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Transphobia
carlyoc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In a setting inspired by ancient East Asia, a young girl named Eona has been living as a boy named Eon, training to be a candidate to be chosen as the next dragoneye.
Dragoneyes are the human partners of the twelve dragons that protect the realm, each representing a zodiac sign. Every year, the dragon and dragoneye whose zodiac is active, become Ascendent, growing in power and taking on leadership of the group. That year, they also take on a new apprentice chosen by the dragon, who will train over the next 12 years to be the dragoneye when their zodiac sign is active again.
Eon is hoping to be chosen by the Rat dragon this year, but instead is selected by the Mirror dragon (representing the dragon zodiac sign I guess because dragon dragon sounds silly). The mirror dragon has been missing for hundreds of years, so no one knows what it means that a new apprentice has been chosen after all this time, especially with no previous Mirror dragoneye to train her.
This story features vibrant and epic world-building, trans representation, and some very basic character growth as Eon/Eona unlearns the internalized misogyny she learned from growing up in a society that sees women as weak and inferior.
Dragoneyes are the human partners of the twelve dragons that protect the realm, each representing a zodiac sign. Every year, the dragon and dragoneye whose zodiac is active, become Ascendent, growing in power and taking on leadership of the group. That year, they also take on a new apprentice chosen by the dragon, who will train over the next 12 years to be the dragoneye when their zodiac sign is active again.
Eon is hoping to be chosen by the Rat dragon this year, but instead is selected by the Mirror dragon (representing the dragon zodiac sign I guess because dragon dragon sounds silly). The mirror dragon has been missing for hundreds of years, so no one knows what it means that a new apprentice has been chosen after all this time, especially with no previous Mirror dragoneye to train her.
This story features vibrant and epic world-building, trans representation, and some very basic character growth as Eon/Eona unlearns the internalized misogyny she learned from growing up in a society that sees women as weak and inferior.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Transphobia, Blood, Murder, and War
Features threats of and attempted sexual assaultmikaela_basile's review against another edition
2.0
Meh, wasn't my favorite. I got very frustrated with the "foreshadowing" which was incredibly obvious but still took the character like 4 chapters to figure out. "ITS WRITTEN IN WOMEN'S SCRIPT, WHY IS IT TAKING YOU SO LONG TO SHOW THE DAMN BOOK TO A LADY??!"
zuzie's review against another edition
5.0
Na túto knihu som počula len samé chvály a tak som teda od nej automaticky aj veľa očakávala. A tá kniha, má v sebe niečo, neviem to opísať, ale pohltilo ma to od prvých stránok. Na jednej strane som chcela čítať a čítať a neprestať, na strane druhej som však nechcela prísť až na jej koniec, pretože by mi to chýbalo. V momentoch, kedy som knihu odložila som si niekedy až priala znova sa vrátiť do Eoninho sveta. Ktovie prečo, ale akoby tá kniha mala v sebe niečo magické, div, že sa mi nepriviazala perlami k ruke. Ani by som sa nečudovala.
Všetko má však svoj koniec a tak som sa aj ja chtiac-nechtiac musela dočítať až na poslednú stranu, čo mi bolo nesmierne ľúto, ale na druhej strane, mala som za sebou štyristo neskutočne úžasných strán, ktoré si raz určite prečítam znova. Ale to až keď už budem mať svoju. A to si už rovno kúpim aj pokračovanie, na ktoré som už teraz "nadržaná". Normálne je to asi prvý dôvod, prečo sa teraz neviem dočkať vianoc. Pretože Eon a Eona budú určite na zozname darčekov, ktoré si kúpim.
Nemám viac čo povedať. Mohla by som sa rozpisovať o deji, ale myslím, že najlepšie bude, ak si každý túto knihu prečíta sám a sám prežije celý príbeh bez toho aby som ja niečo prezrádzala. Ale musím priznať, že niektoré...rozuzlenia ak sa to tak dá nazvať by som veru nečakala, čakala som niečo klasické, čo už poznám z podobných kníh, ale nič také sa nedialo.
Všetko má však svoj koniec a tak som sa aj ja chtiac-nechtiac musela dočítať až na poslednú stranu, čo mi bolo nesmierne ľúto, ale na druhej strane, mala som za sebou štyristo neskutočne úžasných strán, ktoré si raz určite prečítam znova. Ale to až keď už budem mať svoju. A to si už rovno kúpim aj pokračovanie, na ktoré som už teraz "nadržaná". Normálne je to asi prvý dôvod, prečo sa teraz neviem dočkať vianoc. Pretože Eon a Eona budú určite na zozname darčekov, ktoré si kúpim.
Nemám viac čo povedať. Mohla by som sa rozpisovať o deji, ale myslím, že najlepšie bude, ak si každý túto knihu prečíta sám a sám prežije celý príbeh bez toho aby som ja niečo prezrádzala. Ale musím priznať, že niektoré...rozuzlenia ak sa to tak dá nazvať by som veru nečakala, čakala som niečo klasické, čo už poznám z podobných kníh, ale nič také sa nedialo.
bananathemuffin's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably my favorite book of all time, and I doubt I'll find anything to replace it anytime soon. I've read this book (and its sequal) twice now and am planning on reading it for a third time soon!
Goodman did a beautiful job fleshing out the world she created and explaining everything in detail without dragging on about it. A problem I've found in a lot of fantasy is that the world either gets very little attention, or so much that you spend the first 100 pages just tudging through lore without any plotline in sight. Eon almost starts to creep into the latter category, but depending on your preferences you'll still find the beginning highly enjoyable.
With a lot of YA novels, you usually have to choose between a good and believeable plot or deep characters that make you care about each and every one of them, no matter how small. I personally found that this book offered both. No matter how frustrating it is when the characters make the wrong choice, it's still believable. I'd much rather read about characters that I can relate to making dumb choices (because I too make a lot of dumb choices) over characters that always have the perfect solutions to their problems right away.
Goodman did a beautiful job fleshing out the world she created and explaining everything in detail without dragging on about it. A problem I've found in a lot of fantasy is that the world either gets very little attention, or so much that you spend the first 100 pages just tudging through lore without any plotline in sight. Eon almost starts to creep into the latter category, but depending on your preferences you'll still find the beginning highly enjoyable.
With a lot of YA novels, you usually have to choose between a good and believeable plot or deep characters that make you care about each and every one of them, no matter how small. I personally found that this book offered both. No matter how frustrating it is when the characters make the wrong choice, it's still believable. I'd much rather read about characters that I can relate to making dumb choices (because I too make a lot of dumb choices) over characters that always have the perfect solutions to their problems right away.