Eon by Alison Goodman

Eon by Alison Goodman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: August 1, 2008

Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he'll be able to apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But he also has a dark secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a dangerous lie for the chance to become a Dragon-eye, the human link to an energy dragon's power. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic and, if discovered, Eon faces a terrible death. After a dazzling sword ceremony, Eon's affinity with the twelve dragons catapults him into the treacherous world of the Imperial court, where he makes a powerful enemy, Lord Ido. As tension builds and Eon's desperate lie comes to light, readers won't be able to stop turning the pages...

My Review:

I am often distracted by beautiful, shiny objects while browsing any store, and while browsing a bookstore, beautiful, shiny covers catch my attention very often. And this one was definitely no exception with the exquisite design of the dragon along with a figure posed with two very sharp swords. Not to mention the font of the title. Yes, I was mesmerized indeed.

This book was such a nice breath of fresh air. If I didn't have finals the same time I read this book, I may have finished it within a day. One of the strongest points in the book were the characters, and the diversity of the characters. The main character, Eon, was a female crippled disguised in order to train as a Dragoneye apprentice. Some supporting characters are a full-body disabled and a man crossdressing as a woman who is in love with a eunuch guard. The characters were simply superb, with a decent amount of development to accompany them.

I admit that during the second part of the book, the plot felt like it slowed down considerably as Eon adjusted to life in the palace, but once the pace picked back up, it was exciting once more with dragons galore, epic sword fights, and an ending that left me begging for the sequel. The novel definitely has a level of maturity I did not expect from a young adult novel, which left me pleasantly surprised.

Overall? Buy this book. Now. And relish in a beautifully told story weaved from Chinese and Japanese mythology with plenty of action dashed in.

Verdict: Five out of five