Dragons and Adventure

 Eona

So….I broke my own rule and read two books at one time. I don’t really understand how people can do that, but I did it because I had to finish a certain book by Tuesday, but I had already started the other. I paused reading Water for Elephants (really good so far, by the way) in order to read Eona by Alison Goodman. It was a win, win situation since both books were (are) quite excellent.

Eona is the sequel to Eon, a book that I read quite a long time ago. It feels like that anyway. That was my issue when I started this book. I couldn’t remember much that happened at the end of the last book, so I was highly confused at the beginning of this book. I worked out most of my confusion towards the end, but it was still kind of difficult for me to read, being that they made reference to things that I didn’t remember, especially characters names. Oh well, I still finished and it was still an enjoyable read.

Eon  is set in a Chinese-like setting where once every 12 years, boys compete to become the Ascendent Dragoneye. Basically, they will have the control of the power of all the dragons in the land. Eon is one of the boys competing in this competition, but he is not highly favored because he is cripple. Also, he is not a 12-year-old boy, but a 16-year-old girl. If this was found out, there would be high consequences. Anyway, Eon is able to see all the “spirit dragons,” which is unusual. The book then follows the story line of the competition, then how it goes horribly wrong. And Eona picks up where Eon left off, which is what I couldn’t really remember. And something that I cannot tell you, so I will not spoil anything 🙂

I enjoyed this book because it was basically non-stop action. There was never a dull spot in the book, even though it is over 600 pages. Don’t let the size scare you away though, because it is a fairly quick read. What I also enjoy is that Eona is the one saving the men, not the other way around. She is a strong female character, and you don’t really see that much in books. It’s always the men saving the women, because they are “damsels in distress.” Please. Girls can take care of the themselves.

I will warn you, there are some rather gory parts in this novel. There is description of torture and war, and it make me shiver at some points. What Goodman describes just sounds downright painful to me, and I didn’t take much pleasure in reading those spots. But all in all, this is a very well developed story, that I really enjoyed reading. And I’m glad she didn’t extend her series just to make more money, like some authors (cough, cough, Christopher Paolini, cough, cough). Two novels was absolutely perfect for Alison Goodman to get her story out.

Well, as you know, I will be reading Water for Elephants next, but I might slip another two books in before that. I have to finish them by Tuesday as well. As always, if there’s a book you’d like to read, just leave a comment!