EON – Alison Goodman
Note: Book giveaway below!
Marirosa Mia: My dear friend, Annie (of Anniezilla) is back for another round of book reviewing! If you didn't catch our first round where we reviewed the addicting SWEEP series go check it out if you get the chance. Now, take it away, Annie.
Annie: About a year and a half ago, you sent me a lovely book called EON: DRAGONEYE REBORN, by Alison Goodman. Read it, loved it, realized it was by the author of a book and short story combo that I had enjoyed previously, loved it some more. Much to my dismay, it was another year before you would read it (tsk tsk – though at least you didn’t have to wait long for the sequel).
Our heroine Eona starts out hiding her true identity by pretending to be a boy, Eon, in the hopes of becoming a legendary Dragoneye, with control of a dragon aligned to one of the Chinese zodiac signs. As a contender, she is bound to a master focused on helping her become the next Rat Dragoneye (the current astrological sign). At the same time, she must deal with her own physical disability, which weakens her capacity to train with the other potentials. Not to mention the fact that she must hide her female self for fear of death. Throughout the book ‘Eon’ struggles with her true self in order to become Eona. Politically, the atmosphere is changing and Eona must also confront the repercussions of actions that reflect her internal confusion and development.
Eona is not the book’s only strong character. Goodman also skillfully develops secondary characters, each with a unique voice. I know you must have loved Lady Dela and Ryko, Mia. They certainly stand apart from the standard trope of the secondary character.
M: I love me some well-developed secondary characters, Annie! Especially ones as genuine as Lady Dela and Ryko. Their relationships with Eona and each other were so well created, I yearned (yes, yearned) for Eona to confide in them and trust them as much as I did. I’ve got to tell you, Annie, I L.O.V.E.D this book and its sequel EONA (which we'll talk about at a later post), and I'm so very happy I didn't have to wait a year to read EONA. This was one of those "just another ten pages" books that you can't put down, and before you know it it's 2 a.m., and you're having a small panic attack because you have to go to work tomorrow in the morning, and you aren't sure 4 hours is enough time to finish the book. Yeah. One of those books. Once I finished I started making a list of people to make read it.
I loved how frank it was in terms of the story; how Goodman was aware of her lead female character as a female. It didn't feel like a ploy or a device - 'oh look! a girl pretending to be a boy!' It felt instead natural and accurate, which I'm not sure is the right word. There’s no ignoring Eona as a woman. You might say, "Of course not! The whole plot is that she’s a girl pretending to be a boy!" But there’s more to it in this story. She isn't just a girl wearing a slouchy shirt, putting on a funny 'man' voice and trying to swagger like John Wayne. She's binding her breasts, she's going against biology, she's fighting against her own body to be anything but a woman, which would get her and her master killed. I liked how denying her true self took on a very negative form even in the ways she went about it: poison, painful binding, crippling, etc. By refusing who she was, she was essentially killing herself. Pretty powerful stuff. Now I'm babbling. Annie?
A: I think you're pretty spot-on regarding the denial of Eona's femininity and resulting injury. As the story progresses, the theme of identity emerges. It’s even more prominent in the sequel. EON has plenty of characters besides Eona who must deal with their place in the world and their performance of their role, including your much-loved Lady Dela and Ryko. Also, the other pivotal characters, Lord Ido and Prince Kygo, each have a level of strength that is based on their ability to understand their own identity or role. As with Eona, the more the characters understand themselves, the more strength they gather. And, as Eona also establishes, the characters fully in denial of themselves or lacking personal conviction tend to, how should I say this? Not fare as well.
By the way, my fiancé actually read the book before me (as he was scouting through my pile of books to see if anything was for him). He was right there with you, urging me to read it. Luckily I had the weekend to zoom through it. I hope our discussion will encourage other people to pick it up. The book creates a much richer and more vibrant, if not stunning, world then I think is indicated by the book jacket.
M: Yes! Go out and get EON! (Or comment below and enter to win a free copy of the EON paperback! Winners will be announced next week!) And stay tuned for our follow-up review of EONA which comes out in April!! (Which means go get EON now so you can run out and get the second part of this duo-logy as soon as it hits the shelves.)
sounds awesome! I want to win a free copy!
Posted by: Nic | 04/12/2011 at 05:15 PM