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residentskeleton 's review for:
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn
by Alison Goodman
Mushu: The truth is we're both frauds. Your ancestors never sent me, they don't even like me. But you risked your life to help people you love. I risked your life to help myself. At least you had good intentions.
[Cri-Kee chirps sadly at Mushu]
Mushu: What?! What do you mean you're not lucky?! You lied to me?
[Cri-Kee nods sadly]
Mushu: [to Mulan's horse] And what are you, a sheep?!
I love that movie. Of all the Disney princesses, I have loved Mulan best since it came out and my older sister dropped her nachos down the stairs of the theater. Good times...
But seriously, Mulan was kickass. A girl who selflessly masquerades as a man to rescue her father from imminent death only to save her country and win the heart of one of the hottest animated men to ever grace the silver screen.
Regardless, I couldn't help but draw comparisons between Eon and Mulan. And for all intents and purposes, Mulan achieved in 90 minutes everything Eon tried to do in 531 pages.
My main issue with this book was the writing. Goodman includes so much pointless detail that the story slows to a crawl shortly after starting and never really speeds back up. I spent the majority of this book wishing I could magically delete 30% of Goodman's sentences. It was frustrating.
However, should that have been the only issue, I think I could have looked past it. But the fact that Eon's internal narrative is so based on telling rather than showing made me want to beat the tome against my head in punishment more than once.
The character of Eon was also a major problem for me. For a girl who supposedly blocked her "moon energy" over the years, she was more Mary Sue than Mulan. I wanted to strangle Eon so many times throughout the course of the book I actually found myself rooting against her.
She had little personality besides just being there for the story. She was often selfish, hypocritical, and just plain naive. I figured out all of the "big secrets" pretty early and was then forced to sit through 400 pages of Eon trying.
Then came this little darling that finally sent me into a 20 minute rant to my mother:
"Solly, I have Lord Eon with me," Ryko said quickly.
So, [Ryko] had not told them the truth about me. Who was only giving half the story now?
Seriously Eon? You're criticizing this guy- who is extremely pissed at you, by the way- for keeping your secret rather than spreading it around to his fellow soldiers? Last time I checked, you wanted your little secret kept on the down low. You know, Mulan was appreciative when Shang decided not to kill her when he discovered the truth. She did NOT call him a hypocrite! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR! GAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
Initial reaction:
Then:
Calming down:
Okay, okay, I'm good...
The book's one saving grace was the fact that the other characters aren't all cardboard cutouts. Lady Dela, Ryko, Dillon, the prince, and even Lord Ido are all fairly well drawn personalities who add to the story where Eon detracts. The atmosphere would have been nice should Goodman not have taken it upon herself to explain the size, color, and location of every single piece of home decor in every single room Eon enters throughout the story.
And here's one last thing that probably ruined Eon for me: I play video games. Lots of them. And many of my personal favorites are high fantasy adventures with very deep, lush worlds: the Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Suikoden, the Elder Scrolls. In other words, I'm spoiled. Eon's world, while interesting enough, didn't blow my mind.
Perhaps I could be called unfair for comparing a book to something visual like a video game or a Disney movie, but I disagree. Books have the ability to create more depth than a movie could ever hope for due to time constraints. Video games are about on par with books but they don't have the advantage of allowing the player to create their own imaginings. What you see is what you get.
The world of Eon wasn't completely terrible, but it just wasn't great. Goodman's world won't be anything new to those who dwell in the fantasy realms quite often.
So would I recommend this book? If it interests you, go ahead and give it a shot. As for me, well, let me put my feelings this way:
If I'm looking for a world steeped in Asian culture I'll watch Avatar the Last Airbender.
If I'm looking for complex magic systems I'll play any of the Final Fantasy games (though I recommend X for story alone).
If I'm looking for a story about girl power I'll watch Mulan.
If none of the above options are available, there's always the old standby.
[Cri-Kee chirps sadly at Mushu]
Mushu: What?! What do you mean you're not lucky?! You lied to me?
[Cri-Kee nods sadly]
Mushu: [to Mulan's horse] And what are you, a sheep?!
I love that movie. Of all the Disney princesses, I have loved Mulan best since it came out and my older sister dropped her nachos down the stairs of the theater. Good times...
But seriously, Mulan was kickass. A girl who selflessly masquerades as a man to rescue her father from imminent death only to save her country and win the heart of one of the hottest animated men to ever grace the silver screen.
Regardless, I couldn't help but draw comparisons between Eon and Mulan. And for all intents and purposes, Mulan achieved in 90 minutes everything Eon tried to do in 531 pages.
My main issue with this book was the writing. Goodman includes so much pointless detail that the story slows to a crawl shortly after starting and never really speeds back up. I spent the majority of this book wishing I could magically delete 30% of Goodman's sentences. It was frustrating.
However, should that have been the only issue, I think I could have looked past it. But the fact that Eon's internal narrative is so based on telling rather than showing made me want to beat the tome against my head in punishment more than once.
The character of Eon was also a major problem for me. For a girl who supposedly blocked her "moon energy" over the years, she was more Mary Sue than Mulan. I wanted to strangle Eon so many times throughout the course of the book I actually found myself rooting against her.
She had little personality besides just being there for the story. She was often selfish, hypocritical, and just plain naive. I figured out all of the "big secrets" pretty early and was then forced to sit through 400 pages of Eon trying.
Then came this little darling that finally sent me into a 20 minute rant to my mother:
Spoiler
(Note: this is near the end of the book where Eon has officially been outed as a female to those closest to her but not to the rest of the world.)"Solly, I have Lord Eon with me," Ryko said quickly.
So, [Ryko] had not told them the truth about me. Who was only giving half the story now?
Seriously Eon? You're criticizing this guy- who is extremely pissed at you, by the way- for keeping your secret rather than spreading it around to his fellow soldiers? Last time I checked, you wanted your little secret kept on the down low. You know, Mulan was appreciative when Shang decided not to kill her when he discovered the truth. She did NOT call him a hypocrite! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU STAND FOR! GAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
Initial reaction:
Then:
Calming down:
Okay, okay, I'm good...
The book's one saving grace was the fact that the other characters aren't all cardboard cutouts. Lady Dela, Ryko, Dillon, the prince, and even Lord Ido are all fairly well drawn personalities who add to the story where Eon detracts. The atmosphere would have been nice should Goodman not have taken it upon herself to explain the size, color, and location of every single piece of home decor in every single room Eon enters throughout the story.
And here's one last thing that probably ruined Eon for me: I play video games. Lots of them. And many of my personal favorites are high fantasy adventures with very deep, lush worlds: the Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Suikoden, the Elder Scrolls. In other words, I'm spoiled. Eon's world, while interesting enough, didn't blow my mind.
Perhaps I could be called unfair for comparing a book to something visual like a video game or a Disney movie, but I disagree. Books have the ability to create more depth than a movie could ever hope for due to time constraints. Video games are about on par with books but they don't have the advantage of allowing the player to create their own imaginings. What you see is what you get.
The world of Eon wasn't completely terrible, but it just wasn't great. Goodman's world won't be anything new to those who dwell in the fantasy realms quite often.
So would I recommend this book? If it interests you, go ahead and give it a shot. As for me, well, let me put my feelings this way:
If I'm looking for a world steeped in Asian culture I'll watch Avatar the Last Airbender.
If I'm looking for complex magic systems I'll play any of the Final Fantasy games (though I recommend X for story alone).
If I'm looking for a story about girl power I'll watch Mulan.
If none of the above options are available, there's always the old standby.