Review: Eon

Title: Eon
Author: Alison Goodman
Genre: YA, Fantasy

Sixteen-year-old Eon has a dream, and a mission. For years, he's been studying sword-work and magic, toward one end. He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye-an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.

But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a twelve-year-old boy. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured.

When Eon's secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne. Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic...and her life. --Goodreads

If you’re looking for romance, that’s not what you’re going to get out of Eon. This is not a tale of romance--but of action and fantasy and growth. It is of developing character and accepting who and how you are, no matter how different you may be from everyone around you. It is of courage and standing up to fight for what you believe in.


Eon took some time for me to read. For me, it wasn’t something I could just breeze through and this was because of the backstory and the characters that were presented. There was a lot I had to take in and understand. Also, unfortunately, there was a lot that I predicted (and was right about) before I was even halfway through the story. Eona had a lot of growth by the end, but she was also pretty ignorant and stubborn throughout the majority of the story. As the reader, I had figured out the solution to her problem halfway through--I knew the answers--while she’s still running around going “I don’t know what to do” and that in turn, was slightly disengaging for me to be honest.


That aside, the world building was stunning and engaging. Anyone who knows me, knows I have an extremely hard time picking into this subgenre (high/epic fantasy), but I really enjoyed this one. It kept me entertained and interested. I liked the oriental style background. You never get a sense of the type of world they’re living in (earth, modern country names, etc.) but it feels like an ancient Japan or China when you are reading through the detailed descriptions. But this is the world the author created and it’s unique in its own way.


There are a number of characters to get to know. Some I found myself sympathizing with, and some I found myself either despising or just generally not interested in at all. While I understood the author’s motives for no romantic interests in this, I think in a way it would have made the story even stronger if there had been at least somewhat of a slight one. At least for me maybe--or maybe that’s just the romantic in me… which is surprising because I generally don’t care if there’s always romance in a novel or not for the main character, but for Eon, I think it would have been fitting. Or maybe that’s what the setup will be for the sequel? I know I will be reading it since the ending left me wanting more.


This was an otherworldly kind of beautiful with an engaging story. Powerful and radiant.


4 stars!