Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman

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BASICS
Title: Eon: Dragoneye Reborn
Series: Eon, book #1
Author: Alison Goodman
Release Date: December 26th 2008
Publisher:Viking Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0670062278
Number of Pages: 531
Genre: High Fantasy, Young Adult




Even a cornered rabbit will fight with teeth and claws.

An that's exactly what 16-year old Eona is.
Disguised as a boy by her Master who bought her from a salt farm years before and scarred by an obvious limp, she is the exact opposite of a Dragoneye Apprentice.

There are twelve Dragons in the world of Eona, each one is assigned a year in the twelve-year-cycle.
This year the Rat Dragon is the ascending one, meaning he will provide his Dragoneye with the double amount of power. Toghether the twelve Dragoneyes will protect the country and the Dragon Emperor.
But for five hundred nobody has ever seen the Mirror Dragon. Until now.

Despite Eona's secret and her disability she is her Master's last hope for wealth, and if she fails and is not chosen as the new apprentice for the ascending Rat Dragon, she will be sent back to the labour camp she came from.
She is cornered as the rabbit  and has no way to escape than to force herself through it.

Then something happens not even her Master dreamt about:
She gets chosen as a Dragoneye Apprentice - just not the Rat Dragon's but the Mirror Dragon's.
Suddenly she is thrown into a world of politics, allegiances and powerful enemies.
But what is she supposed to do if not to fight?


Alison Goodman based her story on Chinese and Japanese culture and legends.
I can only imagine the amount of research Goodman put into her duology!
It's comparatively easy to write a story set in Great Britain or the US but in a fictional China/Japan?
Hella difficult. 
Most of the Asian cultures have a really elaborated system of ranks and politeness.
Like, take the soldiers. While on duty they have a certain bow and are not allowed to bow in the "not-on-duty"-way. Even if ordered by their superiors.
I guess we only see the top of Goodman's knowledge about the Imperial China!
Right now, I can't think of any other book which was set in this certain surrounding and I must say, I really enjoyed it!

To get a good overlook over the various Dragons, their Dragoneyes and what they are the Keeper of, there are some info pages included at the beginning! I have to admit, I actually sneered while reading that page. Dragon Dragon? Really? All I could think was: "So, that's basically the new Moon Moon?"
I get it, it's all about the Chinese zodiac signs, but still. Moon Moon. /sneer/

If you're not familiar with the whole Moon Moon phenomena:





After reading the overview it became quite obvious what Eona had to do to call her dragon. The Mirror Dragon is the Keeper of Truth after all.

The beginning of Eon: Dragoneye Reborn managed to hold my attention quite well but from page 200 and upwards there was a sudden drop of the pacing. I found myself skimming some passages.
The story went only slowly forward and at some points I wanted to throw Eona's compass at her and scream: "Don't do that. He told you it's freaking poisonous! Come on use your brain!"

Behind each male character I expected the love interest. I waited for the moment she would completely fall in love with either Prince Kygo or Hollin.
Prince Kygo was my main suspect in this case, just because he's the prince and come on in which book did the female protagonist not choose the Prince?
Yes, I'm looking at you America Singer.
Anyway, this did not happen. After finishing Eon, I read some reviews in which readers complained about the lack of a love interest. Like, what? Are we not able to read a book without romance anymore?
A book that's 'merely' about an awesome and conflicted heroine?
Eona had no time for swooning and wooing, she was busy saving the whole Empire, thank you very much.

I withdrew a star from the book's rating because (as I said) it has a quite slow middle part and sometimes I had difficulties in picturing certain places, devices or adornments.
But I'm willing to blame that on my lack in vocabulary.

RATING
4 out of 5 stars