Twila's Reviews > Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

I could not stop him. He was my emperor. My lord. My master. His will was mine.
No. Never again. My will was my own.

How refreshing this was.

In Eon, every year a different Dragoneye becomes the ascendant, and an apprentice is chosen by the dragon. A Dragoneye is the human link to an energy dragon's power.

There's the Ox Dragon, Goat Dragon, Tiger Dragon, Monkey Dragon, Rabbit Dragon, Rooster Dragon, Snake Dragon, Dog Dragon, Rat Dragon, Pig Dragon, Horse Dragon and Dragon Dragon (Mirror Dragon). Sounds ridiculous, I know.

This year, it's the Rat Dragon's turn. Eon is a Dragoneye candidate, and it doesn't help that she has a twisted leg.
But girls are forbidden to the use of dragon magic.

Women have no place in the world of the dragon magic. It is said they bring corruption to the art and do not have the physical strength or depth of character needed to commune with an energy dragon. It is also thought that the female eye, too practiced in gazing at itself, cannot see the truth of the energy world. [pp. 2]

So, this is where the whole girl masquerading as a boy shtick comes in.
But the true jewel in this novel is Eon's conflict to embrace herself. "Eon" struggles, burying "Eona", and never allows the female to show.

Eon even takes drugs to supress the female 'moon' energy and enhance the male 'sun' energy.
I really appreciated the exploration of gender dynamics. It's intensely layered and detailed for any novel, let alone YA.

Eon really excels at world building. It has a magic system inspired by feng shui and Chinese astrology, with a blend of Asian cultures that was beautifully developed.
I loved how the cycle of the ascendant dragons and their Dragoneye's worked. The details of magic and how it was used was very fascinating.
But I don't think I ever imagined dragons with BEARDS!



I loved the battle scenes. The sword forms practiced by the Dragoneyes were very clear to me and easy to visualize.

The power plays and struggles were plotted very convincingly. This novel was very thorough, and I have to say that some of the details were lost on me. I have a very short attention span and I normally space out while reading, but I don't usually get lost. Maybe there was too much info-dumping in this book. I dunno, but if I missed one page, I didn't really understand what was happening anymore.

I had to re-read a lot of passages. That wasn't fun.

And is it just me, or did the gruelling ceremony to become ascendant remind anyone of Kung Fu Panda? It was like when Po became the Dragon Warrior, but anyways :D

I wish I could have seen more of the various dragons in action. They were such a fresh and unique aspect that I wanted to see more of them. I also wish that the book could have delved into the mystery of why the Mirror Dragon was missing for 500 years and what happened to the last Dragoneye. I hopefully find some answers in Eona: The Last Dragoneye.

Overall, I loved the fresh setting and I would definitely recommend this to fantasy fans.