Book #48: Eona, by Alison Goodman
Jul. 7th, 2012 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grav_itySo. I read EON, the first book in this set, in 2010. It was...not my favourite. I mean, the world-building is impeccable and the characters are strong, I just didn't like any of them. I was hoping that would be better in EONA.
And I guess they sort of did? I mean, I still read three other books while I was reading this one, so obviously it didn't exactly pull me in, but I was able to finish it, so that's a good thing.
My biggest problem with EON was how everyone (including Eona herself) treated her when they found out she was a girl. They basically all had these HUGE PLANS to use her, and her power, and now not only is she a girl, she doesn't know how to use her power, and they all blame her for it, even though it's not her fault. Worse, when they push her and make her experiment, they get angry at her for the results! FRUSTRATING!
(Sidenote: I don't think this would be bothering me so much if it hadn't turned Ryko from a character I really liked to someone I wanted to punch in the face pretty much every time he opened his mouth. I mean, yes, what happened to him kind of sucked, but GOOD LORD, DUDE! GROW AS PEOPLE!)
The next issue I had was the "everyone loves Eona" thing. In some cases, at the same time as belittling her and blaming her for not being an expert in all things Dragoneye. In book one, her master loves her, and cripples her to make her less attractive (and also to prevent people from realizing she's female at ALL, but still: creepy). In this book, both Ido (whom I thought she had "cured" at the end of EON) and Kygo fall in love with her (and her power), and it is just very...well, something. Someday, I'm going to read a book that gets right over the whole "he knows what he's doing, she is amazed by the power she has when she kisses him" trope. I don't even care how. It can be executed well, but more often it's just CREEPY and I'm getting tired of it. The one thing that makes this book work in that regard is how we see Eona process those feelings, right on down from whether or not they're her feelings at all (there's a possession by ancestor thing going on).
The thing I can't get over, though, is the Magical Healing of Disabled People. Eona herself I can get over, just, because it was something that was forced on her, but as soon as Chart came back, I was all "Oh, for goodness sake, here we go!" And for a moment, I really thought it was going to be dealt with, but then instead it became another case of "Ryko is a jerk to everyone", and the opportunity was blown. It was just so FRUSTRATING.
The real nail in the coffin is that there are a bunch of characters who just disappear and we never find out what happened to them. Like, Eona is all "I wonder what happened to Vida?" AND THEN THE BOOK IS OVER. And also the part where the book employs me second least favourite kind of villain (the kind you have to keep alive to teach you, even though you KNOW he's going to turn, and then of course he falls in love with you and tempts you, AND THEN HE TURNS ON YOU, and somehow it's THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF ALL TIME. *sighs*).
But the worldbuilding really does stand up well. And there are dragons. And it's epic fantasy in the teen section, so I shouldn't really complain.
7/10, for not quite reaching its potential.
And I guess they sort of did? I mean, I still read three other books while I was reading this one, so obviously it didn't exactly pull me in, but I was able to finish it, so that's a good thing.
My biggest problem with EON was how everyone (including Eona herself) treated her when they found out she was a girl. They basically all had these HUGE PLANS to use her, and her power, and now not only is she a girl, she doesn't know how to use her power, and they all blame her for it, even though it's not her fault. Worse, when they push her and make her experiment, they get angry at her for the results! FRUSTRATING!
(Sidenote: I don't think this would be bothering me so much if it hadn't turned Ryko from a character I really liked to someone I wanted to punch in the face pretty much every time he opened his mouth. I mean, yes, what happened to him kind of sucked, but GOOD LORD, DUDE! GROW AS PEOPLE!)
The next issue I had was the "everyone loves Eona" thing. In some cases, at the same time as belittling her and blaming her for not being an expert in all things Dragoneye. In book one, her master loves her, and cripples her to make her less attractive (and also to prevent people from realizing she's female at ALL, but still: creepy). In this book, both Ido (whom I thought she had "cured" at the end of EON) and Kygo fall in love with her (and her power), and it is just very...well, something. Someday, I'm going to read a book that gets right over the whole "he knows what he's doing, she is amazed by the power she has when she kisses him" trope. I don't even care how. It can be executed well, but more often it's just CREEPY and I'm getting tired of it. The one thing that makes this book work in that regard is how we see Eona process those feelings, right on down from whether or not they're her feelings at all (there's a possession by ancestor thing going on).
The thing I can't get over, though, is the Magical Healing of Disabled People. Eona herself I can get over, just, because it was something that was forced on her, but as soon as Chart came back, I was all "Oh, for goodness sake, here we go!" And for a moment, I really thought it was going to be dealt with, but then instead it became another case of "Ryko is a jerk to everyone", and the opportunity was blown. It was just so FRUSTRATING.
The real nail in the coffin is that there are a bunch of characters who just disappear and we never find out what happened to them. Like, Eona is all "I wonder what happened to Vida?" AND THEN THE BOOK IS OVER. And also the part where the book employs me second least favourite kind of villain (the kind you have to keep alive to teach you, even though you KNOW he's going to turn, and then of course he falls in love with you and tempts you, AND THEN HE TURNS ON YOU, and somehow it's THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF ALL TIME. *sighs*).
But the worldbuilding really does stand up well. And there are dragons. And it's epic fantasy in the teen section, so I shouldn't really complain.
7/10, for not quite reaching its potential.
