No one knows how the first Dragoneyes made their dangerous bargain with the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. The few scrolls and poems that have survived the centuries start the story well after the deal was struck between man and spirit-beast to protect our land. It is rumored, however, that a black folio still exists that tells of the violent beginning and predicts a catastrophic end to the ancient alliance (p 1).
Eona is a sixteen-year-old girl pretending to be a Eon, a boy of twelve, in order to qualify as a Dragoneye candidate. For a chance to control the Rat Dragon, Eon and her supporters are willing to risk their lives. It is forbidden for a girl to be a Dragoneye and, should the Emperor learn the truth, it would mean certain death.
When Eona awakens the powerful Mirror Dragon, missing for the last 500 years, she finds herself embroiled in a political quagmire and the symbol of hope for a secret resistance.
While Goodman’s world is elaborate and at times enchanting, it occasionally stumbles, overburdened with relaying the intricacies of etiquette that detract from the story.
It is a shame more of the characters are not as fully realized as Eona and her master but rather flat and sometimes even stereotypical.
I believe this novel suffers from its first person narration, but, that being said, I’ll pick up the sequel when it comes in to my library.
