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Alison Goodman
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Publisher | Bantam | ||
ISBN | 9780593061367 | ||
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Reviewer
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Vicky
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Synopsis
Under the harsh regime of an ambitious master, Eon is training to become a Dragoneye - a powerful Lord able to command wind and water to nurture and protect the land. But Eon also harbors a desperate secret - he is in fact a young woman living a dangerous masquerade that, if discovered, will mean certain death. Brought to the attention of the Emperor himself and summoned to the opulent court, Eon is thrust into the heart of a lethal struggle for the Imperial throne. In this new, treacherous world of hidden identities and uneasy alliances, Eon comes face-to-face with a vicious enemy who covets the young Dragoneye's astounding power, and will stop at nothing to make it his own. Inspired by ancient Chinese lore and sharing the wonders of films such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", this thrilling, timeless novel of deadly politics, sexual intrigue and dazzling swordplay is set in a brilliantly envisioned world where both appearances and loyalties can prove so very deceptive...
Alison Goodman 2008 by Victoria Warren
Review
With Two Pearls of Wisdom, Alison Goodman must have done a huge amount of research into Chinese culture and history with a smidgen of the Indian metaphysical.
I am fascinated by China and India because these are the great early civilizations and I love the way Alison has brought up to date a fantasy that uses a crippled young girl to bring about a massive change in the world that she lives in, and to visualise the action think of the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
I found myself being quite enthralled from the first page of how Eon/Eona through tremendous trials and tribulations unwittingly, resurrects the missing Mirror Dragon, but because there is no Dragoneye she immediately becomes co-ascendant with all the power it brings. There is no good without evil and it takes a whole book of fast pace adventure for Eon to accept that she is Eona and must be her to work with the Mirror Dragon.
Alison Goodman has woven all the hierarchy of ancient Chinese culture, history and the martial arts exceptionally well - I really didn't want the story to stop because she took me to a wonderfully mesmerising place. I wanted to know how all our characters were going to do - would they survive and will Eona save and protect her land from the mad Lord Sethon - will Ido who now seems to be a changed person on the surface help her?
All these questions will have to wait until 2010! When The Necklace of the Gods is published.
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