Before you can decide whether this book is your cup of tea, the first thing you need to ask yourself is what you look for in a book, what makes something a good read for you. For me, Eona ticked every single box. It was complex, well-written and more than just your typical fantasy: it was about power, being a woman in a man's world, and what lengths it is right to go to in order to defend an empire, your loved ones, and yourself.
So, do you like books with:
Fantastic worldbuilding
Sick of books that plonk a few characters into some random society with a set of oppressive rules and no explanation? Me too. That's kind of why it's hard not to love this series from the beginning, with this colourful world that has been influenced by Chinese and Japanese culture and mythology but has also taken on a life of its own. This carefully-constructed world built on power of different kinds - that of the imperial family and that of the Dragoneyes. Goodman's land is steeped in power struggles, magic and secrets. Who can you possibly trust in such a world?
Varied, exciting and flawed characters
The flawed character is a particular literary love of mine. Why? Because no one is perfect. Maybe a lot of us would like to be heroes in a perfect world but this is far from a perfect world and we all have our limits, our breaking points, and most of us can be seduced at times by a dark alternative to the straight and narrow path. Eona is an excellent heroine who faces serious struggles with power and her ever-changing character (let's face it, who wouldn't be changed after what she's been through), is she Kygo's Dragoneye? His Naiso? His lover?
Eona is smart but the seduction of ultimate power occasionally leads her to make the wrong decisions, she is afterall only a flawed human being - as we all are. But beyond Eona are other great characters too. Dela and Ryko, Kygo... and Ido. Ido was one great whopping surprise in this book, it's only a really good writer that can take you from seething hatred towards a character to pity to almost-kinda-liking him. Ido is one charismatic bastard, full of amusing quips but always looking for ways to manipulate a situation to get what he wants. Along with Eona, Ido was the other character I constantly looked out for, eager to see his progression and where he'd end up.
Fantasy
There's dragons, my friend, dragons. I never realised how cool they were until I read this. It's so strange that just a year ago I thought I didn't like high fantasy - you know, magical realms and whatnot - and now this book is easily making it onto my favourites list. My bad experiences with The Lord of the Rings made me think these kind of books weren't for me. But this is such a vivid fantasy world that I couldn't help being sucked in. It's the perfect blend of magic and real-world problems stirred in with a little dragon drama to create a very exciting mix.
Romance
You like a little romance in between battles for the empire? Of course you do! Especially when the romance is complicated and both parties aren't exactly trustworthy. Eona tries to determine Kygo's motivations and whether he is being honest with her, and she in turn holds information back from him in fear of what he could do with it. It's a complicated relationship between two powerful people who are all too aware of each other's power. And what about Ido? Are his and Eona's destinies more inextricably linked than anyone could have foreseen? This book all comes back to power, that between enemies, between friends, and between lovers. Goodman shows how easily power can be abused and how just a touch of it can fuel much bigger and darker ambitions.
Moral battles
I am not that well-read in the fantasy genre but I'm beginning to think that this is why I tend to prefer female writers of fantasy (and sci-fi too). I don't want to drop authors of either gender into a box, it's not so black and white as that, but I do think from experience that there's just something a bit more human about the stories written by women, and the lack of this is probably the reason I felt so detached from The Lord of the Rings. In fantasy and sci-fi it's common to take the reader far away from the world and people they are used to, but in Goodman's land far far away the moral conflicts Eona faces are something very real and easily applicable in our world. Ideas about power and war. For example, if you have the power to kill ten people to save yourself and your friends, should you? How about one hundred? One thousand?
A quick read
Nope, there's no point even trying. At a whopping 600+ pages this isn't no casual read-in-an-afternoon book. But, unlike some books I've read recently, I thought every page was necessary and it never felt too long. In fact, I wanted more.
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This is a BIG SPOILER and is meant as a discussion with people who have finished the book. You have been warned.
I just wanted to say that the only thing I would have liked to be done differently was Ido's ending. Not that he shouldn't have died, I knew as soon as he made Eona feel conflicted about her feelings that the author would have to get rid of him so Eona could be with Kygo. However, I liked the idea that even the lowest of the low could have a little redemption and I thought that was where Goodman was going when Ido chose to save Eona instead of freeing himself from his torture cell. I loved that he did that, and whilst he was still a murderer and had gone too far for real forgiveness, I would've liked his death to have remembered him as the guy who finally put someone else first. Instead of the power-hungry madman he became at the end. Any thoughts?
