Review Detail

I enjoy fantasy novels, but I’m usually leery of picking them up due to the genre’s tendency toward weak characterization, especially with female characters. Of course, Eon seemed to promise at least an attempt at feminist fantasy, and I was all over that.

In Eon, Goodman did a pretty good job in handling gender themes (and one of the characters was actually transexual, which I thought was unique), and Eon as a character was actually very strong. I was especially impressed with the way she thought of herself as two people: Eon and Eona, as that, for me, suggested an elegant and complex thought process behind Eon’s characterization.

So overall, I definitely think Goodman succeeded in creating a fantasy novel that attacked a sexist society.

But as with any fantasy novel, the biggest draw to Eon is the worldbuilding. For some reason, I was expecting an Eragon-esque dragon novel, but Eon takes place in a psuedo-Oriental culture, which was much more interesting and unique than I’d hoped for. Throughout this, Goodman did an excellent job with her worldbuilding and setting, and I don’t think she ever once veered into info-dump territory.

Sadly, the plot was hopelessly predictable. And beyond being predictible, Goodman also (whether intentionally or not), used my least favorite plot technique: dramatic irony. It’s always frustrating when the reader knows what’s going on when they characters themselves don’t.

I think, though, that stunning characterization and superb world-building somewhat make me more forgiving toward the plot’s flaws.

I’ve heard all sorts of good things about Eon lately, and overall it’s definitely a really good book, and well worth reading. It isn’t entirely original in some respects, but it leaves a great overall impression.