This is not necessarily an indictment of the book Goodman is able to rely on the sympathy established for her characters in Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, so she has no need to pull punches in Eona. Having cast off her underdog status, Eona is less likable. It is never obvious which path Eona will take, as unavoidable choices pull her back and forth and demand that she keep secrets from her closest friends. Goodman has set Eona up with two potential interests, one who represents humility and another who asks her to embrace all of the power available to her. Sex is on the table, so to speak, and though Goodman never writes explicitly, there are moments of intensity that may have some readers loosening their collars. Love, trust and issues of free will have taken over from Eon: Dragoneye Reborn’s journey of self-discovery and exploration of gender politics. Eona has (very quickly) embraced both womanhood and her role as the Mirror Dragoneye. Unsurprisingly the depth and maturity of the themes has increased. Eona and Kygo are forced to enlist Ido’s aid in confronting Sethon, with no certainty of success and no true understanding of how to bring about victory. Eona is learning more about the nature of her power and heritage, guiding her to a course of action at the same time as explosions of her ability make it impossible to remain in hiding. Eona and the true emperor Kygo are in hiding from the usurper. Ido, the visible and personal evil of Eon: Dragoneye Reborn, has been defeated and Sethon, the somewhat faceless power depicted in the first book, has taken over. Eona is a true sequel in every sense while a preface explaining the events of the first book will be provided with Eona, new readers should pick up Eon: Dragoneye Reborn first (and stop reading this review – you’ve been warned). Eona is the long-awaited sequel to award-winning novel Eon: Dragoneye Reborn from Australian author Alison Goodman.

Eona by Alison Goodman