4 out of 4 stars
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Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin, now available in English was initially a native Russian fantasy read released in 2010. It instantly became the top seller all over the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe countries. Becoming the Dragon is the first out of ten books in its Dragon Inside series. The Kindle edition cost $2.99, and the paperback cost $8.
Becoming the Dragon consists of 297 standard pages; the content is divided into five parts (an epilogue) with a book recommendation and a glossary to assist the reader’s reading experience. Becoming the Dragon is more of a young adult fantasy read; but there is also action plus adventure, the romance with the thriller kill in it to spice up the read.
The background of the story starts from a loving home to a sophisticated laboratory; from there to the lost world in the unknown wilderness, fight for survival, spicy romance and so on. The plot introduction looks out for the family and the environment the protagonist is enriched in, what he fancies and how he is different from others. The story address in a first person perspective in this plot the primary character is Andy.
Andy, a teenager whose life changed one day while he was on a field trip with his mates. This change left a profound effect that any electronic object he encounters will get electrocuted. He grows up to establishes a keen sense for cooking and a keener interest to archery. One day his father, Mr. Johnson asked for him when he was in the laboratory which was the turning point for Andy's life. His father’s experiment transported him to an unknown wilderness in which he had a close experience with the mythical creatures and magic that existed within. Throughout the torture and troubles that lurked within, he encountered life endangering experience; had a steamy romance with a local beauty and befriended a dragon. Andy learns about his true potential, but everything comes at a price!
The author displays a vivid imagination through his work, from teleportation to the games in the unknown wilderness. His writing style is very descriptive and friendly which makes it easy to grasp. There is no deep sexual content; thus, this book is a lot appropriate for young adult readers. The story line provides a good visualization while reading which is captivating and intriguing. The end noted on a cliff-hanger, it was rather encouraging than disappointing.
The plot has its profound moments like Andy becoming a dragon. I found the information about the type of bows and bow-strings used by different countries quite precise. Even though I have a very little knowledge about the type of gear used in archery. The detail information stated are very informative and impressive. There were new plot twists and unexpected turns in every chapter. Therefore, the possibility of guessing is very low. This plot reminded me of fantasy movies like the Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, Merlin and Spell Binder that support the content of the book.
The translation was up to perfection and concluded beautifully. It is so clean and clear that nothing was out-of-place. The author does not spoon-feed the reader’s imagination. There was a continuous flow which I found very effective in maintaining my interest towards the book. The protagonist Andy paints a realistic typical teen picture that anyone goes through in that phase of life. In this story, we could see how he stumbles and endure pain and emerge victoriously. Andy's development and maturity as a character are very impressive. I'm baffled! There wasn’t any part of this story that I did not like therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Any fantasy lover would genuinely enjoy this book!
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Becoming the Dragon
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