3 out of 4 stars
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Becoming the Dragon is the first in a series of five books written by Alex Sapegin. Andy is a teenage boy living in present-day Russia. He has been struck by lightning and cannot be near electronics of any kind. Andy is suddenly an insatiable reader of historical fiction, history, and with the help of a neighbor learns how to shoot a bow and arrow. One day Andy visits his father at work and is transported to another world, Ilanta, with magical beings like elves, orcs, and dragons. He needs to figure out a way to get back home to the planet Earth he can see in the sky.
This book started off like any other Young Adult book with teenage angst and sibling rivalry. Then it turned into an imaginative fantasy. The author was incredibly descriptive with animals from another planet like the Eleraffs, a combination of elephant and giraffes. I loved the different types of magical beings in the story. The author included dragons, gnomes, elves from several areas, orcs, Vikings, vampires, werebeings, and humans. The book wove together the stories of how each came to the planet Ilanta and interacted with each other.
When Andy has arrived at the new place he finds the bones of a dragon. The description of “the monster” is “big” and “calling a skull with five-foot-long teeth a ‘head’ seemed inadequate.” Later it is mentioned that there are “Two pairs of upper and lower fangs about 16 inches each.” I was confused since I thought the teeth were five feet long. Andy is found out to be a mage and is captured and placed in a cage made of “notrium.” However, notrium is not described or clarified. Is it like Kryptonite to Superman? There were numerous characters. At times it was difficult to keep track of them when the story moved from one set of characters to another and from one time to another.
As Andy begins to fight for his freedom and his powers improve he meets a dragon, Karegar and elf, Jagirra. Andy is near death and wants to go back to his home. They convince him that he can go through the Ritual and become a dragon. Karegar and Jagirra tell Andy the risks of a 16-year-old being transformed into a dragon that entails “the person repeats all the dragon’s stages of life- outside the womb.” Andy agrees wanting to live. I was puzzled by Andy’s urgency to return home but no thought as to what turning into a dragon would do to this. How would he get home if he was a dragon? Would he stay a dragon or return to human form if he was able to return?
I would rate Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin a 3 out of 4 stars. This is a great fantasy book that takes you away to another world. The adventures of Andy and his new friends truly transport you. However; the number of characters and a few misunderstandings kept this from a 4-star review. Anyone who loves fantasy would be enthralled with this book!
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Becoming the Dragon
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