1 out of 4 stars
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Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin is a science fiction/ fantasy story geared for teens and adults. Sixteen year old Andy is sent to his father’s lab to drop off some work he left at home. Once there, he accidentally teleports himself to a different world. Andy faces dangerous mythical creatures and a sudden need to survive on his own. He gets somewhat involved with elvish politics, accidentally frees a captured dragon, and discovers his own unique magical capabilities.
I like how obviously imaginative the author is. They clearly have some strong ideas for a fantasy world with a distinct concept of dragons and the magic involved for one to be born. I also enjoyed reading a few specific lines such as, “A slight breeze, like a playful puppy, began to break the fog into pieces and carry it off to the West”, for the use of imagery and personification. I also liked “Investments in science should be made with long-term returns in mind, not instantaneous gratification”.
However, most of the story is unfortunately written rather badly. Instead of getting creative and wording things differently, phrases were often repeated multiple times on the same page. It also did not appear that the characters were speaking with realistic diction and tone. I got the impression that the author used a thesaurus to fluff up their writing which made the word choice feel unnatural. In addition, the book is riddled with errors in grammar and spelling.
I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. The poor sentence structure often made the story difficult to follow and the flow was interrupted with awkward phrasing. The plot pacing is also very weird. Scenes were frequently interrupted by long, unnecessary technical descriptions or misguided backstory with names, places, and jargon that were nearly impossible to follow.
On top of that, the main character Andy is overall unappealing. He is very impatient and ill-tempered. He seems to feel angst and self pity but usually does nothing to escape his situation. He is ignorant and quick to anger, often becoming violent without thinking things through and is unappreciative of the little help he receives. His actions are dramatic and unreasonable as well as inconsistent, as though he goes through frequent and drastic mood swings. This all gives the impression that Andy is a mess and it makes the reader not care if he succeeds or not. Rather, I often felt more worried for the other characters he might stumble upon.
I feel this book may do a lot better with professional editing and a clearly laid out storyline. I do appreciate that the plot involves a bit of big picture politics on top of individual problems. The world created is actually pretty interesting overall and I would give it 1.5 stars if I could. There’s no doubt that the author had a lot planned out for the story and a great imagination. It just wasn’t executed well enough to make an enjoyable reading experience.
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Becoming the Dragon
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