3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Becoming the Dragon is the first book in this enthralling fantasy series, The Dragon Inside, from Russian author Alex Sapegin. The series showcases a teen boy named Andrei Kerimov, Andy, as he lives his average life in Russia. One day while on a school field trip Andy is struck by lighting. He survives but is changed forever, manifesting in electrical interference. While he once enjoyed playing video games and using the computer he now could not be anywhere around them without them going haywire. Then the unthinkable happens, while trying to deliver an important briefcase to his father at work he stumbles upon some sort of teleportation spot and is mystifyingly sent to another world full of mythical creatures such as orcs, elves, and even dragons!
In this strange world, Ilanta, Andy quickly realizes he is in a battle for survival. He turns from an ordinary kid into an epic hero suitable for an epic journey. He is quickly imprisoned and tortured. He stays positive always and seems to find his way out of the craziest situations. He encounters other beings along the way who befriend him and serve as companions, one being a massive dragon by the name of Karegar. Andy and Karegar form a strong bond and embark on an adventure to turn Andy into a dragon himself.
Sapegin created an amazing fantasy world, while still being very similar to Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Ilanta contains all the great creatures needed in any fantasy while also standing its own with differences necessary for the given world. As a fan of books involving dragons, in particular, I was most pleased with this book as it spent a lot of time and detail on the whole dragon aspect. The author provided a very detailed account of the human to dragon transformation and it was riveting. Details were also provided for how Andy acquired language abilities along the way, which is often looked over in fantasy.
The story flow and pacing had some issues. The story moved very slowly at parts while it did not give enough during more important events, which made it hard to connect. Many characters were introduced but very few had much print time which leads me to hope they will be back in later books in the series. I think the fact that this is the first book in a five book series is the exact reason for most of my complaints. It is very difficult to introduce such an expansive world and I think the author did what needed to be done to prepare for the rest of the series. While this may be a slow read and hard to get into, it also might be a subtle beginning to an epic adventure.
I rate Becoming the Dragon 3 out of 4 stars. I did encounter some errors from word misuse to translation issues that made me not give it the full 4 stars. This story is full of adventure and mystical elements which will make it a great read for any fantasy buff. It contains some adult situations and violence so I would not recommend it for the younger end of the young adult audience.
******
Becoming the Dragon
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
Like Kmdehn's review? Post a comment saying so!
