Review by Hale99 -- Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin
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Hale99
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- Latest Review: Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin
Review by Hale99 -- Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin
[Following is a volunteer review of "Becoming the Dragon" by Alex Sapegin.]
3 out of 4 stars
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The Dragon Inside
Book 1
Becoming the Dragon
Alex Sapegin - Translated by Elizabeth Kulikov
Copyright 2017 - Litworld Ltd
This is a story about a Russian teenager, Andy, who gets transported through a 'portal', built by his father, to a different world and a different time - one of dragons, elves, gnomes, orcs and humans. This is a very dangerous and difficult place. Savage beasts roam the forests, evil people take him prisoner, he is hunted along with other unfortunates in a royal hunt. All Andy wants to do is to get back home to Russia and his family and friends.
The history of Ilanta concerns portals, dragons coming to the planet from a neighboring planet using the portals, fights between the dragons, gnomes, elves and humans. The portals no longer work. In the present, there appears to be a corrupt ruler who is trying to take over the whole world. Andy visits Bald Hill and finds interesting things. He will return there later in the book. This is the first book in a series, many questions are left unanswered.
After his capture, Andy escapes and is eventually taken in by a kind elf and her friend, one of the last dragons left on the world. He has been poisoned and is expected to die, but his friends help him transform into a dragon so that he can live. The transformation is very difficult and painful, but does occur. He does turn into a dragon.
Later he finds out that he can change back to his human form also. The transformation can go both ways. He gets involved with a local girl who intends to use him for her own ends and again gets into trouble. A Zavis (a seer) he meets foretells his future and sends a letter to his friends in their valley. She sees a War and Andy somehow opening the portals that have been closed between the worlds for thousands of years.
At the end of this novel, he is sent off to a school to learn magic. The following novels will deal with his future on Ilanta.
I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read. I'd rate it 3 out of 4. The plot is a bit hackneyed, a standard dragon fantasy. I assume it was written in Russian and then translated. It reads well in translation. I only noticed a few grammatical problems. "It is as if he can sense trouble coming..." The writing tends to tell you what is happening instead of showing you. When he falls from a tree and lands on the ground unhurt, a pine cone fell and "knocked him out...". This is a bit of a stretch, but is acceptable. I assume that these problems come from the writer and not from the translator.
This book will appeal to fantasy fans - not great, but a quick, enjoyable read. The rest of the series might show improvement.
******
Becoming the Dragon
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3 out of 4 stars
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The Dragon Inside
Book 1
Becoming the Dragon
Alex Sapegin - Translated by Elizabeth Kulikov
Copyright 2017 - Litworld Ltd
This is a story about a Russian teenager, Andy, who gets transported through a 'portal', built by his father, to a different world and a different time - one of dragons, elves, gnomes, orcs and humans. This is a very dangerous and difficult place. Savage beasts roam the forests, evil people take him prisoner, he is hunted along with other unfortunates in a royal hunt. All Andy wants to do is to get back home to Russia and his family and friends.
The history of Ilanta concerns portals, dragons coming to the planet from a neighboring planet using the portals, fights between the dragons, gnomes, elves and humans. The portals no longer work. In the present, there appears to be a corrupt ruler who is trying to take over the whole world. Andy visits Bald Hill and finds interesting things. He will return there later in the book. This is the first book in a series, many questions are left unanswered.
After his capture, Andy escapes and is eventually taken in by a kind elf and her friend, one of the last dragons left on the world. He has been poisoned and is expected to die, but his friends help him transform into a dragon so that he can live. The transformation is very difficult and painful, but does occur. He does turn into a dragon.
Later he finds out that he can change back to his human form also. The transformation can go both ways. He gets involved with a local girl who intends to use him for her own ends and again gets into trouble. A Zavis (a seer) he meets foretells his future and sends a letter to his friends in their valley. She sees a War and Andy somehow opening the portals that have been closed between the worlds for thousands of years.
At the end of this novel, he is sent off to a school to learn magic. The following novels will deal with his future on Ilanta.
I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read. I'd rate it 3 out of 4. The plot is a bit hackneyed, a standard dragon fantasy. I assume it was written in Russian and then translated. It reads well in translation. I only noticed a few grammatical problems. "It is as if he can sense trouble coming..." The writing tends to tell you what is happening instead of showing you. When he falls from a tree and lands on the ground unhurt, a pine cone fell and "knocked him out...". This is a bit of a stretch, but is acceptable. I assume that these problems come from the writer and not from the translator.
This book will appeal to fantasy fans - not great, but a quick, enjoyable read. The rest of the series might show improvement.
******
Becoming the Dragon
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on iTunes | on Smashwords
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Latest Review: Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin
