Review by uyky -- Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin

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uyky
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Latest Review: Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin
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Review by uyky -- Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin

Post by uyky »

[Following is a volunteer review of "Becoming the Dragon" by Alex Sapegin.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Becoming a Dragon by Alex Sapegin is a fantasy story that takes place in a world full of gnomes and elves, dragons and mages, heroes and villains. It is the first out of five books of The Dragon Inside series.

The book tells the story of a boy named Andy. Andy is a 16-year-old teenager who got struck by a lightning when he was younger, can't come close to any computer and is training archery. Andy accidentally ends up zapped from our world to the wondrous world of the Ilanta. He fights for his survival in the unknown world, going through many unpleasant adventures. That is until, through the unfortunate turn of events, he gets turned into a two-hearted dragon. And this is where the story really begins. But for most of that, you will need to read part two and more.

This book had a lot of potential. Too bad it was not taken advantage of. It was very fast paced, however that did not do it any favors. The parts that could have been great were rushed, while some other boarded on almost boringly long with facts explaining. The flow was very inconsistent, which made it hard to keep reading the story smoothly.

Characters were likeable (or unlikeable when needed) and their personas were written well. It was easy to connect with each person in the book and empathize with their situation. The writer knew how to push emotions of a character on a reader. I especially enjoyed the lack of nice characters in the first half of the book. It was a pleasant change from most of the books. However, some dialogues sounded cliche and like a badly written drama. Another bad point for someone might have been that there were many characters; they had similar names and were changing quite a lot, so a reader must pay attention to not get lost.

The world created could have been wonderful if the introduction to it was more organized. I especially enjoyed different creatures and situations that have played out to the rules of this specific world. If you are a fantasy lover, like me, there are quite a few pleasant surprises waiting for you in this book.

I did get confused at times by what was supposed to be the target audience of Becoming the Dragon. In parts, it was a solid teenage fantasy book. Then it turned into badly written fantasy with a lot of potential for advanced readers. There is also talk about erections and sex, and quite a lot of violence, so I would be careful with advising it to a younger audience.

All things considered, it was a big mixture of cliche and imaginative everything. I have to say that nonetheless I enjoyed this book, and would recommend it even though it made me frown sometimes. It also made me laugh, and where I am concerned, that counts for more. Because it had its flaws, but I enjoyed it, I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. I am looking forward to reading sequels to see how it evolves.

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Becoming the Dragon
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inazum
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Post by inazum »

The book sounds very interesting and promising and i would love to read it some day
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