3 out of 4 stars
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Becoming the Dragon by Alex Sapegin is the story of young Andy. Andy has learned to adapt and overcome after being struck by lightning which has left him unable to get too close to any electronics. He replaced his video game hobby with archery and cooking. One day, Andy’s scientist father asks for some work papers to be delivered to his lab from home. Andy stumbles into an experimental field and is whisked away to a new world. In this new place, Andy encounters new animals and discovers the remains of a dragon. Unfortunately, his travels bring him across a band of unsavory individuals who capture and enslave him. In captivity, he meets a live dragon, Karegar, who helps him escape. During their flight, Andy is gravely injured. Andy’s only chance for survival is a ritual that may make him a dragon or may kill him.
This book was a slow starter. It was hard to keep interested as seemingly dozens of characters were introduced. Much of the action took place off the page or was so briefly explained I needed to read it twice to capture what was being described. It almost made me give up on the book. I wanted to be swept up by the story but it wasn’t happening.
I decided to do a little more research on the book. First, the book is the first of five. This is explains the slow start. The author has a whole world to build for a longer saga. The characters introduced may be important in later installments. Second, it is a YA novel. In the interest of not being graphic for a younger audience, it feels the author chose to not be explicit with the violence. Knowing this helped me push forth and finish the book.
I did enjoy many parts of the story. This book is a fantasy story with many of the classic elements of the genre. There is good versus evil with a smattering of mages and dragons thrown in. You have castles and spoiled royalty. There’s even a secret village and a tragic love story. Other fans of the YA fantasy genre might enjoy it if they are looking to start a longer story line with lots of world building in the story.
I rate this 3 out of 4 stars. This story spent a lot of time trying to build a world and relationships but I still felt like I was missing information. Many past interactions were alluded to but never explained fully. My hope would be that later books in the series would provide further information for the reader. As with any work translated into English, I think some of the beauty of the story is lost when not in its native language.
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Becoming the Dragon
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