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The Two Pearls of Wisdom (Alison Goodman, HarperCollins, $32.99 tpb, ISBN 9780732288006, August) ****

Twelve-year-old Eon, aspiring apprentice to the zodiacal Rat Dragon, is playing a dangerous game: he is actually Eona, 16-years-old and a girl. During the ceremony in which the sacred dragon chooses his new apprentice and conduit, Eona’s gamble pays off in spectacular fashion, and her new role sees her thrust unprepared into the centre of the lethal power struggles at the heart of the empire. Two Pearls of Wisdom distinguishes itself from other dragon-themed high fantasy with its rich and startling setting: a world and mythology based on that of ancient China. Similarly, while the premise of a girl posing as a boy to take on a masculine role is a well-worn one, Goodman has taken advantage of the possibilities it opens for gender subversion in a way few authors do. Eona’s uneasy masculinity/femininity is highly relevant to the plot, and she is not the only character whose sexual identity is unorthodox. This is an intricate world peopled with characters who are both complex and sympathetic (though Eona herself is sometimes overshadowed by the more interesting figures around her). The ending is rather abrupt, but it paves the way for the sequel to come. This book will strongly appeal to fans of more subtle high fantasy.

Jarrah Moore works for the Global Books in Print database at Thorpe-Bowker

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2008, Thorpe-Bowker

Tags: alison goodman