Member Reviews
Being the most "peaceful" avatar is was a bit guarded on how exciting this book would be but the story was so good! Yangchen's essences is the driving forces for her decision as the avatar.
A must read/listen for any Avatar fan! Yee does a wonderful job of continuing Yangchens story an following her as she attempts to keep the balance between the four nations. One contrast between this series and the Kyoshi series is the politics involved. While Kyoshi was a bit more action packed Yangchen has a lot more political intrigue that, for me, was difficult to keep up with at times.
I loved the Kyoshi Novels and eagerly looked forward to this new duology. While I didn't love this introduction to Yangchen as much as the Kyoshi Novels, it was just great being back in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. With the story being told by Yangchen and Kavic, it did feel more removed from the characters than Kyoshi was.
The narrator: Phenomenal job by Nancy Wu on the number of voices and emotions she had to do. It really revealed her range and capabilities.
This was a very busy end to a messy duology of books. Yangchen's time is deep into politicking and intrigue and inherited trauma from all her lives making her a very disillusioned Avatar very early. Which made for a largely humorless narrative, if not for the occasional appearance of team Avatar's bantering, which were rare. The pacing is also frantic with frequent twists back into flashbacks which can be kind of disorienting. All of that said, it is still an interesting installment to see a very different Air nomad Avatar than Aang and a different point in the history of the world we love so much. Also, points for finally a team Avatar taking shape. And a whole extra star for the massive task the narrator pulled off by embodying such a big cast of characters and living up to the visual media legacy of this world.
Yangchen may not be my favorite avatar - Kyoshi for life! - but this entry in the Avatar series does Yangchen justice that I did not get in the first of her stories.
Dive back into the world of Avatar in a new adventurous tale from Yangchen! The character of Yangchen is so strong and well-written. I really felt the process of her decisions vividly. I do think there were some pacing issues, it was jumpy, but that could have been how long it had been since reading the Dawn of Yangchen for me. I love exploring deeper into the world of Avatar and learning more about the historical intricacies. I can't wait for future installments! I hope FC Yee will write more of them!
If you, like me, can't get enough about the world of The Avatar - you will love this book. The bits and pieces of throwback lore are amazing.
As an Airbender, Yangchen will always lean into diplomacy over fighting and both this book and it's predecessor lean into that. This isn't the fast-paced bending action we've all come to love, it's slower-paced with a lot more political intrigue and spying tactics than we're used to. (Although if you're coming here from The Dawn of Yangchen like you should be - you'll probably already know this bit of information).
The character development for both Yangchen and Kavik in this book was excellent. I loved how these characters circle around each other and aren't even completely sure how to feel about each other (or themselves, for that matter). It makes the story feel a little darker than some of the other Avatar stories that are out there!
I received an audio ARC of this book from Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley, and per usual I was very excited to see Nancy Wu in the narration byline. She's an excellent narrator and I felt like she really channeled the slower-paced Airbender vibes of Yangchen's story.
Haven't finished the audiobook yet but I saw that this is being archived today. I wanted to say that F.C. Yee continues to be a captivating author and Nancy Wu never disappoints with her immersive narration. I thoroughly enjoy getting to experience more and more of the Avatar universe.
Full transparency: I did not read the The Rise of Yangchen first. I had every intention to read it prior to the Legacy of Yangchen first. However when I went to pick one up, I started with this one first without realizing. I absolutely enjoyed the story. I found the characters and plot interesting, and liked the character development. I do feel like I was missing some backstory - and realized halfway through why I felt that way. I plan to read the Rise of Yangchen soon and then promptly re-read The Legacy of Yangchen to see if I will enjoy it more.
(Actual rating 3.75/5)
The narration for this book is phenomenal. I loved Yangchen’s character arc and her being a flawed avatar. She reminded me a lot of Aang! Which… well… anyway lol! Loved the book and hope there’s more coming from the other avatars that predate Aang!
thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. this was fantastic, just what i have come to expect from this author and look forward to carrying in my book store.
I've read all the Avatar books, with each installment each book gets better and better. The writing is excellent, as the plot progresses you see just how smart Yangchen is. The villain was also well written and proved to be a mental and political challenge for Yangchen and is always one step ahead of the Avatar. I enjoyed listening yo this so much and THAT PLOT TWIST literally made me have to pause the audio book to process it.
I highly recommend this if you like the Avatar series.
If you've been away from the ATLA universe for awhile, this isn't your Nickelodeon universe anymore - and I mean that in the best way possible.
I accidentally ended up listening to this second book before the first, and even though it's world building and plot are complex I think I kept up pretty well - would definitely recommend reading the other one first though!
I absolutely love how this was written. Yangchen is 17, but this didn't devolve into YA tropes or immaturity; everyone in this story takes Yangchen very seriously as one of if not the most powerful people on the planet. She's also very distinctly her own person; playing the Game of politics and enjoying her wins while being disgusted at having to go to such lengths. The genre here is much more spy craft and heist rather than action adventure, and I loved it.
The narrator did great in making some people's voices distinct, but it was harder to figure out who was talking in larger scenes when everyone sounded the same. My only other complaint is that the same literary trick of jumping into the action and seeing it go poorly, then jumping backward to the buildup, was used twice and I found it took the wind out of the momentum.
Honestly I love the book so much. I am obsessed with everything Avatar. I didn't like the voice of the narrator but I got pass it.
"Avatar Yangchen has succeeded in bringing a measure of stability to Bin-Er, but her successes have been limited to a single city, and rumors concerning Unanimity—a weapon capable of total obliteration—have led to increasing tensions among the Four Nations. Desperate to restore diplomacy, Yangchen attempts to de-escalate hostilities between heads of state. But in the wake of a brutal assassination and the freeing of Unanimity, Yangchen is forced to bring Kavik—the trusted former companion whose betrayal crushed her—back into her fold. As the Four Nations teeter on the brink of conflict and she begins to unravel the power-hungry Zongdu Chaisee’s true agenda,
Yangchen is forced to measure the worth of humanity and how much can be sacrificed in the name of balance. This taut and provocative fourth installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series follows Avatar Yangchen as she charts the course of her legacy, finally making peace with her choices and facing Avatarhood with the courage it demands."
Thank you Netgalley for letting me listen to this audiobook. I enjoyed the narrator. They added so much to the world and really sucked me into this book. I love Avatar the Last Airbender and will read anything they come out with. The world and characters and powers are fun to learn about. I like the characters in this story. I liked following Yangchen. I like F.C. Yee's writing style and can't wait to see what they write next.
We're back in the Avatar world!
Note: The Kyoshi duology was amazing and were fairly stand-alone books. This Yangchen duology, however, is much more intertwined, so make sure you have read Dawn of Yangchen before you read this one.
Legacy of Yangchen basically picks up where Dawn of Yangchen left off, after Yangchen has saved Bin-Er and been betrayed by Kavik. The threat of the weapon Unanimity looms over Yangchen, along with the growing feudal mercantilism of the warlords of each of the Four Nations. This leads to more political mechanations that we know the Avatars have to deal with but that we have not seen a lot of in either Kyoshi or in the shows. While that seems intriguing, I often felt like I didn't know enough about the world to full comprehend the ramifications of the trade deals being discussed.
This books is also far darker than either of the Kyoshi books and while it is interesting to see a more developed and mature Avatar, it made for less of a fun read. I hope the next Avatar series is based on a more fun Avatar.
3 out of 5 Stars
Just as good as the first Yangchen Novel but still not my favorite work in the ATLA universe.
Thank you to netgalley for the advanced copy of this audiobook!
I'd definitely recommend this book to any avatar fans. Yee's worldbuilding only adds to the richness of stories we already know. There are plenty of shocks and big reveals that kept me interested and I really liked getting to know another airbender.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was definitely an improvement on the first Yangchen novel, which might as well have been titled Kavik. This book centered much more on Yangchen, thankfully, which I was so happy about. I liked reading about the politics, and F.C. Yee knows how to write captivating action and bending scenes.
The narrator isn't my favorite. Not bad per se, just doesn't add anything to the story. 3.5 stars
Thank you NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing and F. C. Yee for providing a copy of Avatar, The Last Airbender: The Legacy of Yangchen as Audiobook for review.
Firstly, Nancy Wu's voice acting in this is great. The voice for Yangchen is perfect Airbender Avatar - light, airy, calming and full of presence. Loved it.
Secondly, though I absolutely adore Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra TV series's, I have not dipped my toe into the expanded novel universe before. Truthfully, starting with this one as a sequel to Yangchen's origin story was not the brightest move on my behalf. I believe that this links very closely to the plot of the first Yangchen story and I did struggle a little to keep up.
Both of those out of the way, what I could keep track of was wonderful. I loved all the layers to this story. Plus a classic heist featuring the Avatar Universe's Poker in the middle was wonderful.
I really enjoyed learning more about this universe and would be keen to explore the other titles.