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Chronicles of the Avatar #5
Avatar, the Last Airbender: The Reckoning of Roku
From National Book Award finalist Randy Ribay comes a gripping new chapter—starring Avatar Roku—in the New York Times bestselling Chronicles of the Avatar series, set in the world of the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. A young Avatar Roku has only just commenced his training at the Southern Air Temple when his erstwhile friend, Prince Sozin, requests his aid in preventing the Earth Kingdom from claiming a remote Fire Nation island. Despite his inexperience, Avatar Roku slips away with the help of an irritating young Airbender named Gyatso. As the reluctant companions delve deeper into their wayward mission, they begin to realize that even greater threats lie ahead. Plagued by self-doubt but eager to prove himself, Roku fights for his life and the lives of others while ensuring that the hidden secret of the island doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. This searing fifth installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series explores the beginning of Roku’s journey from privileged Fire Nation noble to the powerful but indecisive Avatar whose hesitancy may ultimately pave the way for the Hundred Year War.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published July 23, 2024
391 people are currently reading
7330 people want to read
About the author
Randy Ribay
17 books1,049 followersRandy Ribay is an award-winning author of young adult fiction. His most recent novel, Patron Saints of Nothing, earned five starred reviews, was selected as a Freeman Book Award winner, and was a finalist for the National Book Award, LA Times Book Prize, Walden Book Award, Edgar Award, International Thriller Writers Award, and the CILIP Carnegie Medal. His other works include Project Kawayan, After the Shot Drops, and An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes. His next novels, The Chronicles of the Avatar: The Reckoning of Roku (Abrams) and Everything We Never Had, (Kokila/Penguin) will be out in 2024.
Born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest, Randy earned his BA in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his Ed.M. in Language and Literacy from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, son, and cat-like dog.
Born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest, Randy earned his BA in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his Ed.M. in Language and Literacy from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, son, and cat-like dog.
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Want to read
April 5, 2024Yes. Give me that tragic Roku/Sozin friends to lovers to enemies angst 🫣
January 4, 2026
Before Reading : I’m so grateful to get another book in the Chronicles of the Avatar series.
But it’s not written by F.C. YEE 😭. They wrote all the other books. And I knew this was coming, you could tell in the last author acknowledgements that they were done writing in this series. I will never emotionally recover from this.
But I’m excited to see how Roku paved the way for the Hundred Year War and to check out a new author !
After reading : I was really excited to read about Sozin and Roku, Best friends who ended up fighting at opposing sides of the war. The betrayal in the show was so emotional that I still think about it years later. But in this book, I enjoyed Roku's dynamic with another character much more.
„ knew the kid’s name was Gyatso“
Omgggggg the way I screamed !!! GYATSO
Their jokes and connection was the best part of this book.
„your countrymen with a hearty ‘Flamey-o, hotman!’?”
“Nobody says that,” Roku said.
“Not yet,” Gyatso said with a mischievous smile. “But give me some time.”
Roku thought about that for a beat. “You’re going to create new Fire Nation slang and somehow get it to spread across the archipelago . . . as a joke?”
“Never underestimate my dedication.“
───── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ „Waterbenders who could control the weather. Airbenders who could command typhoons. Earthbenders who could produce—or sink—islands. And Firebenders who could move the sun.“ ☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────
I don't feel any difference in writing style to F.C. Yee. Idk if they found an author with a similar writing style or if Riban changed his writing style to give the series some uniformity.
BUT F.C. YEE had much better plot and dialogue! Where was the romance? The depth & introspection ? Found family? Team Avatar? He only had Gyatso.
Lost all interest at 80%. Thinking about putting the book down.
Kind of disappointed with the final showdown.
BUT showed up at the end. AYYYY.
I don't think I'll read the next book.
Characters: ★★★ Pacing: ★★
Feels: ★ Writing style : ★★★★ Humour : ★★★★
But it’s not written by F.C. YEE 😭. They wrote all the other books. And I knew this was coming, you could tell in the last author acknowledgements that they were done writing in this series. I will never emotionally recover from this.
But I’m excited to see how Roku paved the way for the Hundred Year War and to check out a new author !
After reading : I was really excited to read about Sozin and Roku, Best friends who ended up fighting at opposing sides of the war. The betrayal in the show was so emotional that I still think about it years later. But in this book, I enjoyed Roku's dynamic with another character much more.
„ knew the kid’s name was Gyatso“
Omgggggg the way I screamed !!! GYATSO
Their jokes and connection was the best part of this book.
„your countrymen with a hearty ‘Flamey-o, hotman!’?”
“Nobody says that,” Roku said.
“Not yet,” Gyatso said with a mischievous smile. “But give me some time.”
Roku thought about that for a beat. “You’re going to create new Fire Nation slang and somehow get it to spread across the archipelago . . . as a joke?”
“Never underestimate my dedication.“
───── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ „Waterbenders who could control the weather. Airbenders who could command typhoons. Earthbenders who could produce—or sink—islands. And Firebenders who could move the sun.“ ☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─────
I don't feel any difference in writing style to F.C. Yee. Idk if they found an author with a similar writing style or if Riban changed his writing style to give the series some uniformity.
BUT F.C. YEE had much better plot and dialogue! Where was the romance? The depth & introspection ? Found family? Team Avatar? He only had Gyatso.
Lost all interest at 80%. Thinking about putting the book down.
Kind of disappointed with the final showdown.
BUT showed up at the end. AYYYY.
I don't think I'll read the next book.
Characters: ★★★ Pacing: ★★
Feels: ★ Writing style : ★★★★ Humour : ★★★★
July 26, 2024
As the world changes, so too must the Avatar.
Many of my close friends know that I was left disappointed by The Dawn of Yangchen - to the point that I've refused to pick up its sequel. So when it was announced that the Randy Ribay would be taking on Roku's book, I was eager and hopeful that Ribay would bring the ATLA magic back into my life. Let's talk about it.
The short of it is that The Reckoning of Roku falls somewhere in the middle for me: not terrible like the Yangchen book, but also not of the same caliber as the first two Kyoshi novels. And I think this is mainly because there aren't as many creative liberties available when it comes to Roku's character as the Avatar. We've all watched the original series, and we were fed enough Roku content to sufficiently understand what led to his tragic downfall: his friendship with Sozin. And really, what more is there to know? Especially when these are two firebending besties who practically grew up together. In effect, reading about teenage Roku starting his Avatar journey felt like filling in the tiny gaps of a larger story that's already been concluded, like being offered breadcrumb details to a mystery that's already been solved. Nice to know, I guess, but ultimately, nothing groundbreaking.
In The Dawn of Yangchen, my biggest frustration was that Yangchen didn't come across as the main character of her own book (and yes, I'm still rightfully upset about it) whereas, in this installment, Roku is very clearly the main character; it's just that his arc isn't particularly compelling. Especially when Roku is presented as someone incredibly privileged and stubborn: son of a wealthy entrepreneur, childhood besties with Fire Nation royalty, top-ranking student in the firebending academy (second only to Sozin). His overall journey is anchored to his inability to disengage from his loyalties to Sozin and to the Fire Nation - which does make sense (given what we've seen in the original series), but like, does that make for an engaging read? Not so much. Through no fault of the author, there just weren't many places for Roku's story to go, without compromising what's already been established in the ATLA universe.
Having said that, the star of The Reckoning of Roku lies in the character of the younger monk Gyatso who, as we all know, eventually becomes Avatar Aang's guardian. It was a surprise to see his younger self struggling with airbending, and I was curious to find out how he would eventually overcome this struggle and get on track to become an airbending master. He was as goofy and charming as he was in the original series, and I was definitely rooting for him!
I don't agree with some of the decisions that were made in terms of writing and plot, but I do think that Ribay did a great job at navigating the established ATLA world while still contributing meaningfully to the lore. He's clearly a huge fan of ATLA, and we love to see it.
A lot of room for improvement, but I'll definitely keep an eye out for the next installment.
Recommended!
As much as the world needed people as soft and kind as him, it also needed the hardened to keep the cruel in check so that the gentle could remain gentle.
🌻🍃 More bookish content on Shut up, Shealea 🍃🌻
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August 14, 2024
Disappointing, after the avatar chronicles novels by FC Yee, unfortunately.
I don't personally care for Ribay's writing style as much, which focuses heavily on dialogue and action without a great deal of emotion or exposition about scenes and characters. I'd have rated it three stars if it were only that.
But it also has some real whiplash character development, particularly for Sozin whose demeanor changes very early on and very suddenly with very little gesture at a cause. Characters are often driven to really extreme action without much explanation why.
And beyond that it just feels a bit too proximal to the source material. Obsessed with referencing touchstones and known events. There's a tiny "secret tunnel" gag that just made me groan.
Yee's novels about Kyoshi and Yangchen had a really admirable ability to blend humor and darkness with beautiful prose and a very self-confident approach to adding to existing lore.
This first Roku novel just pales in comparison.
I don't personally care for Ribay's writing style as much, which focuses heavily on dialogue and action without a great deal of emotion or exposition about scenes and characters. I'd have rated it three stars if it were only that.
But it also has some real whiplash character development, particularly for Sozin whose demeanor changes very early on and very suddenly with very little gesture at a cause. Characters are often driven to really extreme action without much explanation why.
And beyond that it just feels a bit too proximal to the source material. Obsessed with referencing touchstones and known events. There's a tiny "secret tunnel" gag that just made me groan.
Yee's novels about Kyoshi and Yangchen had a really admirable ability to blend humor and darkness with beautiful prose and a very self-confident approach to adding to existing lore.
This first Roku novel just pales in comparison.
Want to read
February 12, 2024Roku is my favorite avatar so I am seated.
September 2, 2024
Avatar novels have a special place in my heart because they expanded the world (and its characters) in ways of storytelling that animated or live action features would not be able to do.
F.C. Yee did a fantastic job writing the Kyoshi and Yangchen novels. Ribay has a tough job in matching him. He did okay though, overall I still enjoyed this novel a lot. From the first time we met Roku and his airbending master and soon-to-be bestie Gyatso, the novel captured me. The conflict was interesting, the set-up (a community of united benders living in a mysterious island) was intriguing. However, once it gets to the spirit-side of things - an important part of the Avatar verse - he kinda tumbled. The storytelling became unfocused and sometimes even simplified. And the final showdown, I don't mind deaths in these kinds of novels, but the resolution of that death was so unsatisfying. Therefore I had to knock down one start from the rating.
Having said that, I am still eager reading more Roku novels. Gimme me one stat! And I wanna meet Lola the sky bison again!
F.C. Yee did a fantastic job writing the Kyoshi and Yangchen novels. Ribay has a tough job in matching him. He did okay though, overall I still enjoyed this novel a lot. From the first time we met Roku and his airbending master and soon-to-be bestie Gyatso, the novel captured me. The conflict was interesting, the set-up (a community of united benders living in a mysterious island) was intriguing. However, once it gets to the spirit-side of things - an important part of the Avatar verse - he kinda tumbled. The storytelling became unfocused and sometimes even simplified. And the final showdown, I don't mind deaths in these kinds of novels, but the resolution of that death was so unsatisfying. Therefore I had to knock down one start from the rating.
Having said that, I am still eager reading more Roku novels. Gimme me one stat! And I wanna meet Lola the sky bison again!
August 13, 2024
I don’t typically write book reviews but I had to get this off my chest. Consider it a rant more than anything attempting to be objective,,,
I am SO vehemently against comparing authors. But it just felt like the drop in quality and passion compared to the previous books written by FC Yee was quite jarring. Randy Ribay does by no means a bad job handling the Avatar Universe, but it felt more flat, more juvenile and more disengaging than what I’ve come to expect not only from the books, but from Avatar content in general.
I’m a superfan- I have been since the fandom revival in 2020 and I’ve since watched both shows, read all the books and the comics, play the ttrpg, etc. And I go into everything with a very optimistic outlook and an expectation to have a good time. Despite my excitement, I did not have a good time reading this book.
First and foremost: the characters and their relationships. Roku as a protagonist was annoying. I was inclined to have empathy for him and his situation, but as the book went on, I got more and more frustrated with him. Gyatso is TELLING you very reasonable things, and Sozin is showing explicitly that he can’t be trusted. I understand wanting to give the benefit of the doubt to your friend, but there comes a point when it’s less denial, and more stupidity.
Roku and Gyatso had the best development, but it still wasn’t fantastic. I hate the obligatory friend breakup that happens so often and media, and this had it. It wasn’t good. Also Malaya,,,,shouldn’t have been a POV character. Nor should’ve Sozin, in my opinion. I think it should’ve exclusively focused on Roku and take more time to develop him rather than constantly jumping between perspectives. Especially since Sozin got to the point where he just seemed one-dimensional, and Malaya was just…boring. They all could’ve thrived off of more in-depth introspection, but I digress.
Also…Ta-Min? The Gyatso/Malaya budding romance?? Sucked, actually. Like I’d appreciate not treating me like a toddler and just straight up telling me how characters feel or how they’re SO connected. Let me figure it out! Develop them through conversations and introspection! It felt like ham-fisted straight romance with subpar banter and that rlly wasn’t it for me. Also Malaya dying felt like shock value versus anything substantial.
2 stars because it wasn’t the worst thing ever but it certainly lacked in anything of real quality to me.
I am SO vehemently against comparing authors. But it just felt like the drop in quality and passion compared to the previous books written by FC Yee was quite jarring. Randy Ribay does by no means a bad job handling the Avatar Universe, but it felt more flat, more juvenile and more disengaging than what I’ve come to expect not only from the books, but from Avatar content in general.
I’m a superfan- I have been since the fandom revival in 2020 and I’ve since watched both shows, read all the books and the comics, play the ttrpg, etc. And I go into everything with a very optimistic outlook and an expectation to have a good time. Despite my excitement, I did not have a good time reading this book.
First and foremost: the characters and their relationships. Roku as a protagonist was annoying. I was inclined to have empathy for him and his situation, but as the book went on, I got more and more frustrated with him. Gyatso is TELLING you very reasonable things, and Sozin is showing explicitly that he can’t be trusted. I understand wanting to give the benefit of the doubt to your friend, but there comes a point when it’s less denial, and more stupidity.
Roku and Gyatso had the best development, but it still wasn’t fantastic. I hate the obligatory friend breakup that happens so often and media, and this had it. It wasn’t good. Also Malaya,,,,shouldn’t have been a POV character. Nor should’ve Sozin, in my opinion. I think it should’ve exclusively focused on Roku and take more time to develop him rather than constantly jumping between perspectives. Especially since Sozin got to the point where he just seemed one-dimensional, and Malaya was just…boring. They all could’ve thrived off of more in-depth introspection, but I digress.
Also…Ta-Min? The Gyatso/Malaya budding romance?? Sucked, actually. Like I’d appreciate not treating me like a toddler and just straight up telling me how characters feel or how they’re SO connected. Let me figure it out! Develop them through conversations and introspection! It felt like ham-fisted straight romance with subpar banter and that rlly wasn’t it for me. Also Malaya dying felt like shock value versus anything substantial.
2 stars because it wasn’t the worst thing ever but it certainly lacked in anything of real quality to me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2024
3.5/5
I'm pretty much never going to complain about getting more of these Avatar novels. Thought Ribay did a solid job in continuing what F.C. Yee began with them. Little messy story-wise. Several (but by no means all) of the references to the original show felt too much like heavy-handed quips toward the audience.
I'm pretty much never going to complain about getting more of these Avatar novels. Thought Ribay did a solid job in continuing what F.C. Yee began with them. Little messy story-wise. Several (but by no means all) of the references to the original show felt too much like heavy-handed quips toward the audience.
July 25, 2024
3.25/5 - I liked it just fine
So you can gauge my tastes with this series, let me start by saying that I adored the Kyoshi novels, but I was not a fan of the Yangchen books (which I didn't even finish). With the latter, I tried reading it twice, giving up at the 40% mark the first time. Then, after trying it again, I gave up on it again at around 60%. I was told the series got better, but I only got into 30% of the second Yangchen book before I washed my hands of it. It just wasn't my vibe.
So, where does The Reckoning of Roku stack up?
Right in the middle overall, though I will say there are things F.C. Yee, the author of the previous books, does better than Randy Ribay.
WHAT I LIKED
Ricky Ribay's writing style is well-suited for the Avatar world, in my opinion. It's casual and aligns closely with the sensibilities of the original series, making the reading experience feel familiar and accessible. F.C. Yee's writing was great, but it sometimes (for me) delved into the realm of being too poetic instead of prosaic. I'll elaborate on this further in my review.
The standout character for me was the younger version of Gyatso (who is basically Aang in this). His struggle with airbending and his charming, goofy personality made him a delightful character to root for. His superpower was becoming instant friends with anyone he met within the space of a few scenes (except for Sozin, which should be telling). His arc with his airbending struggles was predictable but still heartwarming.
The chapters featuring Sozin were among the book's greatest strengths. His pragmatism and the nuanced portrayal of his character added depth to the story. While he wasn't particularly likable, I appreciated the better understanding of his motivations and background, and I hope the follow-up book does a better job of showing this in a less evil way and more as a practical way he carries himself with.
Ribay did a commendable job navigating the established lore the Avatar: The Last Airbender. His writing stayed true to the world we know and love, with new locations and a new spirit adding fresh elements to the lore. There were sequences, particularly one action piece near the end, that I could see animated in my mind in the nice fluid choreography we got from Legend of Korra.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
At times, the dialogue felt too modern and American, which pulled me out of the story. This aspect made the book feel less authentically East Asian compared to F.C. Yee's work, which felt like an intimately Asian story in the way the story was told and the manner the characters carried themselves culturally. That said, I'm not Asian or Asian American, so take that with a grain of salt as someone looking in from the outside. That said, I would argue that the original show that this is based on is more American than it is Asian, so this actually might be a positive for the story itself. It just feels like F.C. Yee's prose, while a bit too poetic at times for my taste, does elevate the world, while Ribay feels more like imitation. Overall, I side with Randy Ribay's style of writing, though I feel like it has a lower overall ceiling in terms of beautiful prose.
Roku's story felt more like filling in gaps rather than offering a compelling new narrative. His privileged background and predictable arc didn't make for an engaging read. The sense of being told how to feel about Roku rather than experiencing it organically was a letdown. There were several times when Gyatso tells characters what Roku is or is trying to be, but when we are in Roku's POV, that doesn't seem to track. This isn't just because Roku is hiding his true insecurities, but also in the way he speaks to other characters. It just felt like a forced arc.
The tragic elements of the book didn't resonate as deeply as they should have for me. There was a disconnect that made it hard to feel the intended emotional impact. Some of the tragedy was surprising, to be sure, but none of it impacted me in the same way I was moved by, say, the tragic elements of the Kyoshi novels that still move me to this day.
I was also hoping for a deeper exploration of Roku and Sozin's relationship, but the focus was more on Roku and Gyatso. This shift left the development of their friendship and eventual fallout feeling underexplored, but my guess is that all of that will show up in the following book.
Sometimes the book felt disconnected with all its branching storylines and side characters. In fact, the book is quite thin and short if you were to pull out some of that side content. The core story of Roku is quite simple and middle of the road.
And... while it's great to see nods to the original series, some references felt heavy-handed. This is a continual issue for most tie-in fiction. I grew up reading Star Wars books, and it always felt like authors had to prove their geek card was valid by making references throughout. There were more than a few that felt forced here, for sure.
RECOMMENDATION
Overall, I would recommend The Reckoning of Roku to fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I'm not so sure this is a home run for non-Avatar fans though. For example, even for a non-Avatar fan, I would recommend the Kyoshi books. But I'm less certain about this one. Despite its shortcomings, it offers an easy and enjoyable read that expands on Roku's character and the world of Avatar. The introduction of new elements and characters, like the younger Gyatso and an all-new spirit and mysterious location, adds fresh interest to the narrative. While it doesn't reach the heights of the Kyoshi novels or offer the same depth of craft as F.C. Yee's writing, it is still an OK addition to the series, and I'll be keeping an eye on that follow-up book with interest, unlike the Yangchen set of books.
So you can gauge my tastes with this series, let me start by saying that I adored the Kyoshi novels, but I was not a fan of the Yangchen books (which I didn't even finish). With the latter, I tried reading it twice, giving up at the 40% mark the first time. Then, after trying it again, I gave up on it again at around 60%. I was told the series got better, but I only got into 30% of the second Yangchen book before I washed my hands of it. It just wasn't my vibe.
So, where does The Reckoning of Roku stack up?
Right in the middle overall, though I will say there are things F.C. Yee, the author of the previous books, does better than Randy Ribay.
WHAT I LIKED
Ricky Ribay's writing style is well-suited for the Avatar world, in my opinion. It's casual and aligns closely with the sensibilities of the original series, making the reading experience feel familiar and accessible. F.C. Yee's writing was great, but it sometimes (for me) delved into the realm of being too poetic instead of prosaic. I'll elaborate on this further in my review.
The standout character for me was the younger version of Gyatso (who is basically Aang in this). His struggle with airbending and his charming, goofy personality made him a delightful character to root for. His superpower was becoming instant friends with anyone he met within the space of a few scenes (except for Sozin, which should be telling). His arc with his airbending struggles was predictable but still heartwarming.
The chapters featuring Sozin were among the book's greatest strengths. His pragmatism and the nuanced portrayal of his character added depth to the story. While he wasn't particularly likable, I appreciated the better understanding of his motivations and background, and I hope the follow-up book does a better job of showing this in a less evil way and more as a practical way he carries himself with.
Ribay did a commendable job navigating the established lore the Avatar: The Last Airbender. His writing stayed true to the world we know and love, with new locations and a new spirit adding fresh elements to the lore. There were sequences, particularly one action piece near the end, that I could see animated in my mind in the nice fluid choreography we got from Legend of Korra.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
At times, the dialogue felt too modern and American, which pulled me out of the story. This aspect made the book feel less authentically East Asian compared to F.C. Yee's work, which felt like an intimately Asian story in the way the story was told and the manner the characters carried themselves culturally. That said, I'm not Asian or Asian American, so take that with a grain of salt as someone looking in from the outside. That said, I would argue that the original show that this is based on is more American than it is Asian, so this actually might be a positive for the story itself. It just feels like F.C. Yee's prose, while a bit too poetic at times for my taste, does elevate the world, while Ribay feels more like imitation. Overall, I side with Randy Ribay's style of writing, though I feel like it has a lower overall ceiling in terms of beautiful prose.
Roku's story felt more like filling in gaps rather than offering a compelling new narrative. His privileged background and predictable arc didn't make for an engaging read. The sense of being told how to feel about Roku rather than experiencing it organically was a letdown. There were several times when Gyatso tells characters what Roku is or is trying to be, but when we are in Roku's POV, that doesn't seem to track. This isn't just because Roku is hiding his true insecurities, but also in the way he speaks to other characters. It just felt like a forced arc.
The tragic elements of the book didn't resonate as deeply as they should have for me. There was a disconnect that made it hard to feel the intended emotional impact. Some of the tragedy was surprising, to be sure, but none of it impacted me in the same way I was moved by, say, the tragic elements of the Kyoshi novels that still move me to this day.
I was also hoping for a deeper exploration of Roku and Sozin's relationship, but the focus was more on Roku and Gyatso. This shift left the development of their friendship and eventual fallout feeling underexplored, but my guess is that all of that will show up in the following book.
Sometimes the book felt disconnected with all its branching storylines and side characters. In fact, the book is quite thin and short if you were to pull out some of that side content. The core story of Roku is quite simple and middle of the road.
And... while it's great to see nods to the original series, some references felt heavy-handed. This is a continual issue for most tie-in fiction. I grew up reading Star Wars books, and it always felt like authors had to prove their geek card was valid by making references throughout. There were more than a few that felt forced here, for sure.
RECOMMENDATION
Overall, I would recommend The Reckoning of Roku to fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I'm not so sure this is a home run for non-Avatar fans though. For example, even for a non-Avatar fan, I would recommend the Kyoshi books. But I'm less certain about this one. Despite its shortcomings, it offers an easy and enjoyable read that expands on Roku's character and the world of Avatar. The introduction of new elements and characters, like the younger Gyatso and an all-new spirit and mysterious location, adds fresh interest to the narrative. While it doesn't reach the heights of the Kyoshi novels or offer the same depth of craft as F.C. Yee's writing, it is still an OK addition to the series, and I'll be keeping an eye on that follow-up book with interest, unlike the Yangchen set of books.
September 24, 2024
f.c. yee i miss you bbygirl i take back what i said about yangchen i promise
July 19, 2025
I’m going to be giving spoilers in this review, so please read with caution —
Shoutout to BAM for getting the book out early to folks.
The premise:
This takes place roughly 3 or so months after Roku is revealed to be the Avatar. He is at the Southern Air Temple partaking in natural disaster relief missions to help aid those in need and thus feel connected to community around him other than the Fire Nation. He gets letters from Sozin to help assist him on a mission requiring Avatar diplomacy, so him and Gyatso go.
Now I’m going to tell you this off the bat — if you went into this book hoping for it to help Roku’s Avatar legacy and think he’s not as bad of an Avatar as many people think he is, you will not get that. In fact, you may very well get the opposite.
Roku in the beginning of the story is by heart characterized as being a Fire National in the same vain as Avatar Szeto was described in the prior novels. His Airbending master, sister Disha, has him participate in natural disaster relief missions to connect him with airbending principles and to detach from the Fire Nation. This emphasized point makes me think that there’s a misunderstanding on the purpose of being the Avatar. Yangchen made it a point to Aang in the final episodes of the series that many Air Nomads have been able to detach from the world and achieve enlightenment, but the Avatar’s sole duty is TO the world, so they cannot do that.
Sozin is told by his father that he needs to leverage his friendship with Roku to ensure his Fire Nation loyalty, and thus, gifts him his Fire Prince Crown before he leaves. From the beginning everything was shown to be manipulation from Sozin.
Sozin is searching for an island he read about that can enhance one’s bending. He and his two friends find this island, encounter some rogue Earth Kingdom soldiers, brutally murders 2 of them, and then decides he’s gonna make Roku deal with it. He sends messages to Roku saying that this is a diplomatic issue and Earth Kingdom is on Fire Nation territory. He refuses. Then Sozin sends an ASSASSIN after Roku disguised as a soldier sent personally from the Earth Queen to agitate him and go. Now everything from here on out is where basically everything goes south.
The island itself is home to an indigenous population that maintains an isolationist mentality, wanting to be hidden away from the other 4 nations. They bend fog around the island to stay out of site and the move the island in different locations from time to time. It is rich with unique foods, wildlife, and medicinal herbs not found anywhere else.
The Chief, while not the best guy let’s be honest, is made out to be the primary antagonist as he tries to sacrifice Roku to permanently gain the cave spirit’s power that grants the residents their enhanced bending with the intention of protecting the island. His prerogative is to kill any outsiders that attempt to colonize or invade their land, and for some reason this is painted to be bad. Indigenous people have the right to protect their home from colonization.
So after Gyatso and Roku come to the island, what happens?
- The village is destroyed
- Sozin burns Gyatso’s girlfriend alive
- Roku kills the village elder
- Many of the village residents are murdered
- The power that the sacred cave gives that enhances bending is destroyed
- Sozin and the Fire Nation colonize the island and extract its resources while forcing the native peoples to set up drills to do so
- Sozin takes the minerals from the now destroyed sacred cave to create enhanced weapons to strengthen the Fire Nation military
All of this, and I mean ALL OF THIS, could’ve been avoided if Roku and Gyatso just didn’t go to the fuckin’ island. He basically ruined everything for these people.
And moreover, it’s clear that Sozin had a major disdain for air nomads. And Roku is too stubborn to realize Sozin is a bad dude. I think the author has written himself in a corner. Normally this type of character arc from Roku would go from trusting Sozin to realizing Sozin is THE bad guy and needs to be stopped for good.. however all fans of the original series know that doesn’t happen. He lets him get away with earth kingdom land occupation and genocide of the air nomads, including his friend Gyatso.
If there was going to be a story that was going to explore Roku’s ascent into a great Avatar that stops the bad guy and maintains balance for at least a little bit of time, it shouldn’t have included Sozin in the story (at least in this direct of a manner). Because now there’s no wiggle room to try retconning anything. I just hope we can skip over to 2026 when we can start a new duology going over a new Avatar’s story.
Rating: 4.5/10.0
- I love Gyatso and his character arc the most
- Roku is a bad Avatar
- Sozin is racist and evil to the core
Shoutout to BAM for getting the book out early to folks.
The premise:
This takes place roughly 3 or so months after Roku is revealed to be the Avatar. He is at the Southern Air Temple partaking in natural disaster relief missions to help aid those in need and thus feel connected to community around him other than the Fire Nation. He gets letters from Sozin to help assist him on a mission requiring Avatar diplomacy, so him and Gyatso go.
Now I’m going to tell you this off the bat — if you went into this book hoping for it to help Roku’s Avatar legacy and think he’s not as bad of an Avatar as many people think he is, you will not get that. In fact, you may very well get the opposite.
Roku in the beginning of the story is by heart characterized as being a Fire National in the same vain as Avatar Szeto was described in the prior novels. His Airbending master, sister Disha, has him participate in natural disaster relief missions to connect him with airbending principles and to detach from the Fire Nation. This emphasized point makes me think that there’s a misunderstanding on the purpose of being the Avatar. Yangchen made it a point to Aang in the final episodes of the series that many Air Nomads have been able to detach from the world and achieve enlightenment, but the Avatar’s sole duty is TO the world, so they cannot do that.
Sozin is told by his father that he needs to leverage his friendship with Roku to ensure his Fire Nation loyalty, and thus, gifts him his Fire Prince Crown before he leaves. From the beginning everything was shown to be manipulation from Sozin.
Sozin is searching for an island he read about that can enhance one’s bending. He and his two friends find this island, encounter some rogue Earth Kingdom soldiers, brutally murders 2 of them, and then decides he’s gonna make Roku deal with it. He sends messages to Roku saying that this is a diplomatic issue and Earth Kingdom is on Fire Nation territory. He refuses. Then Sozin sends an ASSASSIN after Roku disguised as a soldier sent personally from the Earth Queen to agitate him and go. Now everything from here on out is where basically everything goes south.
The island itself is home to an indigenous population that maintains an isolationist mentality, wanting to be hidden away from the other 4 nations. They bend fog around the island to stay out of site and the move the island in different locations from time to time. It is rich with unique foods, wildlife, and medicinal herbs not found anywhere else.
The Chief, while not the best guy let’s be honest, is made out to be the primary antagonist as he tries to sacrifice Roku to permanently gain the cave spirit’s power that grants the residents their enhanced bending with the intention of protecting the island. His prerogative is to kill any outsiders that attempt to colonize or invade their land, and for some reason this is painted to be bad. Indigenous people have the right to protect their home from colonization.
So after Gyatso and Roku come to the island, what happens?
- The village is destroyed
- Sozin burns Gyatso’s girlfriend alive
- Roku kills the village elder
- Many of the village residents are murdered
- The power that the sacred cave gives that enhances bending is destroyed
- Sozin and the Fire Nation colonize the island and extract its resources while forcing the native peoples to set up drills to do so
- Sozin takes the minerals from the now destroyed sacred cave to create enhanced weapons to strengthen the Fire Nation military
All of this, and I mean ALL OF THIS, could’ve been avoided if Roku and Gyatso just didn’t go to the fuckin’ island. He basically ruined everything for these people.
And moreover, it’s clear that Sozin had a major disdain for air nomads. And Roku is too stubborn to realize Sozin is a bad dude. I think the author has written himself in a corner. Normally this type of character arc from Roku would go from trusting Sozin to realizing Sozin is THE bad guy and needs to be stopped for good.. however all fans of the original series know that doesn’t happen. He lets him get away with earth kingdom land occupation and genocide of the air nomads, including his friend Gyatso.
If there was going to be a story that was going to explore Roku’s ascent into a great Avatar that stops the bad guy and maintains balance for at least a little bit of time, it shouldn’t have included Sozin in the story (at least in this direct of a manner). Because now there’s no wiggle room to try retconning anything. I just hope we can skip over to 2026 when we can start a new duology going over a new Avatar’s story.
Rating: 4.5/10.0
- I love Gyatso and his character arc the most
- Roku is a bad Avatar
- Sozin is racist and evil to the core
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2024
I will always love the world of Avatar! This book and its story were a great addition to that world. I really enjoyed getting to see and know more about Avatar Roku. And I absolutely loved getting more of Gyatso! There were so many moments where he reminded me of Aang!
July 27, 2024
Easily the most average entry to the series.
Not bad. Just not… engaging enough.
Not bad. Just not… engaging enough.
January 28, 2025
It took me a long time to post this review because it ended up being so long, I needed time away from it to edit. I have a lot to say and I promise this is the truncated version.
I really don't give one-star reviews but it's not often that I finish a book that has absolutely nothing that I enjoyed. I knew I wasn't going to be able to help but compare it to FC Yee's Avatar books (which I adore and consider the gold standard for IP books) but I tried to go into this book with an open mind. Even though the book kept falling short of the standard that FC Yee set, I kept trying to give this book the benefit of the doubt but it gave me nothing to work with. Even without comparing this book to FC Yee's Avatar books, it's just not good. Not only is it a disappointing entry in the Avatarverse and gives almost nothing new for fans to latch onto, it's bland, shallow, and frankly... a little politically concerning.
First, the non-spoilery bits. Right off the bat, I struggled getting through the prologue. Even for YA, the writing feels juvenile and heavyhanded... frankly, it reads more like middle grade. It is determined to tell you every single emotion and thought that the characters are feeling at any given moment with no finesse. The opening paragraph made me close the book multiple times because I kept getting secondhand embarrassment reading it. The writing never really gets better; it's annoyingly, insultingly didactic and moralizing, made even worse when you disagree with our heroes (but we'll get into that later).
Not only was the writing poor, or maybe because of it, but nearly every major character's characterization felt all over the place and every single relationship, from Roku and Sozin's friendship to the godforsaken romances, was underdeveloped and shallow. I was expecting to, at the very least, be able to wring some enjoyment out of Roku and Sozin's doomed friendship or even Roku and Gyatso's budding companionship but... there was nothing interesting to latch onto. Every decision and every interaction felt so forced, like plot beats that had to be hit rather than a natural consequence of who the characters were and, because of this, the entire plot felt messy and contrived.
Quality of writing aside, it’s just generally a poor entry into the Avatarverse. I won’t harp too much on FC Yee but I call him the gold standard for a reason. He brought depth to this world's lore in a way that no other Avatar writer (including on TLOK and the graphic novels) has done and thought deeply about how the various Avatar eras shaped the politics of the world. His love for the world was evident in every word; it’s hard to follow and I didn’t expect Ribay to match it.
However, the difference is just too stark to not point out. Ribay's understanding of the world was so shallow and I constantly felt like I was having the Avatar wiki recited to me. The oftentimes cheeky references to the show or FC Yee's books just made me wish I was watching/reading them instead. I could not tell you what Ribay brought to the world of Avatar, other than sprinkling it with nods to Filipino culture. Even more egregious, at one point it seemed like he'd outright contradicted canon: apparently Sozin is not homophobic! His sister is gay AND he hired her ex-girlfriend. I truly can't tell whether or not Ribay knew that Sozin instituted state-sanctioned homophobia during his reign or if the implication here is that he did it to screw over both his sister and Dalisay (because he's evil). If the latter, it's interesting! A tasty morsel of characterization that unfortunately is never expanded on. A missed opportunity. One of many that I won’t get into because this review is way too long as it is and is more subjective and personal taste anyways.
But this brings me to my biggest problem with this book.
It brings me no joy to dislike this book as much as I did. I want nothing more than for Asian diaspora authors to succeed, especially when writing for an IP based off of Asian culture but created by white creators. However, those of us in the diaspora need to be cognizant of the way we write about colonialism and the history of the lands we come from, even when it’s cloaked in metaphor. I don’t know how many of the issues in this book can be attributed to deadlines or editing, but this book was just massively disappointing on so many levels. I still might read the next book, just to see if any of it gets better but I do not feel optimistic.
I really don't give one-star reviews but it's not often that I finish a book that has absolutely nothing that I enjoyed. I knew I wasn't going to be able to help but compare it to FC Yee's Avatar books (which I adore and consider the gold standard for IP books) but I tried to go into this book with an open mind. Even though the book kept falling short of the standard that FC Yee set, I kept trying to give this book the benefit of the doubt but it gave me nothing to work with. Even without comparing this book to FC Yee's Avatar books, it's just not good. Not only is it a disappointing entry in the Avatarverse and gives almost nothing new for fans to latch onto, it's bland, shallow, and frankly... a little politically concerning.
First, the non-spoilery bits. Right off the bat, I struggled getting through the prologue. Even for YA, the writing feels juvenile and heavyhanded... frankly, it reads more like middle grade. It is determined to tell you every single emotion and thought that the characters are feeling at any given moment with no finesse. The opening paragraph made me close the book multiple times because I kept getting secondhand embarrassment reading it. The writing never really gets better; it's annoyingly, insultingly didactic and moralizing, made even worse when you disagree with our heroes (but we'll get into that later).
Not only was the writing poor, or maybe because of it, but nearly every major character's characterization felt all over the place and every single relationship, from Roku and Sozin's friendship to the godforsaken romances, was underdeveloped and shallow. I was expecting to, at the very least, be able to wring some enjoyment out of Roku and Sozin's doomed friendship or even Roku and Gyatso's budding companionship but... there was nothing interesting to latch onto. Every decision and every interaction felt so forced, like plot beats that had to be hit rather than a natural consequence of who the characters were and, because of this, the entire plot felt messy and contrived.
Quality of writing aside, it’s just generally a poor entry into the Avatarverse. I won’t harp too much on FC Yee but I call him the gold standard for a reason. He brought depth to this world's lore in a way that no other Avatar writer (including on TLOK and the graphic novels) has done and thought deeply about how the various Avatar eras shaped the politics of the world. His love for the world was evident in every word; it’s hard to follow and I didn’t expect Ribay to match it.
However, the difference is just too stark to not point out. Ribay's understanding of the world was so shallow and I constantly felt like I was having the Avatar wiki recited to me. The oftentimes cheeky references to the show or FC Yee's books just made me wish I was watching/reading them instead. I could not tell you what Ribay brought to the world of Avatar, other than sprinkling it with nods to Filipino culture. Even more egregious, at one point it seemed like he'd outright contradicted canon: apparently Sozin is not homophobic! His sister is gay AND he hired her ex-girlfriend. I truly can't tell whether or not Ribay knew that Sozin instituted state-sanctioned homophobia during his reign or if the implication here is that he did it to screw over both his sister and Dalisay (because he's evil). If the latter, it's interesting! A tasty morsel of characterization that unfortunately is never expanded on. A missed opportunity. One of many that I won’t get into because this review is way too long as it is and is more subjective and personal taste anyways.
But this brings me to my biggest problem with this book.
It brings me no joy to dislike this book as much as I did. I want nothing more than for Asian diaspora authors to succeed, especially when writing for an IP based off of Asian culture but created by white creators. However, those of us in the diaspora need to be cognizant of the way we write about colonialism and the history of the lands we come from, even when it’s cloaked in metaphor. I don’t know how many of the issues in this book can be attributed to deadlines or editing, but this book was just massively disappointing on so many levels. I still might read the next book, just to see if any of it gets better but I do not feel optimistic.
Want to read
April 5, 2024i love how he looks more like rangi here!!
August 6, 2024
This was a fun return to the Avatar-verse, and a fairly well-crafted quest story dealing with Roku's earliest days as the Avatar, so much so that .
The focus is a little divided as we have to spend time with the decidedly icky Sozin (of the Comet fame from the animated series) and his flunkies but the presence of a youthful Monk Gyatso tagging along with Roku was a delight.
Presumably there will be another of these to come as a few story threads are left purposefully dangling, in my mind at least, so bring it on!
The focus is a little divided as we have to spend time with the decidedly icky Sozin (of the Comet fame from the animated series) and his flunkies but the presence of a youthful Monk Gyatso tagging along with Roku was a delight.
Presumably there will be another of these to come as a few story threads are left purposefully dangling, in my mind at least, so bring it on!
September 6, 2024
This was Boring with a capital B. A whole lot of absolutely nothing happened. And clearly the author isn’t THAT big of a fan or Sozin never would’ve ended up on that island. (Still slightly better than Yangchen but only SLIGHTLY).
December 25, 2024
I was worried about this one.
This is the beginning of Roku’s training as the avatar and that is something we saw glimpses of in the original show. Because of that I feared that the details and ideas the author had (not the original creators of the tv-show) might not add up to what we have or worse make something obsolete.
That was luckily not the case, but I do have some thoughts…
Firstly Sozin’s character:
While nothing he did in the contradicts with what I imagine he would be capable of from the persona we met in the show, his motivation and background I just don’t completely buy.
He is of course driven by his own ambition and ideas for the future but it seems to come from a place that makes him want to impress, prove himself to and absolutely defy his father, the current Fire Lord, who by the way also seems a bit too ambitious with the Fire Nation and its potential influence on the world rather than the keeping of peace.
I personally think the two of them and their dynamic paints the Fire Nation in a rageful and semi-hating light that it as of yet does not deserve.
Secondly the the friendship between Roku and Gyatso:
I was most of all looking forward to learn more about Gyatso! And the pair was to me relentlessly annoying at first and I think now as good place to point out, that I did not enjoy this book for the third part of it.
I get that they needed to grow on each other and that they are essentially teenagers just existing but they just seemed agitated with each other from the get go and I cannot understand why that would be so.
That improved tremendously however and that carried a lot of my enjoyment in the latter half of the story.
Initial thoughts and worries aside, if you are a fan Avatar I do recommend reading this. While I think it has a rough beginning the ending was surprisingly devastating and it strongly develops (most of) its characters and their relationships and makes it all in all good time.
3.5🌟
This is the beginning of Roku’s training as the avatar and that is something we saw glimpses of in the original show. Because of that I feared that the details and ideas the author had (not the original creators of the tv-show) might not add up to what we have or worse make something obsolete.
That was luckily not the case, but I do have some thoughts…
Firstly Sozin’s character:
While nothing he did in the contradicts with what I imagine he would be capable of from the persona we met in the show, his motivation and background I just don’t completely buy.
He is of course driven by his own ambition and ideas for the future but it seems to come from a place that makes him want to impress, prove himself to and absolutely defy his father, the current Fire Lord, who by the way also seems a bit too ambitious with the Fire Nation and its potential influence on the world rather than the keeping of peace.
I personally think the two of them and their dynamic paints the Fire Nation in a rageful and semi-hating light that it as of yet does not deserve.
Secondly the the friendship between Roku and Gyatso:
I was most of all looking forward to learn more about Gyatso! And the pair was to me relentlessly annoying at first and I think now as good place to point out, that I did not enjoy this book for the third part of it.
I get that they needed to grow on each other and that they are essentially teenagers just existing but they just seemed agitated with each other from the get go and I cannot understand why that would be so.
That improved tremendously however and that carried a lot of my enjoyment in the latter half of the story.
Initial thoughts and worries aside, if you are a fan Avatar I do recommend reading this. While I think it has a rough beginning the ending was surprisingly devastating and it strongly develops (most of) its characters and their relationships and makes it all in all good time.
3.5🌟
September 8, 2024
A considerable step down in quality and complexity from F.C. Yee's contributions to the Avatarverse. Roku is the least interesting character in the ensemble; Sozin is more compelling, and the relationship between Gyatso and Malaya is more fleshed out than that of Roku and his future wife.
Yee (particularly in the Kyoshi duology) introduced new ideas, locations, bending styles, and sociopolitical entities to the Avatar world that fit in perfectly, while also paying homage to the existing canon and familiar landscapes. Ribay has shown an over-reliance on existing tropes, leading to several moments of 'he said the thing!'.
It feels like the book is less about creating Roku as a compelling character, and more about showing how easy to manipulate he is as an excuse for his future failures. For his part, Roku seems to hold no convictions of his own.
At several moments in the story, the plot seems to step on its own tail as Ribay betrays what little worldbuilding he has done and borrowed.
[Spoilers below!]
My specific issues:
Sozin preemptively attacks his Sandbender guides; a situation created solely to beat the reader of the head with the notion that he is ruthless, looks down on those not of his stock and nation, and that he sees everything as a transaction. But when his assumption of an ambush turns out to be completely wrong, there are no consequences to his completely unprovoked attack; the Sandbenders continue to guide him through the desert. A very clumsy bit of writing where the author has created a situation for a literary purpose without considering its plot significance.
As seen in the show, Roku is given Sozin's Crown Prince headdress and wears it throughout. Such an easy gimme for the author, he does manage to use it; Roku's Airbending master Sister Disha points out that it is a symbol of his attachment to his identity as a Fire National and his failure to heed her teachings. Gyatso later makes the point more forcefully when he knocks it from Roku's head as they are traveling through the Island, but instead of this being a Big Moment (an assault on Roku's very sense of self!) Roku laughs it off, and it is even used as a bonding moment.
Similarly, it is early established that Fire National Avatars typically eschew the Air Nomad tradition of shaving their head, due to the cultural norms and beliefs surrounding hair in the FN. Then at the end of the book, it is unceremoniously mentioned, in passing, that Roku is now bald. How is this not used as a Big Moment? A direct action that in one stroke symbolizes him casting off the Fire National identity, while simultaneously necessitating the realization that he is no longer wearing the Crown Prince's headdress, thus throwing off the visible leash to Sozin (and through him, Fire Lord Taiso) that Ribay explicitly laid out in the first pages of the book.
As a smaller example of the self-cannibalization of worldbuilding, Ribay goes to lengths to show how Ulo engenders an absolute fear of the outside in his people. Ulo is the only one allowed to leave the island (which, by the way, does he ever? Where would he go?), and the secretive Scouts are only allowed to see outsiders for as long as it takes to kill them. But when Roku is paraded around town by Ulo, no one bats an eye; there is no tension created by the fact that the man constantly warning of the perils of outsiders is now palling around with one.
[Spoilers over!]
Overall (Rated on a scale of 1-5)
HOOK: 4. To be fair, a lot of this has nothing to do with Ribay's writing and more to do with previous ATLA knowledge and a desire to get to know this character better.
PLOT: 2. A decently strong start that descends into pretty predicable beats.
CHARACTERS: 3. While the title character is dragging this score down, Gyatso and Malaya were very compelling.
BASIC EDITING: ✓ no scale here; either it's good or bad.
The SERIES SCORE: 1. This fits nicely into my 1-5 scale as there are currently 5 books in the series.
RECOMMENDATION VALUE: 2. It's a quick easy read if you want to get your ATLA fix, but beyond that I wouldn't recommend it.
Yee (particularly in the Kyoshi duology) introduced new ideas, locations, bending styles, and sociopolitical entities to the Avatar world that fit in perfectly, while also paying homage to the existing canon and familiar landscapes. Ribay has shown an over-reliance on existing tropes, leading to several moments of 'he said the thing!'.
It feels like the book is less about creating Roku as a compelling character, and more about showing how easy to manipulate he is as an excuse for his future failures. For his part, Roku seems to hold no convictions of his own.
At several moments in the story, the plot seems to step on its own tail as Ribay betrays what little worldbuilding he has done and borrowed.
[Spoilers below!]
My specific issues:
Sozin preemptively attacks his Sandbender guides; a situation created solely to beat the reader of the head with the notion that he is ruthless, looks down on those not of his stock and nation, and that he sees everything as a transaction. But when his assumption of an ambush turns out to be completely wrong, there are no consequences to his completely unprovoked attack; the Sandbenders continue to guide him through the desert. A very clumsy bit of writing where the author has created a situation for a literary purpose without considering its plot significance.
As seen in the show, Roku is given Sozin's Crown Prince headdress and wears it throughout. Such an easy gimme for the author, he does manage to use it; Roku's Airbending master Sister Disha points out that it is a symbol of his attachment to his identity as a Fire National and his failure to heed her teachings. Gyatso later makes the point more forcefully when he knocks it from Roku's head as they are traveling through the Island, but instead of this being a Big Moment (an assault on Roku's very sense of self!) Roku laughs it off, and it is even used as a bonding moment.
Similarly, it is early established that Fire National Avatars typically eschew the Air Nomad tradition of shaving their head, due to the cultural norms and beliefs surrounding hair in the FN. Then at the end of the book, it is unceremoniously mentioned, in passing, that Roku is now bald. How is this not used as a Big Moment? A direct action that in one stroke symbolizes him casting off the Fire National identity, while simultaneously necessitating the realization that he is no longer wearing the Crown Prince's headdress, thus throwing off the visible leash to Sozin (and through him, Fire Lord Taiso) that Ribay explicitly laid out in the first pages of the book.
As a smaller example of the self-cannibalization of worldbuilding, Ribay goes to lengths to show how Ulo engenders an absolute fear of the outside in his people. Ulo is the only one allowed to leave the island (which, by the way, does he ever? Where would he go?), and the secretive Scouts are only allowed to see outsiders for as long as it takes to kill them. But when Roku is paraded around town by Ulo, no one bats an eye; there is no tension created by the fact that the man constantly warning of the perils of outsiders is now palling around with one.
[Spoilers over!]
Overall (Rated on a scale of 1-5)
HOOK: 4. To be fair, a lot of this has nothing to do with Ribay's writing and more to do with previous ATLA knowledge and a desire to get to know this character better.
PLOT: 2. A decently strong start that descends into pretty predicable beats.
CHARACTERS: 3. While the title character is dragging this score down, Gyatso and Malaya were very compelling.
BASIC EDITING: ✓ no scale here; either it's good or bad.
The SERIES SCORE: 1. This fits nicely into my 1-5 scale as there are currently 5 books in the series.
RECOMMENDATION VALUE: 2. It's a quick easy read if you want to get your ATLA fix, but beyond that I wouldn't recommend it.
July 28, 2024
Sadly, I feel this was the most boring novel out of the 5 out there.
In the last page, Randy claims he never watched Avatar until the pandemic times, I mean he is not the biggest/longest fan out there; and it's ok. But I feel like (just like with the second Kyoshi novel) there's really nothing important on the novel.
Maybe it was that the first Kyoshi novel had blood baths from like within the first 50 pages, and some pretty big fights and deaths all around. Then, Yangchen story was written as a Pai Sho game with some pretty good plot twists. Both Avatar stories with "big revelations" about other Avatars and character stories.
With Roku his biggest story will always be his friendship with Sozin and how his lasts decitions rolled up to the story of the last airbender. So I guess it's hard to live up to that, but I also feel again and again bored by the idea of the Avatar who doesn't even know how to bend his second element when the story starts and by the end of their second novel there was a big good conflict but no real trip or bridge to the full filled Avatar portrayed on the original series or bigger connections between the novels and their encarnations.
Kyoshi was supposed to not only bring peace between humans, but also deal with the spiritual problems Yangchen and Kuruk had brought to the world. And there was none of that (besides a very bad portrait of her and her death on the last pages, related to sister Disha). Not the Kyoshi we know.
No new (or important) techniques or bending, no spirits or really good fights. No real connections to any important thing on the original series (to be honest I expected an explanation on how Aang could preserve his life in the ice, like a technique Roku learned or something).
The good point on the novel is that it kinda explains or shows how Azula (Zuko and Ozai too) was a real prodigy, with her blue fire, fire flying, lightning and so on. The novel explains how all those techniques were old forgotten or really hard to achieve.
The story is really more about Roku (and Gyatso) as a human (and his adventures), rather than an Avatar novel.
Malaya was a great character and my favorite, so I wasn't happy with the ending, altought it sums up to the Sozin we know. At the start of the novel we learn that Gyatso had problems with his airbending, later on I guess the reason was the lost of someone he loved, while Aang finds out his whole family and friends were murdered and he doesn't lose his airbending even for a second.
But, yeah. The novel is more about a young Roku, not necessarily about the Avatar Roku.
In the last page, Randy claims he never watched Avatar until the pandemic times, I mean he is not the biggest/longest fan out there; and it's ok. But I feel like (just like with the second Kyoshi novel) there's really nothing important on the novel.
Maybe it was that the first Kyoshi novel had blood baths from like within the first 50 pages, and some pretty big fights and deaths all around. Then, Yangchen story was written as a Pai Sho game with some pretty good plot twists. Both Avatar stories with "big revelations" about other Avatars and character stories.
With Roku his biggest story will always be his friendship with Sozin and how his lasts decitions rolled up to the story of the last airbender. So I guess it's hard to live up to that, but I also feel again and again bored by the idea of the Avatar who doesn't even know how to bend his second element when the story starts and by the end of their second novel there was a big good conflict but no real trip or bridge to the full filled Avatar portrayed on the original series or bigger connections between the novels and their encarnations.
Kyoshi was supposed to not only bring peace between humans, but also deal with the spiritual problems Yangchen and Kuruk had brought to the world. And there was none of that (besides a very bad portrait of her and her death on the last pages, related to sister Disha). Not the Kyoshi we know.
No new (or important) techniques or bending, no spirits or really good fights. No real connections to any important thing on the original series (to be honest I expected an explanation on how Aang could preserve his life in the ice, like a technique Roku learned or something).
The good point on the novel is that it kinda explains or shows how Azula (Zuko and Ozai too) was a real prodigy, with her blue fire, fire flying, lightning and so on. The novel explains how all those techniques were old forgotten or really hard to achieve.
The story is really more about Roku (and Gyatso) as a human (and his adventures), rather than an Avatar novel.
Malaya was a great character and my favorite, so I wasn't happy with the ending, altought it sums up to the Sozin we know. At the start of the novel we learn that Gyatso had problems with his airbending, later on I guess the reason was the lost of someone he loved, while Aang finds out his whole family and friends were murdered and he doesn't lose his airbending even for a second.
But, yeah. The novel is more about a young Roku, not necessarily about the Avatar Roku.
September 3, 2024
Still just kinda confused by what exactly happened on the island, Roku felt very undeveloped as a character (which I guess is the point), and the relationship of Sozin and Roku should have been explored more. Gyatso was the absolute MVP though
October 16, 2024
Look, I really wanted to like this. I enjoyed Kyoshi thoroughly… I meandered through Yangchen…
But this just didn’t live up to be anything at all, sadly. Let’s put aside the issues with editing, of which there were many (missing conjunctions, prepositions, and the like).
My real issue here is that the writers of these novels seem to be increasingly influenced by cheap characterization tactics that we see proliferating young adult fiction.
Oh? Roku now needs a tragic backstory that can provide tension in his character development? How on earth will we manage this? Oh, of course… dead twin brother who was actually better friends with Sozin before dying tragically, leaving Sozin no choice but to take Roku as a second option for best friend. This is in complete contradiction to the original Avatar storyline. Unlike previous Avatars, who weren’t nearly as forthcoming with their life stories with Aang, Roku shared quite a lot of his life in a really pivotal episode of the original series. Here, both Prince Zuko and Aang learned a lot about his personal/Avatar history. It was a really important part of both their respective character developments. So the fact that there was no twin brother mentioned in such an important episode really means that creative liberties have been exhausted to the point of absurdity. It’s like no one has any creativity left outside the same over-used plot/character devices that have already been beaten dead in other fiction.
I even take issue with Sozin’s two-dimensionality. The true tragedy of the fall-out between Sozin and Roku lies in the fact that Sozin really believed the Fire nation had something to share with the world. It was an idealism that in itself became the tool of evil. The tragedy of Roku’s life, therefore, was the loss of a truly great friend. He had to watch someone be completely corrupted by power. Instead of this, we’re forced to read a teenage Sozin (who borders on being sociopathic) grapple with pubescent daddy-issues? Please.
In my opinion (and I’m no one special - just a hard-core original fan) we should have stayed with the Kyoshi novels… I mean really, there’s 230 years of fascinating life stories there. And how awesome would it be to explore the inner psyche of a 200-year-old person? That is fascinating! There would be depth, complexity, and (best of all) no overused, teenage angst, friends to enemies to friends, cheap plot devices.
But this just didn’t live up to be anything at all, sadly. Let’s put aside the issues with editing, of which there were many (missing conjunctions, prepositions, and the like).
My real issue here is that the writers of these novels seem to be increasingly influenced by cheap characterization tactics that we see proliferating young adult fiction.
Oh? Roku now needs a tragic backstory that can provide tension in his character development? How on earth will we manage this? Oh, of course… dead twin brother who was actually better friends with Sozin before dying tragically, leaving Sozin no choice but to take Roku as a second option for best friend. This is in complete contradiction to the original Avatar storyline. Unlike previous Avatars, who weren’t nearly as forthcoming with their life stories with Aang, Roku shared quite a lot of his life in a really pivotal episode of the original series. Here, both Prince Zuko and Aang learned a lot about his personal/Avatar history. It was a really important part of both their respective character developments. So the fact that there was no twin brother mentioned in such an important episode really means that creative liberties have been exhausted to the point of absurdity. It’s like no one has any creativity left outside the same over-used plot/character devices that have already been beaten dead in other fiction.
I even take issue with Sozin’s two-dimensionality. The true tragedy of the fall-out between Sozin and Roku lies in the fact that Sozin really believed the Fire nation had something to share with the world. It was an idealism that in itself became the tool of evil. The tragedy of Roku’s life, therefore, was the loss of a truly great friend. He had to watch someone be completely corrupted by power. Instead of this, we’re forced to read a teenage Sozin (who borders on being sociopathic) grapple with pubescent daddy-issues? Please.
In my opinion (and I’m no one special - just a hard-core original fan) we should have stayed with the Kyoshi novels… I mean really, there’s 230 years of fascinating life stories there. And how awesome would it be to explore the inner psyche of a 200-year-old person? That is fascinating! There would be depth, complexity, and (best of all) no overused, teenage angst, friends to enemies to friends, cheap plot devices.
August 26, 2024
Probably my least favorite of the Avatar books. It wasn’t really bad, but it was boring—which is almost. I don’t really like the re-characterization of Roku and Sozin’s relationship. It lost a lot of its tragedy and impact from the original series in depicting Sozin as always being the way he is, rather than gently gliding in villainy. But more importantly, the main plot was just…boring. Much ado about nothing.
Want to read
April 4, 2024I seriously hope Randy Ribay lives up to F.C. Yee's style and deep understanding of the Avatar world!
January 24, 2025
3.5: this was fun, some glaring continuity errors aside (the timing of Sozin’s comet, hello?), this was another fun expansion of the avatar universe and overall I liked reading it, even if it wasn’t groundbreaking new information.
my boy Roku reeeeeeeally prioritizes Sozin’s life a lot which is tragic when you know what he will eventually do, and this book makes Gyatso’s eventual demise even worse. I liked the fleshing out of Gyatso and his loss but I don’t understand the sister thing, I feel like we already got that plot with Yangchen’s “sister”, and also it was established that blood familial ties aren’t that important to the nomads? Idk it felt strange and like mostly a plot device that didn’t need to exist
I thought the twin narrative was interesting but really unnecessary. I cried when I read Yasu’s death but also I JUST lost my sister so I’m an easy target with sibling death stories 👀 I wasn’t sure how I would feel reading backstory on a guy who eventually does a big bad g*nocide, and as it turns out I did not like Sozin any more after reading this. I am happy he was humanized and fleshed out, but he was also shown to be a complete power hungry loser boy with daddy issues pretty much from the get go and the show had previously established that this was apparently not the case? I think the author tried to surprise us with how he differed from the expected story laid out by the scenes in season 3 of ATLA but it ended up just feeling like retcons
when I think about it, Idk if I needed a whole novel to do this exploration, I feel like it could have been a comic and had about the same depth as the comics.
overall I think it was a little heavy handed with the references—it felt like Sozin literally turned to the audience to say “secret tunnel??”plus, some of the dialogue felt sort of forced, or overly inside jokey. Gyatso originating Flameyo Hotman is funny I guess, especially because sweet Aang believes him, and tries using it again like 150+ years later, but I don’t know that it added much to the canon other than little jokes like that
I hope Ta Min plays a larger role in the second installment because I do think it sort of lacked in the romance, especially with Malaya getting yeeted before that could become anything (also her body would have been discovered completely charred, did no one consider that?? is everyone just gonna let Roku think he killed her by accident??) Avatar doesn’t need to be overly romantic, Yangchen didn’t have a romance, but we know Roku and Ta Min marry and have a child and are seemingly happy until his death so it might be nice to get that fleshed out a little, or at least get to see a more fully formed Ta Min in the next book, even if it doesn’t focus on their eventual relationship
a final thought, I wish we had more information on the dueling spirits?? it was kind of giving Raava and Vaatu vibes but also Tui and La, and we know it’s not them so I would have liked to know more about this spirit duo, or even their actual names
Also Wan Shi Tong has to be the worst judge of character maybe EVER?
my boy Roku reeeeeeeally prioritizes Sozin’s life a lot which is tragic when you know what he will eventually do, and this book makes Gyatso’s eventual demise even worse. I liked the fleshing out of Gyatso and his loss but I don’t understand the sister thing, I feel like we already got that plot with Yangchen’s “sister”, and also it was established that blood familial ties aren’t that important to the nomads? Idk it felt strange and like mostly a plot device that didn’t need to exist
I thought the twin narrative was interesting but really unnecessary. I cried when I read Yasu’s death but also I JUST lost my sister so I’m an easy target with sibling death stories 👀 I wasn’t sure how I would feel reading backstory on a guy who eventually does a big bad g*nocide, and as it turns out I did not like Sozin any more after reading this. I am happy he was humanized and fleshed out, but he was also shown to be a complete power hungry loser boy with daddy issues pretty much from the get go and the show had previously established that this was apparently not the case? I think the author tried to surprise us with how he differed from the expected story laid out by the scenes in season 3 of ATLA but it ended up just feeling like retcons
when I think about it, Idk if I needed a whole novel to do this exploration, I feel like it could have been a comic and had about the same depth as the comics.
overall I think it was a little heavy handed with the references—it felt like Sozin literally turned to the audience to say “secret tunnel??”plus, some of the dialogue felt sort of forced, or overly inside jokey. Gyatso originating Flameyo Hotman is funny I guess, especially because sweet Aang believes him, and tries using it again like 150+ years later, but I don’t know that it added much to the canon other than little jokes like that
I hope Ta Min plays a larger role in the second installment because I do think it sort of lacked in the romance, especially with Malaya getting yeeted before that could become anything (also her body would have been discovered completely charred, did no one consider that?? is everyone just gonna let Roku think he killed her by accident??) Avatar doesn’t need to be overly romantic, Yangchen didn’t have a romance, but we know Roku and Ta Min marry and have a child and are seemingly happy until his death so it might be nice to get that fleshed out a little, or at least get to see a more fully formed Ta Min in the next book, even if it doesn’t focus on their eventual relationship
a final thought, I wish we had more information on the dueling spirits?? it was kind of giving Raava and Vaatu vibes but also Tui and La, and we know it’s not them so I would have liked to know more about this spirit duo, or even their actual names
Also Wan Shi Tong has to be the worst judge of character maybe EVER?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2024
The Reckoning of Roku is a delightful addition to the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe. This young adult novel delves into the early life of Avatar Roku who is the predecessor to Aang. This book offers a fresh perspective on the beloved series.
What I Loved:
* Character Development: Ribay does a fantastic job of fleshing out Roku's character. We see his struggles with self-doubt, his growing sense of responsibility, and his evolving relationship with his mentor, Gyatso.
* World-Building: The novel seamlessly integrates into the established Avatar lore, providing new insights into the Air Nomads and their culture.
* Action and Adventure: While the story is character-driven, it doesn't shy away from exciting action sequences and thrilling adventures.
* Humor: Ribay's writing is infused with a light-hearted humor that keeps the story engaging and enjoyable.
A Few Notes:
* Some readers may find the pacing a bit slow at times, especially in the beginning.
* While the novel does a good job of exploring Roku's personal journey, it might have benefited from a more significant overarching plot.
Overall, The Reckoning of Roku is a well-crafted novel that will delight fans of the Avatar series. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about the world and characters of this beloved franchise.
Would you like to know more about the plot or characters in this book?
What I Loved:
* Character Development: Ribay does a fantastic job of fleshing out Roku's character. We see his struggles with self-doubt, his growing sense of responsibility, and his evolving relationship with his mentor, Gyatso.
* World-Building: The novel seamlessly integrates into the established Avatar lore, providing new insights into the Air Nomads and their culture.
* Action and Adventure: While the story is character-driven, it doesn't shy away from exciting action sequences and thrilling adventures.
* Humor: Ribay's writing is infused with a light-hearted humor that keeps the story engaging and enjoyable.
A Few Notes:
* Some readers may find the pacing a bit slow at times, especially in the beginning.
* While the novel does a good job of exploring Roku's personal journey, it might have benefited from a more significant overarching plot.
Overall, The Reckoning of Roku is a well-crafted novel that will delight fans of the Avatar series. It's a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about the world and characters of this beloved franchise.
Would you like to know more about the plot or characters in this book?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 22, 2024
I love mixing things up when I read, and I’m glad I checked out this YA book set in one of my favorite fictional worlds. The world building is still top notch, and the characters were entertaining. I did feel like the portrayal of the main character was a little odd throughout the story. It was most apparent when jumping between his first person perspective (and how he viewed himself) and others’ thoughts/words about him. Where others would described his demeanor as cautious or thoughtful, his brash and headstrong actions meant that he felt a bit inconsistent throughout the book.
But what I’ll remember about this book the most came before reading, when I got to hear the author speak at a local panel/Q&A. It was fascinating to learn about his research and intentions behind the book. I always wondered what challenges and benefits would come from writing in a pre-existing universe, and he talked a lot about the responsibilities and freedoms that come with that. After hearing him speak and reading this book, I’m excited to checked out some of his other works!
Overall, the story was cool and the characters were cool and while I won’t say it was the greatest book ever, I had fun with it.
But what I’ll remember about this book the most came before reading, when I got to hear the author speak at a local panel/Q&A. It was fascinating to learn about his research and intentions behind the book. I always wondered what challenges and benefits would come from writing in a pre-existing universe, and he talked a lot about the responsibilities and freedoms that come with that. After hearing him speak and reading this book, I’m excited to checked out some of his other works!
Overall, the story was cool and the characters were cool and while I won’t say it was the greatest book ever, I had fun with it.
July 31, 2024
Ahhhh! So good!! I loved this and how humanizing it made Roku feel. We get so much wise master Roku but no little kid, and this hit the spot.
S/o to Sozin for being absolute garbage I was rooting for you we were all rooting for you!!! But you dropped the ball and decided to appease your daddy over your BFF WHOS THE AVATAR but whatever.
I’m glad they left out story of Ta Min bc I’m not interested in her I don’t think she deserves Roku.
The story was great and I’m glad it was a “big” problem but also not THAT big. Like it was a perfect problem for a young avatar to solve. But RIP my girl I’m so sad she didn’t make it because she should’ve been an avatar companion after this!!
Loved. Highly recommend. Great start to another avatar series. Gimme more.
S/o to Sozin for being absolute garbage I was rooting for you we were all rooting for you!!! But you dropped the ball and decided to appease your daddy over your BFF WHOS THE AVATAR but whatever.
I’m glad they left out story of Ta Min bc I’m not interested in her I don’t think she deserves Roku.
The story was great and I’m glad it was a “big” problem but also not THAT big. Like it was a perfect problem for a young avatar to solve. But RIP my girl I’m so sad she didn’t make it because she should’ve been an avatar companion after this!!
Loved. Highly recommend. Great start to another avatar series. Gimme more.
July 31, 2024
I’m never going to say no to another installment in the Avatar series. I’m here for life.
I liked the author's style of writing, I’m always advocating for simpler prose. I get impatient with lots of descriptions or something that leans into more poetic, there’s a time and place for it.
FC Yee has pretty writing and it gives it the atmosphere. While Randy hits emotional beats extremely well and suits the avatar verse.
I wanted the emotional scenes to be longer and more focused on Roku and Sozin's relationship.
For the most part characters were on point. I wished there was more to the book. It was a blip of time with the characters, spread too thin with three pov. I wanted to sit in the world a longer and breath
The pacing was off, some parts too slow and others too fast. A few more rounds of beta reading and editing would have helped.
Some transitions could’ve been cleaner, it took me out of the story but it didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment.
It did give background and more characterization—though the main series did a good job with exploring a good deal with Roku.
It was interesting to know that blue fire bending and lightning bending were lost and brought back.
Overall a enjoyable read.
I liked the author's style of writing, I’m always advocating for simpler prose. I get impatient with lots of descriptions or something that leans into more poetic, there’s a time and place for it.
FC Yee has pretty writing and it gives it the atmosphere. While Randy hits emotional beats extremely well and suits the avatar verse.
I wanted the emotional scenes to be longer and more focused on Roku and Sozin's relationship.
For the most part characters were on point. I wished there was more to the book. It was a blip of time with the characters, spread too thin with three pov. I wanted to sit in the world a longer and breath
The pacing was off, some parts too slow and others too fast. A few more rounds of beta reading and editing would have helped.
Some transitions could’ve been cleaner, it took me out of the story but it didn’t detract from the overall enjoyment.
It did give background and more characterization—though the main series did a good job with exploring a good deal with Roku.
It was interesting to know that blue fire bending and lightning bending were lost and brought back.
Overall a enjoyable read.
May 5, 2025
I'm a little bit disappointed with this one. The characters largely felt flat, it was mostly telling with very little showing, and it kind of read like a fanfiction written by a 13 year old. The prior four books were written by a different author who, in my opinion, is simply a better author. I knew that I would have a hard time with Roku, considering what we knew from ATLA, but this version of him was also simply a bit of a husk. Almost no characters had any depth or character development, with the exception of Malaya. Sozin is an angry asshole, Gyatso wants peace, and Roku doesn't want to be the avatar. And then, in the end, we get a whole exposition dump. It was simply badly written. I also hate to be the asshole that compares people, but I'm sad F.C. Yee didn't take on this one. It hurts to only give it three stars, as the Avatar world is amazing, but it simply didn't live up to the quality of other works in this world. I'll still be reading the sequel though lol.
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