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Avatar, The Last Airbender: The Legacy of Yangchen
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 3, 2025
Some of the world-building is fun. Espionage and competent, rich villains. It reads fast. Descriptions are interesting. It feels like Avatar.
But much of it is drab and dull.
Our heroes are boring, and their companions are too besides Jujinta. They add nothing to the world. The story is fast enough and Yee's writing can evoke tension, but usually I wonder why we're hearing this story and why in this order (lots of fake-outs and flashbacks).
The tension between characters felt contrived. Nothing Kavik did was so horrible to be unforgivable by any of the other protagonists. I mean, he slightly delayed the Avatar while having a contingency if things went wrong then risked his life for everyone, all in order to ensure his brother's safety. Of course they'll love him by the end.
It even falls thematically flat. Here is a story about the Avatar losing touch with her nation's traditions, sacrificing her way of life and her morals for the betterment of the world. We're set up for her to betray her culture in the most heinous way. She's on the edge, and she seems ready to do anything to get what she needs. But by novel's end she still doesn't have to kill anyone. She threw a guy out a window. She let a villain die on accident. Big deal. Even her use of bloody violence is just play pretend by the end.
So now -- what makes Aang special? Why did she give him such cryptic, violent advice? Apparently Airbender Avatars don't have to get their hands dirty. Cop out narrative which actually lessens the original series. Aang's achievement as the Last Airbender, the person who preserved his culture, was meant to also be a foil to past Avatars. not anymore
But much of it is drab and dull.
Our heroes are boring, and their companions are too besides Jujinta. They add nothing to the world. The story is fast enough and Yee's writing can evoke tension, but usually I wonder why we're hearing this story and why in this order (lots of fake-outs and flashbacks).
The tension between characters felt contrived. Nothing Kavik did was so horrible to be unforgivable by any of the other protagonists. I mean, he slightly delayed the Avatar while having a contingency if things went wrong then risked his life for everyone, all in order to ensure his brother's safety. Of course they'll love him by the end.
It even falls thematically flat. Here is a story about the Avatar losing touch with her nation's traditions, sacrificing her way of life and her morals for the betterment of the world. We're set up for her to betray her culture in the most heinous way. She's on the edge, and she seems ready to do anything to get what she needs. But by novel's end she still doesn't have to kill anyone. She threw a guy out a window. She let a villain die on accident. Big deal. Even her use of bloody violence is just play pretend by the end.
So now -- what makes Aang special? Why did she give him such cryptic, violent advice? Apparently Airbender Avatars don't have to get their hands dirty. Cop out narrative which actually lessens the original series. Aang's achievement as the Last Airbender, the person who preserved his culture, was meant to also be a foil to past Avatars. not anymore
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2026
My favorite of the series so far. So many more details and plot points addressed for the broader Avatar universe.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews