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A review by pandaorb
The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee
5.0
This is the first time I have ever finished a book and had the immediate thought as to how gratifying it would feel to throw the thing across the room while cursing the author's name.
I was a little caught up in the story.
I'm a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I'm caught up with nearly all of the media in the Avatar universe at this point. I had the good fortune of reading this novel just as 'Suki, Alone' was released and was able to bring my new knowledge of Kyoshi into Suki's little adventure.
Kyoshi's story is a drastic change from what you generally see with Aang or Korra. Not only is this a full novelization rather than media that relies heavily on illustrations like we see in the television series and graphic novels, but the tone of the narrative is much darker. Kyoshi suffers through experiences nothing short of traumatic and these become defining characteristics of her Avatarhood. Justice, revenge, loss - these themes better match something out of the Dark Knight trilogy than anything I expected out of my beloved children's series, but they were so very well done. Yee (and DiMartino) deserve a round of applause for flawlessly and unapologetically opening up the universe to a different type of story.
I'm already picking up my copy of 'Shadow of Kyoshi' to follow up on that uneasy tease of an ending. I can't wait for more.
I was a little caught up in the story.
I'm a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and I'm caught up with nearly all of the media in the Avatar universe at this point. I had the good fortune of reading this novel just as 'Suki, Alone' was released and was able to bring my new knowledge of Kyoshi into Suki's little adventure.
Kyoshi's story is a drastic change from what you generally see with Aang or Korra. Not only is this a full novelization rather than media that relies heavily on illustrations like we see in the television series and graphic novels, but the tone of the narrative is much darker. Kyoshi suffers through experiences nothing short of traumatic and these become defining characteristics of her Avatarhood. Justice, revenge, loss - these themes better match something out of the Dark Knight trilogy than anything I expected out of my beloved children's series, but they were so very well done. Yee (and DiMartino) deserve a round of applause for flawlessly and unapologetically opening up the universe to a different type of story.
I'm already picking up my copy of 'Shadow of Kyoshi' to follow up on that uneasy tease of an ending. I can't wait for more.