book review: the shadow of kyoshi
The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee
I finished listening to the audiobook of The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee today. I was kind of bored by the premise of Kyoshi having to make peace between fire nation clans and all that but I did enjoy her finally getting to meet Kuruk. I think what blew me away and is prompting me to even review this like this is the final battle with Yun. Yun basically tells Kyoshi that he could kill all the people who looked up to him as the avatar and talks about how avatarhood is a curse. And in that moment, I was like, right on Yun, it kind of is. Especially for his story since the possibility of him being the avatar gave him a better life and he did prove himself with his earth bending and prowess as a tactician and dipolomat. So for Kyoshi to get this “pride” out of nowhere for being the avatar felt sooooo out of place. It just got straight up corny from there. I mean, I’m reading a book from the A;TLA universe, I should expect this but I was also a bit disappointed. I hated that Kyoshi said sorry to Yun and then immediately docked him. The power of friendship and a badass group like the Opera Company joining her last minute I– brah
I liked the final bit explaining why Kuruk had to deal so much with the spirit world bullshit as a result of Yangcheng’s reign. But that’s it! Kind of a flop, but I enjoyed the ride.