Kate Ota
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Tidewater Writers

Writing, Publishing, and Bookish Blog

Book Review: The Dawn of Yangchen

9/18/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
A paper copy of a book means cat and cover pics are back! Photo by Kate Ota 2022
​The Dawn of Yangchen by F.C. Yee is the third novel taking place in the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe. Yangchen was the last airbending avatar before Aang (directly preceding Kyoshi). In that way, the novel is like a prequel to the Kyoshi series I reviewed before. Yangchen faces a world where trust is hard to come by, and most people are bought as spies. The focus is on a city called Bin-Er, not seen in ATLA, between the Northern Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom. Yangchen wants to fix the corruption in the city which oppresses many while few profit heavily, but she learns of a super weapon that could destroy everything.
 
This book had some big shoes (literally!) to fill after Kyoshi. I was worried it would be too similar. Don’t all the avatars go through the same struggles? Nope. Yangchen was very distinct from Kyoshi, and her story was a lot more like a cold war spy novel. It also had so much less head hopping than the Kyoshi novels, which had been my biggest problem with those. There was also a ton of great bending that I would love to see animated.
 
I don’t have many complaints about the book, honestly. But I do see some things that other people may not enjoy. It sets up for a sequel, so if you want a stand-alone, you’re out of luck. It’s also a little slower paced than Kyoshi and includes a significant amount of page space on POVs outside of Yangchen’s. I wasn’t mad at those, but I know other who would want to know in advance.
 
Overall, this book was great! It’s for ATLA/LOK fans, spy novel enthusiasts, and fantasy lovers. It’s not for you if you don’t know the basics of the avatar world, if you’re hoping for romance, or if you want a stand-alone.
 
Have you read The Dawn of Yangchen? Did you love it like I did? Let’s discuss in the comments!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019

    Categories

    All
    Announcement
    Book Review
    Character Development
    Conferences
    Critique
    Easier Editing
    Editing
    Indie Books
    Inspiration
    Is It Worth It
    NaNoWriMo
    Novella
    Personal Essay
    PitchWars
    Pitch Wars
    Published Work
    Query Tips
    Reading
    Research
    RevPit
    Screenwriting
    Show Don't Tell
    Trope Discussion
    Updates
    Voice
    World Building
    Writing Groups
    Writing Tips
    Year In Review

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • FAQ
  • Contact
  • Tidewater Writers