Review: AVATAR, THE LAST AIRBENDER: THE SHADOW OF KYOSHI Is a Fantastic Sequel
Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee is the sequel to last year’s Rise of Kyoshi, and it releases this week. Abrams Books was kind enough to send me a copy of the book to read, and it’s been fantastic. I will admit that I struggled a bit remembering who was who, but a quick refresher of the names and things came back to me. I will do my best to not spoil anything for readers while still explaining things.
Shadow of Kyoshi picks up a little after the first book, and we get to see more of Kyoshi actually being the Avatar. Honestly, it reminded me a lot of The Legend of Korra in that regard. While it does show us Kyoshi learning about the Avatar, the main focus is her being established as the Avatar and dealing with things with that role. We get some glimpses, but not very many and definitely not very detailed of things that happened between the first and second books.
There are some new characters thrown into the mix like Fire Lord Zoryu, who would’ve been Fire Lord Sozin’s father if my reckoning is accurate, and I can definitely understand Sozin a little better after meeting his dad. However, many of the characters are returning from the first book. Much more of Kyoshi’s romantic relationship with Rangi is explored, and it’s fun to read. Combine that with more interaction with Rangi’s mother Hei-Ran, and it gets to be interesting. Of course, one of my favorite characters is Jinpa, who is an Air Nomad serving as Kyoshi’s secretary. He is definitely a useful character that helps create some levity in certain situations and is a very faithful companion of the Avatar. The cast is really dynamite and the interactions never feel stale. They feel genuine.
If you’ve read the first book, you probably know what most of this book is going to be about. Kyoshi is looking for Yun to try to figure out what is going on with him. It’s an interesting journey to be sure that takes our hero outside the Earth Kingdom and definitely outside her comfort zone. It’s never a straight shot for the Avatar as plans constantly have to change with an ever-changing world. There are dignitaries to deal with, spirits that need appealing, and mysteries of the Avatar that take a lot to understand.
One complaint I do have is that Kyoshi is constantly getting down on herself, and it gets a little annoying after a while. I know that I would probably get in a similar headspace after a lot of these events, but it’s a little frustrating to constantly be reading about Kyoshi hating herself.
Overall though, Shadow of Kyoshi is a fantastic follow-up. I would still love to see these books brought to life in a series and would love to see them expanded on. There’s one character who returns at the very end who I think deserves at least a small graphic novel about.
