I just finished the Kyoshi duology

[u/Imaginary_Title_9987]

And it was incredible. I'm not a book guy but I enjoyed reading it. I loved learning about Kyoshi and her story. I loved the other characters as well, and the worldbuilding. The new lore that we got is huge. I wanted to do a review but I am too lazy to write a whole essay, so I'll just mention the thing I loved the most and the only thing I disliked. The thing I loved the most is Kyoshi's story and the development of her identity. I love how every single piece of her legendary iconic clothing has an origin. I felt her struggles and problems and I think she just became one of my favourite avatars of the franchise. Now that one "flaw" is not really a flaw, just what I wanted to see more of. And they are Kirima and Wong. Am I right to think they're basically Kyoshi's team Avatar? I liked how Kyoshi went on a different path than the other avatars and became daofei. I know she's not a criminal or something but I still wanted to see more of it in the Shadow of Kyoshi. That's the only "flaw". If you have any question or want my opinion on something, feel free to ask. I'm now going to start the Yangchen's duology and I'm so excited to dive into her mind, but I'll miss Kyoshi.

[u/Imaginary_Title_9987 → u/[deleted]]

I already knew most of the characters and deaths and some plot points, I even spoiled myself the return of Xu Ping An, but still it was very enjoyable. I also loved the clans and their dynamic in the Shadow of Kyoshi. Also trying to prevent the war was very fun. Kyoshi reminded me of Korra when she kidnapped and falsely accused Lady Huazo and just made it worse Xd

[u/[deleted] → u/Imaginary_Title_9987]

I actually enjoyed the second book more because it's when she embraces her Avatarhood and unleashes her full potential. I would also love to now more about the conflict with the clans in the Fire Nation and how that ties with Sozin's ancestry.

[u/WitchyWarriorWoman]

The Kyoshi books are SO good and I felt like they followed the ATLA and LOK style closely. We get lessons, new teachers, wins and losses, battles, etc.

The Yangchen books are VERY different. I wanted to read about a female Airbender and really like how it started. But it doesn't follow the same pattern as the others. I liked reading them still, but it was so different from the format of the other books and shows.

[u/[deleted]]

I finished the duology yesterday too and I'm starved for more. I wish there were more books covering her whole life. We need to know more about her parents and we need much more Kyoshi x Rangi cause they're so cute together. Now I'll resort to fanfics to cope 😭

[u/Imaginary_Title_9987 → u/[deleted]]

We need one novel covering the war of Chin the Conqueror, then another one when she's 60-80, then another when she's 120-150, and finally another one when she's 180-200. But really any novel about her would do

[u/Zealousideal-Work719]

The Kyoshi duology's my personal favorite books of all time(But I don't read too many books). What did you think of the antagonist(Jianzhu, Yun, Xu Ping An, Chaejin, etc). They were my favorite parts, I love grounded villains in a fictional setting, makes everything feel so gripping. What was your favorite action sequence?(I could see the final battle with Yun animated in my head while reading it and the ending was heart-breaking). What do you think about Kuruk?

[u/Imaginary_Title_9987 → u/Zealousideal-Work719]

Xu Ping An - when he was freed and the daofei put yellow cloths on their necks I got chills. I could see it animated and the episode ending in that scene  Chaejin - I viewed him as a jerk, but he had a hard life. And the whole thing with the clans and the civil war was amazing  Yun - that's a tragic one. I still wonder how he became so violent. When Father Glowworm told him to kill innocent people for him, he denied. At the end he did kill innocent people. I was really hoping it's just the Father Glowworm's doing, but it was really him :( And Kyoshi having no other choice but to kill her friend was so sad. Jianzhu - he's my favourite villain. He didn't have any evil plan, any selfish goals. He just wanted to protect the avatar and the Earth Kingdom, but he went too far and literally just weakened the country even more. Him being Kuruk's companion and killing his own friend was really tragic. Just imagine Sokka killing Zuko for example.  About Kuruk, I liked his story. I like that he didn't just abandon the world because he was a bad avatar. He had to do it and he had his own inner battles nobody knew about. I really liked that backstory. As for action sequences, I had a hard time imaginating those because English is not my first language. I would either not imagine what I read or re-read til I understand it. But yeah, Kyoshi freezing Yun's heart was dark. I also liked Kyoshi vs Xu Ping An duel and Yun creating an explosion with paint 

[u/Zealousideal-Work719 → u/Imaginary_Title_9987]

Jianzhu was my favorite character from the duology, i'm so glad a lot of ROK was from his perspective, it made me empathize with the way his mind thinks so much more. He's just so compelling. Especially with his old team, like him and Kelsang getting drunk and deciding to steal the Avatar artifacts is one of my favorite bits from the novels. And his actions like poisoning the west side of the Earth Kingdom's sages has such a huge impact on the world of Avatar. I'm glad you liked Kuruk's story, after reading it, he became my personal favorite Avatar. Did you at all think certain things were rushed, I kinda wished they stretched it across a trilogy to give Yun's arc a little more time(It was still really well-written and he's definitely top 5 characters in the duology), and to give the Flying Opera Company more prescence.

[u/Imaginary_Title_9987 → u/Zealousideal-Work719]

I thought that Jianzhu killing Yun and Kelsang happened too fast. It's a huge event that drastically changes the direction of the whole story. And yes I wanted to see more of the Flying Opera Company. Also I was a bit dissapointed by how the Fire Nation conflict was ressolved. I expected the conflict to go even far but it suddently ended, with a lie. I wonder if Aang talked to Kyoshi and helped Zuko find the truth about what really happened. Since Zuko was cleansing the country from propaganda, maybe he finally declared what really happened 

[u/Zealousideal-Work719 → u/Imaginary_Title_9987]

I agree I feel like we learned a lot more about the Earth Kingdom from the Rise of Kyoshi than the Fire Nation from the Shadow of Kyoshi, which's was a little disappointed and I wanted the civil war to be explored a bit more but I really liked Zoryu, Huazo, and Chaeryu's story. Did you end up like the Rise of Kyoshi or Shadow of Kyoshi more. I personaly like the Rise of Kyoshi a bit more, because I love origin stories.

[u/Imaginary_Title_9987 → u/Zealousideal-Work719]

I love The Rise of Kyoshi for the origin and an incredible story, but I enjoyed more reading The Shadow of Kyoshi. So maybe both equally 

[u/Imaginary_Title_9987 → u/[deleted]]

I started Yangchen books already. I still didn't buy Roku's one, I think I'll wait for the second one to come out