Literature & Fiction
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Avatar, The Last Airbender: The Dawn of Yangchen (Chronicles of the Avatar Book 3) (Volume 3)
From the New York Times bestselling author of Avatar, the Last Airbender: The Rise of Kyoshi and Avatar, the Last Airbender: The Shadow of Kyoshi comes a thrilling new chapter in the Chronicles of the Avatar series
Yangchen's inexperience may prove to be her greatest asset . . .
Plagued by the voices of Avatars before her for as long as she can remember, Yangchen has not yet earned the respect felt for Avatar Szeto, her predecessor. In an era where loyalty is bought rather than earned, she has little reason to trust her counsel. When Yangchen travels to Bin-Er in the Earth Kingdom on political business, a chance encounter with an informant named Kavik leads to a wary partnership. Bin-Er is a city ruled by corrupt shang merchants who have become resentful of the mercurial Earth King and his whims. To extract themselves from his influence, the shangs have one solution in mind: a mysterious weapon of mass destruction that would place power squarely in their hands. As Yangchen and Kavik seek to thwart the shangs' plan, their unlikely friendship deepens. But for Yangchen to chart her course as a singularly powerful Avatar, she must learn to rely on her own wisdom above all else.
This propulsive third installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series illuminates Avatar Yangchen's journey from uncertain young woman to revered leader.
Yangchen's inexperience may prove to be her greatest asset . . .
Plagued by the voices of Avatars before her for as long as she can remember, Yangchen has not yet earned the respect felt for Avatar Szeto, her predecessor. In an era where loyalty is bought rather than earned, she has little reason to trust her counsel. When Yangchen travels to Bin-Er in the Earth Kingdom on political business, a chance encounter with an informant named Kavik leads to a wary partnership. Bin-Er is a city ruled by corrupt shang merchants who have become resentful of the mercurial Earth King and his whims. To extract themselves from his influence, the shangs have one solution in mind: a mysterious weapon of mass destruction that would place power squarely in their hands. As Yangchen and Kavik seek to thwart the shangs' plan, their unlikely friendship deepens. But for Yangchen to chart her course as a singularly powerful Avatar, she must learn to rely on her own wisdom above all else.
This propulsive third installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series illuminates Avatar Yangchen's journey from uncertain young woman to revered leader.
Readers Top Reviews
John Bullis
I know, I know. Why would veering from a successful framework be a good thing? After all, I LOVED the Kyoshi novels with their novel approach to bending, the superb character development, and the high-level of intrigue that was so expertly woven throughout. However, Avatar Yangchen is a heroine uniquely her own who wields political savvy in ways that "bend" monarchs and despots to her will; especially when the checks she writes are backed up by the Avatar's power. Herein lay the greatest strength and weakness of this novel: she accomplishes much through the threat of force and guile. Perhaps too much for some who enjoyed Kyoshi's rough-and-tumble style. Don't expect a read dense with epic bending moments as featured in its predecessors, although there are a few great ones. What you can expect is a story with an excellent premise filled with political intrigue and espionage that sets up a lovable protagonist and what is sure to be a truly magnificent sequel--or "double beat," as Yangchen would call it. In many ways, this volta offers a refreshing change of pace and cements itself as a worthy installment in the Chronicles of the Avatar series. I for one enjoyed it, and I am elated that the venerable F. C. Yee continues to expand the Avatarverse with exiting content. While this story's fuse delays much of the gratification until the sequel, I am excited for its "explosive" finale!
Books in the Skye
If you read the Kyoshi installments then you’ll be familiar with how Yee writes these amazing women. If you haven’t, then get ready to fall in love with his writing. I absolutely loved Kyoshi and her story but honestly, Yangchen has definitely stolen my heart. This story was intriguing right from the beginning. Once I started, I barely put it down. Yangchen’s story is about helping others that have been taken advantage of while trying to stay true to the Avatar and the Air Nomad path. This is difficult since she is still fairly young, the previous Avatar was held in high regard, and what she is trying to accomplish isn’t as easy as negotiation. Yee writes Yangchen’s story in such a compelling way that it would be hard not to follow her and want to become her companion, even just as a reader. While the story had a fantastic plot and great pacing, it really was Yangchen that made me enjoy the story so much. Each time her perspective was told, I wanted her to win. As an Avatar, she wants peace and in a time where peace is held together very thinly, she must traverse carefully. Yangchen is living post The Platinum Affair which gave rise to cities ran by shang’s and ultimately greed corrupted these cities. The threat of something even greater than the leaders of the Four Nations threatens this balance and Yangchen takes it upon her self to solve this issue. Along with Yangchen, Kavik is introduced as well. It was easy to see how Kavik slowly came Yangchen’s side and want to permanently become her companion. But even Kavik has secrets he can’t escape. Yee did a wise decision on giving multiple points of views in this book. I really felt like it gave the complete picture and honestly I don’t know if I would have had the same attachments to these characters if it wasn’t for their own point of view. FINAL THOUGHTS Overall, The Dawn of Yangchen by F.C. Yee was an absolute fantastic addition to the Avatar series. I thought the story was very intriguing and the plot was perfectly paced. The pages continually turned as I couldn’t put this book down. Yangchen definitely won me over and I am a faithful Avatar supporter. I’m really glad that Kavik’s point of view was also given as it really help solidify this story. The only downside is that I have to wait for Book 2 because I cannot wait to continue this story and Yangchen’s life as Avatar.
Lyndon
Great addition to this series, I look forward to reading more about Yangchen in the future. Will have to read again to pick up on the stuff I missed
Jessica Cooper
As with the other two books in this series, this book is fantastic and full of the amazing world building we expect from this universe. Every tidbit offered that gives more information about this world feels like a gift.
Jake Potter
Just finished reading it, absolutely loved it! I loved the Kyoshi novels, and knew I'd love this prequel to it too, and sure enough, I did. I've absolutely breezed through this book like no other, something about the writing is just so captivating and well worded. 10/10 would recommend
