I think about June Iparis and Daniel Wing all the time, as the simple June and Day of course. I read the Legend trilogy years ago. I really liked the first Legend and Prodigy turned into one of my favourite books of all time. I’ve only read it once but everything about it had me holding on for dear life and pondering the entire world up until its heart-crushing ending. Then the last book, Champion, happened…and I found it very lukewarm and disappointing compared to everything that had happened up to that point. I’m now definitely up for rereading the series again.
The end of the last book, and the original ending to the series, had Day in an amnestic state where he couldn’t remember his adventures with his friend turned enemy turned ally turned love of his life. He and his younger brother Eden, the last family he had, moved to Antarctica, a place that is now, a century from today, a big city. I guess underneath that ice is steady rock with not too much risk of floods if everything else melts. But years and years later, June and Day end up meeting again when June takes a trip there, and now Day is trying to piece his long buried memories back while working for a detective agency to capture thieves using the techniques that had him evading those same people in his primetime. Meanwhile, Eden, now in university, has become a bit of a tech nut and an independent, a best friend in a girl named Pressa whose dad owns an herb store in Antarctica’s Undercity, where people have to compete in black market drone races and make dealings with the mysterious crime and smuggling lord Dominic Hann to make ends meet and afford the meds to keep themselves alive.
And it’s really hard, pretty much impossible, to climb out from under Ross City’s Level system once you’re in the rut. Everyone has a chip that indicates a level someone is on, which dictates all sorts of ways one’s life is led, from places they can go to access to healthcare and jobs to loans to the next thing that comes to your mind, and it’s really easy and costly for your level to go way down and there are a bunch of reasons why this seemingly fair system is corrupt and will eventually cause a revolt. This story is about how Eden feels neglected by his big brother and decides to try to find a way of living for himself in the Undercity, while Day tries to figure out what’s missing in his relationship with his little brother and trying to reconcile with the woman he only just has gotten back.
One of the most interesting aspects of this book is how the big-time thief, rebel and legend Day now simply goes by Daniel and works to bring people who do exactly what he used to to justice. Daniel now has a home and a living and security and he can now provide that for Eden. And that kind of thing happens to us, doesn’t it? When we get steadiness, that steadiness can seem valuable and delicate and what’s right for those around us, so even if there might be something shady in where you’re working, you maybe turn a blind eye to it because it’s the right thing for your family, or you. It’s definitely a rough subject and the most evident way to do that is to put someone like Day into the system.
You also either need a good antagonist or a good conflict for an action book to work, and Rebel has both. I actually hesitate to call Dominic Hann an antagonist and more like an anti-hero or anti-villain. I would gladly pay to read his complete backstory and I think there’s lots of people out there who would become like him if they lost as much as he did. He apparently has a lot of blood on his hands, though. That’s definitely the iffy part. There are also several conflicts in this book that don’t have a straightforward solution, and I always like it when a book has the maturity to know most resolutions are not a clear sail. I liked Eden’s compassion superseding his brother’s want for him to stay safe, as well as whether or not Dominic Hann means well or not, and I liked Daniel wondering if he has at all lost his way. It also hits the climax refreshingly early, allowing us more time to see something big play out. Too many other authors would’ve only saved it for the last 50 pages without giving this system-shifting idea enough weight.
There are elements that feel a little too typical YA, especially in the ending mission. I felt there could’ve been maybe some kind of twist in how these climaxes usually go down. I guess you could say I wish it concluded in a more edgy format, or maybe had a sequel to stretch the thrills. But the ending also has some smart thoughts about society and change and overtaking corruption. That, and the book is simply a burst of fun just like its timeless predecessors. Thank you for continuing on, Marie Lu!
William J. McGinn 
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