If there’s one thing these Avatar books have taught me, or at least reminded me about, it is that our actions may not just influence today or tomorrow, but shape the world years or even generations into the future. The more power, the more it is possible, but boy, this is a complex universe, with hog monkeys, pig chickens, and lemur bats like Momo on the side.
This is the sequel to The Rise of Kyoshi, a book which revealed to us that for the longest time, after Avatar Kuruk’s death, there was a young boy named Yun who was falsely assumed to be next in line, not Kyoshi. Then Kyoshi and those closest to her found out, and turned the world on its head. Kyoshi’s former teacher Jiahnzu turned against her, allowed Yun to be killed by a spirit creature named Father Glowworm, and Kyoshi and her bodyguard Rangi had to go on the run. They beat Jiahnzu, and Kyoshi is now a respected and established Avatar one year later.
Kyoshi hasn’t seen Rangi for a little while, and has a personal Airbending assistant named Jinpa and a flying bison Yokoyo. She also hasn’t seen her Flying Opera Company family in some time. But one day she gets a notice of an urgent issue in the Fire Nation. Deciding it would be best to establish connections, she goes, but little does she know she is also on her way to a reunion. A grim reunion. And with that, we have the next chapter in the 17-year-old Avatar’s legacy.
There are all sorts of stories out there. Some need a lot of pages to be told, and some don’t. The previous book was very beautiful, fascinating and tributing to Kyoshi and longtime Avatar fans, but at 420 pages, I felt it could’ve shaved off 75. I gave it three stars out of five, but said if I wasn’t a fan of Avatar folklore, I probably would’ve given it a lower grade, primarily because it went on too long for me to thoroughly enjoy. But this one is exactly that; 75 pages shorter, and that made me enjoy this outing more.
Beyond that, The Shadow of Kyoshi unsurprisingly has a similar atmosphere to its predecessor. Except we have more of Kyoshi front and center in this outing, and I really liked that. Both of these books really deconstruct the character. Kyoshi was always known as a fearsome and confident warrior. Growing up watching Airbender and knowing about this character, it was hard to picture her as unsure of herself or frightened or regretful. But there are so many regular people in positions of power who must feel this way and have to hide it.
These Avatar books are thorough in their descriptions and folklore. This writing is impressive but we don’t need too much. The bending fights feel more fun here, and the politics are fascinating. Especially when they mention some hard truths most books don’t talk about; that there’s never true peace in the world, that something will always come up to wreak havoc, and that the actions we do today could shape the rest of the world horrifically. I was a little surprised and saddened at the absence of some of its predecessor’s characters, but they make a short return near the end that pleased me. And I’m happy for Kyoshi and Rangi both whenever they’re together. Rangi is often quite extreme, and I don’t think we’d get along at all, but the way they complete each other makes me wish I had a scrapbook of them.
The Shadow of Kyoshi was a satisfying glimpse into an Avatar that definitely deserves her story told, and if the other books in this Chronicles of the Avatar franchise are like this, I’m more than happy to look into the Yangchen and Roku books. And who knows? Maybe we’ll get ones of Kuruk and Szeto.
My grade: 3 and a half stars out of 5
William J. McGinn 
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