Saturday 29 March 2014

Legendary Trilogy

Some of my favorite stories are ones that are told from two different first person perspectives. It's part of the reason why Deathwish by Rob Thurman is my favorite book in the Cal Leandros series so far, since knowing how and what each character thinks amps up the tension, gives unique insight, and makes the reader cringe in fear when something bad happens to the other character.

The Legend series by Marie Lu definitely benefited from this. I can't imagine this epic story of rebellion, emotional trials, and fighting for true love being told any other way. The series is set about a hundred years in the future after the United States has been damaged by a huge flood. It's told from the perspective of June Iparis, a highly intelligent young soldier living in the wealthy part of the country known as the Republic. On the opposite end is Day, an energetic young Runner who has no problem causing for the harsh Republic soldiers.

When June's older brother Metais appears to have been murdered by Day, she sets out on a mission to bring the country's most beloved criminal to justice. Day on the other hand, is desperate to prove his innocent and save his family from the terrible plague sweeping the streets.

As the series goes on, June and Day learn dreadful secrets about the Republic, meet good and bad rebels, struggle to raise a new, more compassionate leader, fight for the freedom of the people, and fall deeper and deeper in complicated love.

The Legend Trilogy
I enjoyed the books. The world was interesting– split between the militaristic Republic, conflicted Patriots, and commercialized Colonies. The stakes were clear and nail-bitingly intense, the love between June and Day beautiful and heart-wrenching. All of the characters were distinct and well written. June and Day had strong, clear voices, personalities, and arcs.

While the relationship between Day and June was one of my favorite parts in the books– I found myself constantly rooting for them to freaking work it out– it was also the most frustrating. I won't give away the ending obviously, but let's just say I nearly wanted to scream near the end. Having said that, Lu made an excellent choice and helped create strong characters with good endings.

Lu is a strong writer and very good at creating character based drama. Her style is romantic and flowing, and there never seemed to too much information. This is her debut series, but she is a definitely an author to watch out for. This is a nice, short series that I would recommend to fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent. It was a fantastic emotional roller coaster, and definitely lives up to its hype.

Amy

P.S.: I know this is a late post, but I was editing through Hollow Hill today, and kinda fell in love with it all over again. You know how it goes.

No comments:

Post a Comment