The final book of the much hyped and much loved Legend series is officially out and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Now that I’m finished, did it live up to my expectations? Or did it crash and burn?
It’s been over eight months since the end of Prodigy. Day, who is now dying, has finally been reunited with his brother and moved to Frisco where they’re both getting treatments. While June has taken her place by Anden’s side and is officially training to be the Princeps Elect. Anden’s right hand (wo)man and leader to all of the Senates. The two still think about each other often, but after Day broke things off they haven’t really had a chance to speak since then.
All that changes, when the Colonies decide to end their peace treaty and attack the Republic. It turns out that the plague has hit them and they feel like the Republic is responsible. The Republic could fight back, and they will, but the Colonies has a strong ally with Africa and if the two join forces then the Republic will be destroyed. The only chance to stop this from happening is to find the cure. Only then, will the Colonies stop attacking. And only then, will there be peace again.
But the cure lies in Eden’s blood and after everything Day’s been through, he’s not about to let his brother be taken in for more experiments. The last time Eden was experimented on, he lost his sight and almost died and Day’s not about to let the same thing happen again. So, in order to be a champion to the people, will you sacrifice a loved one to save an entire country? Or do you turn your back to a nation that has done nothing but caused you pain?
Decisions, decisions….
After being slightly disappointed with Prodigy, I’m happy to say that Champion is a lot better than it. It’s not as amazing as Legend, but I did enjoy my time reading this. And unlike the last novel where I grew annoyed by Day’s chapters, I found myself eagerly anticipating them when June’s POV took over. Day’s angst is still there, but with the return of Eden I think he’s mellowed out a bit.
Were there moments when I wanted to slap some sense into him? Absolutely. But it wasn’t as bad as Prodigy, so I’m glad for that. Day’s problems are bigger than June and with his looming death, he does have other things to worry about.
Unfortunately, it seems like most of the angst stayed with June. We do get to see a lot more of the political side of the world, but June did feel a bit out of sorts. The reason for this is later revealed, but I did feel a bit of a disconnect with her. I liked her chapters though, because we got to experience more of the world, but June’s voice was lacking. She’s not the strong logical person that we’ve seen before, she’s lost. Like I said, this does make sense giving with what happened near the end of the novel, but I wish June’s lack of confidence was expressed more by her.
Many of the other characters also return in Prodigy and do get fleshed out better here. I still love Anden and Tess got better. But I still don’t get the point of Thomas. He’s purpose was never really clear. In fact, I don’t think it was ever clear. I did appreciate June’s talk with him, but it was a rehash of what has already been said before. I was disappointed in this, because after Legend I really had high hopes for him. He was a complex character that cared more about his country than himself, but this was never really developed.
As for the world, all I can say is wow! I loved learning about the Republic in Legend, and I especially loved seeing the Colonies in Prodigy. But in Champion we finally get to see Antarctica and it is cool. Way cool. If there was one way I could describe it, it would be like the Sims mixed with the Game of Life. I know this doesn’t make sense, but once you read it you’ll get me.
It also brought an interesting note to one of the major themes throughout the novels. Social and class standings. Despite how bad the Republic is when it comes to the poorer sectors; can we really say that the Colonies and their tactics are better? Antarctica seems better, but there are flaws in their system despite having an awesome way of life. Also, despite their differences, there’s still a clear divide between those who are at the top and those at the bottom. So can you truly have a society where everyone is equal? Is that even possible?
But seriously, as a fellow gamer I liked seeing Antarctica.
I guess now I should talk about the ending. I felt somewhat let down by it. Why? It is a spoiler, a huge one at that….I didn’t want to include a spoiler but I can’t really avoid it so…..
(show spoiler)
Overall, I love the world that Lu created and enjoyed the plot as well. I do have issues with the ending, but I think I’m probably going to be the only one who feels this way. One thing I will say is that once I got to the last page of Champion, I did feel like the story finished. All of the loose ends were tied up and there’s nothing left with this story. I appreciated that. This isn’t as amazing as Legend, but I did enjoy it.
Would I recommend it: Yea, I think I would. It’s a fitting end to the Legend series and if you’ve read the books, then you’ll want to read this.
It’s hard to put this review into words. Unlike some of the diehard fans who have loved the series from the beginning, I didn’t. Due to this, I think that the ending affected me differently. For some, it was a betrayal. To me, it didn’t make sense for a different reason, but it still made sense after what happened in Insurgent.
Before I get to that, I should talk about the book first.
Allegiant is the final book in Veronica Roth’s best selling Divergent series. It’s been a long hard road for our heroine Tris Prior. She found out that she’s a Divergent. She left her former faction, Abnegation, and joined Dauntless. She became a tough fighter. She found love. She killed her friend. Her parents died. Her former faction was almost killed. An uprising happened. Her brother betrayed her. And she found out that her entire world was a lie.