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ljwritesOpen Review: The Azula Trilogy by MasterGhandalf
Part 2: Story, Executed
Previously, I discussed The Azula Trilogy stories Heart of Fire, Path of Fire, and Soul of Fire by MasterGhandalf and how the story was made meaningful by a merging of the outer action of saving the world and inner character growth of Azula's redemption. In this post, I'd like to discuss the specifics of the story's execution.
The Azula Trilogy is given all the more substance and excitement by the writer's great skill in telling a story, which improves considerably as the series goes on. The writing had some rough edges in the first story, Heart of Fire, where some of the dialogue just seemed stilted to me and one plot element in particular, that the good guys were unable to take an army to the Obsidian Citadel because the soldiers would refuse to go to the supposedly haunted fortress, felt contrived. I thought the contrivance had the additional disadvantage of being unnecessary, since the duels in the climax scene could have been executed just as well with the Fire Nation army there. And then there was one part, about a lord who actually wanted to die by Azula's hand so he would be remembered along with her, that was just too meta for me. But even then the pacing and plotting were both quick and clear, resulting in a real page-turner (or page-scroller?) of a story. I was never left in doubt where the story stood, what needed to be done and what was at stake, even when I left the story for a day or two before I resumed reading.
Later stories in the series, Path of Fire and Soul of Fire, showed significant improvement in the writing while keeping the fast-paced and clearly executed plot that was such a strength of the first story. The starting point with Azula setting out to rescue her long-missing mother quickly expanded into a story with huge implications involving a mysterious assassin, a scheming Long Feng, a mad waterbender, pirates (of course), a megalomaniac earthbender, and a plan to take over the entire Earth Kingdom and ultimately the world (of course). The different lines of plot wove together in a seamless whole without missing a beat, until it came to the crucial point where the world hung on the protagonist Azula's choice. And then the story received a satisfying resolution that culminated the trilogy-long developments in both character growth and the overall theme of the story. The fast plot and action had the feel of the best traditions of good young adult fantasy, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
That said, some of the less attractive aspects of YA fiction were present in the story as well. Sometimes the dialogue and narration were a little heavy-handed about Making The Point, which had the advantage of clarity but left little room for interpretation. This was the case with Azula's discussion with her (imaginary) mother in Heart of Fire.
Mercifully, the actual Ursa when we meet her in Path of Fire turns out to be very human and down-to-earth, no portentous oracle of self-discovery. Whether this is due to the Ursa in Azula's head being, well, in her head, or due to the writer's skill improving, is up for debate. (7/20/2011 update: The author MasterGhandalf confirmed to me in a private message that this was, in fact, because the Ursa in Heart of Fire was meant to be the idea of her, not the actual person.) Some of the Making a Point dialogue is still present right up to the end of the trilogy, though, as when Azula tells her side of her life story to her real mother in Soul of Fire. It's much more toned down and more believable, but it's still rather obvious that the passages are thematic in nature. This method of saying it right out has its advantages and could be necessary in YA fiction, but I still thought more showing and less telling could go a long way. But then again, showing takes a lot of words and sometimes it's better to just go ahead and do some telling, for the love of God. So mileage definitely varies on this, and it doesn't detract from the excellence of the overall story.
Speaking of YA fiction, the focus of this class of story is firmly on the teenage protagonist, and this holds true of the Azula trilogy as well. As discussed above, Azula's character and her development are at the center of the story. Which is great, but at the same time this focus comes at the cost of other established characters. A major example is the story of what Ursa was doing for the past seven years before Azula showed up to rescue her. In Path of Fire, it is revealed that she was captured and held by the warlord Jian Chin for almost the whole time after she fled the Fire Nation. This pretty much negated any possibility of character development on Ursa's part, since she had nothing to do but sit and think for seven years before Azula swept into save her. Worse, it is revealed that Iroh knew all this time through White Lotus contacts that Ursa had gone missing in the lawless Eastern regions of the Earth Kingdom, but evidently sat on his hands and did nothing even when the war was over. Nor did he see it fit to tell anyone, including Zuko, until Azula came and asked him. In other words, a whole lot of rather competent characters sat around doing nothing about a rather serious situation they had a stake in. In a story sense, they all sat around waiting for Azula to do something about it.
This could be seen as a plot problem, but i think it's more fundamentally a question of focus, that this is Azula's story and she needed to be the one to rescue her mother. She did, for the purposes of the story, but that also created the problem that other characters such as Zuko, Iroh, and Ursa were rendered inert while Azula acted as the mover and shaker. Now I don't want to sell these other characters too short here: they do in fact play important roles in the larger events, particularly Iroh, and they and the Gaang are delightfully portrayed and in character when they do appear. But in the larger story they react to events that Azula has set in motion or the main antagonist, Zhan Zheng, sets in motion in pursuit of her. The Azula Trilogy isn't a story about Azula and other characters whose actions and reactions create an unpredictable web of events; it's about Azula, first and foremost, and the choices she must make, with other characters playing side roles. I should emphasize that this isn't a bad thing but a matter of focus, though Iroh doing nothing about Ursa's captivity did stretch my suspension of disbelief.
On the point of Azula-centrism, I have stated that the great strength of the story is that it's not an Azula sob story or an Azula excuse story. But that doesn't mean there isn't some subtle partisanship for the character. One of her worst deeds, aiming at Katara during a one-on-one duel and nearly killing Zuko by thus cheating, is sort of glossed over as a product of uncontrollable madness. Another act in the same vein, her treacherously injuring Iroh right after surrendering to him and the Gaang, is not mentioned at all. In the second story Path of Fire Azula is hounded by a mad spirit-assassin, Wei Ming, who rather surprisingly doesn't hate Azula for anything particular she's done but rather as a symbol of the arrogance and cruelty that ruined Wei Ming's life, more for the fact that she exists than anything else. Which is a rather surprising admission, because surely Azula has done some arrogant cruel things in her life--such as subjecting Ba Sing Se, Wei Ming's old city, to brutal foreign occupation. And of course, the whole trilogy is about Zhan Zheng pursuing Azula, madly obsessed about merging with her so he may possess her extraordinary qualities. (That... sounded so much creepier than it actually is.) In other words, the theme of the story might be redemption but much of the story is actually about Adoring Azula and not looking all that deeply at some of the worst evil she has done. Liking a character a whole lot isn't a bad thing, and in fact the whole trilogy would have been impossible without real passion and interest in the central character: I just think it could have been an even better story if it had grappled in more depth with some of the actual evil the character did.
tl; dr version: In sum, The Azula Trilogy is an exciting yet meaningful adventure story that redeems Azula's character in a believable way. It has its flaws and blind spots, as all stories do, but overall I highly recommend this fast-paced, action-packed and moving epic.
Links:
MasterGhandalf's ff.n profile
The Azula Trilogy:
Heart of Fire
Path of Fire
Soul of Fire
TV Tropes fanfic recommendation page (under "General Fics")
The Azula Trilogy Tropes Page
Part 2: Story, Executed
Previously, I discussed The Azula Trilogy stories Heart of Fire, Path of Fire, and Soul of Fire by MasterGhandalf and how the story was made meaningful by a merging of the outer action of saving the world and inner character growth of Azula's redemption. In this post, I'd like to discuss the specifics of the story's execution.
The Azula Trilogy is given all the more substance and excitement by the writer's great skill in telling a story, which improves considerably as the series goes on. The writing had some rough edges in the first story, Heart of Fire, where some of the dialogue just seemed stilted to me and one plot element in particular, that the good guys were unable to take an army to the Obsidian Citadel because the soldiers would refuse to go to the supposedly haunted fortress, felt contrived. I thought the contrivance had the additional disadvantage of being unnecessary, since the duels in the climax scene could have been executed just as well with the Fire Nation army there. And then there was one part, about a lord who actually wanted to die by Azula's hand so he would be remembered along with her, that was just too meta for me. But even then the pacing and plotting were both quick and clear, resulting in a real page-turner (or page-scroller?) of a story. I was never left in doubt where the story stood, what needed to be done and what was at stake, even when I left the story for a day or two before I resumed reading.
Later stories in the series, Path of Fire and Soul of Fire, showed significant improvement in the writing while keeping the fast-paced and clearly executed plot that was such a strength of the first story. The starting point with Azula setting out to rescue her long-missing mother quickly expanded into a story with huge implications involving a mysterious assassin, a scheming Long Feng, a mad waterbender, pirates (of course), a megalomaniac earthbender, and a plan to take over the entire Earth Kingdom and ultimately the world (of course). The different lines of plot wove together in a seamless whole without missing a beat, until it came to the crucial point where the world hung on the protagonist Azula's choice. And then the story received a satisfying resolution that culminated the trilogy-long developments in both character growth and the overall theme of the story. The fast plot and action had the feel of the best traditions of good young adult fantasy, and it was a thoroughly enjoyable read.
That said, some of the less attractive aspects of YA fiction were present in the story as well. Sometimes the dialogue and narration were a little heavy-handed about Making The Point, which had the advantage of clarity but left little room for interpretation. This was the case with Azula's discussion with her (imaginary) mother in Heart of Fire.
"You stand on a turning point, Azula," Mother said. "You must choose--to continue on the path you have walked your whole life, even if it means your destruction, or to change and save yourself. . . . Look back on your life, Azula, and remember where your path led you." Almost against her will, Azula did so, her mind traveling back along the familiar paths of her life . . .
"Look farther," Ursa whispered. Azula didn't want to see, but some part of her was compelled by her mother's voice and pushed fruitlessly against the dark barrier in her mind. . . . As the memories faded, Azula fell forward onto the bed and wept. She had always prided herself on control--control of herself, of fire, of others--but in the end she had lost that. She didn't want to admit that the creature from the memory had been herself with all else stripped away--that in the end, she had driven herself to that state. That she had driven away everyone in her life, all by her own actions.
"Look farther," Ursa whispered. Azula didn't want to see, but some part of her was compelled by her mother's voice and pushed fruitlessly against the dark barrier in her mind. . . . As the memories faded, Azula fell forward onto the bed and wept. She had always prided herself on control--control of herself, of fire, of others--but in the end she had lost that. She didn't want to admit that the creature from the memory had been herself with all else stripped away--that in the end, she had driven herself to that state. That she had driven away everyone in her life, all by her own actions.
Mercifully, the actual Ursa when we meet her in Path of Fire turns out to be very human and down-to-earth, no portentous oracle of self-discovery. Whether this is due to the Ursa in Azula's head being, well, in her head, or due to the writer's skill improving, is up for debate. (7/20/2011 update: The author MasterGhandalf confirmed to me in a private message that this was, in fact, because the Ursa in Heart of Fire was meant to be the idea of her, not the actual person.) Some of the Making a Point dialogue is still present right up to the end of the trilogy, though, as when Azula tells her side of her life story to her real mother in Soul of Fire. It's much more toned down and more believable, but it's still rather obvious that the passages are thematic in nature. This method of saying it right out has its advantages and could be necessary in YA fiction, but I still thought more showing and less telling could go a long way. But then again, showing takes a lot of words and sometimes it's better to just go ahead and do some telling, for the love of God. So mileage definitely varies on this, and it doesn't detract from the excellence of the overall story.
Speaking of YA fiction, the focus of this class of story is firmly on the teenage protagonist, and this holds true of the Azula trilogy as well. As discussed above, Azula's character and her development are at the center of the story. Which is great, but at the same time this focus comes at the cost of other established characters. A major example is the story of what Ursa was doing for the past seven years before Azula showed up to rescue her. In Path of Fire, it is revealed that she was captured and held by the warlord Jian Chin for almost the whole time after she fled the Fire Nation. This pretty much negated any possibility of character development on Ursa's part, since she had nothing to do but sit and think for seven years before Azula swept into save her. Worse, it is revealed that Iroh knew all this time through White Lotus contacts that Ursa had gone missing in the lawless Eastern regions of the Earth Kingdom, but evidently sat on his hands and did nothing even when the war was over. Nor did he see it fit to tell anyone, including Zuko, until Azula came and asked him. In other words, a whole lot of rather competent characters sat around doing nothing about a rather serious situation they had a stake in. In a story sense, they all sat around waiting for Azula to do something about it.
This could be seen as a plot problem, but i think it's more fundamentally a question of focus, that this is Azula's story and she needed to be the one to rescue her mother. She did, for the purposes of the story, but that also created the problem that other characters such as Zuko, Iroh, and Ursa were rendered inert while Azula acted as the mover and shaker. Now I don't want to sell these other characters too short here: they do in fact play important roles in the larger events, particularly Iroh, and they and the Gaang are delightfully portrayed and in character when they do appear. But in the larger story they react to events that Azula has set in motion or the main antagonist, Zhan Zheng, sets in motion in pursuit of her. The Azula Trilogy isn't a story about Azula and other characters whose actions and reactions create an unpredictable web of events; it's about Azula, first and foremost, and the choices she must make, with other characters playing side roles. I should emphasize that this isn't a bad thing but a matter of focus, though Iroh doing nothing about Ursa's captivity did stretch my suspension of disbelief.
On the point of Azula-centrism, I have stated that the great strength of the story is that it's not an Azula sob story or an Azula excuse story. But that doesn't mean there isn't some subtle partisanship for the character. One of her worst deeds, aiming at Katara during a one-on-one duel and nearly killing Zuko by thus cheating, is sort of glossed over as a product of uncontrollable madness. Another act in the same vein, her treacherously injuring Iroh right after surrendering to him and the Gaang, is not mentioned at all. In the second story Path of Fire Azula is hounded by a mad spirit-assassin, Wei Ming, who rather surprisingly doesn't hate Azula for anything particular she's done but rather as a symbol of the arrogance and cruelty that ruined Wei Ming's life, more for the fact that she exists than anything else. Which is a rather surprising admission, because surely Azula has done some arrogant cruel things in her life--such as subjecting Ba Sing Se, Wei Ming's old city, to brutal foreign occupation. And of course, the whole trilogy is about Zhan Zheng pursuing Azula, madly obsessed about merging with her so he may possess her extraordinary qualities. (That... sounded so much creepier than it actually is.) In other words, the theme of the story might be redemption but much of the story is actually about Adoring Azula and not looking all that deeply at some of the worst evil she has done. Liking a character a whole lot isn't a bad thing, and in fact the whole trilogy would have been impossible without real passion and interest in the central character: I just think it could have been an even better story if it had grappled in more depth with some of the actual evil the character did.
tl; dr version: In sum, The Azula Trilogy is an exciting yet meaningful adventure story that redeems Azula's character in a believable way. It has its flaws and blind spots, as all stories do, but overall I highly recommend this fast-paced, action-packed and moving epic.
Links:
MasterGhandalf's ff.n profile
The Azula Trilogy:
Heart of Fire
Path of Fire
Soul of Fire
TV Tropes fanfic recommendation page (under "General Fics")
The Azula Trilogy Tropes Page
