Rebel (The Legend Series)
*(Note: This book connects quite closely to the original Marie Lu trilogy. If you haven’t read the previous books, or read them long ago and forgot, here you can read my reviews of the previous three books to remind yourself what happened. The reviews follow the chronological order of the books:
LEGEND
PRODIGY
CHAMPION
Enjoy 🙂 )*
When a few years ago (I think 2019) I heard the news that Marie Lu would publish a fourth book in the “Legend” series, I must say the news pleasantly surprised me. For me, reading this Marie Lu trilogy (at the time) represented, on one hand, a mental break and entertainment, and on the other, as someone who would like to be a writer himself, it interested me in how you can combine a (near) dystopian future, action, politics, and young heroes without it turning out (too) cliché or predictable.
And so recently at a small book fair I saw this description on the back of a book:
“Respect the LEGEND.
Glorify the PRODIGY.
Celebrate the CHAMPION.
But never underestimate the REBEL.
Ten years ago, Daniel was known as Day, the street kid who became a national hero and leader of the revolution to save the Republic of America. But he’s no longer that young man. Now he prefers to hide from the world, wanting to suppress the past, and with it June, his great love.
Meanwhile, his younger brother Eden struggles with the fact that, although he’s Antarctica’s best student and brilliant inventor, he’s still only in his brother’s shadow.
As the two brothers try to accept each other and the reality of life in Antarctica, a new danger threatens to deepen the rift between them even more. Eden is drawn to the dark side of Ross City, and not even his legendary brother can save him. At least not alone…”
I immediately bought “Rebel” without a moment’s hesitation. The first thought that crossed my mind about this book was “I wonder how Antarctica is portrayed in the future…” (“Actually, your first thought was ‘Will happiness find its way to those two even after 10 years, now that they’re older and have learned some new things, and will their once passionate youthful love reignite,’ because you reacted like a shyly infatuated teenager, not an old geezer, which is what the devil has been doing to you lately…”-note from the subconscious)… well, maybe that wasn’t my first question, but whatever…
Anyway, the legendary Day and his younger brother Eden ultimately left the Republic of America after a successful revolution, though both brothers were left with a bitter taste in their mouths.
Day, from being an agile thief who survived in America’s poverty, reached the status of revolutionary who ultimately overthrew the Republic of America’s dictatorial regime and its isolationist policy, giving the people a chance to start over. However, he paid the price with serious psychological (and physical) wounds that left him with incurable traumas. Besides having only his younger brother Eden left from his family, he also suffered serious partial amnesia, causing him to forget almost everything about June Iparis, his former rival, later comrade, and the only love he ever had.
And Eden, who was very young during America’s chaotic period, experienced the trauma of losing almost all family members, as well as near loss of sight due to inhumane testing.
Going to Antarctica, a young but technologically advanced country, was perhaps the best way to try to heal their wounds and continue a somewhat normal life.
But is that possible…
In Ross City, Antarctica’s capital, the brothers were received with considerable privileges and a good starting position for an easier life.
Ten years later, Daniel, once the legendary rascal Day, is now an AIA (Antarctic Intelligence Agency) agent dealing with catching criminals and other scum. He’s popular among colleagues, they’re aware of his past, and moreover he still impresses colleagues with his agility and speed from his boyhood days.
Sickly Eden has now become a quiet and likable young man. Extremely intelligent and probably the University’s best student, a visionary, inventor who’s on familiar terms with modern technology.
But this is only on the surface.
Although he appears cool and relaxed on the outside, Daniel still relives in his head the traumas of the revolution he went through in America. Though he doesn’t show it, he dreads every time he has to go on assignment to the Undercity (the poor part of Ross City), which reminds him of the poverty he had to survive in, where laws barely exist. It’s not that he’s gotten used to a (more) luxurious life, it’s just that simply being present in that part of town, on one hand, awakens old traumas and nausea when he remembers everything he survived there and everyone he lost… and on the other, a slight thrill of the dangerous life he once led, as well as the great love he experienced there in his youth. Though even Antarctica’s system and how it’s organized isn’t really to his liking. And on top of all that, in recent years memories of June and their shared moments have been increasingly returning. Why did they maintain only occasional (distant) contact? Why did she play the card of his amnesia and distance herself from him? Wasn’t their relationship something special?
On the other hand, Eden still has nightmares about events in America and doesn’t sleep peacefully because of them, so often his only outlet is working on various sketches and technological designs. He doesn’t like at all how Antarctica’s system functions and how his peers abuse it and how they subtly harass him (reminding him of his past) and mock his quiet nature and hobbies. His only friend is Pressa, a young girl from the Undercity. And that very Undercity, which Day so dreads, attracts and excites Eden as much as it frightens him… just like his legendary brother once felt.
On top of all that, the Wing brothers aren’t on good terms at all… though it’s better to say the situation between them is complicated. Daniel, taught by trauma from America, has become overly protective of Eden, but this leads to him wanting to know where his little brother is at every moment, that he’s not in trouble (and hasn’t accidentally gone to the Undercity), even if it means using AIA resources to instantly locate Eden. He’s calm if he knows Eden is focused on studies and nothing visibly troubles him. Also, he tries in every way not to allow any situations to awaken the traumatic past from the Republic.
On the other hand, Eden is frustrated because all of Antarctica sees him as “Day’s younger brother,” which is a “title” that at his age no longer inspires pride, because he feels he’s constantly in his older brother’s shadow, and that no one sees his (intellectual) capacities. When he wants to experience adventures with Pressa in the Undercity (I know how this sounds, but unfortunately, it doesn’t go in that direction X) ), he tries to be unavailable to Day (and hopes he won’t use AIA technology to forcibly locate him) and feels he then has some inexplicable freedom. Believing Day has gotten used to the nice life here, he doesn’t want to burden him with his nightmares and frustrations.
As you can conclude, this will be one of the important motifs in this novel – strong brotherly love in the form of discord and conflict due to lack of communication about their painful past in America, which, in a way, defined them.
The second important point of the novel is the reestablishment of contact between Day and June. June, as one of the most important and trusted people, will accompany the Elector of the Republic of America during his official visit to Antarctica, and Day will, expectedly, be assigned to their security. However, whether sparks of love can ignite between them again is another question. Those who remember details from previous books know that their love in youth was like the love of two hedgehogs – passionate but painful. How could it not be, when at first they were mortal enemies, then together they overthrew a state, and death was at their heels the whole time. One of the important questions of the novel will be whether Day’s amnesia was a punishment for their relationship or a “hidden blessing.”
And the third item of the novel “Rebel” is the mysterious and charismatic criminal from the Undercity, named Hann, who, on one hand, sows fear among wealthier citizens and politicians of the better (richer) part of Ross City in subtle (and bloody) ways, while simultaneously ruling the Undercity from the shadows… and is preparing for one huge move against the entire city, but also Antarctica itself. And this dangerous criminal will come into contact with both Wing brothers. He cleverly avoids one brother, because this one wants to see him behind bars, and he will, by chance, meet and charm the other and introduce him to a dangerous world.
As you can see, three interesting themes are hidden in the book “Rebel.” 🙂
Besides the mentioned key points/plots, I was particularly interested in the concept of Ross City (and generally, Antarctica) and “Levels.”
Ross City is divided into two parts – Sky Floors and the Undercity. The Sky Floors are the futuristic part of the city, all in glowing ads, high technology, comfort, glamour, elite, blah-blah-blah. The middle class and bourgeoisie live here.
The Undercity, most closely, resembles the poor neighborhoods where Day survived in his days in America. Poverty, danger, crime, struggle for bread, a place where you’re an insignificant factor and where you’re focused only on your survival, and where it’s often necessary to borrow money from criminals and loan sharks for basic necessities.
The second interesting thing is the “Level” system that provides citizens with various privileges. I couldn’t help but wonder if author Marie Lu (who lived in China until she was five) found inspiration for the “Level” system in the complicated and controversial “Chinese social credit system” (Social Credit System), which looks like you’ve combined “Big Brother,” “Black Mirror,” and “Skynet” from “Terminator” (complete with cameras tracking your every step and performing facial recognition, big data analysis and artificial intelligence), and where, depending on how you behave (whether you regularly pay taxes, are kind, donate to charity, follow traffic regulations, don’t throw trash outside bins, etc.), you can gain various privileges (which can range from having the privilege to reserve a better plane ticket, get a more favorable loan, access to better internet or private schools). However, inappropriate behavior (and what the state might consider inappropriate) would affect your “credit level” decreasing and lead to you ending up on a “public blacklist” and facing severe penalties (e.g., not only can you not reserve a better plane ticket, but you can’t reserve tickets to leave the country at all, or be denied a loan, or not be able to enter a certain hotel, have access only to slow internet, etc.).
In the book “Rebel,” these “Levels” are, apparently, presented in a similar way to the aforementioned “credit system.” Depending on your effort and appropriate behavior, you can have access to better food, better medicines and faster medical service, nicer entertainment locations. Inappropriate behavior takes away points and reduces your “Level.” The problem is that, like any system, it’s subject to abuse. You’ll see how in the novel young Eden experienced the injustice of this system at the hands of his peers several times, where even an insult can slip through with proper sentence formulation and tone of voice.
On the other hand, for the Undercity, the “Level” system is worthless. Most residents have zero “Level” or a few “Levels,” insufficient even for some basic life necessities. And even desperate effort gives very small guarantees that you’ll improve your status, let alone have a chance to leave the Undercity. It shows the irony (and reality) of the modern world that the wealthy class cannot exist without its poor counterpart, because even the Sky Floors look down (both literally and figuratively) on the Undercity.
So the story about “Levels” and how Day and (especially) Eden experience them will also be an important element of the novel.
“Rebel,” like Marie Lu’s previous books (including Batman), reads incredibly easily and quickly, without any effort, so it’s ideal for relaxation. Like the trilogy, the book’s plot unfolds by constantly switching to the perspectives of the main heroes (in this case, we alternately jump into the “shoes” of Day and Eden) and moves quite dynamically.
If you’ve read the “Legend” trilogy, you really have no reason not to read “Rebel” and complete the story of the Wing brothers and June Iparis. And if you haven’t, but are looking for some light and fun (and futuristic) reading material, this will suit you nicely.
Of course, the question also arises: who is the “Rebel” in the novel of the same name? 🙂
And whether there will be a film adaptation of this series has been “hanging” in some fog for years. Supposedly preparations are being made for a film, but on the other hand everyone is somehow aware of the risk that everything could be canceled at any moment. When a project (like this one) stays in production “limbo” for a long time, it usually doesn’t turn out well. And that would be a shame in this case, because there’s potential here for a nice (youth) action techno-futuristic-political thriller.
But we’ll see about the film, the important thing is that the books are here. 😉
And you, dear reader, how much of a rebel are you? 🙂
Marie Lu’s author site
Book price: Urban Reads | Makart | Delfi
