The Stuff of Legend - Legend by Marie Lu, A Book Review

‘Legend’ is a fast-paced fantasy thriller set in a dystopian future Los Angeles, where the USA is split into two warring factions – the Republic and the Colonies. Following the stories of Day and June respectively, it focuses on how enemies may become friends without even meaning to, in this case with a romantic element involved.

The boom as I didn't get it. Boo hoo.

This book was an excellent read. Easy to read and sporting a not-too-difficult-to-follow plot, it’s a rollercoaster ride with some predictable twists, especially when you look at the big picture. The setting is incredible – you can really picture it in your head. This future LA is populated by fascinating characters – Day, the terrorist who doesn’t kill, and June, the prodigious military cadet destined for a life in the ranks.

Unfortunately, these characters just don’t quite fit. They’re your average high-achieving do-gooders, one being led through life on a leash by government propaganda and the other just a generally amazing athlete with a clever mind. These characters are the cliche of fantasy-epic adventures – and they’re completely unbelievable.

Although marketed as a romantic thriller, the romance in this seems very fake – more of an infatuation than real love. I mean, get real! Who meets a criminal and immediately falls for him and vice versa? It’s unreal. Putting ideas like this into people’s heads isn’t good. But hey, I’m not here to lecture on the ethics of feeding young minds bad info. I’m just the reviewer.

Some of the plot twists really are a bit predictable. When it comes down to it, the only possible enemy that one could have in a book like this is either one of the Colonies or the government, and seeing as there are no Colony troops in sight, it looks like it’s all the government. Needless to say, everyone else is blissfully oblivious to this due to their unreal lifestyles. Even when a revelation is made to dear June, she’s quick to dismiss the comment as ‘terrorist propaganda’ and suchlike.

This predictability has left me with no choice than to give it a simple four stars rather than five. That said, it really is a brilliant read. I would pick up a copy, if I were you. It’ll be the next big thing soon – the film rights have already been bought.

As a sidenote, there are certain resemblances between the recent bestselling ‘Hunger Games’ series and ‘Legend’. For a start, a futuristic, dystopian dictatorship is not exactly a subtle similarity. Much of me wonders where the ideas for this came from, and whether Marie Lu (pseudonym, by the way – check the copyright page) simply took a popular idea and reshaped it. But that’s yet to be seen – there are another two books to go until the series rounds off.

In short, a good book and a rolicking read. Buy it if you like some slap-dash action and slightly cliched romance, but if you want some lovey-dovey stuff, go for something else.

Rating: 8/10

This review was taken from Penguin Book's 'Spinebreakers' website, where the author goes by a slightly different name. To view the original review, click here. For more information on Spinebreakers and how to become one, click here.