Legend Trilogy

[Jon Levatte]

Theaction-filled plot that spans the three books is full of so many agonizing twists that my fingers ached to flip ahead and assure myself of a happy end. I also appreciated that while the books are obviously interconnected, each can be enjoyed by itself. Main characters, June and Day, are mesmerizingly real in their talents and hopes, as well their failures and griefs. Through chapters with alternating viewpoints, Lu shows how simple misunderstandings between June and Day lead to conflicts. Bravo to Lu as well for including a delightful canine in the cast. Finally, while some dystopia trilogies seem set in a mere clone of our world, the characters of Legend seem to truly live in a disintegrated United States of America.

The film rights to Legend were sold to CBS Films in 2011. Director and screenwriters were named a few months later, and there have been some signs of continued progress, but as far as I can tell a cast has not been named and filming has not yet begun. I eagerly look forward to the time when it does, as I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy and would love to see it on the big screen.

Like Hunger Games, Legend (Marie Lu) takes place in a future North America, apparently post-climate change and at war with itself. June Iparis has been training to be a military officer for the Republic of America since she entered university at the young age of twelve. Now at fifteen, the murder of her older brother sets her on the hunt for his killer, leading to discoveries that will make her question her loyalty to the totalitarian government.

I actually enjoyed the switches in perspective between June and Day; both feel very much alive and have wonderfully distinct voices in the chapters they narrate. The use of different fonts/colors for each was actually totally unnecessary and a little distracting.

The template for the trilogy was pretty standard YA dystopia: beginning in tightly controlled totalitarian state, with the fight for freedom there spilling out into the larger world, which is no paradise either, having problems of its own. I liked all three books about equally: Legend was a great beginning, Prodigy upped the complexity nicely (and that last chapter killed me!!!), and Champion had a fairly satisfying ending that fit the tone of the series: grounded (and maybe slightly melodramatic), but overall hopeful.

Recently I played through Anniversary and Legend again, and despite a few annoying bits I love them as much as ever. The gameplay and level design are fun, the soundtracks, and this feels like the definitive Lara Croft to me. Adventurous, fit, athletic, loves tombs and death traps, attractive but not too "fanservice-y", etc.

We'll ignore that they unavoidably stick Lara in a "fanservice-y" outfit for the first stage, or the fact that there's giant spiders (I've got arachnophobia, but then, I can beat Armogohma and Skulltulas no problem). My complaints are about the gameplay.

Second, on a similar note, the combat. Amanda's hired more competent mercenaries this time around, as you cannot dodge their bullets and will take lots of damage before you kill them. The tigers, while completing the set (Anniversary has lions and bears), are pretty tough, and worst of all is those lizards, you fight like three or four of them in such tiny arenas that you cannot safely dodge them and they're likely to kill you before you kill them.

Third, and this is the final nail in the coffin in this tomb, is that it's a "where the heck do I go" kind of game. I was able to get past Stage 1 without a walkthrough this time, after much frustration, but I can't get past Stage 2. I got past the giant statue of Shiva and Kali, but then that kinda tall room with the platforms and the sealed gate somewhere, I have no idea where to go from there. I have a feeling it has something to do with, you jump from the highest point to a lower platform diagonally, and I think you have to go somewhere from there, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what, and am not having fun with this like I did with Legend and Anniversary. I do not know how in the name of Natla I beat this game 10 years ago.

I do remember the stage where you get Thor's Hammer was actually quite fun, and so was the stage where you wield Thor's Hammer, if I could just get there again (my old Xbox died so I got a new one to play FFXIII last year so it's all from scratch with the Tomb Raiders), and, if I know what to do, the final obstacle course that stands in for final boss. But just getting there is annoying, frustrating, and just not fun, feeling like the Batman & Robin of the trilogy.

However... For 10 years I've considered it canon, and Thor's Hammer stuff aside, its plot points are significant. Lara finally finds out what happened to her mother (though it ended in tragedy, she died in eitr and her body reanimated as a Thrall), and she definitively kills Natla (well, unless you count the DLC but I won't) with Thor's Hammer and eitr together, and Amanda more or less reforms or at least decides not to kill Lara (where in Legend we last saw her knocked out, definitely unreformed, and since she's also trying to get to Avalon/Helheim, you knew she was going to continue to antagonize Lara on the quest there).

I know Natla can be presumed dead in Anniversary, but if she can survive nuclear explosions and lava, can a falling pillar really crush her to death? It would kinda take Thor's Hammer and/or eitr to do it. Besides, if you look closely, during the final stage of Legend where Amanda and Rutland are, you can see several crates with Natla's name on it, strongly foreshadowing a connection between them, and implying that Natla is alive at this moment.

I guess if I can't beat it again I could watch a youtube playthrough of it. But that could be a bit tricky because I am particular about some of her outfits. Most players might choose the same as me for Coastal Thailand, which is close to her main Legend and Anniversary outfits and seems more her style. But most players might also pick the most "fanservice-y" one for Helheim, which I don't, I can't take the final battle or Natla's death scene seriously. (I know I'm sounding a bit fussy with this but some think I'm not fussy enough)

Should I rely on a youtube playthrough that, if any, meets my preferences, even though I'll never have fun with it, let alone beat it?

Or should I just FanonDiscontinuity Underworld and come up with my own headcanon about what happens?

The first go around of the legends around 2007-2010 (I'm not sure on the exact years) were closer clones to an original example they used. I believe they used Eldon Whitford's '42 J45 and LeeRoy Parnell's '37 L00. After that they started using the Legend moniker loosely with various versions.

It differs from the Legend in that "only" the neck and top braces are joined with hide glue; the Legend is all hide glue construction. Only God knows if that makes any sonic difference, but I like the idea. That, and the other traditional build details and techniques produced the closest you can get to finding a closet queen or new old stock pre-war guitar.

I have a few modern Gibson slopes: the Legend, a J-45 True Vintage, a Rosewood Custom Vine J-45, a Southern Jumbo True Vintage, a Fuller's Vintage 1939 J-35, and a short-scale Maple AJ (essentially the FV 1939 J-35 in AJ dress, with maple back and sides and a wider, flatter neck), so many variations on the theme. I also have an Advanced Jumbo and a 12-fret Rosewood Stage Deluxe, so if I can compare the Legend to one of those you may be familiar with, please let me know.

Yes, I have a very good standard J-45 (and a 12 fret AJ) but have played a few True Vintage models and a Sheryl Crow Southern Jumbo (I think that's what it was at least). Some sound bites I recall on Youtube at the time seemed to show a very dark, dry version of the J-45 tone but you are obviously better placed to comment on that.

The Legend has a beautiful tone. It's also the darkest of the four, but by no means muffled. It's balance just tips toward the bottom. The low end is very strong, possibly in part due to the substantial neck.

Can anyone here tell me how a straight old 2014 J-45 Std. compares to all the exotic types mentioned on this thread. I live a long way from anywhere that I could get to compare so I'm curious as to how much better these up-market versions really are.

Yes, I have an L-OO Legend. It is supposedly (by the Certificate of Authenticity) an exact replica of Lee Roy Parnell's 1937 L-00. Like the J-45 Legend, it has an Adi top, and Madagascar rosewood fretboard and bridge.

I bought it after spending a year looking for a vintage L-00 that was in good condition, at a rational price. The L-00's are so lightly built that many of the original ones have suffered over their 80+ years of life. Finding the L-00 Legend felt like finding a brand-new 1937 L-00, minus 80 years of aging, but also minus 80 years of wear and tear. I'd call that a reasonable tradeoff.

Parents need to know that Legend by Marie Lu is a slick dystopian thriller has echoes of The Hunger Games and Orwell's 1984 but focuses more on star-crossed infatuation than the excesses of the totalitarian state. It's the first of a trilogy.

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