I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Jade City by Fonda Lee Series: The Green Bone Saga #1
Published by Orbit on November 7 2017
Genres: Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 512
Format: Finished hardcover
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A nuanced, brutal, epic saga of clan rivalry, loyalty, betrayal and revenge, set in a vivid Asian inspired fantasy world.
I was determined to read a backlist fantasy book for #Wyrdandwonder, and I’m so glad I made time for Jade City, a book that’s been on my TBR since it was released in 2017. With the approach of the series finale later this year—Jade Legacy—I thought it was time to catch up. Many bloggers and reviewers have already praised this book in every way possible, and I’m not sure what else I can add to the mix. But you can tell from my rating that I loved Jade City, and I’m impressed by just about every element Fonda Lee brought to the table. This is my first book by this author and it was masterfully done!
Because this is an older book, I won’t do an in depth story recap, but here are the basics. The story is set in an Asian inspired fantasy world on the island of Kekon, ruled over by two powerful clans whose highest ranking members use a special form of jade magic. No Peak clan and The Mountain have an uneasy alliance, but that’s about to change. When an assassination attempt is made on the Weather Man of No Peak—one of the Pillar’s right hand men—a turf war seems imminent, and the future of Kekon and its two warring clans could be decided by a single act of violence.
This is a complex plot with intricately drawn characters and relationships. Lots of readers have compared Jade City to The Godfather, which is a good comparison. I also got Game of Thrones vibes, simply because of the complicated family dynamics and tension among various characters. Lee is so good at creating subtle but powerful moments: exciting political maneuvering, tested loyalties, family betrayals, revenge and honor. Green Bones swear allegiance to the death when they join a clan, and every day offers another possibility that they might be called upon to sacrifice themselves for the good of the clan. The plot is fairly slow overall—of course there are pulse-pounding action and fight scenes—but Lee takes her time laying down the groundwork, carefully adding layer after layer to her story until the reader is trapped in the middle of this group of volatile characters. I found myself helpless as the story unfolded, unable to look away, even as I knew bad bad things were about to happen. It’s this kind of storytelling that I find irresistible, and the further into the story you get, the more you realize how skillfully the plot has been handled.
I also have to mention the brilliant world building and magic system that the author has created. If this weren’t a secondary fantasy world, I would call Jade City urban fantasy. The time period seems to be sometime around the 1970s. People use typewriters, pay phones, guns and cars, and yet everything else about this world is unfamiliar. I love the idea of being sensitive to jade and gaining powers by wearing it. There are all sorts of rules surrounding jade. You have to be trained before you can have your own jade because it’s so powerful and can literally drive a person crazy. Most jade is earned by taking it off the dead bodies of rivals killed in fights and duels, and many Green Bones actually embed small pieces of jade in their skin so that it will always be there when they need it. But too much jade is very dangerous and can kill you, and a drug called SN1 or “shine” has been developed to counteract some of these extreme reactions to the stone. Then there are those who have no sensitivity to jade at all called “stone-eyes,” people who will never become Green Bones but who make up the many citizens of Janloon who work for the clans as civilians. Lee has developed every aspect of her world, and it’s simply stunning. I believe there is a TV show in development, which doesn’t surprise me at all, since the story and characters practically leap off the page.
This is a testosterone heavy cast of characters, and at first I was worried that there wouldn’t be any interesting female characters in the story. But luckily, there are several, despite the fact that yes, Green Bones are mostly men. Shae was the most prominent female character and my favorite. The sister of Hilo and Lan, she left Janloon to go to school and in doing so left behind the clan way of life. She even removed all her jade before she left, which is unheard of. But Shae gets dragged back into the family business due to circumstances that I can’t discuss, and I loved her level headedness and strength and the way she can handle just about everything she runs up against. I also grew to love a prostitute named Wen, who proved to be extremely smart and opportunistic. And then there is Ayt, the Pillar of the Mountain, a fierce and deadly leader who isn’t completely developed in this first installment and is more of a caricature of a villain, but definitely has potential to be very interesting.
Jade City gets better and better as you read it. At first it takes some time to untangle the many characters and figure out how they are related to each other, but it’s worth the effort, and I had a hard time putting the book down once I reached a certain point. Fonda Lee surprised me at just about every turn. I thought I knew where things were going and then she did something completely different, something that was much better than what I had imagined! I loved the way she wrapped up the book, not on a cliffhanger, but rather with a few hints of what’s to come in the next book. I can hardly wait to get started on Jade War!
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
Ooooh Game of Throne vibes! Also love that you could almost call this book urban fantasy because that’s my favorite fantasy genre. Almost is good enough for me.
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…My Favorite Podcasts: Part V
I think it was the (sort of) modern setting and the city that gave it that vibe.
Wow, it’s sounds an ambitious start to a series, but apparently Lee did a great job. Good review, Tammy!
Priscilla Bettis recently posted…Can you use pronouns for a non-binary character without confusing readers?
It’s very ambitious and I can’t wait to keep reading:-)
0 ooh,wonderful review Tammy! Your description of this world and the urban fantasy vibes has my attention ‼️‼️
Thanks Verushka!
It’s been far too long since I read this one, and I’ve had Jade War on my TBR for ages, so reading your review both helped refresh my memory of this amazing story and to compel me to finally start on book 2, since the conclusion of the trilogy is drawing close… Great review, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…THE FIRST OMEGA, by Megan O’Keefe
Hopefully we can both read Jade War soon:-)
When you described it as a complex but slow plot full of complicated dynamics it made me smile. There is a line between that becoming boring or instead completely engaging you, and I don’t know where the line is but I love when an author manages to craft it into the engaging sort. There’s something about that slower pace that really lets you absorb and appreciate everything else. I suspect I’d enjoy this one. Thanks for the review of a slightly older book. 🙂
It does take some talent to make a slower story hard to put down. She nailed it!
Yay! I’m so glad you loved this one, Tammy. Jade War is quite a ride – Happy reading!
I can’t wait!
I am glad you enjoyed it so much! Sadly it didn’t worked for me, I loved the magic system and the worldbuilding (and I agree on what you wrote about it all!) but I couldn’t connect with the characters at all, there was something lacking there for me, and so I decided to just let it go. I finished the book but I would not continue the series, sadly. Bur again, I am glad to see that you enjoyed it so much!
I kind of know what you mean about the characters. There are so many male characters that it felt a little lopsided.
While I don’t know if this is one I would read, what you’ve described sounds like something I’d love to watch as a tv series or movie. Glad you enjoyed it! I always love when I pick something up off my back pile and then love it. If only I had more time for that. Great review!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…E-galley Review: A Kiss for a Kiss (All In #4) by Helena Hunting
It definitely felt like a TV show, and if it gets made, you might enjoy it!
I also came later to this book but I’m glad I finally did because I loved it! Now I have to read the second and catch up before book 3 comes out 😀
Me too! I don’t think I’ll wait too long:-)
I can really feel your excitement for this one, Tammy! I love GoT and this is definitely enticing!
It’s hard not to get excited:-)
I have heard lots of good things about this book on booktube so I am glad you really enjoyed it! Great review!
Thanks Stormi!
YAAAAASSSS!!!! Great review!
Thanks Paul!
I seriously need to get caught up on this series. Jade War has sat on my shelf for way too long.
Me too! You have four or so more months to catch up:-) Or should I say WE do.
I really need to get round to read this, I haven’t seen a single bad review of the series!
It’s great, hope you can read it sometime:-)
I’ve owned a copy of this book forever and really need to get around to reading it. I was hoping to read it in May but… slump happens. I’m glad you enjoyed it so much & love the backlist love!
Kal @ Reader Voracious recently posted…ARC Review: The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin
I need to read more backlist, it was fun!
Glad you liked this one so much. I’ve been holding out on it… no idea why, lol. But I might pick it up if I see it at the library.
I waited a long time and I’m glad I finally read it:-)
I’ve wanted to read this for some time – much like you – and you’ve definitely reinforced that, particularly that this almost feels like UF.
Lynn 😀
Nitpick: The assassination attempt is made on the Horn, not the Weather Man.