Jade City

I FINALLY FINISHED THIS. half of the book was such a slog to get through and i honestly would have dnf'd if i didn't buy the entire trilogy at once like an insane person. still not sure why i did that, but at least now i probably won't sell the books like i was thinking of doing until this one finally picked up.

the worldbuilding and setting is the strongest part of this novel for sure– characters felt a little flat (love Hilo though), and the prose occasionally got on my nerves in the way of its VEHEMENT insistence on telling and not showing. it sort of felt like the author didn't have much faith in her readers to parse subtleties without explicitly just writing it out. an example:

“[Lan] was worried about Anden. The young man was like a true nephew to him, and Lan felt a great deal of responsibility for him.”

I couldn't put this book down. When not reading I was constantly thinking about the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the world Fonda Lee has created and I am excited for it to expand in the next book.

It's probably a 4.5 but I'm definitely rounding up.

I have known about this book for a while now but I never really thought of reading it; it didn't feel like my kind of story and it also happens to be adult fantasy, which is not my usual genre. But 2019 has been an year of me trying to read a bit differently, especially picking up and promoting more books by Asian authors. So, it was inevitable that this book would be on my radar again. What I didn't expect was the insane amount of buzz around it this summer due to release of it's sequel, when my Stars and Sorcery Book Club chose it as our BOTM for July, I decided to finally read it. And what an experience this has been.

The author does a phenomenal job of creating this world. I have obviously never been to Hong Kong or Japan, only know a bit about them from the movies or shows I watch, but I could still feel that the author took a bit of inspiration from these countries to create the island nation of Kekon where this story takes place. Except a little initially, there is not a lot of info dumping, but we get to know a lot about the history of the occupation of Kekon, how the Jade warriors and ordinary people rose up in revolution to take back their country and how the country has prospered in the decades after that. I thought the whole concept of Jade being a bioenergetic natural product, which gives its wearer supernatural abilities was fascinating, but also liked that the author included to mention how not everyone could wear it and the consequences of wrongful usage. We also get a very intimate look into the two clans who rule the city of Janloon through fear, loyalty, intimidation and ultimately the power of Jade - both as a tool for trade and a weapon of war. As with any gangster saga, we get to know the hierarchy in the clans, and while it took me sometime to understand it all, it was pretty easy to follow later on in the book. Though the story is limited to the island of Kekon, we do get information about other countries, especially the enemies and trading partners and it looks like the sequel will give us a much more detailed look into the inner workings of these new places as well.

I will not call this a slow paced book per se, because something is always happening, the build up of brewing tensions is steady and when it all comes to a peak, it's bloody and explosive and mind blowing. I thought the author captured the inner workings of a clan perfectly, with the sometimes difficult but necessary decisions that have to be made, the treachery and betrayals that dog at every corner, and never knowing what might happen in the next moment. It was this tension filled atmosphere of the book that made me quite anxious and unable to binge read it in a single sitting. There are also some amazing action sequences, which are described with such precision that I could totally picture them and they reminded me so much of my favorite Kung Fu movies of my childhood. Despite all this, the story is not always grimdark. The author also manages to give us little moments of love and hope and humor, bringing some much needed light to otherwise dark times. The author never shies away from taking the story into unexpected directions which completely shocked me, and I really had to take breaks in between reading to comprehend it all. This is masterful storytelling at its best and I can't believe it's the author's adult fantasy debut. It definitely feels like the work of a veteran who is an expert at intricate world building and empathetic characterizations.

Despite all the gushing I have done about the world and the writing, the strength of this book are it's awesome characters. We get a very personal look into the No Peak Clan through the eyes of different members of the Kaul family and I'm in love with every single of them. Lan is the Pillar of the clan, the one everyone looks up to and who needs to show that he is capable of both keeping the peace and waging when required. But he is a man with flaws, kind and compassionate and pragmatic who wants peace, and doesn't really have the wherewithal for a prolonged clan war. Being the Pillar is a burden for which he has been prepared all his life, but it still weighs on him, making him take decisions that have unintended consequences. He really is a study in contrasts and I couldn't help but sympathize with his situation.

His brother Hilo on the other hand is hot tempered, aggressive and as the Horn of the clan, would really love to solve all issues with blood and violence. However, behind all this bluster is a man who loves his family and clan with all his heart and would do absolutely anything to protect them all. His words might seem venomous but they only hide a deep hurt and he doesn't know any other way to express them all. But his explosive nature definitely made me worry for him at every moment and I'm still scared what will happen in the next book.

Shae is the youngest Kaul who walked away from the family because she wanted a life that wasn't defined by her family's legacy and expectations, but she is ensnared into the clan business eventually when terrible events make it absolutely necessary. She may belong to the Kaul family and be an accomplished Jade warrior, but as a woman she has to constantly prove her worth and I thought the way she goes about achieving this is depicted very well.

There are many other interesting characters whom I could go on talking about because everyone of them is significant to the plot and is written with extreme care. I particularly liked Anden, who is like an adopted brother to the Kauls. His struggle with trying to reconcile his birth family's painful past with what he wants to do in the future is written very well - I could completely empathize with his pain and dilemma and just wanted to protect him from everything in the world. Wen is another very fascinating woman, who is so much more than just Hilo's love interest even though she doesn't show her strengths. She is a stone-eye which makes people consider her bad luck and she is pretty much invisible wherever she goes, which puts her in a unique position to work for the clan in ways others can't. Hilo may want to protect her from from the world, but she doesn't shy away from putting her talent and strategic mind to best use.

I probably have a lot more to say but I can't find proper words to gush about this masterpiece fantasy novel. So all I want to say is, if you have ever loved gangster movies or Kung Fu action entertainers and would love to read a fantasy book with similar themes, then don't look any further. Jade City is full of crisp action sequences, excellent world building and characters who maybe morally gray but you can't help but root for them. Finally, I have already pledged my loyalty to the Kauls and the No Peak clan and can't wait for the release of Jade War.... What are you waiting for ???

IM SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO APPRECIATE THE MASTERPIECE. fonda lee i'm sorry i ever doubted your big brain i can look past the typos if you keep feeding me this good good

Jade City features a richly drawn, detailed world which vividly comes to life. It's largely a family saga and the themes of kinship and legacy are well done, and the four main characters in the Kaul family (and some of the minor characters!) are interesting and act in ways that make sense given their situations and personalities. Though these are all strengths, I did find myself tempted to put down the book a few times since it could be rather slow, but I did finish it???and when I reached the end, I found myself unexpectedly attached to the protagonists and eager to continue their stories.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Full Review on My Website

re-read: 26NOV2021

even better the second time around

This book was a breath of fresh air a few reasons: 1. I didn't feel like it was just good vs. bad. It was two groups angling around each other but the main reason we root the main characters is because we experience the story from their perspective. 2. Less plot armor than some books have. 3. The women are allowed to be strong but in different ways. It's not like we have 3 identical Buffy's running around. 4. The history the characters have with each other feels natural. 5. I did not see that twist coming, even if my reading buddy thought I should have.
I mainly docked 1 star because the pacing in the 1st third left something to be desired and 5% more time spent on making sure I understood the magic system would have helped.

Thanks to Orbit Books via NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. My opinion of this book is not influenced by this opportunity.

Jade City combines elements of gangster families with martial arts, fantastical properties of jade, and the quest for power. The book spans multiple perspectives from the No Peak clan (and a couple outside perspectives too), and one of the central themes is the role of family obligation.

To be completely honest, I had a really hard time getting into the book. It took me until about 50 percent through the e-book to find a groove, which means that had I not been reading it as a galley, I would have abandoned it by that point. I never felt that sympathetic or even enraged by any of the main characters, instead feeling kind of annoyed at their decisions and lack of overall maturity. With so many characters introduced, I never felt like I had a sense of any one character's depth or complexity. Only towards the end of the book did I feel that one of the purported villains was multifaceted, and that would have made for a much more interesting subplot. Similarly, a side female character without jade-related abilities (stone-eye) ended up being one of the more fascinating cases and I would have loved to have experienced this plot from her eyes.

I also found Lee's choice to make men so prominent in her world and women - with two slight exceptions - fairly minor. In a world where we're supposed to imagine a different world, why are men still so prominent?

I think if this book continues on to become a series, I'd like to see a tighter plot with better editing and stronger character development.

Jade City was an enjoyable read, especially the last half, when the story really picks up. It is technically classified as urban fantasy, but, if you don't enjoy this subgenre (as I don't), don't let that label put you off from reading it. It doesn't fall into the usual tropes of crime solving, vampires, werewolves, etc. In this sense, it is very refreshing, nothing cheesy. The stories and characters are interesting and complex; there are no obvious “good guys” and “bad guys”. There are lots of good plots twists. It is clear that Lee has envisioned a complex and intriguing world, drawing on various Asian cultures and histories, but Jade City isn't bogged down with backstory. I look forward to reading the next book in the series when it comes out!

A triad style mafiosa in an urban fantasy setting. This is the clever context that Fonda Lee sets up her Green Bone Saga. We are introduced to a world where the population of a small island nation possess the ability to use jade to power magical abilities. The trade in this jade is controlled through the gangs that effectively rule the island. This is all destabilized when a gang war breaks out...

Whilst it feels wrong empathizing with gang lord characters, Fonda Lee has managed to make them incredibly sympathetic. The relationships within the gang are wonderfully realized helping to make these antihero type characters incredibly engaging.

The world built is an intriguing one - the magic system is well realized, the historical background is believable and well built. A highly impressive start to a series that I look forward to continuing!

Great crime and Kung Fu novel set to a backdrop of a fantasy Japan with magic driven by the powers of Jade

Meh.

I thought I was going to be a massive fan of this one since I'm a significant fan of Mafia/crime fiction and non-fiction, but this didn't do it for me at all, unfortunately.

Update after finishing Jade Legacy:
I take my rating and my previous review back. I was wrong. I began reading Jade City at an inopportune time and in the wrong frame of mind. I should have waited a few months until I was prepared to delve into something meaningful, instead of using it merely as a distraction.

Original review:
I heard about this book so many good things. So I expected a lot more from this book.

3.5 ???

Excellent gripping story of family power and honour.

Hovering between a 3.5 and a 4* for me, this book explored some really fresh new grounds sorely lacking in popular fantasy novels these days. It called back to the Hong Kong gangster movies and dramas that I grew up watching, blending it with elements of wuxia, martial arts, and superhuman abilities.

This book follows the Kaul family, legendary heads of the No Peak clan, in a world where jade is a heavily coveted gemstone, not so much because it's worth money but because they imbue superhuman senses, strength and abilities to those who come into contact with it. The ability to harness these abilities from jade has been naturally specific to the genetics of the Kekonese people, but now, there emerges a new drug that's said to be able to increase this “jade sensitivity” in the non-Kekonese.



This book went from a 4* at the start because of this refreshing new premise that I've never seen replicated in any fantasy book before, but then wavered down to an almost-DNF around the 25% mark, before it picked up to 3* and up after I got past the 50% mark, which was when things really got exciting.

The reason why the book went down to an almost-DNF was probably because of mismatched expectations. I had gone into this expecting the magic and fantasy elements to be very much in the foreground, but this was very much not the case. It was the clan values, the gang politics and intrigues, and the politics between different sets of people that pretty much took center stage here. The magical properties of jade served mainly as a backdrop for all of the above to happen. Most of the time, jade felt more like a magical-realism manifestation of something abstract in real life, like dignity or brotherhood or loyalty. The book centers around jade, but it's really barely a magical system in itself. The realisation of this was what almost made me drop the book.

A quick side note to jade: I really enjoyed that it was so unpredictable. Touching jade typically gives people some kind of euphoric rush of power, but different people in the story have different levels of jade sensitivity, with some being far more susceptible to the addictive properties of this rush, while others are completely dead to it. I like that jade was dangerous as well as powerful. It was a raw, natural element in itself, and entirely out of the control of the people who wielded it. You could just as much die of jade oversensitivity or jade withdrawal, as it makes it easier for you to kill others with the powers it gives you. In effect, it behaved a lot more like a stimulant drug than a magical gemstone.


None of the characters are really 100% likeable in the story, which I'm not mad at. The main characters aren't bad people in themselves, but a lot of them make bad decisions, or react poorly to certain situations. I like that. I find more and more that I'm not into overly likeable main characters, and the fact that these main characters have actual blemishes on their figurative resumes makes me appreciate the characterisation all the more.

Once I got past my mismatched expectations, though, and once I started getting sucked in to the real meat of the book, which is all the family dynamics and gang politics, I started enjoying myself much more. This is especially so after the halfway mark of the book - even though I was devastated that Lan died, because I had thought him the best of the siblings and a cinnamon roll in his own right, his death did really kickstart the action and that was when the book actually started getting gripping for me - I had bemoaned how long the book was in the first quarter of it, but I binged it so hard after the halfway mark that I finished the entire book in less than 24 hours!

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
—
So Fonda Lee has a great idea – others have employed it as well, don't get me wrong, but the way she does it is great – instead of setting an Urban Fantasy in this world, just a version of it with some magic; you set it in a world a whole lot like this one – but you infuse the world with some sort of magic. A world where technology/science and magic co-exist. It's enough like this world that you can get your hands around cultural mores and norms.

There's this stone, a mineral, called jade. It looks a lot like our jade (from what I can tell, Hank Schrader, I'm not). Certain people are sensitive to it, and it enables them to channel magic, some become addicted to the mineral and what it does to them – others (“stone eyes”) are completely insensitive to it and are therefore the ideal candidates to shape it, transport it, and mine it. Only people from Kekon have this relationship with jade (not that unexpectedly, they're also the world's source for it).

There are other countries that want jade and what it can do to a person – military uses, primarily. But their people aren't natively sensitive, so they're working on ways to engineer the sensitivity. There's a lot of money to be made controlling the Jade. Years ago – a generation or so – a group of “Green Bone” warriors drove foreign powers from Kekon and assumed control of the Jade trade. Working with the legitimate government, these Green Bones rule Kekon.

They are, for all intents and purposes, a criminal organization – or would've been were it not for a divergence of vision – they're now two rival criminal organizations – with their own rules, laws, rituals, educational systems and cultures. There's a Cold War between them – a perilous truce, with the citizens of Kekon stuck in the middle (paying tribute, currying favor, and occasionally serving as cannon fodder).

But then something shifts the balance of power – plans that have been brewing for years start to come to fruition and conflict erupts.

We focus on the Kaul family, their soldiers, their leadership, their friends and fortunes. There's the aged warrior struggling with the weight of glory and past success in the face of the end of their life, there's the new generation of leadership, trying to live up to the glories of the past and finding it more difficult than they expected. Some have tried to forge new paths in a new world, others are trying to recreate the past.

This is one of those that I can't think how to describe without ruining everything – so that's about as much as I'm going to say. The back cover blurb describes this as “The Godfather with Magic.” It's easy to see why. It's also incredibly easy to start casting various characters _ is Michael (clearly), ___ is Tom, and if __ isn't Sonny, I'll eat my hat. I do have real answers for those blanks, but I thought I'd better not give everything away. It is more than just The Godfather with Magic – but you can't get away from that (unless you're not that familiar with that particular work – and then you're not missing a thing).

There's magic, there's a mob story, there's family, love, loyalty . . . you name it, this book has it. Better yet, at the helm of this world you have Fonda Lee who does a great job building this world and populating it with people that the reader can relate to.

This is a rich world full of intrigue, danger, family and magic. It's a fantastic piece of worldbuilding and you can tell that Lee has great plans in store for these characters, and I can tell that they have no clue what's coming – and frankly, the readers have less of a clue. I'm looking forward to seeing just what it is.

Note that's close to a disclaimer, yeah, I said ARC for a book that was published last year. How'd I manage that? Time travel? Well, no. I won the ARC at Indie Bookstore Day (or something like that). So, there be a couple of changes between what I read and the final product, but probably nothing major.

Reading Jade City provided a welcome respite from more traditional (and generic) epic fantasy fare. Fonda Lee has crafted a compelling family drama, situated within an intriguing world, with an awesome magic system to boot. There's plenty of war and conflict to be had here so I'm curious to see how things escalate in the ominously titled sequel, Jade War.

See this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

4.5 - it's clear Fonda Lee is an exceptional writer, and a genius at world building as well. I most likely will be continuing the series but good lord that took me so so so long to read. Super dense.

A unique mix of kung fu and mobster films that sets the stage for what is surely a fun trilogy.

Executive Summary: A bit of a slow start, but a really enjoyable book overall. This one is very different from most of the fantasy I've read.

Full Review
When I first started reading a lot of fantasy, it was almost exclusively Urban Fantasy. At some point I got burned out on it and almost stopped reading it entirely save for Dresden Files. It felt like every series was full of vampires, werewolves and crime-solving protagonists.

Jade city has none of that. That's a large part of what makes it so refreshing. This book seems to ask the question “What if the Yakuza ran a nation due to the natural born ability to channel power from rare Jade gemstones?”

Enter the Green Bones. Not everyone can use Jade to make themselves faster and stronger, but those who can are not to be trifled with. Of course along with power comes rivalry and those who want to get some of that power for themselves. This sets up several different conflicts that make this book so enjoyable.

The book focuses three siblings and their adoptive cousin who belong to the Kaul family which runs one of the two major clans that rule over the fictitious island nation of Kekon. Each sibling is compelling in their own way, but for me Shae was my favorite. It was her story I was most interested in as the book unfolded.

In addition to the main four however, there is a great supporting cast of characters, including Wen. She starts off looking like the typical supporting female character, but that changes as the book unfolds. Her subplot is probably one of those I'm most interested in. I hope Ms. Lee develops her character further in the next book.

I love me a good magic system, and tend to be put off by books with too much handy waving magic or stuff that is derivative. While we don't get a real good feel for how/what the jade does, it's enough to be interesting and not feel like it was simply a plot device.

I particularly like the genetic aspect of the magic. Only some people can use Jade. For nearly all others it makes them sick/kills them simply to handle it. That is except the Stone Eyes. And of course those who can't use Jade are determined to find a way around their genetics. This makes for some great fight scenes, a lot of intriguing drama and world building.

I did find the book took a little while for it to get going. I was never bored, but I took awhile to warm up to some of the characters and for the main plot to kick off.

Overall, I found this to be one of the most refreshing reads in a long time, and more willing to give new Urban Fantasy books a look in the future. I'll definitely be picking up the next book in this series.

Some months ago I read the first few pages of [b:Foul Lady Fortune 57190453 Foul Lady Fortune (Foul Lady Fortune, #1) Chloe Gong https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1642713157l/57190453.SY75.jpg 89504589] and I realised that I didn't like it. THIS was what I expected it to be. Jade City has such atmosphere. Mafia stories are extremely easy to mess up. You can go way too romanticised or you can go too bleak and needlessly violent. Both makes the characters unrealistic; no perfect little cinnamon bun will also make people sleep with fishes, but also a mindless killing machine will never be the biggest force and base of a working criminal enterprise. Here we have the Kaul family, war hero granddad and his three grown grandchildren who form the leadership of the No Peak gang of superpowered people, who can use jade to give themselves abilities. (Then there is their young adopted cousin, not quite ready for a life like this. He is a cinnamon bun, but that's his point, so there is that.) Don't get me wrong, they are likeable characters; they have nice moments, they bond, they can be incredibly brave and noble. But when the middle one, Hilo, snaps... HE SNAPS. They are all capable of being cruel and calculating. You can buy them having dimension, their dilemmas feel hard. The grandfather is hardly ever around, but he is very interesting. The nation's hero from a time of foreign occupation. Now here he is, unable to connect with his grandkids. Nobody measures up, but he himself is slowly dying and losing what made him special. Is he angry with his own mortality? Is he truly dissatisfied with his family? He was made for and in a completely different world, the one he can't let go. He is insanely cruel. Is that his mind just going? Or was he always like that, because it was needed during wartime? So much of this book is about that. The perception and the reality, the characters using that distinction to work politics. The difference between the measured Lan, who is liked, but provokes no passion, as opposed to Hilo, who is passionate and dangerously hot-headed, yet incredibly charismatic. What will work in the end? Does it matter? Then there is Shae, who is trying to do something completely different, yet having to realise that maybe she doesn't even have an option, parallelled by Anden, who is coming from the outside, trying to get in. And this powerful family's story is framed by something very little. Someone little, doing something petty. In the story it's often mentioned that lanternmen (civilian supporters of the gangs) were the most important during the war and even for the working of the gangs, which makes it extra ironic that the events were started by one of those civilians. A lot of the story is based on those clever little twists. The lore is a lot. A lot of language, the way they use suffixes and the different forms of people's names. The different words they use for the internal structures of the gangs. The history, religion, culture. Now that was one of my worries. Will it make sense? And it did. I never felt like Lee added any of that just to pad things and make things feel more. It's all enough. It's all needed, it all adds up. The way the island of Kekon is described is so atmospheric. I have never even been to Asia (just you wait!), but everything felt so cinematic. The little shops and restaurants, the way they have temples next to gambling dens. So amazing, it truly feels like a city in transition. I think Shae's chapters bring out a lot of it, because she spends a good part of the book walking around like a normal person. (I don't even think Lee intentionally made it “food porn”, but mentions of food made me hungry. Weird.) A lot of the book is progress. We have a culture that is between modern and traditional. They are over a war, but not yet at peace. They have something specific to them, jade, which they have kept for themselves, but now they are staring to open up to the world. All the characters' individual stories are about transformation as well, though I wouldn't want to spoil them. That said, I don't feel there are such big plot twists. The events are on a trajectory towards... well, absolute chaos and it's exceptionally done, but I don't think this book hinges on surprising you with the absolutely unexpected. I personally don't need those, though. In my opinion just riding things out is much better than some so-so twist. I will go there and say it, I didn't need the sex scenes. I don't care about romance much and I usually just skim sex scenes, so there is that. They weren't overwhelming, I just didn't expect them. At this point, I have to read the rest. I have my doubts about a happy ending being possible, but I want to keep my hopes high. DEFINITELY recommending this to others.

This is some of the most impressive world building I've read in ages. Lee blends some of the best mafia tropes with a unique magic system and then drops it in the middle of a Hong Kong action film. Her characters are well-rounded, compelling, and faced with incredibly difficult choices. The plot twists and turns so you're never quite sure what's going to happen. There were definitely pages I had to re-read because I just couldn't believe what had happened. The amount of research poured into this is truly astonishing, and I'm very excited to continue the series.

Jade City ..... how do i feel about Jade City.

I went in expecting Mafia with Magic, and i got that. i liked it. The story was unique and well thought out. and I liked the magic system.

Channel
Lightness
Strength
Steel
Deflection
Perception

A good magic system with limits and problems.
Characters were good, but sometimes felt a little one-sided.

CAWPILE SCORE
C-6
A-7
W-8
P-5
I-6
L-6
E-5
TOTAL-6.14/10

I wish that i had only had 2-3 characters instead of 5. the Beru Chapters felt too small and meaningless except for 1 chapter. He felt like extra setup for future books. however there was a scene implying he was killed, that was then "ha, nope" that was this other group doing the exact same thing.Half the time or more than half the time i was rooting for the mountain clan. They had a good plan, great possibilities, and everything they did was of more interest to me than anything the Kaul's did. Lan being a good peacetime pillar and not a wartime pillar was a good point to the story. also Shae coming back and putting on her jade again. The Final fight between Gont Asch and Hilo, felt like No Peak cheated, with Anden interfering in the fight.Kaul Sen and Doru actively manipulating their own clan to its downfall felt cheap and silly to me. while kaul Sen's personality about noone being good enough felt real.Also The College of Bioenergetic Material is the only "sciency" name given for Jade within the clan. I just found it weird that they would use a technical term they don't use at all for this one thing with jade instead of calling it the channelling school or something like that. I was really interested in Wen going into the Mountain Clan to spy. I was excited for that and then summarily disappointed that literally nothing came of it. maybe in future books.Anden's refusal to wear jade came as a surprise to me and i enjoyed it.

I will be talking about it on Libromancy 04/04/2021 https://libromancy.podbean.com/

Not a fan of Yakuza stories and it reminds me of [b:California Bones 18490594 California Bones (Daniel Blackland, #1) Greg Van Eekhout https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1393646834l/18490594.SY75.jpg 25312108] where everyone's consuming bones to gain magic.