Jade City
Ratings443
Average rating4.1
The best fantasy book I've read in a long time. Truly blown away by how good this was.
Simply magnificent. I loved the characters and action scenes so much. Although I don't see The Godfather comparisons, unless you mean mafia movies in general.
This is one of those books that take a long time to get you hooked, but it's good to read nonetheless.
The concept of Jade being used as something to give you powers wasn't strange for me, for I have read other Chinese novels with it as a magical element. It's a very solid read and I will continue the series.
I don't have the energy or patience for 400+ page books with this much toxic masculinity, fat-shaming, and only one (sort of) main female character. BYEEEEE.
I really wanted to like this book given that I love fantasy and The Godfather is one of my all-time favourite books. Unfortunately, in the end, Jade City managed to be neither a good fantasy book, nor a good mafia book.
The first half of the book was relatively strong, but by the second half I found myself rolling my eyes every chapter. A two dimensional world filled with boring, annoying characters.
May be some people's cup of tea, but if you love The Godfather, this book isn't for you.
I really enjoyed the political intrigue, strategy and character development of this book. Multi-POV stories tend to be my favorites, especially when they put you in the heads of antagonists. The ending of this book was fantastic and I'm excited to continue the series. Fans who like the maneuvering of ASOIAF will enjoy this.
This was a different type of urban fantasy. A world set in a island nations wtih cities ruled by mafia families, powered by mystical Jade only found on the island nation of Kekon,
for sure a unique approach to urban fantasy at least different from the other urban fantasy I have read.
the characters overall I did not findmyself really being in love with but still enjoyed seeing how their stories played out, this book really sets up for the next few in the series which I will get to eventually lol, 60/40 split between plot vs character driven story, 60% plot 40% character i found
Originally posted at www.youtube.com.
Long ago the natives known as Green Bones defended their island nation of Kekon from foreign occupation. They were imbued with the magical properties of the local jade which granted warriors incredible capabilities across six disciplines known as strength, steel, perception, lightness, deflection, and channelling. But brandishing these skills demands a delicate balance requiring intense training. More jade means greater power, but too much can destroy minds and bodies.
In war the families fought side by side but in peace the city of Janloon is controlled by the No Peak Clan and the Mountain Clan. War heroes become profiteering mobsters holding down their territories against each other. It's a Far East Mob Novel as we focus on the incoming generation of Kaul's taking the reins of the city and pushing up against the ruthlessly ambitious Ayt Madashi.
And while the first book manages to do a lot of world building, introducing us to the strict clan hierarchies of Pillar, Weather Man, Horn, Luckbringers and Fists and a sprawling tapestry of characters it never lags. Lots of turns, fights and drama that sets the stage so you can see how it will evolve over subsequent books in the trilogy. Engrossing and fun.
Ciudad de Jade, de Fonda Lee, te transporta a un mundo fascinante donde la magia se encuentra entretejida en la vida cotidiana. La historia gira en torno a una familia con toques de mafia (por no decir mafia per sé) que hace parte del control de la Isla de Kekon y el comercio de jade, una piedra preciosa que otorga habilidades especiales a sus usuarios.
Los personajes son uno de los puntos fuertes del libro. Son complejos, llenos de matices y muy entretenidos. La autora te permite conocer a profundidad sus motivaciones, lo que te hace conectar con ellos estrechamente.
La trama está llena de acción, intriga y giros inesperados. Uno de estos giros, bastante repentino (pero a la vez previsible), cambia por completo el ritmo del libro y te mantiene en vilo hasta el final.
El sistema de magia es original e interesante. La autora lo explica de manera clara y concisa, sin que resulte abrumador. Además, la forma en que la magia se integra en la historia es muy creativa.
En cuanto a los puntos negativos, hay que mencionar que la solución al conflicto principal se siente un tanto apresurada. Después de tanta tensión y suspenso, la resolución llega de forma rápida y aunque tiene sentido lo sentí muy...“fácil”.
En general, Ciudad de Jade es una lectura muy recomendable. Te atrapa desde el principio con su mundo único, sus personajes memorables y su ambiente 70tero/80tero Si te gustan las historias de fantasía con toques de mafia y un sistema de magia original, este libro te encantará.
3.8/5
Another key difference between Jade City and the movies that inspired it lies in the depth and nuance of the themes explored. Though themes of duty, loyalty, and sacrifice are common to both Hong Kong action movies and this novel, Jade City expands those themes in a way that the movies do not. For instance, in exploring the concept of loyalty, the novel explores it from the usual angle of loyalty to one???s family and clan, but also includes questions about loyalty to tradition and to the nation as a whole. Intergenerational conflict is a key component of the plot, with the younger Kauls coming up against not just an older generation of family members and allies, but longer-standing ideals and customs that are integral to the culture and society of Kekon. The decision of whether or not to be loyal to those ideals and people is a question that plagues the characters throughout the novel, and influences their decisions throughout.
Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-Fv
A fun romp that hits a few of my weak spots (warring mafia families, urban fantasy, fully realised female characters) and thus I steamed through and promptly bought the sequel. It's exactly what it says on the tin; plus well-written and engaging. My one niggle is that there's a few places where the book raises plot threads and characters that never really get followed up with (I haven't finished the trilogy yet, so perhaps they arise later, but I suspect they won't).
The central characters are ruthlessly violent, and there's not much morality on display, so this won't be to everyone's tastes.
Justo lo que necesitaba leer . La trama es muy interesante, a pesar de ser muy introductorio. El desarrollo de personajes está brutal, es lo mejor del libro, conecté fácil con los protagonistas, es bien armonico todo. El sistema mágico está interesante, poco explicado, pero entretenido.
La secuela tiene toda la cara que va a ser una locura .
Jade City was the story I didn't exactly know I was looking for. Crime fantasy? Hell yeah, sign me up. The story took a few different turns I wasn't expecting, and I came out liking most of them on the other end. There's a lot of players in the story that could make it a little too cluttered, but Lee found a way to make every part of this story perfectly digestible. I didn't love the ending but as a whole Jade City did more than enough to make me excited to pick up Jade War.
2.5 stars
this might be my largest disappointment of the year. jade city has been on my tbr for numerous months and i'm more than aware it is a much beloved story.
before i list my issues with this story, let me preface by saying fonda lee's writing is good. i enjoyed some characters decently, especially lan and anden. and the premise had a lot of potential. in terms of actual reading experience though, it was just... okay.
the overarching conflict of clan conquest felt too distant. maybe i had gone into this book with the presumption of it having high stakes (which is naturally my taste with fantasy, i need the world to be ending to pique my interest) and was severely let down because jade city read more like a semi-draggy family drama.
i massively wish there was more exposition on the jade disciplines. the portions of the story where the kauls wielded their jade abilities were some of my favorite, though they were quite few. that last fight scene between hilo and gont where anden is inserted as a secret weapon was cool. speaking of, as of the moment, i'm considering continuing the series even if this first installment was quite subpar, i'm curious to see anden's relationship with jade and its addictive qualities develop.
covered interesting themes: from imperialism, nationalism, politics, to ethnocentrism, all of which i don't encounter frequently in the books that i read, so the thematic coverage was pleasant, albeit it fell short. wish it was explored more directly.
lan's death was too abrupt. maybe i think this way because he was my favorite character. had to slog through the remainder of the book after his death. truly what wasted potential. also felt his dependence on shine wasn't nearly explored enough. overall, his death felt like a contrite device to trigger shae's return to green bone life and establishment as weather man. which by the way, was majorly abrupt too.
moving on to some miscellaneous thoughts about the book:
i felt ambivalent with the family dynamics. i cared little for hilo, minutely for shae, and a fair amount for lan. their interactions were interesting at times and boring at others.
the character angst felt off-putting. especially hilo.
i had virtually no care for the clan conflicts. no peak this, mountain that. ayt madashi this, kaul lan that.
bero's plot line was useless, other than being the cause for lan's death.
the deitist religion was random and unexplored.
the female characters (kaul shae, maik wen, ayt madashi) did not get nearly as much development as the male ones.
overall, not a very satisfying read. promising premise, disappointing execution and focus. no tangible sense of escalation. not for me.
