Jade City
Ratings519
Average rating4.1
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.
2.5*
I had high hopes for Jade City. I was disappointed. I didn't like the jade power, didn't like any characters, thought the warring gangs thing was stupid.
It's just not my cup of tea. It's the tea of choice for many others, though.
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/
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.
This adult fantasy novel follows a family that runs a jade clan in a modern city with some not-so-modern traditions. Jade grants certain people powers of strength, speed, enhanced perception, etc. The clans that control this jade control this city. When the 2 largest clans start to clash, violence and heartbreak ensue.
The family this story centers on, the Kaun family, is a brutal yet tight-knit family. While they may have their differences, they are always ready to stand up for one of their own. The family dynamics and shifting relationships are incredibly interesting to witness. The combat scenes are so immersive. Magic systems that have consequences are always more believable and dynamic, and the consequences for abusing jade are vicious. The pacing was done well, and I never felt like it was a chore to read. About halfway through, there is a huge plot shift and I was sitting slack jawed as I read.
This story is different from any fantasy novel I've read, and I can't wait to see where Fonda Lee takes me in the next novel.
Trigger warnings: violence, death, drug use, explicit sex scenes, mentions of sexual assault, suicide and self-harm.
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!
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
What a wonderful book and quite a ride. I didn't want to know the ending if it was bad, but I couldn't stop reading. The last few pages I had to read in chunks and then get settled down again.
This one is very action-packed from the get-go, which makes it a bit overwhelming at the start as there is a lot of information to take in. It doesn't take too long to grasp everything though and then you're just along for the ride.
An entertaining and enjoyable story, with good, distinct characters. Due to their nature and their obligation to “the clan” I had trouble relating to them as they don't really show their emotions or talk about them. They could have been developed more.
Story-wise it went in a few directions that I certainly didn't expect, and at the same time I wished what I thought was going to happen would have happened. I did love the setting and the world.
This is currently being developed as a TV series and I think it's going to work even better in that medium! Especially with the action scenes being brought to life and a chance to give us more insight into the characters.
3.5 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary
The Mountain and No Peak clans control the use of jade magic in the island nation of Kekon. But tension between the clans is growing, and the leaders of the No Peak family clan may not be up to the challenge of keeping power.
Review
Ursula Le Guin famously criticized Katherine Kurtz's Deryni books as being too political – not really fantasy at all. I disagree, partly because I did enjoy Kurtz's books as fantasy, but also because they're not primarily political but religious, with politics as a facilitator.
Fonda Lee's Jade City is primarily a political book – about a struggle for power between two clans – that happens to have some fantasy elements. Those elements are interesting, but the book never really digs into them; they're primarily a motive and power source. The story wouldn't have been vastly different if instead of bio-energized jade, the rare item had been uranium, or gunpowder, or steel.
That's not to say it's a bad book. It's well written, well structured, the characters are reasonably developed, the world thought through (it's a modestly alternate Earth). I didn't, though, find it a very interesting or engaging book; it's 486 pages long, and it felt that long; it didn't speed by without my noticing. I also have the sequel, Jade War, which is 100 pages longer, and I can't say I'm thinking, “I'm really glad there's so much more.”
I do think political books have a genuine place in fantasy, and there have been a lot of them. This one has a promising setting and premise, but I didn't find the characters engaging enough, or the magic intriguing enough, to draw me into the story, and without that, the politics just wasn't very interesting. It's possible that the next one will work better for me, but I can't say I'm really optimistic.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
Kind of surprised how much I liked this! It came recommended by a friend with good taste. Set in a fictional country with fictional neighbors, but the main country at least is pretty clearly referential. There aren't a ton of good books about organized crime from perspectives inside the crime syndicates, so this is unusual. I could do without the sex scenes — men aren't the only ones writing bad ones, it turns out — but otherwise I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.
I wanted more of the setting than I was getting and the characters didn't pull me in, they seemed a little too predictable.
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 ???
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.
This was an absolutely fantastic, captivating, and exciting story. Set in the city of Janloon, Jade City looks at the rival organized crime groups that rule the city through mastery of jade, and the magical abilities that it grants those that have the ability to wield it. Tensions rise as the power starts to shift within the city, leading to the threat of a full-out gang war in the city streets. Fonda Lee has created a fascinating blend of wuxia, urban fantasy, and modern crime fiction that opens us up to a world and a story that is as unique as it is epic.
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 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!
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.
Great crime and Kung Fu novel set to a backdrop of a fantasy Japan with magic driven by the powers of Jade
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.