The final installment of one of the boldest fantasy series of modern time
Jade City promises gangsters, family drama and magic; Jade War makes it biggeThe final installment of one of the boldest fantasy series of modern time
Jade City promises gangsters, family drama and magic; Jade War makes it bigger and Jade Legacy cleverly wraps all the loose endings to give you the epic finale you were craving all along.
After following the Kaul family for over one thousand pages, seeing them grow and perish, it was difficult to make the story satisfactory without it stopping being unpredictable and unfair, like the rest of the series. I was expecting to only cry and suffer but, while there is also some of that, I finished the book with my mouth open and my heart warm. There was a lot going on; this war wasn’t made of two parties fighting with magic in a final battle, it was made of small economic deals and political maneuvers. It was probably the most similar thing to a modern day cold war between two powerful enemies, and Fonda Lee managed to not only understand all of it, but also make it interesting.
“When is life ever like a story where the characters get exactly what they deserve, good or bad?”
There wasn’t a moment where you could take a breath and relax, every moment was a chance for the enemy to attack and change everything. There were a couple of times where I finally lowered my guard only to be stabbed in the back. When everything seems to be going alright, something bad may happen. When it seems like there is something wrong going on, then run because something terrible will happen. It was exciting, unexpected and so clever that one month after finishing it, I still can’t believe what Fonda Lee was able to achieve here, how she was able to create and solve such an intricate story.
Hilo could have a single ordinary conversation with a man and make him loyal for life.
As with book 2, the only reason why it’s not a 5 stars for me it’s because I prefer a bit more of the old open war with martial-arts-and-magic action scenes than the whole economic-political battles I don’t quite grasp, but I still love this series with all my heart. I’m all about the characters and dialogues, and you can’t do better than the Kaul family. Being able to not only follow your favorite characters, but also their offspring and enjoying their differences and similarities? It was heaven. I couldn’t stop smiling and fangirling and crying because it hurt
I truly recommend to give The Green Bone saga a try if you like:
Disclamer: This review is spoiler free for both book 1 and 2
Jade War is the explosion of everything we’ve been promised in Jade City, but leveled up tDisclamer: This review is spoiler free for both book 1 and 2
Jade War is the explosion of everything we’ve been promised in Jade City, but leveled up to a higher level. The clans have grown, their allies are more powerful and the game cannot be won with a street fight anymore. Politics and economics played a bigger part without eliminating exciting battle scenes in key parts of the story.
More point of views give the necessary lenses to show the conflict at different ranks of the society and even countries overseas, expanding the vision of the world introduced in Jade City. The situation of Green Bones as foreigners in Espenia shows the collision between cultures, where the fragile equilibrium is about to collapse.
“We women claw for every inch we gain in this world, and you’d worked too hard for your place to let it be taken for you.”
Reading Jade War made me wonder if I really don’t enjoy politics or I just have been reading the wrong books. While I still preferred the balance in book 1, where Green Bones went to fight more readily, I wasn’t bored by the amount of information needed to understand what was going on. The stakes were so high that I could feel the never ending pressure of taking the best deal of every situation, the danger of failing as high as if they were a life-or-death battle. The villain didn’t need to be physically in the scene to suffer her overwhelming presence and the constant need to outwit her in order to survive.
While this is by no means a fantasy romance, for once I was highly surprised by how well the love stories were written. You could understand why they were attracted to each other, even when a lot of times you knew the different ideals, goals or personalities weren’t compatible in the long term. There was a specific character I was dying to see falling in love and, since the first time his love interest appeared on scene, I knew it was meant to be. If you are a romance reader, you probably can imagine the absolute pleasure of being right and get to see the romance you’ve been waiting for hundreds of pages, even if it is just a glimpse.
Once more, the characters are the reason why I’m so addicted to the series. Even if the things happening weren’t as good -they were-, I was too attached to them to be able to stop reading. You’ll need to know they were going to be alright, to see them happy after the death of a beloved one made them fall to the floor.
Despite knowing them, they always managed to surprise me, especially Hilo. There was a scene where I had to go back and read again because my dear Hilo, you have just not done what it says here you have just done. And when you stop to think, you realize it’s the only thing Hilo could have done to stay in character. Even if you despise it, you should have known it would happen. You are so in love with the culture that sometimes it’s hard to accept the brutal decisions required to be a Green Bone.
“You don’t want to be a killer.” “I don’t want to enjoy it.”
Overall, Jade War was a solid continuation of what was introduced in Jade City and shows the path the last book is going to follow. The story is starting to lean toward gangsters and politics and lower the amount of fantasy action scenes, affirming that this trilogy has a league of its own and you can’t really compare it with anything you’ve read before.
Gangsters, modern setting, Assian inspired word building and magic intertwine to tell the story of the Kaul family, creating a whole new subgenre in tGangsters, modern setting, Assian inspired word building and magic intertwine to tell the story of the Kaul family, creating a whole new subgenre in the process.
Only two clans in the world control the market of Jade, which provides superhuman skills to people with the right genetics. This substance can solely be obtained in Kekon, where the Mountain and No Peak have their base. But the rest of the countries are determined to use this weapon in their own wars and have developed a drug that makes Jade work in all humans.
Now everyone wants Jade. The Mountain has been waiting for this to happen and wants to become the only one seller. The Kaul family, leaders of No Peak, refuses to give up without a fight. The tensions start to become collisions and people start to realize a new civil war might be inevitable.
Aside from the original mix of ideas, characters are the essence of this series, with the three Kaul siblings as pillars: Lan, Hilo and Shae. The leader, the warrior, the scholar. But neither of them are exactly what they seem at first sight. The multiple POVs provide the different lenses to give you a final imagen of who they really are. It was especially shocking with Kaul Hilo, who plays the impulsive, fearsome warrior, but also has the most sensitive heart. Genius when it comes to war strategy, the antithesis when it comes to politics. There wouldn’t be war if it wasn’t for Hilo, but he is also the reason why No Peak is still standing.
“What do you value more, your face or your bike?” Hilo asked him. “What?” growled the man. “Your face or your bike,” Hilo repeated. “Which would you choose?” “My face,” he said hesitantly. Instantly, Hilo struck him, breaking his nose.
While Hilo is the shocking, problematic character you will hate and love, the others are easier to relate to. You’ll suffer seeing Lan trying to keep the clan afloat, dealing with the troublesome brother who is the one No Peak people really fights for, living in the shadow of his grandfather, hero of the revolution that freed Kekon decades ago, and without nobody to counsel him. Because the one who was born for politics, his sister Shae, refuses to be a Kaul anymore.
“You scared the shit out of boys. You were always too smart, too dangerous, for some foreign water-blooded pretty face in a uniform. () I could still kill him for you.” “Screw you, Hilo,” Shae snapped. “I can kill my ex-boyfriends myself.”
Shae is trying to find her place in the world. She wants to be her own person, without her last name sealing her fate. Her clan and family despise her for flying to another country with a foreign (ex) boyfriend. Now she is back, she feels like an outsider every place she goes. All the hard work to be the best student, to beat a Hilo in every exam, hasn’t earned her any of the respect her brother receives. But war might be coming. Will she be able to walk away again, knowing her family needs her?
The secondary characters have as much depth as the principal ones, full with their own devils, confusion and dreams. The villain was handled with the same care. Terrifying, yet somewhat relatable, Ayt Mata has both the brain and the Jade skills. She would have been the leader of the Mountain by right if she wasn’t a woman. To reach the position, she had to murder all the male menaces, which has earned a well deserved reputation of badass. It’s not easy to find an antagonist with dreams you can understand if only she wasn’t trying to destroy your favorite characters.
The hard magic system brings to life impossible martial arts, the kind you can only witness in movies. It also comes with a cost: carrying more than you are able can kill you or turn you crazy. The more sensitive you are to Jade, the more you’ll suffer the withdrawal after using it. Fonda Lee uses Anden, a teenager adopted by the Kauls, to show the difficult balance between the two. His fear of turning into his dead mother, the Mad Witch, is confronted by his will to serve the Kauls.
“Expectations are a funny thing. When you’re born with them, you resent them, fight against them. When you’ve never been given any, you feel the lack of them your whole life.”
One of the most remarkable features of Jade City was the author’s talent -and hard work-, to use a scene not only to show you the characters, but also glimpses of history, culture and/or society hierarchy. While there was a lot of information, there wasn’t any moment where I felt overwhelmed by it because it was embedded in the scene.
Although Jade meant many action scenes, politics also played an important role. As someone who is not usually a fan, I was surprised how invested I was in them. Everything that was said felt important and there were moments where the tension was parallel to the one you sense during a fight.
Some people might have problems with the predictable path the storyline follows. You can guess part of the events that will eventually occur, the surprise comes from not knowing how the characters get there. I don’t mind seeing a cloudy big picture if I’m suffering in the small scenes. There were battles where the anxiety of not knowing if my favorite characters were going to survive was driving me crazy.
The only thing that bothered me is that there was a character who did something that felt a bit out of their personality to move the story where the author wanted. I see why they could have done that but I'm still not 100% convinced.
In summary, Jade City is made of mafia-vibes, family dynamics, politics, action, LGBTQ+ rep, Asian inspiration and an amazing cast of characters. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a fantasy like you have never read before!
Sancia is not truly human anymore. Anything non-living she touches, she hears. A useful talent when you are a thief, even if all she cares about is stSancia is not truly human anymore. Anything non-living she touches, she hears. A useful talent when you are a thief, even if all she cares about is stealing enough money to fix herself. Her new commission is the most dangerous up to date, but things do not go as planned when she discovers the item might be worth a lot more than she bargained for…
Conspiracies, impossible missions, unexpected partners in crime, talking-keys and stakes way higher than it seems at first, Foundryside managed to deliver an unique fantasy story, full with realistic characters and one of the most original magic systems I’ve ever read.
In this world, the objects are scrived in order to make them think they have to do something or are something they are not. Doors that only open at midnight, blades that think are heavier than they are, empty boxes that got hot because they think they are another box with an oven inside… The possibilities are endless and four houses are in a never-ending race to create the most useful and innovative scriving objects.
Gregor has a dream: change society, bring law to the Commons, stop pointless wars and unfair power. When things start to get messy and a young woman seems the center of all the disturbance, he’ll try to do everything to stop her. But he’s not the only one going after her…
“Don’t you see? Don’t you see that’s a bond they’ve placed upon you? Why did you work the fields as a slave, why did you sleep in miserable quarters and silently bear your suffering? () As long as you think only of survival, only of living to see the next day, you will always bear their chains.”
The hard magic system was not an easy one, but the author did a great job explaining it slowly, using dialogues to make sure the reader has all their possible questions solved and understands how it works. You won’t be confused, but the continuous check-explanations slows the pace a bit more than I would have wished. While the first 300 pages have action scenes, they drag out to explain the world building and introduce the different characters, society and relationships. However, all the slow introduction pays off in the amazing 200 last pages, full of continuous action-packed scenes and twists, where the stakes only go higher and higher, leaving you wanting more.
Main and secondary characters have more depth to them than it seems at first. Both Sancia and Gregor went through traumatic experiences that molded them, but in very different ways. Sancia only cares about her own survival, Gregor would sacrifice his life building a better society. The contrast was so interesting that, for me, the chapter that moves the story from good to great it’s a conversation between them.
People recommend this book for Sanderson’s fans. While there are different styles, they do share some features:
✨ the humor, kind of silly but it works, it’s ever present in the story -and it’s the same as Sanderson’s.
✨ an unique magic system, completely different from what you’ve read before
Overall, I highly recommend this if you are looking for a very cool magic system, enjoy heist stories full of action, humor to spice things up a bit and don’t mind slow scenes....more
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