green bone saga | The Obsessive Bookseller

Title: Jade War

Author: Fonda Lee

Series: Green Bone Saga #2

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: On the island of Kekon, the Kaul family is locked in a violent feud for control of the capital city and the supply of magical jade that endows trained Green Bone warriors with supernatural powers they alone have possessed for hundreds of years. Beyond Kekon’s borders, war is brewing. Powerful foreign governments and mercenary criminal kingpins alike turn their eyes on the island nation. Jade, Kekon’s most prized resource, could make them rich – or give them the edge they’d need to topple their rivals. Faced with threats on all sides, the Kaul family is forced to form new and dangerous alliances, confront enemies in the darkest streets and the tallest office towers, and put honor aside in order to do whatever it takes to ensure their own survival – and that of all the Green Bones of Kekon. -Goodreads

The Review:

Jade War was an enjoyable continuation to the Green Bone Saga even though it didn’t have a ton of plot-advancement.

My favorite component to the series so far is when smart characters use their experience and wits to build allies and get ahead in the political game. That happened more in the first book. In fact, most of the things I liked happened more in the first book. Jade War struck me as just maintaining status-quo. There were a couple of events, but nothing that really moved the main arc of the story forward. There’d be one page of good action, followed by thirty or so of explanations and chatter. I’ve loved other books with this format, but something about the in-between scenes here just weren’t singing to me.

Then when finally something DID happen – a gut-punching event in its own right, I found implausibilities in it left and right that had me questioning its necessity and consistency of character. It totally drew me out of the story and left me generally interested to continue but not eager.

Believe you me, I wish I was liking this series as much as the majority. It’s no fun to be the odd man out and get all of the “gasp – blasphemy!!” comments. I’m still hopeful things can turn around though. I didn’t really start hearing across-the-board praise for Green Bone until people finished the final book in the series (Jade Legacy), so I’m hoping that one will provide all of the elements I’ve been missing so far. Fingers crossed.

Recommendations: read this slightly magical low-fantasy series if you’re interested, regardless of what I think, because statistically-speaking you’ll probably love it. ;P

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by Niki Hawkes

Title: Jade City

Author: Fonda Lee

Series: Green Bone Saga #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: The Kaul family is one of two crime syndicates that control the island of Kekon. It’s the only place in the world that produces rare magical jade, which grants those with the right training and heritage superhuman abilities. The Green Bone clans of honorable jade-wearing warriors once protected the island from foreign invasion–but nowadays, in a bustling post-war metropolis full of fast cars and foreign money, Green Bone families like the Kauls are primarily involved in commerce, construction, and the everyday upkeep of the districts under their protection. When the simmering tension between the Kauls and their greatest rivals erupts into open violence in the streets, the outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones and the future of Kekon itself. -Goodreads

The Review:

Jade City was a decent start to a series.

Going into this book after hearing about it all over the Vlogosphere for a couple of years, I gotta say it was different than I expected. Between comparisons to The Godfather and the severely brutal Asian fantasy books I’ve read over the last couple of years, I actually avoided reading Jade City for a while because I wasn’t sure I was in the mood to brace for all of those gut-punches. Color me surprised to find the violence actually kind of mild.

This isn’t a bad thing – it makes the series more accessible and helps explain its wild popularity. It could be my general moods leaning towards grimdark lately that have me thinking I wish it had more grit, but that’s purely a preference thing. In that same vein, I also thought it would be more down-in-the-streets nitty-gritty, but it ended up being more of a white-collared political drama.

And I do love some good politicking in books. My favorite parts of Jade City were those slower moments where the schrewdness of the characters gained them some advantage or another. It was fun to watch them put their skills to the test. I also appreciated Fonda Lee’s professional background as a lawyer and how her knowledge of crime in general enhanced the story.

While I found all of the characters interesting profiles to read about, I can’t say as though I feel any particular connection to them yet. This may be the only reason I’m not singing praises for the series at this juncture. I’m not too bothered by it though. I’m guessing the magic of the series is in the trilogy as a whole rather than based on the merits of this first book. I look forward to seeing what the next two bring to the table.

One last thing – I wish the Jade magic had been explored more.

Recommendations: pick this book up for a highly character-driven political crime novel. It has just enough magic to add some flavor, but I wouldn’t call that aspects one of the selling points yet. I think a lot of people will (and have had) a lot of fun with this first book.

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