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Jade City
(The Green Bone Saga #1)
by
In this epic saga of magic and kungfu, four siblings battle rival clans for honor and power in an Asia-inspired fantasy metropolis.
* World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, winner
* Aurora Award for Best Novel, winner
* Nebula Award for Best Novel, nominee
* Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, finalist
Jade is the lifeblood of the island of Kekon. It has been mined, traded, stole ...more
* World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, winner
* Aurora Award for Best Novel, winner
* Nebula Award for Best Novel, nominee
* Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, finalist
Jade is the lifeblood of the island of Kekon. It has been mined, traded, stole ...more
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Several. It focuses on the Kaul family - mainly three characters - but you also find other points of view besides theirs.
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Community Reviews
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Start your review of Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1)
Definitely worth the hype WOW
Jan 02, 2019
chai ♡
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to chai ♡ by:
CW (The Quiet Pond) ✨
Jade City is set in a world where jade confers great strength and power to those who can wield it—without risking madness or a lethal propensity to the Itches.
More than a quarter of a century before, the island nation of Kekon was freed from the imperial thrall of the Shotarians. Ever since, the jade-wielding warriors of No Peak and Mountain—the two largest clans in Kekon’s capital city—have worked together in their complex webs of favor and obligation, indulging the unending performance of glad ...more
More than a quarter of a century before, the island nation of Kekon was freed from the imperial thrall of the Shotarians. Ever since, the jade-wielding warriors of No Peak and Mountain—the two largest clans in Kekon’s capital city—have worked together in their complex webs of favor and obligation, indulging the unending performance of glad ...more
Nov 10, 2018
Petrik
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Asian-inspired fantasy and urban fantasy fans
Shelves:
favorites
I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRjh...
4.5/5 stars
Incredible, the multiple nominees and awards this book has won are all well deserved.
Jade City, the first book in The Green Bone Saga series is also Fonda Lee’s adult fantasy debut. Ever since I knew about the existence of this novel, it has always been a book I wanted to read. As usual, the unbeatable TBR pile delayed me and I was so sure that I won’t be getting into this one until next year. Howev ...more
4.5/5 stars
Incredible, the multiple nominees and awards this book has won are all well deserved.
Jade City, the first book in The Green Bone Saga series is also Fonda Lee’s adult fantasy debut. Ever since I knew about the existence of this novel, it has always been a book I wanted to read. As usual, the unbeatable TBR pile delayed me and I was so sure that I won’t be getting into this one until next year. Howev ...more
May 24, 2017
Fonda Lee
added it
· (Review from the author)
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
i-wrote-this
Jade City is my adult debut and it also marks my foray into epic fantasy. It came about from watching kung fu movies and thinking, "You know, I'm a long-time student of martial arts, so why can't I punch through concrete or fly thirty feet into the air yet?" I started envisioning a society where magical jade granted special abilities to warriors with the proper training and bloodline, and the idea merged with my longstanding enthusiasm for mafia stories to become this modern gangster family saga
...more
Jun 24, 2017
karen
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
from-publisher-or-author
NOW AVAILABLE!!
it took me an embarrassingly long time to get through this book. between life-sorrow and the early bitchslap of summer weather, i’ve been very bad at reading. however, once this clicked for me, i was completely hooked, and when i finished, i felt that very specific emotional mashup of yearning and frustration that comes when you read the first book in a series six months before it is even published, making the wait for the next book that much longer.
this is the author’s first nov ...more
it took me an embarrassingly long time to get through this book. between life-sorrow and the early bitchslap of summer weather, i’ve been very bad at reading. however, once this clicked for me, i was completely hooked, and when i finished, i felt that very specific emotional mashup of yearning and frustration that comes when you read the first book in a series six months before it is even published, making the wait for the next book that much longer.
this is the author’s first nov ...more
I received a review copy of Jade City in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank Fonda Lee and Orbit Books.
Although presently at a time of an uneasy peace, the city of Janloon is controlled by two rivals groups which are the No Peak Clan and the Mountain Clan. The families that run the clans are powerful and world famous as they mine and control the Jade. Jade is a precious stone that enhances a warriors capabilities in six disciplines. Strength, s ...more
Although presently at a time of an uneasy peace, the city of Janloon is controlled by two rivals groups which are the No Peak Clan and the Mountain Clan. The families that run the clans are powerful and world famous as they mine and control the Jade. Jade is a precious stone that enhances a warriors capabilities in six disciplines. Strength, s ...more
“Expectations are a funny thing,” Wen said. “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.”
Emotionally, I feel like I was just hit by an entire truck.
In the city of Janloon, jade rules: those with have power, and those without lose it. Those with jade, though, must fight to keep it, and nowhere is this more true than between the No Peak and the Mountain clans. Jade City follows the Kauls, ...more
Dec 23, 2017
Philip
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
top-5-2017,
2017-releases,
high-fantasy,
author-of-color,
urban-fantasy,
author-woman
4.75ish stars.
Blown away. The holy trinity of great characterization, unique world-building, and well-written prose. In that sense I'm reminded of the Broken Earth series (starting with The Fifth Season), which is the only recent series I can think of that has reached the same distinction. I'm one of those nerds that has to read each of the novels nominated for the Nebula award even if I probably never would have otherwise. Glad I did in this case, even though the cover is lame, because I would ...more
Blown away. The holy trinity of great characterization, unique world-building, and well-written prose. In that sense I'm reminded of the Broken Earth series (starting with The Fifth Season), which is the only recent series I can think of that has reached the same distinction. I'm one of those nerds that has to read each of the novels nominated for the Nebula award even if I probably never would have otherwise. Glad I did in this case, even though the cover is lame, because I would ...more
Thank you. THANK YOU, FONDA LEE!
You wrote the book I was desperately searching for but didn’t know I was searching until I found it.
- A brilliantly constructed, brutal mob-like family saga.
- Epic territorial clan showdown between two jade-wielding clans known as Green Bones - the No Peak clan and the Mountain clan.
- Fight sequences so descriptive and vivid it’s like you’re watching a mothefucking badass martial arts movie.
- And the characters? I haven’t felt this level of connection with char ...more
You wrote the book I was desperately searching for but didn’t know I was searching until I found it.
- A brilliantly constructed, brutal mob-like family saga.
- Epic territorial clan showdown between two jade-wielding clans known as Green Bones - the No Peak clan and the Mountain clan.
- Fight sequences so descriptive and vivid it’s like you’re watching a mothefucking badass martial arts movie.
- And the characters? I haven’t felt this level of connection with char ...more
This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found @The Book Prescription
“Expectations are a funny thing,” Wen said. “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.”
🌟 I BR this with my friend Fares, he wrote a great review too so I need to go all out now! I am not a big fan of mafia and Yakuza and all these real life gangster thing! I don’t watch movies including them as I feel they are all th ...more
“Expectations are a funny thing,” Wen said. “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.”
🌟 I BR this with my friend Fares, he wrote a great review too so I need to go all out now! I am not a big fan of mafia and Yakuza and all these real life gangster thing! I don’t watch movies including them as I feel they are all th ...more
Guess who just found a new favorite? Man, I can’t gush enough about this book. This gangster fantasy saga was captivating from the get-go. It feels like a rare find being an Asian inspired story that has so many things going on - there’s magic, martial arts, family drama, gang rivalry, politics and of course.. a lot of Jade.
Every part of this book added meaning to the story beautifully. I was afraid it would drag in some parts because of it’s length, but this was fast paced and action packed. A ...more
Every part of this book added meaning to the story beautifully. I was afraid it would drag in some parts because of it’s length, but this was fast paced and action packed. A ...more
Update 01/09 : rereading it with شيماء ✨ because her texts made it impossible for me to stay away from Hilo and also I MISS HIM-
First I'd like to clear the air and say that although I probably ought to be a better person by now, let it be known that I'll shamelessly judge you if you don't read Jade City. I wouldn't go as far as saying that we can't be friends if you don't, but, hey, we never know.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Jade City is the kind of books that make me second guess all my recent 5 stars reads - eve ...more
First I'd like to clear the air and say that although I probably ought to be a better person by now, let it be known that I'll shamelessly judge you if you don't read Jade City. I wouldn't go as far as saying that we can't be friends if you don't, but, hey, we never know.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Jade City is the kind of books that make me second guess all my recent 5 stars reads - eve ...more
I stumbled upon this book on pure chance, had not even known the existence of this title. I was going through list of last year’s releases and found this. Blurb sound interesting and someone has described this as “Godfather meets Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon". I usually don’t pay attention to these lines but damn I love those two movies. Hence I ended up reading sooner than expected, and this book did not disappoint me.
So this book tells us the story of Clan War between No Peak and the Mountai ...more
So this book tells us the story of Clan War between No Peak and the Mountai ...more
Reading this for a second time in preparation for the sequel & tbh because I’ve just been dying to return to this story 😭👏🏼
I need to lie the fuck down...how could fonda lee hurt me this much on a REREAD of all things
“The clan is my blood and the pillar it’s master. On my honor, on my life, on my jade” is etched indelibly in my brain
Five stars, easily, I’d give it 100 stars if I could.
Jade City is an absolutely brilliant urban fantasy set on the island of Kekon. A small place ruled my rival greenbone clans, the Kauls and the Ayts. In this world Kekon is the home of a special, magical jade that imbued users with enha ...more
“The clan is my blood and the pillar it’s master. On my honor, on my life, on my jade” is etched indelibly in my brain
Five stars, easily, I’d give it 100 stars if I could.
Jade City is an absolutely brilliant urban fantasy set on the island of Kekon. A small place ruled my rival greenbone clans, the Kauls and the Ayts. In this world Kekon is the home of a special, magical jade that imbued users with enha ...more
3.5 stars
I’m gonna take this first line right here to recommend this book right away, I mean I really do see why people would love this, so give it a try you never know.
If you told me before I started this that it’s a fantasy with a yakuza like clans in the early 1900s with cars, guns, planes and they use magic in jade stones. I would’ve said that I don’t know how I feel about this.
And I still don’t.
Characters
If I must give one reason and one reason only to my lack of enjoyment for this book it’ ...more
I’m gonna take this first line right here to recommend this book right away, I mean I really do see why people would love this, so give it a try you never know.
If you told me before I started this that it’s a fantasy with a yakuza like clans in the early 1900s with cars, guns, planes and they use magic in jade stones. I would’ve said that I don’t know how I feel about this.
And I still don’t.
Characters
If I must give one reason and one reason only to my lack of enjoyment for this book it’ ...more
This was so INTENSE and utterly incredible...I'm just sitting here all fuelled on the power of wretched feels ahhhh. Just excuse me while [screams in jade] yes yes I love this book. Also I picked it up because of book twitter's fierce love for it and I was not disappointed. It took me a while to read though because it's more dense than what I usually pick. But I just wanted to absorb it all?? It's the kind of book where I was just impressed with the author's world building, the amount of detail,
...more
Jul 03, 2018
Melanie
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Melanie by:
CW (The Quiet Pond) ✨
Shelves:
adult,
favorites,
audible,
own-voices,
fantasy,
read-in-2018,
buddy-reads,
lgbtqiap,
erotic-scenes,
dark
Jun 08, 2018
Meagan ✊🏼 Blacklivesmatter ✊🏼Blacktranslivesmatter
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
"On my honor, my life, and my jade."
Overall thoughts:
First I have to say that I have not written many reviews this year and the ones I have written were just a mish mash of all my my thoughts. This has been the first time in a long time I have really wanted to sit down, organize my thoughts and write the review that this book deserves. Thank you Fonda Lee for this fucking masterpiece. Excuse my long review, but I LOVED this!
I am in absolute awe of Fonda Lee and the masterpiece s ...more
If you want to have an idea about what kind of energy this book exudes, just know that my favorite character is already dead 💀
It took so long, but I finally love another adult fantasy series again. Asian-inspired fantasies, man. They're just the absolute best. And this one is unlike anything I've ever read. It takes place in an alternate world, on an island that reminds a lot of Japan for culture, lore and shape on the map, in a time period that is reminiscent of the 70s. The world building is o ...more
It took so long, but I finally love another adult fantasy series again. Asian-inspired fantasies, man. They're just the absolute best. And this one is unlike anything I've ever read. It takes place in an alternate world, on an island that reminds a lot of Japan for culture, lore and shape on the map, in a time period that is reminiscent of the 70s. The world building is o ...more
Jul 27, 2019
may ➹
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-2019,
pov-male,
4-star,
my-heart,
adult,
rep-bipoc-author,
rep-lgbtqiap,
pov-multiple,
urban-fantasy,
rep-bipoc-asian
Jan 06, 2019
Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ by:
Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘
Shelves:
magic-and-sparkles-and-shit,
poc-interracial
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I'm a commitment-phobe when it comes to books. Long books scare me. I like the idea of long books, and the satisfaction that comes from reading one to completion, but it's a long and grueling road to that satisfaction. JADE CITY is a long book. Goodreads says it's not even 500 pages but I'm pretty sure that's a lie. It took me several days to finish JADE CITY, when I can normally read several shorter books in a day. But commitment-phobe ...more
Jan 09, 2019
Scarlett Readz and Runz....Through Novel Time & Distance
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
4.25 stars
Cloaked in myth, Jade City is a fantastical journey of two clans fueled by the magical powers of jade, its mining trade, protection and the fight for the ultimate power.
The island nation of Kekon, mirroring mid-20th-century Hong Kong, is controlled by two major clans. The No Peak Clan and the Mountain Clan. There are hierarchies set in place and the clans have a Pillar > Weather Man and Horn > Luckbringers and Fists > Fingers and > students. For decades, the Green Bone warriors of the ...more
Cloaked in myth, Jade City is a fantastical journey of two clans fueled by the magical powers of jade, its mining trade, protection and the fight for the ultimate power.
The island nation of Kekon, mirroring mid-20th-century Hong Kong, is controlled by two major clans. The No Peak Clan and the Mountain Clan. There are hierarchies set in place and the clans have a Pillar > Weather Man and Horn > Luckbringers and Fists > Fingers and > students. For decades, the Green Bone warriors of the ...more
4.5 stars - and after some thought I moved this book to my favourites-2017 shelf. It's really sticking with me.
I thought this was just such an excellent book. It takes a lot of the things I liked about New Moon by Ian McDonald - rich worldbuilding, compelling characters, a complex story based on conflict between dynastic families - and situates them in a unique Asian inspired urban fantasy setting that feels a bit like something out of an old school martial arts movie. The result here actually w ...more
I thought this was just such an excellent book. It takes a lot of the things I liked about New Moon by Ian McDonald - rich worldbuilding, compelling characters, a complex story based on conflict between dynastic families - and situates them in a unique Asian inspired urban fantasy setting that feels a bit like something out of an old school martial arts movie. The result here actually w ...more
18/25 (72%), 3.5 stars.
A predictable Urban Fantasy in a Hong Kongish setting that reveals what's gonna come right at the start by its choice of narrators. Technically well-written but without a soul.
People: HOW DARE YOU SAY THIS HAS NO SOUL GAAAAAH!
Me: I feel you, people, but please respect this unpopular opinion. I'm gonna give you my reasons, please wait till I'm done, you can scream at me later, okay?
So. A disclaimer to start this thing off: This is obviously only my own opinion. There's tho ...more
A predictable Urban Fantasy in a Hong Kongish setting that reveals what's gonna come right at the start by its choice of narrators. Technically well-written but without a soul.
People: HOW DARE YOU SAY THIS HAS NO SOUL GAAAAAH!
Me: I feel you, people, but please respect this unpopular opinion. I'm gonna give you my reasons, please wait till I'm done, you can scream at me later, okay?
So. A disclaimer to start this thing off: This is obviously only my own opinion. There's tho ...more
4.5 stars
^Me realizing Jade City came out in 2017 and I could've been stanning this series three years ago
Jade City is like the lovechild of Six of Crows and The Poppy War. It's got gangsters and magic, distinctive character POV chapters and pulse-pounding action scenes, unbreakable familial bonds and cutthroat plot twists—all set against a 20th century China-inspired high f ...more
“Two strong-minded women in a man’s world, if they do not quickly become allies, are destined to be incurable rivals.”
^Me realizing Jade City came out in 2017 and I could've been stanning this series three years ago
Jade City is like the lovechild of Six of Crows and The Poppy War. It's got gangsters and magic, distinctive character POV chapters and pulse-pounding action scenes, unbreakable familial bonds and cutthroat plot twists—all set against a 20th century China-inspired high f ...more
omgee i need the 2nd book NOW
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Fantasy readers have been calling out for more diversity and Jade City is a resoundingly good response.
The urban fantasy setting that heavily evoked Chinese gangster/crime syndicate movies, which I've grown up on, is a paradoxical breath of fresh air that carried the scent of nostalgia. All that was needed to make it even cooler and awesome was magic and martial arts.
I will not rehash the plot since the blurb said it all without spoilers. I found the world-building both refreshing and familia ...more
The urban fantasy setting that heavily evoked Chinese gangster/crime syndicate movies, which I've grown up on, is a paradoxical breath of fresh air that carried the scent of nostalgia. All that was needed to make it even cooler and awesome was magic and martial arts.
I will not rehash the plot since the blurb said it all without spoilers. I found the world-building both refreshing and familia ...more
Aug 25, 2020
Zoe Stewart (Zoe's All Booked)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
default
A WHOLE ASS FIVE STARS HOLY FUCK BALLS
And that's with taking nearly a month to read the damn thing. I think I would've loved it even more if I had read it quickly. The audiobook was EXCELLENT.
Someone tell me why every time I started to like Hilo he would do some STUPID SHIT and make me not like him again 🤷🏽♀️ ...more
And that's with taking nearly a month to read the damn thing. I think I would've loved it even more if I had read it quickly. The audiobook was EXCELLENT.
Someone tell me why every time I started to like Hilo he would do some STUPID SHIT and make me not like him again 🤷🏽♀️ ...more
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Readers also enjoyed
Fonda Lee is the World Fantasy Award-winning author of the epic Green Bone Saga, beginning with Jade City and continuing in Jade War and Jade Legacy. She is also the author of the acclaimed science fiction novels Zeroboxer, Exo and Cross Fire.
Fonda is as a three-time winner of the Aurora Award (Canada’s national science fiction and fantasy award), and a multiple finalist for the Nebula Award, the ...more
Fonda is as a three-time winner of the Aurora Award (Canada’s national science fiction and fantasy award), and a multiple finalist for the Nebula Award, the ...more
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The Green Bone Saga
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“Screw you, Hilo,” she snapped. “I can kill my ex-boyfriends myself.”
—
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“Expectations are a funny thing,” Wen said. “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.”
—
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