There’s also a great balance between drama and action too, and it’s helped along by Fonda Lee’s background in martial arts. To give much more away about the story would be a disservice to the narrative but suffice to say, this one has some pretty shocking revelations. When one of the clan members makes a grave error and wanders into enemy territory, alongside a former Kaul member stumbling upon shocking secrets regarding their rival Mountain claim, this sets off a chain of events that escalates into open violence and all out war, the result of which will leave Janloon changed forever. Given the technological prowess of Janloon, the ancient ways of honorable jade-wearing warriors doing battle are kept to the shadows while the clans operate in commerce, construction and finance. The Kaul family is one of these crime syndicates, and helps oversee the production of a rare magical jade that grants those with the correct training and heritage, superhuman abilities. This world, fronted by the bustling metropolis of Janloon, is separated into two powerful crime syndicates – the No Peak Clan and the Mountain Clan – that have divided the island of Kekon up and currently occupy a very loose and tenuous peace treaty. The ensuing result is a breathless 500+ page book with plenty of twists, turns and wonderful worldbuilding.įantasy and sci-fi are notoriously difficult to write, given the amount of worldbuilding and exposition needed to build up the larger world around the characters, but Fonda Lee’s world is not only simple to understand, it’s also cleverly crafted to take advantage of modernity, seamlessly weaving that in with magic in a way that feels organic and natural to the world itself.

Jade City most definitely falls into the latter category.įonda Lee’s sweeping fantasy epic can best be summarized as a heady blend of wuxia, The Godfather and Peaky Blinders.

Some take a while to get going before eventually showing their hand, while others grip from the opening page and refuse to let up until the final words of the epilogue. Some books fail to live up to their hype. “The Clan Is My Blood, And The Pillar Is Its Master!”

The green bone saga series