Jade War (The Green Bone Saga, 2)

by Fonda Lee

Paperback, 2020

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Series

Green Bone Saga (2)

Library's rating

Collection

CDKS-read

Description

"In Jade War, the sequel to the Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy Award-nominated Jade City, the Kaul siblings battle rival clans for honor and control over an Asia-inspired fantasy metropolis. 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"--… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Guide2

Very good continuation of the trilogy. Feels like a bit less action than the first book, but the characters fully fleshed out and the situations they are placed in does make a lot of sense. Very well built world overall. Happy to hear they might turn this into a TV series.

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LibraryThing member BDartnall

Like the first book in this Green Bone Saga, the plot twists and turns still surprise. Anden and Wen (Hilo's girlfriend, now wife) get major character development in this book & emerge as essential to the rise of No Peak fortunes. Lee continues to use interlocking chapters,shifting between barukan

(Shotarian gangsters), and a powerful Uwiwa Island smuggler Zapunyo who employs them & other criminals, the "Crew" criminal gangs in Espenia, and the original street rat Bero, and his sidekick Mudt Kal, -always distasteful, profane in their dialogue, but realistic - but of course, main focus on Hilo, the Pillar, Wen, his wife, and the Maiks (her two brothers), & Shen, his sister and Weatherman, and the strvings of the Kaul No Peak clan. Political machinations with Kekon's Royal Council, the Kekon Jade Alliance, and the necessary details needed to understand the Many Nations War being fought by Shotarians, Espenia navy, Ygutan, etc.... this slows the pacing, but provides a complex and realistic backdrop to the lives of the main characters. Definitely adult fiction (gay first sexual encounter, as well as a few other sex scenes, and straightforward descriptions of violent encounters and torture) but would appeal to sophisticated young adult readers who appreciate an all-encompassing fantasy complete with Green Bone (read: honorable shogun type traditions) values, rival gangs and powerful family clans, military events, criminal activity, etc. not unlike Game of Thrones in its sprawling family sagas and rivalries, both smaller violent encounters in intense detail and broader military /espionage events, etc. Really looking forward to 3rd installment!!

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LibraryThing member ladycato

This book is SO GOOD. I read Jade City years ago and some of the details were blurry, but I was able to slip into this world and its characters again without major issues. What I love about Lee's writing here is that she captures the complexity of mob families--the utter ruthlessness while still

being loving. Ooooh boy does the Kaul family deliver reminders of that every so often. The book surprised me by taking place over a span of years, and it reads quite smoothly in how it is handled. And the ending...! Brutal and breath-taking.

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LibraryThing member questbird

The sequel to 'Jade City'. The stage is broadened beyond Kekon to the wider world. Espenia, Shotar, the Uwiwa islands (an analogue of the Phiippines) get more detail as a conflict in Shotar involves all of them.

LibraryThing member macha

in this second installment of the trilogy, the loving and deadly Kaul clan are just that much older that you can feel while turning every page that a certain innocence has been lost, and regret it on their behalf as much as they do. which lends them a kind of vulnerability that's very attractive,

even though there's a tad too much talk of international trade in the way, and the international locations that go with it somewhat blunt the pleasures of exploring the island of Kekon. on the other hand, the author navigates all this new complexity with confidence

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LibraryThing member rivkat

The trilogy continues as political (and occasional physical) battles between the two main Kekonese clans heat up, while both struggle to find a vision for Kekon’s place in the wider world. Fittingly for a middle book, this is very much about how outside constraints can affect inside politics, as

both sides recruit, and sometimes betray, allies in other lands, trying to turn a clan into a modern political entity while controlling the supply of bioenergetic jade (which gives some people magic powers, but some need devastating drugs to tolerate it while many Kekonese don’t). Very good at showing how clan politics are both personal and not.

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LibraryThing member majkia

Great series. Great second book. Hoping the third is as good!

LibraryThing member hskey

Terrific. A slightly different story than the first, it goes in so many directions but Lee ensures the reader is never lost. Super readable, it's very cinematic and I found myself glued to the pages often. I never really knew which direction the story would go in, but expanding other

countries/cultures into the gang war really opens a ton of possibilities. The characters continue to be interesting and worth investing in. Would love to see a movie/tv series one day. Onto Jade Legacy!

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LibraryThing member GaelynVenger

I liked this one quite a bit more than Jade City. The political intrigue was really interesting and there were many intense moments that kept me wanting to read on. I still don't feel as engaged with the individual characters as I would prefer, but there are enough satisfying moments and an

interesting enough story line to make this an enjoyable read.

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LibraryThing member infjsarah

I enjoyed Jade City quite a lot even though I really don't like urban fantasy much or mafia stories. And I was enjoying Jade War too until about 75% in when I suddenly felt that the book had become "and then this happened" ad infinitum. I felt that the characters had stopped driving the plot and

the plot was driving the characters and when that happens you stop caring. I have put a hold for "Jade Legacy" just to see how it is all wrapped up but am not bothered that it will be a long wait.

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