A certain level of familiarity in storytelling structure can be a good thing, and it has been achieved here. There were some parts of the story that did feel slightly predictable, but predictability doesn’t immediately mean it’s a bad thing. “Sometimes even the most loyal and devoted men make mistakes when they’re forced to make decisions under terrible circumstances.” It was a fantastic read the themes of honor, loyalty, wealth, power, greed, and family took the center stage in the narrative, and I can’t get enough of them. Once the story went past the first interlude, the storm of blood and tension compelled me to continue reading non-stop. The first 31% of the book was the calm before the storm. If you’re reading the book for the first time, and at first you feel the same as I did, be patient. On my first read, it did take me a while before I was fully engaged with the narrative. This novel reminded me a lot of my love for those movies, in an even superior way. Growing up as an Asian in a Chinese household, it’s practically impossible to not watch Asian gangster or martial arts movies with the family. Jade City is a brilliantly imagined urban high fantasy. If you want to know what the general plot of the book is about, read the synopsis on Goodreads or Amazon it’s completely spoiler-free, and I won’t be bothering you with my unnecessary paraphrasing of the plot description. 'Racehorses, though, they run because they look at the horse on their left, they look at the one on their right, and they think, No way am I second to these fuckers.” “Any old horse will run when it's whipped, but only fast enough to avoid the whipping,' Hilo said. I’m really happy that I gave this a read now, I’ve been craving a fantastic Asian-inspired fantasy lately, and Jade City delivered a spectacular Asian-inspired urban fantasy debut. However, after seeing the non-stop praises that Fonda Lee and the book constantly received, as an Asian and avid adult fantasy reader, I knew that I couldn’t delay this any longer.

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. Ever since I knew about the existence of this novel, it has always been a book I wanted to read. Jade City is the first book in The Green Bone Saga, and it is also Fonda Lee’s adult fantasy debut. Incredible, the multiple nominees and awards this book has won are all well deserved.

Jade city