I've had my eye on Jade City for some time now and picked it up one day while browsing Twitter. There, I saw that Shealea from That Bookshelf Bitch has added it to a thread of books less than $2.99 on Kindle. With a deal like that, how can I resist? Well, as it turns out, it's a good thing I didn't because Jade City is one of the best books I've read all year.

Jade City is one of the best books I’ve read this year. That’s not an exaggeration. I’ve never watched The Godfather or any mafia film really, but the book still managed to convey that feeling. I haven’t watched any Hong Kong action films either but this must be how it’s like with some magic added. How would I describe Jade City? Think of a mafia-style family drama and set in a fantasy version of Hong Kong. Now add magic Jade. You get Jade City.

Jade City is set in the island of Kekon, specifically in its capital city of Janloon. Here, two clans fight for power and dominance after working together in a war to overthrow colonial rule. In this new, free Kekon, the Kekonese- the race of persons granted with the ability to use Jade- are organized into clans and are soon roped in into all-out clan war.

As always, I’d like to start with the world and world-building. Jade City is set in a secondary world, in a world where colonial rule has left its mark on the island of Kekon, leaving the island and its people to distrust foreigners. Here, Jade rules the island. The island’s economy is basically controlled by the two clans, the Mountain clan and the No Peak clan, two clans whose relations have been tense for some time. In a sense, Jade rules the island. Jade enhances a person’s physical capabilities- strength, speed, even perception. Only the Kekonese could use it to that end, until the invention of a drug called Shine.

The way the world presented was so vivid it felt like I was watching a movie in my mind. I could imagine every detail of the world and the events happening and I absolutely loved how Fonda Lee described everything. The world felt so lush and I was totally immersed while reading.

I really enjoyed the magic system presented here. There’s something almost scientific about it- there's only one race who could utilize jade naturally, the jade doesn’t exactly make one superhuman, and instead, it mostly enhances one’s existing capabilites. Furthermore, there can actually be a point wherein additional jade stops having any effect. It’s an interesting take on the old magic items giving special powers thing.
Jade City is a very fast-paced book. There are no slow moments, no fluff, no padding. Each scene felt vital to the plot and there aren’t any scenes which felt out of place. I’ve seen the pacing described as “YA-style pacing” and it’s very accurate. It doesn’t take very long to read and once you get really into it, it can be hard to put down. I myself finished it at about two or three in the morning.

At its heart however, Jade City is a family drama. It’s a story about the different generations of Kauls and how they impact their clan and the island they call home. It’s the story of Lan, Hilo, Shae, and Anden, siblings who are at the center of everything happening on the island. All of them had their parts to play in the story and it became clear that they would play their parts, whether they want to or not. I loved all of their arcs but Lan and Hilo’s arcs are major spoilers so I won’t talk about them here. However, theirs are the more mature and dark ones here.

If I’m to be biased though, I’d say Shae had the best arc out of the siblings, with Anden a close second. At first, Shae is just the sister who comes back from another country and refuses to wear jade. She basically fights against the patriarchal structures in their society (somewhat like the antagonist even) and decided that she wants to be independent. Essentially, it’s like she fights against the ‘destiny’ they try to push onto her and prove that she can make it on her own. What I like best about her arc is how it’s basically “the one who left and returned”. She really did have a lot to prove because of her youth and gender, but she did. She pulled through and basically made it clear that she does know what she’s doing. I loved her character as a strong, independent woman with strong familial ties.

Anden also had an incredibly strong arc. Anden is the adoptive cousin/brother of the Kauls and he also happened to come from a family with strong jade sensitivities. This made a lot of people- especially Hilo- place a lot of expectations on him. While reading from his point of view, I could really see how all of these expectations were starting to affect him, along with his sordid family history. Towards the end, I really understood why he did what he did and why he felt like it was necessary.

Truly one of the best parts of Jade City is the family relationships. I don’t think one could really call it Asian-inspired without the complex family relationships. The filial piety you see here and the way the characters interact somehow reminds me of my own (without all the power plays and other messed up stuff, of course). The way their family unit always has to stick together despite their differences speaks to me. I think that in a way, Jade City fulfilled a need I didn’t know I had for more complex family relationships. I guess I’m just tired of absentee parents/siblings or protagonists with a shallow relationship with their family.

I’m eagerly anticipating the release of the next book. When I finished Jade City, I regretted it immediately because I felt this need for the next one on my hands. Once a release date has been announced, you better believe I’ll be eagerly counting down the days to the next one. And who knows, maybe I’ll stay up until the wee hours of the morning again- not that I’ll be complaining.

This review is also on The Bookworm Daydreamer