Fantasy• Sci-Fi

Review: Jade City by Fonda Lee

September 26, 2025

Synopsis

TWO CRIME FAMILIES, ONE SOURCE OF POWER: JADE.

Jade is the lifeblood of the city of Janloon – a stone that enhances a warrior’s natural strength and speed. Jade is mined, traded, stolen and killed for, controlled by the ruthless No Peak and Mountain families.
When a modern drug emerges that allows anyone – even foreigners – to wield jade, simmering tension between the two families erupts into open violence. The outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all in the families, from their grandest patriarch to even the lowliest runner on the streets.
Jade City is an epic tale of blood, family, honour, and of those who live and die by ancient laws in a changing world.

Review

I did not hear about the series until recently. On the last day of my vacation in August I found the first one in a Book Store in Dublin and couldn’t leave it standing there by itself 😊

Jade City is an urban fantasy set on the island of Kekon. Rules by two rival greenbone clans, the Kauls and the Ayts. Jade gives its wearer magical abilities and Green Bones are managing / trading jade. The setup feels more like a mafia fantasy and never feels boring (even with slower paced parts). This is not your typical Fantasy series but more of a rival gangs killing each other, battling for ownership of the districts and who will earn the most. So much is focused on the political side of it. We’re getting a lot of world building, characters with a backstory and dialogue that is interesting.

Shae was my favorite character of the Kauls. She didn’t want to get involved in the *family* business and was looking for a normal life outside of the chaos. She was dragged into it and sounded like the most sane person (as in she could do a better job than the males in her family 🙂 ) to me and I hope her story will evolve over the remaining books.

I get the hype and will continue the series.

🌙 Recension: Jade City (The Green Bone Saga #1) by Fonda Lee
📚 Genre: Fantasy
📅 Release Date: June 28, 2018
📖 Verlag: Orbit
📗 ISBN: 978-0356510484 (Kindle) / 978-0356510514 (Paperback) / ‎ 978-0316440868 (Hardcover)
📱 Read as: Physical Book
💸 Bought
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 529 pages (Kindle) / 5128 (Paperback) / 512 (Hardcover)
⭐️ 5/5