Five Reasons To Read: The Green Bones Saga by Fonda Lee – Love Asian-Inspired Fantasy, Gangster Family Dramas, and Martial Arts? (And Pain?) Read Jade City!

I know, I know. How could I be talking about Jade City again? Well, I am thrilled to inform you that I will never shut up about this series because it is my favourite series in existence.

Jade War, my new favourite book and the sequel to my then-favourite book of all time Jade City, is out today! Happy book birthday, Jade War! 🎂 I had the immense pleasure and privilege to read Jade War before its release (thanks to Fonda Lee for sending me an ARC!) and you read my glowing and 100% spoiler-free review of Jade War here!

But what if you have only just heard about this series or need more reasons to pick this up? What if you need motivation? Well, to celebrate the release of Jade War, here are give five awesome reasons you should pick up this heart-pounding and stellar series.

1. An immersive Asian-inspired urban fantasy

I think when I first discovered Jade City, what drew me in was that it was an Asian-inspired urban fantasy – something I hadn’t seen much of at the time – and reading it, I was drawn in. The story is filled with minute details that enhance the depth and breadth of the world, and readers will love exploring the world with the characters and Asian readers may feel some familiarity with some of the references. If you are looking for an incredible, imaginative, and inspired fantasy read with complex worldbuilding and is steeped in Asian cultural influences, then you will probably fall in love with the amazing world that Lee has created.

2. A blend of martial arts and gangster dramas – with jade

Not only is the worldbuilding fresh and exciting, The Green Bone Saga is the perfect and flawless merging between martial arts and gangster dramas. Jade City is an action-packed story where the characters are trained in martial arts (the author, Fonda Lee, is a martial artist herself!) and wear jade – a bioenergetic stone that amplifies the wearer’s power – and adhere to a moral creed. In addition, the story also has tense and high-stake conflicts and familial allegiances that you find in gangster dramas, like The Godfather. Indeed, Jade City will be unlike anything you have read before — and it is glorious.

3. A story about family, honour, and duty

I crave books that are about families and explore family bonds and conflict, and Jade City is absolutely perfect if you crave the same. At the heart of this series, The Green Bone Saga is a character-driven story that explores one family, the siblings of the No Peak Clan, and not only how they navigate the challenges of running a clan and imminent threat, but also how they wrestle with family politics, expectations, and tense relationships. Furthermore, inherent in the characters and their identity and culture as being Kekonese is the importance of honour and bringing honour to their family, as well as the sense of duty they have to their clan and their family.

4. Morally-gray characters that you will love

An indisputable highlight of The Green Bone Saga is its amazing cast of characters, specifically the members of the Kaul family. Their characterisations are incredible – interesting, complex, flawed, and morally gray, and getting to know the characters in the story is such a pleasure — but will also bring you immense pain when you become hopelessly attached to them. My personal favourite characters in Jade City are Shae and Anden, and the direction of Jade War will introduce some new favourites and will have character arcs that will surprise and delight you.

5. Gloriously and nail-bitingly intense

Even though the events and developments of both Jade City and Jade War may have you sweating and the fight scenes will have you reading on your feet because the adrenaline is too much to handle sitting down, I promise that The Green Bone Saga is so good and so fun to read because it’s just so intense. Not only is the action intense, but the conflicts, the direction of the story, and stakes are terrifying! Despite its long length and its density as a fantasy, Jade City and Jade War are books that will get your heart pounding — and you’ll thank Fonda Lee for it later.

Goodreads | Book Depository | My short review on Goodreads (Jade City, Jade War)

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Is this book for you?

Perfect for: Readers who love urban fantasy; readers who love character-driven stories; readers who love reading Asian-inspired work; readers who love gangster dramas and martial arts.

Think twice if: You’re not a fan of complex and detailed fantasies that may be dense; you don’t want to read an intense book.

Genre: adult fantasy

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Let’s discuss!

I’ve said many things about this book series, but here’s something I’ll always say if given the opportunity: I love both Jade City and Jade War so much and The Green Bones Saga is my favourite book series of all time! And whilst I acknowledge that it may not be for everyone, if the five reasons above sound appealing to you, don’t kick yourself for not reading it sooner. Read Jade City and Jade War!!

• Have you read Jade City? Do you agree with the reasons above?
• Are you looking forward to reading Jade War? What are you excited to see?
• What is your favourite series of all time?