Join FanFiAddict’s Adrian M. Gibson and author Fonda Lee for a chat about The Godfather, Dune and Hong Kong action films, her early career, what she’s learned from publishing books, martial arts, building a fictional world from scratch, writing compelling and complex characters, the release of Jade Legacy, saying goodbye to The Green Bone Saga series and much more.
Fonda Lee
Review: Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
renching, thoughtful and satisfying close. Each of the books in this series stands on their own in such a unique way: Jade City is a story about a city and its warring clans; Jade War broadens the scope, establishing a country on the geopolitical world stage; and Jade Legacy goes even further, as multiple generations of a family come to grips with their legacy and the future of their nation. As time progresses, as power waxes and wanes, who will finally take control of Kekon?
Review: Jade City (The Green Bone Saga #1) by Fonda Lee
Jade City by Fonda Lee shot up my TBR pile with the effusive praise poured upon Jade Legacy, the conclusion of the series. I was blessed to be sent a review copy of Jade City by Orbit, so I decided to start the trilogy.
This series is an urban fantasy tale with heavy influences from gangster and mafia stories mixed with kung-fu. I’m not a huge fan of those kind of stories, but I love well written characters and an interesting take on fantasy, so I gave it a shot.
Review: Jade War (The Green Bone Saga #2) by Fonda Lee
I simply can’t say more without revealing elements of the story which I strongly suggest you explore on your own as this second book, Jade War, is as good, if not better, because of its broadened exploration beyond the first book. And like I said and remain steady in my description of this series, if you’re a fan of Urban fantasy deeply set into a world of crime, gangsters and Jade-powered martial arts, Jade War and the remaining book (or all of them if you’ve yet to read the series) will fall right into your TBR. Take Mario Puzzo, a dab of Jet Li and sprinkle it with magic and you’ll get exactly what this book is about. I am excited to complete the Jade journey through the last book of the trilogy.
Review: Jade City (The Green Bone Saga #1) by Fonda Lee
“I’ll make an offer you can’t refuse”; those are the words echoed and mocked in so many movies. But they originated in a little book called “The Godfather” by Mario Puzzo in the late 60s and became a movie phenomenon. When I read “Jade City”, those words came to mind as this book is very much an organized crime novel. And if you add the touch of magic included in the story, from the Jade driven powers the characters have, it feels very much like gangster Urban fantasy.
Review: Jade City and Jade War (The Green Bone Saga #1-2) by Fonda Lee
All the pieces of this jade puzzle worked so well for me. Jade City wowed me with its empathetic characters, engaging worldbuilding and tense action. Jade War amplified that in all the best ways with the addition of an international scope, political intrigue and a more integrated sense of where Kekon and its clans fit within the broader world. And, amidst all of this, the intimacy of the Kaul family bleeds through every page. Fonda Lee has crafted a masterful fantasy world with these two books, gifting me with some of my favorite fictional characters of all time.