Reviews

Jade War by Fonda Lee

Only show reviews with written explanations

baileys_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

halleycos's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

wellduhiread's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Had me at the edge of my seat. It’s really hard to write a good 2nd book in a trilogy but this is a great example of one. Also Anden is probably my favorite character. But also Hilo, and Shae

mel_towns's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

lucybmn's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was trying to decide between 4.75 and 5, but realized that the only reason I might downgrade it is because some parts of it were slow and über-political. But that's not a complaint or a bad thing. That's just the nature of this series. And by god, the slowness was tempered by outrageous moments of high emotion; not to mention the intrigue throughout that made even the slow parts exhilarating.

So, all that to say... 5 stars it is.

I can't get over just how perfectly-constructed everything about this series is. The world is absolutely airtight. Everything down to the local sports, the naming conventions and cultural slang. The religion and the place of the gods in society. And so on and so forth. It is all SO well-done.

And then the characters... I ask for morally gray characters, and LORDT, did she deliver! So much so that it frequently caused me great distress. 😅 But they are all fully-realized people, and no matter what vile shit they are doing, you truly understand WHY. If there's one person I wish I understood a little more, it's Ayt Mada. Wouldn't mind taking a trip inside her head. Maybe we will in book 3. But anyway. Even she is very well-constructed from the eyes of her enemies.

This is really my first serious foray into the adult epic fantasy era that I know I'm entering. And I couldn't have asked for a better series for that. Absolute perfection.