Reviews with content warning for Racism - Jade War

I love this series so far. If you have ever wondered what political intrigue would look like in an alternate world that is very much like our modern world, but where a handful of powerful clans control a substance that gives them superhuman powers related to their study and practice of martial arts, well, here you are!

Some aspects of this story play with the friction between the past, and the families that run society even when that command of society circumvents laws and local rulers, but at the same time, it also intersects with outside nations trying to force their way into the trade of a powerful resource and what needs to be done to resist or adapt to that outside pressure.

No character it this story escapes making hard moral decisions. There are assassinations, duels, criminal empires, and military contacts to deal with. But even some of the worst perpetrators are so human that it's hard to dislike them. I was extremely invested in everyone, even when I was looking at what they had just done and realizing what kind of repercussions have to be down the line for them.

Even the alienation between family members is well handled. Family members have strained relationships, but so far, there are very few times when that means that they cut each other off entirely, and you want them to repair their relationships even though you don't want them to get wrapped up in some of the worst of the family business.

In between all of these, there are twists and turns, bullets, martial arts, and superpowers. Enough to keep things exciting and action-oriented, but not enough to overshadow the actual characters and the results of their decisions.

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unboxedjack's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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takarakei's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

When I first started this series I really knew nothing going in except kung-fu inspired jade magic and mafioso type families (based on a talk I saw Fonda at). About halfway through this second book in the series I realized that (at least so far) these books are really a mastery of political intrigue and strategy. Honestly, now I am marveling at how much Fonda must have researched and understood about the way power-struggles often work in relation to a global chess board. The continued character development (especially of Hilo) throughout the course of this book is fantastically done. I am SO intrigued (and a bit scared for my own well being) to see how the final third book will pan out.

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touchegiantsquid's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

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

4.0

This sequel covers a much greater period of time and a much wider geography. The payoffs to those expansions are terrific, but the book drags with so many setups in the middle. Still, very much for an economist.

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jessiereads98's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

While this one doesn’t hit quite as hard for me as Jade City did, it’s close. If I could give this like a 4.85 or 4.90 it would be more accurate. Fonda Lee continues and expands her masterful world building here by interweaving international cultures and politics with that of Kekon. The crafting of politics and international relations here is truly an impressive feat. Unfortunately with the new politics, settings, and characters we end up losing some time with Kekon and the Kauls. The time jumping around and pacing in this book just felt messier and more inconsistent to me than the first book. The pacing doesn’t seem to pick up to where it was in the first book until the last 150-200 pages when the separate threads laid out throughout the story start to come together. Overall a strong follow up to Jade City but does seem to suffer somewhat from the second book syndrome of largely setting things up for the third book.

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