I just finished reading Jade City, by Fonda Lee.
This was really, really good fantasy.
I want to be clear: I say that a lot of things are “really good” when they are in fact just fun pulpy adventure stories. That’s what I usually like, so that’s what I read, and that’s what you get to see reviews of. So I want to make absolutely certain that you understand me when I say that Jade City is actually, genuinely good, in a way that transcends how fun the story is (and it’s a hell of a lot of fun). It’s found a permanent place on my list of recommendations.
It’s a story of clan politics, a tribal war in a society trying to be modern, and a civilization rapidly modernizing but unable to lose its violent roots. It’s an unusual fantasy story in that it’s set in its world’s equivalent of our 1980s, with all the technology and geopolitics that implies. Modern cars and security cameras and machine guns play major roles in the plot, but not nearly so much as Kekonese jade, which is very different from the jade that exists in our own world (in that it gives you magic ninja powers if you’re trained to use it and drives you mad otherwise). Two superpowers are staring each other down in the decades after a massive, worldwide conflict, each trying to get their hands on Kekonese jade in order to bolster their armies in preparation for the inevitable conflict.
The story isn’t really about that larger geopolitical mess, though it does inform some of the events that happen. We’re focused here on two clans in the country where jade comes from. Most of the action is restricted to a single city, in fact, despite the broader world-reaching consequences of what’s going on there.
I really liked this book. It’s a very personal story with major geopolitical consequences, which is a great way of keeping stakes tense. It’s honestly a pretty standard fantasy setup, with clans warring in the streets with knives and swords, but the presence of modern cars and the occasional foreigner absolutely bewildered and horrified by what’s going on reminds you that this is, incongruously, happening in an otherwise modern society, with things like cars and movies and cans of soda hanging out on the outskirts of these absolutely brutal magic ninja slaughterfests. This book has magic and guns and incredible knife fights, all of which are 1) really pulpy and awesome, and 2) serve a larger purpose in the setting and the plot. This is exactly how I want to be fed my fantasy violence.
It takes a little while to really get going, mostly because it has to introduce so many characters, but once the story starts rolling I was captivated all the way through. I thoroughly recommend Jade City to anyone who likes pulp fantasy, intrigue fantasy, or good books.