Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews's Reviews > Jade City

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A wonderfully gripping tale of a Godfather inspired story set in an Asian-inspired fantasy backdrop

Going into this book, I was extremely nervous that I would not enjoy my experience. I've been burned lately from books that are "the next best thing" lately, and coupled with the fact that I'm generally not a fan of urban fantasy, there was a lot that led me to believe I would be in the minority in disliking this book.

And when I began my reading journey, my worries intensified. The Godfather is both one of my favorite movies, and one of my favorite books - and the start of Jade City feels more than a little bit inspired by it. I began to think that this was just a Godfather clone with a setting change. It has a very similar family dynamic, and some of the early parts of the book have plot points that are virtually identical.

But as the book developed there was a huge detour from the book it was inspired by, and turned into an absolutely wonderfully unique story of political intrigue, betrayal, and revenge. The plot of this book, and the characters that are featured are some of the best in any modern day fantasy book, and I would recommend this book to every fan of the genre.

Story: 5/5

The story revolves around the Kaul family, one of the two large crime syndicates in the island of Kekon. The family has a hierarchy of family members and people who work for the family that is extremely reminiscent of how mafias are organized. The story is mostly about the power struggle between these two families, and the character development of the main family members as they struggle to successfully fill the shoes of the family patriarch, who had recently stepped down from power before the book began.

The story has wild turns that are unexpected, and keeps you both heavily invested in the characters, and the story. It is intense, with wonderful pacing from start to finish. Every time I thought I knew the direction this book was going to take, it would spin into a new one that was even more entertaining than I was envisioning.

World Building: 3/5

The world here feels a little flat, and while it's explained in great detail it just feels like a generic city to me. The world at large is mostly unexplored, as 95% of the book just centers around the events that happen in one location. This is fine, as it's the story it's trying to tell, but doesn't end up feeling particularly interesting from a worldbuilding perspective.

Fantasy Elements: 3/5

The fantasy elements of this book also felt a bit stale. The thing that makes this a fantasy book is that the City of Kekon is the only location in this world that produces jade - which grants the people who wear it with exceptional strength/speed.

It's a very basic magic system that feels rather uninspired. And while it does keep the plot moving in important ways, it's just not nearly on the same innovative level as most modern day fantasy novels. I'm not sure that adding in a crazy magic system would have benefitted this book, but as it stands this is definitely the weakest part of this book.

Characters: 5/5

The characters are one of the things that makes this book so special. The book mostly revolves around the POVs of three brothers (one of which is adopted) and a sister, and each of them have compelling personal stories with tremendous character growth. At no point was I disappointed when the POV switched, as I like them all equally.

These are flawed characters that are fighting against those flaws, and it's extremely entertaining to watch them progress through this story and interact with each other, and the side characters of this book. Even the side characters are well done, including the rival family which doesn't end up feeling like a "good vs. evil" storyline, which I appreciated from this author.

Writing Style: 4/5

The prose in this story is well written, but the prose is no exceptional. It's certainly done well enough to no take away anything from this amazing story, but is not on the level of the greatest poetic writers of this genre. The descriptions of the locations and characters are very well done though, and kept me with a very clear picture of the events as they unfolded.

The action sequences of this book were greatly done, and definitely achieved the tension that literally kept me on the edge of my seat for large portions of this book.

Enjoyment: 5/5

Even though I knocked several points on the specific aspects of this book on my completely arbitrary scoring system, this is a top tier 5/5 for me. The story and characters are so well done that I absolutely cannot wait to pick up the next book in this series. It's one of the best fantasy books I've read that have been written in the past decade, and has made me rethink my negative stance on urban fantasy novels. Go buy this book if you haven't already!