Jade City by Fonda Lee (2017)
Directionless: Uninvolving
Book cover blurb
Magical jade — mined, traded, stolen, and killed for — is the lifeblood of the island of Kekon. For centuries, honorable Green Bone warriors like the Kaul family have used it to enhance their abilities and defend the island from foreign invasion.
Now the war is over and a new generation of Kauls vies for control of Kekon's bustling capital city. They care about nothing but protecting their own, cornering the jade market, and defending the districts under their protection. Ancient tradition has little place in this rapidly changing nation.
When a powerful new drug emerges that lets anyone — even foreigners — wield jade, the simmering tension between the Kauls and the rival Ayt family erupts into open violence. The outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones — from their grandest patriarch to the lowliest motorcycle runner on the streets — and of Kekon itself.
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My Review
Well, I'm afraid that's it.
"Game over, man. Game over!"
I pushed myself as far as I could but I just have to call it quits. I feel like Jade City was written solely for the musings of its author, with a complete disregard for the readers' interests or how a story usually propels itself. I genuinely can't fathom how there is so much love for such an unstructured book.
I forced myself, because I had such high hopes, to page 206, mainly because of all the positive feedback from other readers about this book. And, honestly, I just don't get where that positivity comes from. To me there is no actual trackable story here, this is just a bunch of disjointed characters wandering around solely concerned about their own importance. Stories need to be driven by characters who need or want something, but that just doesn't exist here, there is no goal in sight for anyone. And I was allowed no emotional connection with any of the characters, possibly Lan, but even that's a stretch.
I have ignored the lack of story in books in the past, simply because the prose is so beautiful or stimulating, but even that, here, is lacking. Basically, it's obvious the author wrote YA before she delved into adult fantasy, if this can indeed be considered fantasy.
I'm very much in the minority here so it's obvious I don't know what I'm talking about, I mean this book has even won awards! But it's my honest opinion, so I have to be true to that.
My copy of this novel
Orbit hardback edition.
Published in 2017
495 pages
ISBN 9780316440868