In general, however, people were uncomfortable around misfortune and reluctant to admit to their own.” 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. With foreign powers setting their sights on the Kekonese jade and the illegal trade of a dangerous drug that allows Non-Kekonese to wear jade ballooning, the peace between the clans has become like a damaged cargo rope, unraveling with the speed of a new-lit fire down to a single thread. And soon, it will snap. Iyilo, Zapunyo's former bodyguard who took over his operation, claims that Anden can't offer him anything because he's about to be executed. Anden offers a guarantee for a better life for his family, convincing Iyilo to give a televized interview about his relationship with Ayt Mada. Cold Sniper: Jade Legacy includes a Green Bone sniper who uses his extremely good Perception power to shoot people without sights and through walls.

That’s not to say the book has no action at all. On the contrary, there are quite a few intense fight scenes. These are thrilling, not only because we get a deeper insight into how jade can be used, but also because moon blades are used, guns are used, and… drum roll please… some badass KUNG FU fighting! Growing up I watched a lot of Bruce Lee movies, so I’ve always had a soft spot for martial arts, and loved that it was incorporated here. Lee’s first-hand experience of martial arts really comes across in these scenes, and I hope we get more of it! While all this is going on, the outside world is thrown into disarray by the growing influence of jade trading, while a war between neighbouring countries Shotar and Ygutan over the disputed oortoko region threatens to cause further chaos. Only, the latter is mostly told to us through different characters and news reports on TVs. Given there’s a separate thread involving Beko and Mudt, the two crooks we finished the first book on, it would have been nice to see how this war actually played out from someone on the battlefield.

All that mortals could do was accept the lot they were given, and yet still fight to better their own fate and that of their loved ones.”

For the uninitiated, here are the basics: The three books in the series ( Jade City, Jade War and Jade Legacy, the newest) exist, essentially, to tell the tale of the Kaul family of No Peak Clan and, specifically, of Kaul Hilo, his sister Shae, and their extended families. It begins when Hilo is young — just an arrogant, powerful, Green Bone street soldier in his family's criminal empire on the imaginary island nation of Kekon — and follows him through triumph and tragedy (mostly tragedy), across a 20-year war with the family's rivals, the Mountain Clan. Anden, still refusing to wear jade after killing Gont Asch in Jade City, is sent to the Espenian city of Port Massy to study. He initially struggles to fit in within Espenia. He learns that many Kekonese-Espenians have created their own clan under the leadership of Pillar Dauk Losen. He befriends and develops a romance with Dauk Cory, the Pillar's son. i will start off with the positives and mention how extremely well-written this is as far as prose and narrative structure goes. its very detailed and descriptive in a way that makes you feel utterly immersed into the city of janloon. the magic system is also cool. even though i cant fully explain how it works, i think the idea of using jade for power is interesting. and i thought the characters were compelling and complex enough. but thats where my enjoyment ends.Alongside the richness of Lee’s world, there’s the tremendous depth of character. The author's ambitious tapestry includes corruption, treason, vengeance, honor, regret, forbidding love, and sexuality. It’s a killer story about a family steeped in tragedy and power, affronting painful choices while occupying a city that seems intent on swallowing them whole. Grave Robbing: Bero and Mudt decide to steal Lan's jade from his coffin at the end of Jade City, and actually do so at the beginning of Jade War, using the open grave meant for Lan's grandfather to make it easier. Another thing that fascinates me is that the way the books read, you literally forget that the family are actually all bad guys. We are being sympathetic towards hardcore criminals. THAT is interesting.