15 highly anticipated fantasy and science fiction books coming this fall

14. Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee (11/30)

Rounding out the epic month that is November 2021 is Jade Legacy, the final volume of Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga. The story of the Kaul family that began back in Jade City is nearing its end, which means that we can expect our hearts to be shattered in a million different ways and to have no emotional reservoir left by the time we finish reading it.

The Green Bone Saga is a rather unique fantasy series that doesn’t fit neatly into any typical subgenres. The world that Lee has crafted is much more modern, harkening back to the ’60s and ’70s: think Godfather-era mobsters, but in an extremely cool Asian-influenced society set on an island that is the sole source of naturally occurring jade, which is the most valuable substance in the world because it can imbue those who possess it with a vast array of magical powers.

Jade City was set entirely on the island of Kekon. Lee’s trilogy is also unique in that the author sought to imbue each volume of the story with elements that seriously differentiate it from the others. Jade City is the story of a bloody war between two clans for control of the island, Jade War takes that conflict international by involving various other foreign nations, and the forthcoming Jade Legacy makes things intergenerational.

We’ve talked about the uniqueness of the series, and it’s worth reading for that alone…but on top of that, Lee manages to make everything from duels to raids on safehouses to forensic accounting seem cool as hell. The writing is snappy and gripping and the characters are incredibly relatable. For as ambitious and far-reaching as The Green Bone Saga is, at its core it’s a story about a generation of the Kaul family of clan No Peak as they struggle to reconcile their lives with their changing world and keep those they love from being swept up in the tides of violence. Over the course of the series the characters shift across a moral spectrum, often swinging from endearingly tender to shockingly ruthless as circumstances dictate.

The result has been an amazingly powerful journey, and from early reviews, it sounds like Lee has really nailed the ending to the trilogy.

Jade Legacy hits shelves on November 30.