Book Review: Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee is a masterpiece

It’s often a bittersweet thing to read the ending of a series. Leaving behind a world that has made a home in your imagination can be difficult; saying goodbye to characters who’ve come to feel like old friends, even more so. This is especially true for a series as good as The Green Bone Saga. Fonda Lee’s tale of magic, family, and clan loyalty is the very definition of enthralling, from its first page to its last. It’s been quite a journey, and while I’m sad to see it end, Jade Legacy feels like the perfect capstone to the trilogy.

This review will be spoiler-free aside from some basic premise stuff, like the fact that this novel is spread out over the course of decades. That said, anything from the first two books, Jade City and Jade War, is on the table for discussion, so if you haven’t read those books you may want to get on that. Because if you’re here reading a review of the final Green Bone Saga book we’re going to assume that you’re at least somewhat familiar with Fonda Lee’s incredible fantasy world; its fusion of crime stories, family sagas and magic; its deeply realized politics; its heart-wrenching twists and brutally shocking deaths. It’s one of the most unique and powerful fantasy series written in the past decade, maybe of all time. I know that’s a bold statement…but it’s a hill I think I’d be happy to die on.

In short, Jade Legacy is a masterpiece. Let’s talk about why.

What happens in Jade Legacy?

Jade Legacy picks up a few months after Jade War, with the No Peak clan still immersed in its long-running battle of attrition against the rival Mountain clan. Where Jade City was focused on the immediate fight for Kekon and its sequel Jade War on that blossoming international conflict, Jade Legacy takes things to the next generation of Kauls while still expanding on everything the previous books had going on. By the end of the novel, several characters have grown old, others have died (it’s not a spoiler — this is The Green Bone Saga, after all), and yet others have started down paths we could never have foreseen.

But don’t worry: despite the increased focus on the children of No Peak coming into adulthood, we still get plenty of time with clan Pillar Hilo, his Weather Man Shae, and their cousin Anden. As Fonda Lee told us during an exclusive interview last week, “There’s one main character in this trilogy: the Kaul family.” We get plenty of time with every living member over the course of Jade Legacy‘s 700+ pages, and it never feels as though they’re fighting for the spotlight. This is an ensemble piece, and a very effective one.

Lee has an incredible knack for character development. That’s been consistent throughout the series, though never has it been so thoroughly polished as in Jade Legacy. Some of the most powerful scenes in the novel weren’t even gut punch moments, twists, or deaths; they were just quiet, introspective scenes between family members. I won’t lie to you, reader; several of them brought me to tears.

Part of what makes the character development — as well as the development of the world and its conflicts — so impressive is the time scale. The story of Jade Legacy spans decades, giving it the sort of epic feel that many books aspire to but few achieve. Many of the chapters feature helpful year/month headers that count up from the beginning of the conflict between No Peak and the Mountain which began back in Jade City. There were times I’d turn the page and then gasp at the massive time jumps, but despite the story regularly skipping over months or years, it never feels like anything is missing. Lee is a master at zooming in on the details when they’re important to the story, and zooming out to the broad picture when that serves things better. Without that crucial element, Jade Legacy wouldn’t work. Time jumps are one of those things that can either totally make or break a story. I’m happy to report that in Jade Legacy it is most certainly the former.

The magic system continues to expand in this book as well, showing new uses for jade as more factions get their hands on it. But even more fascinating than the evolution of the mechanics of the jade arts themselves is the way that jade is handled on a global scale. Throughout the series, the use of jade in countries outside of Kekon has been a long-running plot point; some want it for their own use, others want to ban it, etc. Since Jade Legacy spans so many years, it allows Lee to examine this cultural-political issue with far greater depth and scope than in Jade War. The result is extremely satisfying.

Jade Legacy has tons of action

Of course, we can’t talk about a Green Bone Saga book without mentioning the action set pieces. It’s definitely a credit to the series that the big moments of each novel are different enough that they can’t wholly be compared. The ending death of consequence in Jade City, the mid-point duel of Jade War…they all stand on their own and help make each installment memorable in its own right.

However, I was shocked by the sheer scope of Jade Legacy‘s action scenes. That they would be great was pretty much a foregone conclusion, but the amount of them, and the amount of weight behind them, still hit me like a sledgehammer. I haven’t actually counted to compare, but it felt like there was more action in Jade Legacy than in the previous two books combined.

I’ll be straight with you, reader: it’s very hard for me to really even find any criticisms to level against this book, or series…aside from saying that if it’s not the sort of thing you’d like, you might not like it. Since it’s a crime-family story in the vein of The Godfather, there’s quite a bit of violence. Since Jade Legacy is a very large book with a very large scope, it is not moving at mach speed the entire time; rather, Lee gives the story time to breathe and find stillness in between the explosive action. If those are not the kinds of things you like, maybe you’ll have a hard time.

But maybe not. This is one of those rare fantasy series that would hold quite a lot of appeal even for readers outside the genre. The more modern setting, the vividly realized character dynamics, and the masterful prose and dialogue make for a ridiculously immersive read. There’s just nothing out there quite like The Green Bone Saga.

The final word on Jade Legacy

It’s taken me a while to collect my thoughts about Jade Legacy. I recently had to compile a list of my top five favorite books, and as I sat there mulling over options, I was hit with two realizations. One is that it’s an amazing feeling to have discovered new favorite stories in the past year. The field is ever expanding, but something about the growth spurt of fantasy and science fiction in the past half-decade feels extra exciting. There is an energy in the air. New classics of the genre are being written, right now.

The Green Bone Saga is one such classic. And aside from the fact that the final volume is incredible in its own right, it also sticks the landing for the series as close to flawlessly as I’ve ever seen. There is no dropping of plotlines, no sputtering climaxes, rushed pay-offs, unfulfilling arcs, or cop-outs. The end of the series feels incredibly on point for the story, its characters, and its themes. Lee pulled no punches, and it paid off in spades.

When I finished this book, I sat numbly for close to an hour, just staring into the middle-distance and thinking about what an incredible journey it had been. It was hard to function for days afterward. I can count on one hand the amount of times a book has left me so affected at the end, and it just speaks volumes for how god damn awesome Jade Legacy is. Every once in a while, you find a book so immersive that even if you’re actively trying to take notes to review it, you’re just utterly swept away by the story. I haven’t felt this way after finishing a book since The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, and it will likely be quite a while before I do again.

With Jade Legacy, Fonda Lee achieves a perfect ending for The Green Bone Saga, elevating the entire series in the process. It is magnificent.

Jade Legacy is available now from Orbit Books.

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