10 fantasy and science fiction books to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month
By Daniel Roman
Jade City by Fonda Lee (The Green Bone Saga #1)
Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga is what would happen if epic fantasy and crime family films like The Godfather had a baby, and it is glorious. Combining influences from the fallout of the Vietnam War, Asian crime gangs like the Triads, martial arts films, and a code of honor reminiscent of Japanese Samurai, Lee’s tour de force trilogy feels like a true melting pot of various cultures and ideas. It combines together to create an incredibly immersive modern fantasy world.
In this world, magic is drawn from jade, and the lengths the various criminal factions of the series will go to in order to control the jade trade is nothing short of riveting.
"Jade is the lifeblood of the island of Kekon. It has been mined, traded, stolen, and killed for — and for centuries, honorable Green Bone warriors like the Kaul family have used it to enhance their magical 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 — and of Kekon itself."
This trilogy finished last year with Jade Legacy, which is an astounding capstone to a series that takes place over three decades with the Kaul family. If you want a series with such shocking twists that you’ll probably need therapy after reading, this is it.
Find Jade City on Amazon.
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu (The Dandelion Dynasty #1)
Ken Liu’s novel The Grace of Kings is a silkpunk fantasy tale about the corrupting influence of power, the dangers of empire, and the power of friendship and family in the darkest of times. Liu’s style evokes the feel of a mythic tale as he details main character Kuni Garu’s transformation from village layabout to a figure destined to shape the future of an entire continent.
Though it begins as Kuni’s tale, the deeper into the story you get, the more the scope expands to include other members of his family and even more ambitious adventures.
"Wily, charming Kuni Garu, a bandit, and stern, fearless Mata Zyndu, the son of a deposed duke, seem like polar opposites. Yet, in the uprising against the emperor, the two quickly become the best of friends after a series of adventures fighting against vast conscripted armies, silk-draped airships, and shapeshifting gods. Once the emperor has been overthrown, however, they each find themselves the leader of separate factions—two sides with very different ideas about how the world should be run and the meaning of justice."
Liu has published three books in The Dandelion Dynasty to date: The Grace of Kings, The Wall of Storms and The Veiled Throne. The final volume, Speaking Bones, is due out this June, making now the perfect time to get into this epic series.
Find The Grace of Kings on Amazon.