Jade War (Green Bone Saga): 2

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People are born selfish; babies are the most selfish creatures, even though they’re helpless and wouldn’t survive a day on their own. Growing up and losing that selfishness—that’s what civilization is, that’s what sets us above beasts. If someone harms my brother, they harm me—that’s what our clan oaths are about. Those men weren’t your enemies—they were our enemies.” Jade War is a magnificent sequel that brilliantly showcases the immense potential of urban fantasy, without resorting to typical mythological elements. Duel to the Death: Zigzagged. Duels of this nature in-universe are referred to as 'clean blades' and act a means for Green Bones to settle disputes. The outcome of a clean blade is considered to be incontestable, and when all is said and done the duelists are honor-bound by custom not to act on any feelings of animosity, either those that caused the duel or resulted from it, an obligation that also extends to the duelist's friends, family members, or other associates. That being said, they aren't always necessarily fatal, one can survive a clean blade by admitting defeat before their opponent strikes a killing blow, but no matter how a loss is sustained they will always be forced to forfeit the jade on their person as consequence. Weeding Out Imperfections: After uncovering two traitors in his clan, Kaul Hilo tells Ayt Mada that he's "pulled two of your weeds from my garden," and the rest will soon follow. If you have read my review of book 1, you would know that I liked it but had some criticism and things that I said could be improved. And few things can make me happy as seeing authors improve as if they listened to my advice! (Don’t get this wrong, I am not saying that the author listened to me, she has great readers who helped her but it felt like so).

Villain Protagonist: Despite their Sympathetic P.O.V., the Kauls and the No Peak clan are ultimately this. Their goals are no less selfish, their methods no less ruthless and the territory they control no more prosperous than the Mountain's. Living Forms of Patriotism: Engaging Young Russians in Military History?’ in Youth and Memory in Europe: Defining the Past, Shaping the Future. Berlin: De Gruyter, April 2022.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! Every character’s actions in Jade War always have weight and comprehensible motivation behind them. Lee has created an exceptionally well-written cast of characters that’s so bloody compelling, complex, tangibly realistic, and easy to get attached to. There wasn’t a single moment where the characters felt like they behaved outside of their personalities, and the internal conflicts they had were all valid and empathizing. These are the kind of things that, in my opinion, separate the good and the great SFF authors from each other and Lee definitely belongs in the latter group. I also need to mention that within the cast of characters, the female characters—Shae and Wen—of this series were hands down some of the best female characters I’ve ever read in fantasy. The stereotype about the Espenians is that their first instinct to solve any problem is to buy their way out. Heroic RRoD: After the attempt on his life, Lan falls victim to a combination of jade overload and an overdose of shine, which causes him to fall into the river and drown.

Hilo is joined by his trusty Weather Man, Shae, who ends up with the best character journey of the entire novel. She’s still entangled in both politics and fighting, but this time also has a romance thrown in too, which helps to add crucial depth to her persona. This depth can also be extended to Hilo’s wife Wen, the Stone-Eye who is no longer just a pretty face and mother. Instead, she’s far more active in the story and by the end, becomes integral to the way Jade Legacy is likely to pan out. Space Cold War: The Slow War between Espenia and Ygutan is with its brinkmanship and proxy wars is based on the real world Cold War, with the distinction that the ideological divide is religious rather than economical. Mercy Kill: After Maro confesses his role in the car bombing, Shae executes him via Channeling, because she knows that Hilo and Tar won't be merciful to him after Kehn's death.

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Addictive Magic: Jade and the powers it grants are highly addictive, with people going mad after tasting them once and having them taken away.

Historical framing of the Ukraine Crisis through the Great Patriotic War: Performativity, cultural consciousness and shared remembering’ in Memory Studies. Volume 13. Issue 6. Pp 1058- 1080. First published Online First 2018. Ate His Gun: When Shae finds Doru again in Jade War, he blows his brains out when she realizes that she can't kill him. Jade War is a 2019 fantasy novel by Fonda Lee published by Orbit [1] and is the sequel to Jade City. It follows the island of Kekon as the jade-controlling clans are embroiled in an international war where jade is the centerpiece. The story takes place over several years. It is the second book in the Green Bone saga, followed by 2021's Jade Legacy, the final novel in the series. Sixteen months have passed since the violent and tragic events of Jade City and the No Peak Clan are far from safe. But it’s not just the Clans at war. The outside world wants in. Jade is a commodity right at the top of everybody’s list and they’re willing to pay for it, in bundles of cash or oceans of blood. Trying to prevent foreign governments, criminal gangs, smugglers, street thugs and everyone in between from taking what doesn’t belong to them makes for interesting alliances, underhand politics, and more than a little bloodshed. No Peak can’t do it alone, but there’s only one other Clan who can help… And it doesn’t take years of Green Bone training to work out that inviting a snake like Ayt Mada in to your home means that you’re going to get bit. There are hard choices to be made. But the Kaul family will do what they must to protect each other, their jade, and their Clan. The stakes are nothing short of their lives. The Empire of Shotar is a stand-in for Japan, being an imperialistic power that ruled Kekon as a colony for generations before being driven from the island 25 years prior to the start of the series during the Many Nations War, a WWII analog conflict.Professional & Support Services Navigation link in category About. Press escape key to return to main menu Deliberate Values Dissonance: One of the main themes of the series. Green Bones operate by a moral code that sometimes seems alien to modern sensibilities. Hilo in particular sometimes veers towards Blue-and-Orange Morality. Jade War is the second book of the Green Bone Saga, an epic trilogy about family, honor, and those who live and die by the ancient laws of blood and jade. In the same vein, Jade War will delve further into the characters,

No Peak defends and avenges our own. You wrong any of us, you wrong us all. You seek to war with us, and we will return it a hundredfold. No one will take from us what is ours!’Jade War was nominated for the Dragon Award for Best Fantasy Novel, the Aurora Award for Best Novel, the Ignyte Award for Best Novel - Adult, and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Adaptations [ edit ] Super-Toughness: The Steel ability; special mention goes to Gont Asch, who used this ability to survive a death of consequence. But let me tell you about the middle book miracle where the second book is bigger, better, and more exciting than book 1 in all aspects of the book. The intriguing narrative is written in a way that shows perspectives of the social ladder from the bottom to the top, and everything in between. I honestly find it very intriguing and it creates a multi-layered feeling to the setting, especially since the perspectives we read from most of the time are from those at the top of the social hierarchy. I also love that we got to see how the conflict plays out even outside of Kekon. It’s no understatement to say that Fonda Lee has improved on the first book in every way. While this is most evident in the characterisations, it applies equally to the world-building and plot. Everything is more vibrant, better realised. This feels like a whole new world. Accordingly, while Jade City offered some notion of what was outside of Kekon, this time the stage is truly international. And just like it says in the title, this is a WAR. One that will determine not only the future of the Clans, but Kekon and its place in the world heirarchy. It’s all about power and the deadly games people play to get it, or keep hold of it. The knives are out and nobody is safe.