This is how you write a mafia story. I loved the idea of jade being drugs, I adored the family we follow throughout, and some of the deaths in this book were violent, but exactly what you'd expect from a sci-fi fantasy version of the triads. I need to read Jade War ASAP because this book was worth the hype!

A rip-roaring epic fantasy set in an Asia-inspired modern city. I get gangster movie vibes from this book, with a good deal of martial arts elements thrown in.

This stunning, award-winning epic fantasy takes readers on a journey to Kekon, an island nation run by rival crime families, Green Bones who draw on the magic of jade to enhance their natural abilities. With the feel of the roaring twenties, technology equivalent to the mid-late 20th century, and criminal empires inspired by the Japanese Yakuza and Chinese Triad, this unique and compelling fantasy world is well worth spending time in. The "main character" of the novel is the Kaul family, and the story is told through the lenses of several family members (and one or two outsiders) as violence with the rival Ayt family looms on the horizon. For fans of epic fantasy with multiple points of view, unique worldbuilding, and kung fu movies.

This is an interesting mash-up of urban fantasy with triad/mobsters- you think it may not work and yet it was a good gripping read. The jade in this story gives people superhuman abilities, but not everyone can wield it, so there's still guns and knives. I'll be curious to see where this ends up going as a story, as this was densely plotted and it's just the series opener!