Jade City by Fonda Lee

On the island of Kekon, jade is everything. But it’s no normal mineral—this jade enhances the superhuman abilities of the Green Bone warriors who have long protected the island from invaders. The jade market is controlled by two clans who exist peacefully until a shake-up in the leadership of one leads to an aggressive campaign for control by the other. Violence erupts and a clan war follows, coalescing into a saga that is part fantasy, part mob thriller. Beyond the thoughtful intricacies of the geopolitics surrounding jade and its powers, Fonda Lee creates a world so layered and deep in history and ritual, it’s easy to forget that it doesn’t exist in our reality. With its seamless mixture of styles, Jade City becomes an essential text in the crime fantasy genre. —Annabel Gutterman

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