The Green Bone Saga, a World Fantasy Award-winning trilogy of magic and kungfu, as siblings battle rival clans for honor and power in an Asia-inspired fantasy metropolis.
If you’re ready to temporarily tuck away the dusty medieval settings of the fantasy genre for a gritty, neon, high-stakes drama of a modern mob family, then you have to read Fonda Lee’s The Green Bone Saga. This trilogy—comprising Jade City, Jade War, and Jade Legacy—is unlike any fantasy scifi trilogy you’ve ever read and it’s got all of our attention for this LitStack Rec.
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In This LitStack Rec of The Green Bone Saga
Epic Fantasy and Family Gangster Saga
In the three books of The Greenbone Saga, there is imagery that hearkens to the Bullet Time of The Matrix and lets you imagine that as our heroes and heroines battle other green bones, and then fly across rooms–hearkening to imagery from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
This series is an absolute masterclass in genre mixing, and it takes your imagination on some wild and violent rides. For the most part, as with any trilogy, there are highs and lows, parts where the narrative breathes and other parts where you can’t breathe nor turn the pages fast enough! It’s a saga, yes, and though unnecessarily episodic in spots, for the most gives a wonderfully nuanced narrative ride through the three books that hooked us and didn’t let go.
The magic in Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga is that the precious stone Jade grants its wearers six enhanced abilities. To control these abilities, they must undergo rigorous training: Strength, Steel (enhanced physical toughness), Lightness (enhanced agility), Perception (reading auras and intentions), Deflection (generating force fields for defense), and Channeling (projecting energies). These abilities combine to create “Green Bones,” individuals of Kekonese descent who possess jade and along with it the enhanced physical and mental capabilities, but must carefully manage their jade use to avoid illness or madness (the Itches!).
It’s an epic fantasy and a family gangster saga rolled into one, and it works so incredibly well.
A Gangster Epic with a Jade-Infused Heart: Why You Need to Read The Green Bone Saga
The Green Bone Saga’s brilliance lies in its unique fusion of genres. Set on the fictional island of Kekon, the story is built around jade and the rules of conduct and comportment that go along with the strict code of ethics, aisho, that rules the ownership of jade. Those who can wear and use it become a warrior class with supernatural abilities like enhanced strength, speed, and agility. Here, the people who control the jade trade and wield this power are not kings or mages, but members of rival crime families. The No Peak Clan vs. The Mountain Clan. It’s a family gangster saga and an epic fantasy rolled into one, and it works perfectly.
The Kaul Clan: A Family Under Fire
The story in The Green Bone Saga centers on the Kaul family of the No Peak Clan, one of Kekon’s two dominant crime syndicates. The first book of the series revolves around a devastating act that throws the Kaul family into a spiraling conflict and sets off a generational story that spans decades. We are introduced to the three core siblings, each a pillar of the clan in their own right. Lan, the thoughtful and duty-bound oldest brother, in the role of Pillar. His younger brother, Hilo, the hot-headed and fiercely loyal enforcer. Their sister, Shae, a brilliant jade user, who returns home reluctantly after years abroad, is forced back into the violent world she tried so hard to escape.
Also, there is Anden, their cousin, who is a star pupil certain to graduate with top jade honors. Anden is a gay character and he rocks. He is the adopted grandson of the Kauls’ late patriarch, Kaul Sen, and is treated as a cousin by Hilo and the siblings. The Kaul family, which includes Hilo, Shae, and their brother Lan, adopt Anden after his mother’s death, bringing him into their powerful clan.
Their characters (and our villain Ayt Mada!) are what truly make this saga unforgettable. They’re complex, flawed people shaped by their roles in the family and the immense pressure of their island world and the demands of jade. I found myself emotionally invested in the characters, watching their relationships evolve, shatter, and rebuild across the trilogy.
The Green Bone Saga: A Journey of Power and Legacy
Green Bone Saga Book 1 – Jade City
The Spark that Ignites the Fire
This first book in The Green Bone Saga sets up the world (the Jade City) of the trilogy beautifully. The Island of Kekon the world’s only source of bioenergetic jade. It introduces us to the clan structure, the intricate hierarchy of the Green Bones, and the rules of Kekon jade possession. An assassination ignites violence, forcing the Kaul siblings to assume their designated roles and fight to maintain their Clan’s power.
Through a series of escalating provocations and counterattacks with the Mountain Clan, the No Peak Pillar is forced to make difficult political compromises while Hilo seeks brutal retribution on the streets. Meanwhile, Shae, initially determined to stay out of clan business, discovers her unique skills are desperately needed to manage the family’s crumbling financial interests, putting her directly in harm’s way. This book is a great first book for a series, a pressure cooker of internal family conflict and external warfare that launch the trilogy and leave the No Peak Clan forever changed.
The Mountain Clan’s leader, Ayt Madashi (Ayt Mada), the first and only woman Pillar ever, emerges as a formidable and calculating antagonist to the Kauls. As the Pillar of the Mountain Clan, Mada personifies relentless drive and cold pragmatism; she sees the opportunity to assert Mountain dominance and reshape the power structure of Kekon, and she takes it, and murders anyone in her way. Her actions in this book—which include ambitious maneuvers and strategic acts of violence—are the primary catalysts that push the Kaul siblings into all-out war.
Green Bone Saga Book 2 – Jade War
The World Comes Knocking
The conflict explodes beyond Kekon’s borders in the second book of The Green Bone Saga. The war for jade is no longer a domestic affair as powerful international nations, particularly the industrial powerhouse of Espenia, attempt to break the island’s monopoly. The global market is flooded with a synthetic substance that allows non-Kekonese to wield jade, threatening the clans’ power and putting the entire nation’s independence at risk.
The Kauls are forced to travel abroad—to Espenia and other rival nations—to broker deals, forge dangerous alliances, and undermine foreign operations. Hilo and Shae take increasingly desperate measures, one focused on eliminating the threat through direct, military action, and the other through political and economic maneuvering. The struggle transforms the clan rivalry into a global political and economic war, demanding sacrifices that test the limits of Kaul loyalty.
Ayt Mada’s role in this global conflict becomes more layered; while she remains the Kauls’ primary rival, the foreign threat forces her to make an uneasy and shifting truce with them. Mada initially seeks to exploit the international disruption to further the Mountain Clan’s power, but she is a staunch Kekonese nationalist. Her strategic decisions involve complex, ruthless plays against both the Kauls and the foreign powers, demonstrating a cold genius for power politics on a world stage. She is willing to use any means, including temporary alliances with her enemies, if it serves her ultimate goal: the survival and dominance of her clan and Kekon.
Green Bone Saga Book 3 – Jade Legacy
The Weight of a Name
The final book of The Green Bone Saga is a poignant and powerful conclusion that spans decades, following the characters and their children through a period of immense change. The narrative moves forward in time, showing us the long-term cost of the sacrifices made in the war, as the Kaul siblings now lead the next generation of Green Bones. As Kekon struggles for stability, internal and external threats force the family to constantly evolve the role of the Green Bone.
The story revolves around the struggle to maintain peace in the face of old grudges, the rise of a clanless political movement, and the crushing exhaustion that comes with carrying a legacy for so long. It explores the emotional toll of their choices, bringing the stories of Lan, Hilo, Shae, and their adopted cousin Anden to an unforgettable and heartbreaking conclusion.
Ayt Mada’s presence endures across the decades, representing the unkillable ghost of the old clan rivalry and the hard realities of power. Her life story, shown through several closely written and revealing scenes, is one of unrelenting ambition and sacrifice, illustrating the heavy toll of Pillar leadership. Mada is a major figure in the fragile decades-long cold war that grips Kekon, her final moves and ultimate fate serving as a powerful counterpoint and commentary on the Kauls’ own struggles for legitimacy and peace. Her story is central to the saga’s theme of what it truly costs to build and maintain a legacy of power.
Why You’ll Be Hooked
What I love most about The Green Bone Saga is how Lee uses genre to explore loyalty, and love, and how far one would go to maintain power. The heart of the story is the fierce bond of family and the complex nature of loyalty. With the Kaul siblings, their duty to the No Peak Clan often clashes with their personal desires and morality.
Lee’s writing style is a key reason for the series’ success. Her command of point of view, choosing to use several points of view, risked dampening down the narrative and losing focus, but she has harnessed point of view and uses it to build incredible suspense over the course of the novels. The dialogue in scenes is razor-sharp, its subtext forcing you to pay close attention to subtle power plays and unspoken threats. The action and fight scenes can be brutal and visceral, yet never gratuitous; Lee’s scenes consistently drive the story forward by mining and revealing new facets of characters.
The Green Bone Saga is a truly exceptional work of gritty, city side, fantasy. I know there is a fascination with comparing this to The Godfather. But no. This is a series that defies easy categorization, it blends genres seamlessly, creating excitement without overtly knocking us over the head with tricks. If you’re looking for a trilogy to get lost in, one that sometimes takes its own time to build, and will make you think, feel, and root for its characters, you won’t regret spending your time reading The Green Bone Saga.
~J.S. Hood
About Fonda Lee
Fonda Lee is a highly decorated Canadian-American author renowned for her work in fantasy and science fiction. She is best known for the internationally celebrated Green Bone Saga trilogy, which includes Jade City, Jade War, and Jade Legacy. This unique series blends martial arts action, epic fantasy, and mob family drama. Lee has earned critical acclaim and multiple awards for the trilogy, including the prestigious World Fantasy Award and the Nebula Award. A black belt in karate, her expertise lends authenticity to her action sequences. Lee’s novels are widely praised for their political complexity, sharp dialogue, and profound exploration of power and legacy.
Other LitStack Resources
Be sure and look at our other LitStack Recs for our recommendations on books you should read, as well as these reviews by Lauren Alwan, and these reviews by Rylie Fong, Allie Coker, and Sharon Browning.
Be sure and look at our other LitStack Reviews for our recommendations on books you should read, including reviews by Lewis Buzbee, Lauren Alwan, Allie Coker, Rylie Fong, and Sharon Browning.
You can buy the books we recommend on LitStack Bookshop on LitStack Recs.
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