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A review by paracosmere
Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
5.0
What a thrilling conclusion to one of the best fantasy series I've ever read. Jade Legacy perfectly wrapped up the clan life not only in Kekon but the rest the world.
The fast-paced story allows the readers to witness the progress of the Kauls. How they navigated each and every challenge thrown towards No Peak's way, tearing down all of their enemies to preserve and secure their status, stronghold, and legacy.
Fonda Lee just showcased a masterclass in world-building, excellent plot lines, and creating engrossing characters you can't help but root for. The year-long schemings and the unexpected twists and turns kept me on my toes. With my heart rate always up every flip of a page, an ECG would probably explode if I'd been attached to it.
Anxiety plagued me every time because you'll never know when the next twist would come, and came they did when you least expect them to. For too many times to count, I braced myself for something awful to strike whenever the POV transitioned to someone else important. Always full of dread, I still get surprised when something did happen. And when someone died, my instant reaction was always "Surely, they would miraculously live, right?" I'd never been more wrong in my life. Over and over, this series is a constant reminder that life is fickle and certainly short. With significant lives lost and blood spilled, the characters' emotions were so palpable they felt like they jumped out of the paper and into my face. When they anger, I felt the fury. When they're anxious, I felt the apprehension. When they mourned, I mourned with them.
Lee's writing style spoke to me so deeply that when I reached that final page, it felt like a loss. This book is over 700 pages and I still wanted more. What an experience to witness them evolve into the people they ended up being. From Hilo to Shae to Anden. From the birth of the kids to them growing into adults. Even Lott and Cory. This is a story of a people's lifetime.
Through out the read, I can't keep my thoughts off of Hilo. He's a specially-written character, a man of many things and a far cry from who he was in the first book. He'd been a ferocious Horn and Pillar but nothing prepared me for his ferocity as a father. It's like reading an entirely different character. I'm just in awe of him. He's like an onion who's got layers upon layers of different versions of himself. His service to his clan and family is insurmountable.
I think that ending was just apt. I couldn't help an ironic smile how everything just came full circle— with this series starting and ending with Bero.
Anyways, this review ended up as another one of my ramblings. I still I wanted to say a lot of stuff but I just couldn't formulate any more words to properly convey them out of my mind. I may add more thoughts here and there when something occurs to me because I just don't see myself letting go of this saga just yet.
The fast-paced story allows the readers to witness the progress of the Kauls. How they navigated each and every challenge thrown towards No Peak's way, tearing down all of their enemies to preserve and secure their status, stronghold, and legacy.
Fonda Lee just showcased a masterclass in world-building, excellent plot lines, and creating engrossing characters you can't help but root for. The year-long schemings and the unexpected twists and turns kept me on my toes. With my heart rate always up every flip of a page, an ECG would probably explode if I'd been attached to it.
Anxiety plagued me every time because you'll never know when the next twist would come, and came they did when you least expect them to. For too many times to count, I braced myself for something awful to strike whenever the POV transitioned to someone else important. Always full of dread, I still get surprised when something did happen. And when someone died, my instant reaction was always "Surely, they would miraculously live, right?" I'd never been more wrong in my life. Over and over, this series is a constant reminder that life is fickle and certainly short. With significant lives lost and blood spilled, the characters' emotions were so palpable they felt like they jumped out of the paper and into my face. When they anger, I felt the fury. When they're anxious, I felt the apprehension. When they mourned, I mourned with them.
Lee's writing style spoke to me so deeply that when I reached that final page, it felt like a loss. This book is over 700 pages and I still wanted more. What an experience to witness them evolve into the people they ended up being. From Hilo to Shae to Anden. From the birth of the kids to them growing into adults. Even Lott and Cory. This is a story of a people's lifetime.
Through out the read, I can't keep my thoughts off of Hilo. He's a specially-written character, a man of many things and a far cry from who he was in the first book. He'd been a ferocious Horn and Pillar but nothing prepared me for his ferocity as a father. It's like reading an entirely different character. I'm just in awe of him. He's like an onion who's got layers upon layers of different versions of himself. His service to his clan and family is insurmountable.
I think that ending was just apt. I couldn't help an ironic smile how everything just came full circle— with this series starting and ending with Bero.
Anyways, this review ended up as another one of my ramblings. I still I wanted to say a lot of stuff but I just couldn't formulate any more words to properly convey them out of my mind. I may add more thoughts here and there when something occurs to me because I just don't see myself letting go of this saga just yet.