REVIEW: Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee
Jade Legacy is the final book in the green bone saga. I am so sad to see this series finish but alas it must happen at some time. This series has been one that I have thoroughly enjoyed.
Jade legacy picks up a few months after the events of Jade War. In the previous book, Emery Anden and Wen were kidnapped and Wen was seriously injured in the chaos of it all. Kaul Hilo is on the war path for revenge for what happened to his wife but as such also feels betrayed by her. If it wasn’t for her actions in which she carried out a highly dangerous mission for the Weather Man, she wouldn’t have been injured in the first place. This causes a rift in their relationship and Kaul Hilo is often seen seeking the pleasures of other women just to blow some steam off and not in the arms of his beloved wife.
Anden has decided what he wants to do with his Jade. He decided that after the accident with Wen, he decided that he wanted to become a green bone doctor. A green bone doctor is a doctor that channels the energy of the jade in order to heal somebody. Since he has decided this, Jade is now being used in modern medicine more and more and as such Jade is more commercialised and also weaponised by other parts of the world. This creates a new problem for the Kaul family, as they don’t want their jade in the wrong people's hands but also want it to be able to be used for good and to help people that are struggling with injuries. What doesn’t help is that Kekon is facing threats of its own. The Clanless future movement is threatening both the No Peak Clan and the Mountain clans so this adds another player to the game in Kekon. As always, The No Peak Clan and the Mountain clan are at odds with each other. But these two clans must put aside their differences and defeat their common enemy before it is too late.
On the younger side of things, the Kaul children are now all grown up. Kaul Niko, the biological son of Kaul Lan, the adopted son of Kaul Hilo and Wen, is not so sure about whether he wants to become the pillar of No Peak and as such questions himself and his birthright. In order to find out more about himself, he decides to break away from the traditional route of the green bone, much to the dismay and anger of his parents. He joins up with the mercenary group known as …. And becomes one of the many soldiers in its rank. This is exactly what he wanted, he didn’t want the responsibility of the clan on his shoulders. He wanted to find out what he could do on his own. But when tragedy strikes the family as it always does, Kaul Niko is reminded that the familial bond is needed for him to become at peace with what is needed of him.
Kaul Ru is also struggling to find his place in the world but he is having an easier time of it than his brother. Kaul Ru is more so struggling with his place within his family as he is the only stone eye child of Kaul Hilo. He goes out into the world and tries to find his place in stone eye groups and goes the non-traditional route of going to college rather than attending the green bone academy due to his non reactivity to Jade. Being the true born son of Kaul Hilo, he should have been made the Pillar of the clan but due to him being a stone eye, that was not possible for him and I think that is why Kaul Niko resents him as well. Though they are brothers and have that brotherly bond, I feel like without Kaul Ru being a stone eye, he would have been leader of the clan rather than his adopted brother/cousin and as such Kaul Ru wishes he could take that burden away from his brother. Whilst trying to establish his own identity, he finds himself in a situation that he shouldn’t have been in. This is due to a close friend betraying him and as such lands him in a precarious situation where it could be live or die.
Whilst the youngest child of Kaul Hilo is Jaya. Jaya is the only daughter of the pair and as she is female, she also has her own struggles in the clan. Kaul Shae understands her and tries to mentor her for a while about what it is like being a female in the clan. Kaul Shae taught Jaya that she must always assert her dominance in her field as men will always try to over power her. She must not let that happen. This happens even in her own family when Kaul Hilo would rather have other green bones do the work rather than his own daughter. She eventually leaves the family home to go onto the south of Kekon to bring about her own team of green bones, ones that are loyal to her and the clan and as such follow her orders. She becomes a fist much to the chagrin of her father.
This book follows more of the younger generation of the Kaul family whilst intermingling the older generation into the plot. The name of the book is literally the plot of it. It’s the legacy of the Kaul family and what will happen when the older generation eventually dies out and a new generation takes the mantle of Pillar, Weatherman and Horn of the clan.
I have left out so much of what happens mainly due to spoilers and if I went into so much detail, this review would be so much longer than it already is. I seriously loved this book and enjoyed it so much. As I have done with the previous books, I listened to this via audiobook and I thoroughly loved it. The audiobooks were perfect with different cast members etc. Jade Legacy is a great addition to the saga and a great ending to the storyline.
5 out of 5 stars.