📖 Jade City

I've never seen The Godfather before, but if I had to match it up with a literary approximation, I'd probably point to something like Jade City. These books are massively different, of course. The Godfather is set in the middle of the 20th century, set in New York. Jade City is set in the fictional city of Janloon on the island nation of Kekon, where two rival clans compete for power. They do share a couple similarities, though. Both feature crime families with deep ties into the city, both feature complex and powerful main characters, and both are masterpieces. Allow me to set the scene. On this island of Kekon, there is a mystical substance called jade. When this jade is held in close proximity to the body of one of the native Kekonese, say, by embedding into skin, worn as jewelry, or even intertwined within the inside of a watch, the Kekonese can that use that power, harness it to run faster, hit harder, or absorb far more punishment than any normal human possibly can. This can be done through one of the six disciplines: Strength, Steel, Lightness, Perception, Deflection, and Channeling. We follow the story of the No Peak clan, one of the two major clans atop the island. The other is the Mountain clan, their rival and sworn enemy. Scattered throughout the cities are various other unimportant minor clans. All clans employ the powerful warriors known as the Green Bones, fighters who wear jade. In Janloon, peacetime is active, but tense. The Mountain and No Peak still squabble over territory and money, plots and weapons. We mainly follow the story of the ruling Kaul family, the group of individuals currently in charge of No Peak. Namely Lan, the pillar and patriarch of the clan, Hilo, the Horn in charge of all the underling combatants, Shae, the prodigious daughter who's returned from her studies overseas, and Anden, an adopted son. I really don't want to spoil anymore. It's just that good. Jade City really got me into the cool mafia aesthetic that I feel like is super overlooked nowadays. I mean, c'mon, I like the Old Money style, but Mafia is just arguably cooler. What's more badass than sitting at the head of a table covered in poker chips while stroking a big white cat on your lap? Besides, Jade City was just really good by itself. We don't see a lot of Asian-style crime family dynamics, and combined with the almost experimental worldbuilding of modernism and handguns with swords and knives, it worked out really well. The magic system is also arguably really cool. It's somehow complex and easy to understand at the same time. You also have the characters. Oh, the characters. This might be one of the few novels I've read where the characters can't be shoved easily into tropes of boxes. They're all complex, and I do mean all, from the leading protagonists to the random side characters, in their own way. The life and personality of the story really does bleed through the ink and pages. Recommended for fans of the crime family style or fantasy.

我以前从来没看过《教父》,但如果非要找一部文学作品来类比的话,我大概会想到《翡翠城》这样的作品。 当然,这两部作品有着巨大的差异。《教父》的故事发生在20世纪中期的纽约,而《翡翠城》则发生在虚构的城市简龙(Janloon)——位于岛国克肯(Kekon)之上。在那里,两个敌对的家族为了争夺权力而展开竞争。不过,它们确实有一些相似之处:两部作品都有与城市深度绑定的犯罪家族,都塑造了复杂而强大的主要人物,而且两部作品都是杰作。 先让我来为你介绍一下背景。 在克肯这座岛屿上,有一种神秘的物质叫作"翡翠"(jade)。当这种翡翠靠近克肯本地人的身体时——比如嵌入皮肤、作为首饰佩戴,甚至被编织进手表内部——克肯人便可以利用它的力量,让自己跑得更快、打得更重,或者承受远超普通人极限的伤害。 这种力量可以通过六种"技艺"来运用:力量(Strength)、钢铁(Steel)、轻盈(Lightness)、感知(Perception)、偏转(Deflection)以及引导(Channeling)。 故事围绕克肯岛上两大家族之一的"无峰"(No Peak)展开。另一个家族则是他们的宿敌——"山"(Mountain)。城市各处还散布着一些规模较小、影响力也相对有限的家族。所有家族都会雇佣一种强大的战士,他们被称为"绿骨"(Green Bones),也就是那些佩戴翡翠、能够使用其力量的战士。 在简龙,表面上是和平时期,但空气中始终弥漫着紧张的气氛。山家族和无峰家族仍然为了领地与金钱、阴谋与武器而彼此争斗。 我们主要跟随统治无峰家族的考尔(Kaul)家族成员展开故事,也就是目前掌管无峰的这一家人。主要人物包括:兰(Lan),家族的支柱与族长;希洛(Hilo),负责指挥所有下属战士、被称为"角"(Horn)的人;沙伊(Shae),才华横溢、从海外求学归来的女儿;以及安登(Anden),家族收养的儿子。 我真的不想再剧透更多了。因为这本书实在太精彩了。 《翡翠城》真的让我重新喜欢上了那种如今感觉被严重忽视的酷炫黑帮美学。我的意思是,拜托——我当然喜欢"老钱风"(Old Money),但黑帮风格可能就是更酷。还有什么比坐在一张铺满扑克筹码的桌子尽头,一边抚摸着膝盖上的一只大白猫更有气势、更带劲的吗? 除此之外,《翡翠城》本身也真的非常出色。我们很少能看到这种亚洲风格的犯罪家族权力结构,而它又将现代主义、手枪与刀剑结合在一起,形成了一种非常独特的世界观,最终呈现出的效果非常惊艳。 它的魔法体系也同样很酷。它复杂得令人惊叹,却又同时非常容易理解。 当然,还有角色。噢,角色们实在太棒了。这可能是我读过的少数几部小说之一,其中的角色很难被简单地塞进某种固定的"角色模板"里。他们每一个都很复杂——我说的真的是每一个,从主要主角到那些随手带过的配角,都各自有着鲜明而复杂的一面。 故事中的生命力与人物的个性,真的仿佛能够透过墨水和书页渗透出来。 如果你喜欢犯罪家族题材或者奇幻小说,我非常推荐这本书。