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thorium0232's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
marsdengracie's review against another edition
2.0
There were certainly some exciting points in this book that were entertaining, but the writing seemed awkward and was hard to read at points. I think I'll try reading it in Mandarin sometime to see if I like it better.
hmbb99's review against another edition
3.0
A Hero Born is an epic novel about the Chinese, the Mongols, and the Huns. It was a story of the struggle between the differing clans. It is an epic tale of adventure, little bit of romance, and some legends mixed together. The story is long but packed full of action so the pace moves quickly.
I enjoyed the adventure, the characters, and the unfolding of the world in which they lived. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if I had a better understanding of Chinese culture and history or a better understanding of kungfu. Due to my ignorance of these topics, I wasn't as invested into the story as I could have been but it does make me want to educate myself further on the topics.
I don't think this was a book for me but if you enjoy kungfu or Chinese history you may want to pick up this story.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. The opinions are my own.
I enjoyed the adventure, the characters, and the unfolding of the world in which they lived. I think I would have enjoyed the story more if I had a better understanding of Chinese culture and history or a better understanding of kungfu. Due to my ignorance of these topics, I wasn't as invested into the story as I could have been but it does make me want to educate myself further on the topics.
I don't think this was a book for me but if you enjoy kungfu or Chinese history you may want to pick up this story.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. The opinions are my own.
millennialbookreview's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this novel overall. It's a great start/introduction to a sweeping epic story. It balanced martial arts, politics, and great character moments really well, with one component of the story overshadowing the others. The narrative was rich and immersive. The magic system in the novel was subtle which made the story feel grounded. There were some loveable characters and just as many love-to-hate characters, creating an engaging story. It's a fun story to read. The novel takes place in 13th century China, a fascinating era of history given the conflicts and wars between the Song, Jin and Mongolian cultures, and uses that setting to show the reader a deep, complex, rich world.
The story moves slow at the start, but picks up before too long. There are a lot of names and information to keep track of, so it's not a book I'd recommend to readers just getting into fantasy. Some names read as a bit silly, the Seven Freaks of the South for one, but I think that's due to the translation from Chinese to English and some words not translating well or directly from the original language.
I feel like the description on Goodreads that calls A Hero Born (and The Legend of the Condor Heroes series overall) "the Chinese Lord of the Rings", due to its popularity in China, is misleading as English-readers might go into the novel expecting a different story than what it delivers. It shares some themes such as justice and heroism but this is a wuxia novel, a very specific genre of literature, with little in common with classic western fantasy.
The story moves slow at the start, but picks up before too long. There are a lot of names and information to keep track of, so it's not a book I'd recommend to readers just getting into fantasy. Some names read as a bit silly, the Seven Freaks of the South for one, but I think that's due to the translation from Chinese to English and some words not translating well or directly from the original language.
I feel like the description on Goodreads that calls A Hero Born (and The Legend of the Condor Heroes series overall) "the Chinese Lord of the Rings", due to its popularity in China, is misleading as English-readers might go into the novel expecting a different story than what it delivers. It shares some themes such as justice and heroism but this is a wuxia novel, a very specific genre of literature, with little in common with classic western fantasy.
agentmozell's review against another edition
2.0
I had high hopes for this as it sounded interesting, when I scanned it into here I was pretty excited that there were multiple books but now I’m sure I won’t read the rest. A lot of the fight scenes, especially at first, seemed really cartoony and made it hard for me to take it seriously. The literal translations of the names were pretty bad too. It also just felt all over the place for things I didn’t care about.
sjyoklic's review against another edition
3.0
This book was ultimately underwhelming. The characters seem thin and shallow, everyone is so eager at the drop of a hat to fight to the death it's ridiculous. Maybe it's a cultural thing, lost in translation so to speak, but when an insignificant slight inspires a 'renowned martial artist' to kill it seems frankly kinda dumb. Was this written for children? I wouldn't be surprised. Also the plot is so dependent on serendipity, fate, and chance. None of what happens is driven by any of the characters actually being protagonists or being heroic. Any major plot development is either fate or some off screen force that the characters have no control over. Nothing happens because of actions by any of the main characters and ultimately to me this is poor writing.
However I give 3 stars because despite poor writing, shallow characters, and weak plot, I was engaged the whole time. I have to know how the story ends. But if anyone describes this as the Chinese lord of the rings in my presence I will slap them across the face and not feel even a little bad about it.
However I give 3 stars because despite poor writing, shallow characters, and weak plot, I was engaged the whole time. I have to know how the story ends. But if anyone describes this as the Chinese lord of the rings in my presence I will slap them across the face and not feel even a little bad about it.
colinhdempsey's review against another edition
4.0
The only complaint I have is that some character moments are added hastily to cheaply garner reader sympathy instead of developing them throughout the novel. This only happens once, doesn't affect much really, but it bugged me enough to mention it.
Besides that this shit rips so hard. I want to weep over how cool the fight scenes are. Each one has a cute little gimmick that reflects the characters involved. Characters are introduced, given a sick martial arts style, then forgotten, only to come back and still be dope at kung-fu. It's all so defined by the character's strong personalities that despite the constant referencing of far-off masters and hidden martial arts styles the world is easy to keep follow. I want to wash my brain, scrubbing it of any memory of this book, and read it all over again.
Besides that this shit rips so hard. I want to weep over how cool the fight scenes are. Each one has a cute little gimmick that reflects the characters involved. Characters are introduced, given a sick martial arts style, then forgotten, only to come back and still be dope at kung-fu. It's all so defined by the character's strong personalities that despite the constant referencing of far-off masters and hidden martial arts styles the world is easy to keep follow. I want to wash my brain, scrubbing it of any memory of this book, and read it all over again.
aesthival's review against another edition
3.0
Another buddy read with my partner, the first installment of Legend of the Condor Heroes. This story has inspired countless others, and is referenced in as many more. But for such a legend, I have mixed feelings about it. The translation may be the root of my griping, but I can't be sure without the ability to read the original text. Some of the names are over translated and others are left as they are originally, which creates some incongruity. I thought it was weird so looked it up and they translated Bao Xiruo into Charity Bao, Li Ping into Lily Li... westernization. I think these characters should have more depth than what comes through in the translation, but they came off rather flat. The story itself was hard to follow at times, but individually each scene was enjoyable. I think this was a long prologue to the story that evolves in the next books, getting an idea of the characters, their backstory, and their ambitions. Since I'm blaming most my gripes on translation, I do think I'll try to continue the series and hopefully another translation exists.
kayleeg567's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I LOVED HOW ACTION PACKED THIS BOOK WAS!! At the beginning it was slightly challenging to figure out who everyone was and the history behind it, but once I understood it was amazing. It was great to read such an old and famous piece of literature from China, and again, the plot flew by. At some points it was so fast that I could not even remember what had happened. Easy 5/5 with the perfect mix of history and action.
bosermoki's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I'd give the story itself a 3 or 3.5ish stars. It's a bit meandering, a bit overly padded on unnecessary detail/ancillary characters with some weird pacing but that makes sense given that it's a serialized story. My beloved Count of Monte Cristo has some of the same so I'm more than willing to forgive it. It's a straight-up martial arts action story, so the characters are straightforward, and the plot is very linear and fairly predictable.
The translation itself however is poor. A solid 1-star and it drags down the story. There is inconsistency in what gets translated and what doesn't. There's no reason to use neigong when you're also saying martial arts or in one sentence refer to someone's shifu and in another, their master. What is particularly unpleasant is that the translator obviously used a mandarin copy for their translation. Considering this is a story by a Hong Kong author, it's some weird gross Cantonese erasure that I just can't get behind. Very disappointing
The translation itself however is poor. A solid 1-star and it drags down the story. There is inconsistency in what gets translated and what doesn't. There's no reason to use neigong when you're also saying martial arts or in one sentence refer to someone's shifu and in another, their master. What is particularly unpleasant is that the translator obviously used a mandarin copy for their translation. Considering this is a story by a Hong Kong author, it's some weird gross Cantonese erasure that I just can't get behind. Very disappointing