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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved this book.
It is a story that is set 800 years ago, and it feels timeless.
The characters are three dimensional, tricksy, funny and have honour. The action is intense, and I can visualise all of the kung fu very easily. It uses a method of explaining kung fu in a way very similar to The Princess Bride, where they simply name the move and allow our imagination to fill in the gaps. The story is epic in scope, and this is only the first volume of the first book.
Overall, I loved the style. I loved how evey page felt like an epic kung fu movie. One of my favourite reads and I can't wait to get the next volume.
It is a story that is set 800 years ago, and it feels timeless.
The characters are three dimensional, tricksy, funny and have honour. The action is intense, and I can visualise all of the kung fu very easily. It uses a method of explaining kung fu in a way very similar to The Princess Bride, where they simply name the move and allow our imagination to fill in the gaps. The story is epic in scope, and this is only the first volume of the first book.
Overall, I loved the style. I loved how evey page felt like an epic kung fu movie. One of my favourite reads and I can't wait to get the next volume.
Kung Fu, duels, villains, lost children, revenge, love lost and found, honour in battle, martial masters, taoist monks, rival schools, Mongols, evil dynasty, mysterious beauty in possession of great skill and a hero pure of heart whose nei gong is only surpassed by the goodness of his character. If this doesn’t sound to you like ten thousand bags of awesomeness, then this book is not for you.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I think that there's a lot, culturally, that I'm missing here. I also felt like the translation put us as readers at some remove. Or maybe I felt like I as a reader just was held at some remove, and maybe that's true even when it's not in translation because, once again, I was missing something, culturally. I don't know.
There is something vaguely operatic yet quaint about this book, epic scope not withstanding. Maybe that's true of all classic wuxia fiction, but this is my first authentic foray. With prose that gets right to the point, the narrative moves fast and packs an immense amount of story into its lean (for fantasy) presentation. At times the naming of an action rather than describing it can be off-putting, with only some descriptive enough in English to really convey what's going on, but the florid labels lend a distinctive and unmistakable character to it that help make it an oversized good time.
I think what I love most about it isn't even the martial arts mayhem or the sweeping, theatrical story, but the modern mythmaking that's clearly layered over extant legends and historical figures. I am looking forward to more!
I think what I love most about it isn't even the martial arts mayhem or the sweeping, theatrical story, but the modern mythmaking that's clearly layered over extant legends and historical figures. I am looking forward to more!
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Best read in the original Chinese Simplified/Traditional if you can. This English translation has quite a few inaccuracies in the translation, and some parts are not even included. As a result, I think you will misunderstand what the author is trying to convey with this english version of the book.
slow-paced
Loved it. I never knew I wanted a kung fu book series, and I stumbled on to the platonic ideal of one.