447 reviews for:

A Hero Born

Jin Yong

3.78 AVERAGE


So, where do we start? It's something of a soap-opera with kung-fu and Mongols of all things. The story unfolds itself at a fascinating pace, and one has to keep a mental note of every single character in the book, because who knows (spoiler!) which might appear later down the line?

I guess the central story is around this young boy, trained by Seven Heroes in the martial arts, to present himself to a contest in China. This boy, however, ends up being an important piece of Genghis-Khan's entourage among other things, and people are dying to train him.

The story is dense, fast moving, and it has material for something like 100 volumes all caught up into one. Although at times confusing, for example the case of Lotus who is either a he or a she in the middle of the same paragraph, the story does make sense even when it feels like it doesn't. Now the problem with this being the first book of three is that we never know if the 12 hours that Wang needed to have his life saved with magic herbs have expanded to 24 or 48 or not. I mean, we might find out in the second book. Or not. Who knows? Maybe someone who read the second book. :D

It's a nice and intense read. I loved it, yet I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of characters and the fast pace.
throatsprockets's profile picture

throatsprockets's review

5.0

The complaints I’m seeing here about the translation strike me as meaningless quibbles. This is a rip-roaring adventure story filled with vivid fight scenes and colourful characters, and I can’t wait to read what happens next.
adventurous medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
lischa3000's profile picture

lischa3000's review

3.0

This book is filled to the brim with intrigue, feud, loyalty and family, not to mention glorious kung fu and martial arts.

thebooktender's review

2.0
adventurous slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
ramenrules84's profile picture

ramenrules84's review

3.0
adventurous fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

alyh703's review

4.25
adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

serinalovesreading's review

DID NOT FINISH: 34%

Not for me. Maybe another time 
heather_leighbros's profile picture

heather_leighbros's review

3.75
adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This book surprised me! It was a fun read, sometimes a bit disjointed when it jumped from one character to another. I am fully hooked on the series though and thrilled to watch all the different live adaptations! 

3.5*

not sure yet completely about the review. It felt chaotic and very confusing in parts and I highly struggled with the names in the audiobook, since all sounded very similar to me. I recommend it to read as a book, when you are not used to Chinese names.