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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The style of writing is too matter of factly. I felt no emotional connection to any of the characters.
When I saw a cover advertising "A Hero Born" as "The Chinese Lord of the Rings", I immediately knew I had to ignore it.
Has any good ever come from comparing a series to another, more famous, series? No. At worst, the series advertised will be a copycat of the better series. At best, the content will be good, but the readers will have wildly wrong expectations. A pox on those who write such copy!
Ignoring the book's cover, and never having heard of "Legends of the Condor Heroes" before, I looked it up quickly online and found out it was wuxia - meaning, martial arts and somewhat fantastic settings in the vein of such movies as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or "Hero". Now, that sounds good - and I'm always up for a new adventure.
"A Hero Born" contains martial artists who can do all sorts of crazy things with their kung-fu, from holding their breath for hours, to stabbing skulls with their nails, to eliminating alcohol through their legs so they don't get drunk. It's wonderful, and crazy, and I love it.
There's a lot of humor, and there are coincidences, and people fighting for good causes, as well as for silly reasons. There are tests of absurd skill, and kung-fu masters who aren't extraordinarily intelligent, for all their skill.
The action is, frankly, all over the place - which can be either fun or frustrating, depending on your mood. Personally, I quite enjoyed it, although it might not be everyone's cup of tea. It starts with two "patriots" from the South who have decent, but not extraordinary, kung fu skills, and who are dragged into conflicts with Northeners who happen to make their way around their home.
They encounter a Taoist kung-fu master whom they befriend and who promises to teach their yet unborn children a bit of kung-fu when they're old enough to learn anything. However, more strife and fighting happen and the two pregnant wives barely manage to escape, separated even from each other. The Taoist master tries to track them down and help them, but their traces are lost to him for a while and it takes more kung-fu masters to reach them in the far-off lands of the Northern court and even further, in Mongolia, where their children are born.
It feels epic in scope, but it's just the first volume of a series (and the lack of conclusion to it is obvious). It's fun, it has a whole bunch of characters and plots, and it's honestly just what I needed for the end of the year.
Has any good ever come from comparing a series to another, more famous, series? No. At worst, the series advertised will be a copycat of the better series. At best, the content will be good, but the readers will have wildly wrong expectations. A pox on those who write such copy!
Ignoring the book's cover, and never having heard of "Legends of the Condor Heroes" before, I looked it up quickly online and found out it was wuxia - meaning, martial arts and somewhat fantastic settings in the vein of such movies as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or "Hero". Now, that sounds good - and I'm always up for a new adventure.
"A Hero Born" contains martial artists who can do all sorts of crazy things with their kung-fu, from holding their breath for hours, to stabbing skulls with their nails, to eliminating alcohol through their legs so they don't get drunk. It's wonderful, and crazy, and I love it.
There's a lot of humor, and there are coincidences, and people fighting for good causes, as well as for silly reasons. There are tests of absurd skill, and kung-fu masters who aren't extraordinarily intelligent, for all their skill.
The action is, frankly, all over the place - which can be either fun or frustrating, depending on your mood. Personally, I quite enjoyed it, although it might not be everyone's cup of tea. It starts with two "patriots" from the South who have decent, but not extraordinary, kung fu skills, and who are dragged into conflicts with Northeners who happen to make their way around their home.
They encounter a Taoist kung-fu master whom they befriend and who promises to teach their yet unborn children a bit of kung-fu when they're old enough to learn anything. However, more strife and fighting happen and the two pregnant wives barely manage to escape, separated even from each other. The Taoist master tries to track them down and help them, but their traces are lost to him for a while and it takes more kung-fu masters to reach them in the far-off lands of the Northern court and even further, in Mongolia, where their children are born.
It feels epic in scope, but it's just the first volume of a series (and the lack of conclusion to it is obvious). It's fun, it has a whole bunch of characters and plots, and it's honestly just what I needed for the end of the year.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-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:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Light on character development; heavy on martial arts action sequences. I love kung fu movies, so I appreciated these sequences, but I wanted more character work. Maybe I’ll get that from the sequels. A high 3-star. Entertaining, a page turner. I feel like it’s like Star Wars: A New Hope. Not a great movie, but necessary to set the stage for the depths of conflict and struggle that comes later.
Det ble bare mer og mer spennende på slutten. Gøy bok! Glad jeg hadde en ekspert til å forklare og spoile ting underveis!
Hätte ich wohl nie gelesen, wenn es mir nicht von einem Freund in die Hand gedrückt worden wäre. Es ist im Wesentlichen ein Roman, der sich eigentlich nur um Kung-Fu dreht. In Teilen eine durchaus interessante Geschichte, gerade im Hinblick auf den Werdegang Dschingis Khans und die chinesischen Strukturen, manchmal war es allerdings unglaublich wirr und verwirrend ob der Vielzahl an Charakteren. Das Buch findet kein kein wirkliches Ende, sondern mündet in einem ordentlichen Cliffhanger. Nett, aber absolut nicht so monumental und episch wie beworben.