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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
i liked this because i liked the poppy war. it's a bit slow in the middle but picks up at the end. not a series i would binge, but i might read the next books if i come across them. it's not really a "chinese lotr" and there's no fantasy aspect to it, at least not in this book
Very fun stuff. A combination of historical fiction with fantasy extrapolated from spiritualism. The action sequences/choreography is probably the best I’ve read. It’s Wuxia, so melodramatic as heck. Not very plotty, more of a prologue, it feels like. I really enjoyed this and am glad I’ve got the sequel already. Doesn’t conform to western fantasy (obviously) and is therefore not formulaic and novel, which gave it a lot of latitude.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-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
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and St Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest and fair review.
I really wanted to like the story in this book. I know it’s translated from Chinese and that it would lose something from the original language, but I just feel that the prose is so clunky and amateurish. The story seems to jump around and there is no flow to it. The characters seem stunted and I don’t find myself drawn to them at all. I would really like to see a better translation of the book with less clunky prose.
I really wanted to like the story in this book. I know it’s translated from Chinese and that it would lose something from the original language, but I just feel that the prose is so clunky and amateurish. The story seems to jump around and there is no flow to it. The characters seem stunted and I don’t find myself drawn to them at all. I would really like to see a better translation of the book with less clunky prose.
So good, and well written! A 1950s bestseller from Hong Kong, this first book in the series has adventure, Chinese history, fighting (martial arts), royalty, sworn promises, hidden identities, and a tinge of romance. There are awesome female characters. It is a fun origin story and leaves off with much left to be continued.
probably 4.5 It's a pitty the book doesn't provide much of a conclusion
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. A Hero Born is an awesome book. My rating truly falls in between 4 and 5 but I rounded up since some of the other reviewers seemed to have rounded down. The comparison made to The Lord of the Rings may have contributed to that, if you came expecting that, you may end up disappointed. However I believe they made the comparison primarily due to the epic nature not the fantasy nature. The book is the first I have read in the wuxia genre (I have been a fan of the movies for years) and I was not disappointed. Recently I have started exploring Taoism on a deeper level and enjoyed the setting of the novel and the cultural information in the back of the book. If you like action and martial arts, then this is a good book for you. As some others have stated, the action picks up after the first 100 pages but it is worth staying engaged in. I read the last half of the book probably three times as fast as the first half. I look forward to reading A Bond Undone which I was also lucky enough to win!
First of all, how dare you, Holy mother of cliff hangers I'm so excited to continue this saga.
Second of all, if you, like me, have little cultural context for this book read the forward. Read the appendices. Read an article or two, then pick it up. An import note is that it was originally published in serial, and it helped (for me) to read it as such kinda.
The betrayals. The betrohels. The end game. The lightness! I'm here for all of it.
Second of all, if you, like me, have little cultural context for this book read the forward. Read the appendices. Read an article or two, then pick it up. An import note is that it was originally published in serial, and it helped (for me) to read it as such kinda.
The betrayals. The betrohels. The end game. The lightness! I'm here for all of it.
Set during China’s Song Dynasty, approximately 1200 AD, A Hero Born, the first in the celebrated Chinese Legends of the Condor Heroes book series, starts when two sworn brothers are confronted with a terrible choice after being charged with treason by the local government: argue their innocence before a corrupt magistrate that will likely condemn them to death or try to make a run for it with their wives and sons in tow, fighting their way through soldiers who have come to arrest them.
Read more at https://www.geeksofdoom.com/2019/09/17/book-review-a-hero-born-by-jin-yong
Read more at https://www.geeksofdoom.com/2019/09/17/book-review-a-hero-born-by-jin-yong