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grogu_djarin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
Overall Thoughts:
This was a fantastic conclusion to the story started in the earlier volumes! It brought back some of the story elements that were missing in volumes 2 and 3 (notably the heavy presence of the Mongolians and connecting the story to actual historical events). This was everything the previous volumes were building up to, especially since the King Duan is introduced in the beginning so the protagonists have met all of the Five Greats that were still living. This book also represented a significant tonal shift by becoming noticeably more philosophical and reflective. In particular, there is a lot of reflection on the costs of war, the effects of imperialism on the common folk, and the responsibilities of a martial artist. While the earlier volumes also had their fair share of dark moments despite an overall lighthearted and adventurous tone, this was definitely the darkest of the bunch and there are some extremely sad and emotional moments.
This was a fantastic conclusion to the story started in the earlier volumes! It brought back some of the story elements that were missing in volumes 2 and 3 (notably the heavy presence of the Mongolians and connecting the story to actual historical events). This was everything the previous volumes were building up to, especially since the King Duan is introduced in the beginning so the protagonists have met all of the Five Greats that were still living. This book also represented a significant tonal shift by becoming noticeably more philosophical and reflective. In particular, there is a lot of reflection on the costs of war, the effects of imperialism on the common folk, and the responsibilities of a martial artist. While the earlier volumes also had their fair share of dark moments despite an overall lighthearted and adventurous tone, this was definitely the darkest of the bunch and there are some extremely sad and emotional moments.
Likes:
- The Mongolians have a big part in this book again after being side-lined for most of A Bond Undone and A Snake Lies Waiting.
- I liked how certain historical events were weaved into the story after things had gone in an original direction during the middle two volumes.
- Guo Jing starts maturing and learning to think for himself (though he really struggles with it).
- The way the fight with Viper Ouyang went at the end was very clever and unexpected (and a bit frightening).
- I thought the Contest of Mount Hua was a great conclusion to the four books. I liked that it was not just a contest of martial arts but also an exploration of the values of kung fu.
- Apothecary Huang started to grow on me especially when I realized he's probably a bit bipolar given how he acts and reacts.
- The philosophical angle was new and feels like the whole story was building up to these reflections because there were many events throughout the
- The conclusion to Yang Kang's character arc. I won't say more because it's very spoilery and I have a feeling that some will love it and others hate it.
- King Duan was the last of the Five Greats we needed to meet and I liked how different he was from the others. We also get a flashback with Wang Chongyang to round it all out (though I always felt like Zhou Botong took his place in that ranking).
Dislikes:
- The kung fu started to get a lot more anime style where characters were fighting with just their energy.
- Lotus is really inconsistent in this book and starts to act like her father which I did not like because she always seemed more mature than that. That said, she really started to shine from Iron Spear Temple on.
- Unfortunately you never really get closure on Laurel Lu and Emerald Cheng besides a brief line which is surprising given how they featured in A Snake Lies Waiting and how well Jin Yong tied up other loose threads.
- Zhou Botong's immaturity starts to overstay its welcome. I think it's a bad sign when Guo Jing and Lotus mature more than him, especially with how he acts towards Madam Ying.
Other Notes:
- I binged all 4 volumes in only 7 days to give you an idea of how much I enjoyed this!
- Like the earlier books, the appendix is full of notes that give added meaning to various cultural and historical references. Again, they aren't necessary but I found them worthwhile reading especially in this volume where the historical tie-ins are a lot more significant.
Would Recommend To:
- If you've already read the first three volumes and enjoyed them then I definitely recommend finishing the story. This is a great conclusion and a stronger entry than the previous one A Snake Lies Waiting.
Do Not Recommend To:
- Anyone who hasn't read the first three volumes, A Hero Born, A Bond Undone, and A Snake Lies Waiting, because this is the final volume of a four volume book.
magnaraz117's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
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
pebblegosling's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thorium0232's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
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
4.5
wbharper's review against another edition
5.0
I have just finished this hefty tome, the last in a quartet that translates Jin Yong’s Legend of the Condor Heroes wuxia (martial arts, chivalry) epic. Jin Yong - the pen name of Louis Cha Leung-yung - is one of the great wuxia writers, with his status in the Chinese world being approximately comparable to that of J.R.R. Tolkien in English-speaking lands. I’m not going to recount much of his life here but it was an interesting one - he was born in Zhejiang into an intellectual family, migrated to Hong Kong in the 1950s (his father was executed by the communist government), followed a distinguished career as a writer and newspaper editor, was married three times, and earned a doctorate in Chinese history at Cambridge University after retiring. His books are phenomenally popular and have been adapted into many TV series, video games, and other media. The best short description that I can use to describe my experience of reading this quartet as a neophyte to the genre is that it is like a really good kung fu movie, but in print form. But these books also have an unusual ability to touch on deeper social and political issues, and none more than the final one.
Jin Yong’s immersion in and encyclopedic knowledge of Chinese history and culture is displayed on every page, and there is simply too much to comment upon here. The idea of the wulin and jianghu is intriguing - a sort of parallel, mythic world that only occasionally intersects with the real one. It has its own traditions, customs, and hierarchies. I was reminded of Arthurian legend, which takes place in a similar not-quite-real world with characters motivated by martial skill and honor. This final book in the series, though, is something of a departure in that it more clearly intersects with the major political events of the time - mainly, Genghis Khan’s conquest of the Jin (Jurchen) and Khwarezm Empires. Here, the book’s protagonist (something of a good-natured but slow-witted cipher, if a kung fu savant) Guo Jing’s story reaches its denouement as he must finally deal with his conflicting obligations and desires - filial love and gratitude to the Great Khan (despite a distaste for the awesome destruction of the Mongol conquests), and his romantic love for Lotus Huang and willingness to carry on his father’s legacy as a Song Chinese patriot. Even the story of Reverend Sole Light, the former King Duan and a one of the five kung fu “Greats”, is a parable on the misuse of power in both a personal and political sense, and eventual atonement. Overall, however, if it is about anything it is about heroism, and how to be a hero - is it about personal achievement and skill? Patriotism? A concern for one’s fellow people? Or staying true to one’s personal obligations, and what do you do if these are in conflict?
Jin Yong was a Chinese patriot, and this and his other novels take place in historical periods where there was invasion or strife in China. That said, his admiration for outsiders (certainly the Mongols, who foster Guo Jing, if not the Jurchens) shines through as well. Likewise, Confucian ideals (family relations, the master-apprentice relationship, the need for a harmonious, hierarchically structured society) are reflected through his work, but a character like Apothecary Huang (the “Old Heretic”), who is presented as scorning traditional values and behavior, is not presented negatively per se - and these bonds and relationships, so crucial to east Asian culture, are (to a certain extent) challenged and examined. So, there is an interesting tension there - though whether it is obscured or emphasized through the translation I am not qualified to judge.
Of course, this translation, the first into English, cannot substitute for the original. But the series translators readily convey the epic sweep of the saga and its colorful characters. They carefully spell out the range of kung fu moves in every fight; they are meticulous in drawing out each character’s thought processes and motivations. No doubt these passages are much more concise in the Chinese version, and this takes some getting used to. However, I was quickly carried into this vivid and heroic world. Yes, it’s light entertainment - but of such quality that I cannot wait until this same translation team makes their way back to the world of the Condor Heroes with The Return of the Condor Heroes.
Jin Yong’s immersion in and encyclopedic knowledge of Chinese history and culture is displayed on every page, and there is simply too much to comment upon here. The idea of the wulin and jianghu is intriguing - a sort of parallel, mythic world that only occasionally intersects with the real one. It has its own traditions, customs, and hierarchies. I was reminded of Arthurian legend, which takes place in a similar not-quite-real world with characters motivated by martial skill and honor. This final book in the series, though, is something of a departure in that it more clearly intersects with the major political events of the time - mainly, Genghis Khan’s conquest of the Jin (Jurchen) and Khwarezm Empires. Here, the book’s protagonist (something of a good-natured but slow-witted cipher, if a kung fu savant) Guo Jing’s story reaches its denouement as he must finally deal with his conflicting obligations and desires - filial love and gratitude to the Great Khan (despite a distaste for the awesome destruction of the Mongol conquests), and his romantic love for Lotus Huang and willingness to carry on his father’s legacy as a Song Chinese patriot. Even the story of Reverend Sole Light, the former King Duan and a one of the five kung fu “Greats”, is a parable on the misuse of power in both a personal and political sense, and eventual atonement. Overall, however, if it is about anything it is about heroism, and how to be a hero - is it about personal achievement and skill? Patriotism? A concern for one’s fellow people? Or staying true to one’s personal obligations, and what do you do if these are in conflict?
Jin Yong was a Chinese patriot, and this and his other novels take place in historical periods where there was invasion or strife in China. That said, his admiration for outsiders (certainly the Mongols, who foster Guo Jing, if not the Jurchens) shines through as well. Likewise, Confucian ideals (family relations, the master-apprentice relationship, the need for a harmonious, hierarchically structured society) are reflected through his work, but a character like Apothecary Huang (the “Old Heretic”), who is presented as scorning traditional values and behavior, is not presented negatively per se - and these bonds and relationships, so crucial to east Asian culture, are (to a certain extent) challenged and examined. So, there is an interesting tension there - though whether it is obscured or emphasized through the translation I am not qualified to judge.
Of course, this translation, the first into English, cannot substitute for the original. But the series translators readily convey the epic sweep of the saga and its colorful characters. They carefully spell out the range of kung fu moves in every fight; they are meticulous in drawing out each character’s thought processes and motivations. No doubt these passages are much more concise in the Chinese version, and this takes some getting used to. However, I was quickly carried into this vivid and heroic world. Yes, it’s light entertainment - but of such quality that I cannot wait until this same translation team makes their way back to the world of the Condor Heroes with The Return of the Condor Heroes.
katekoda's review against another edition
5.0
I have said so before, and I will say it again: this is like Dickens or even Tolstoy in scale and vision, but with kung fu and adventures! The saga spans wide all across China torn between Song and Jin Empires, raided by Mongols, corrupt, ravaged by war and dangerous, but so so beautiful and poetic.
I love love love every single word of it — and not just because it is wuxia, and I am forever the kung fu girl.
The story is masterful, the characters are beautifully written and they change and grow before our eyes in the familiar style of European psychological prose while remaining aligned with Chinese tradition, interesting, whimsical, loveable, funny, scary or despicable. The events unfold at a rapid pace, one dangerous encounter after another, from happy chance meeting to a tragedy and then to another happenstance. It's beautiful, well written, awesomely translated (All hail Gigi Chang! Shelly Bryant! Anna Holmwood!). (And omg the audio version? I am forever in love with Daniel York Loh, he is brilliant!)
And the only thing that's missing to make this insanely popular is a Netflix dramatisation (I am hopeful). This is a fucking treasure people, I can't stop gushing about these books. The next one is being translated even now, there are 10, I think, in total, and I am going to hoard them all and escape the world with them, because they are a perfect forget-it-all fuck-reality getaway transport into a different, wonderful and colourful world.
I love love love every single word of it — and not just because it is wuxia, and I am forever the kung fu girl.
The story is masterful, the characters are beautifully written and they change and grow before our eyes in the familiar style of European psychological prose while remaining aligned with Chinese tradition, interesting, whimsical, loveable, funny, scary or despicable. The events unfold at a rapid pace, one dangerous encounter after another, from happy chance meeting to a tragedy and then to another happenstance. It's beautiful, well written, awesomely translated (All hail Gigi Chang! Shelly Bryant! Anna Holmwood!). (And omg the audio version? I am forever in love with Daniel York Loh, he is brilliant!)
And the only thing that's missing to make this insanely popular is a Netflix dramatisation (I am hopeful). This is a fucking treasure people, I can't stop gushing about these books. The next one is being translated even now, there are 10, I think, in total, and I am going to hoard them all and escape the world with them, because they are a perfect forget-it-all fuck-reality getaway transport into a different, wonderful and colourful world.
rosemary_nagy's review against another edition
4.0
When I tell you this entire book is one running plot twist, you better start running too if you want to keep up because what on earth just happened
satyajitc's review against another edition
5.0
Magnificent ending to one of the best fantasy series I have ever read. Guo Jing + Lotus Huang 4eva!!