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danreadsitall's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Anything y'all trying to wrap up before the end of the year? I was bad at posting and my lists are all messed up. Split my reading between physical and audio at work.
Book two in the Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong "A Bond Undone." In which we spend a bit more time with the other child, Yang Kang. Who just found out/took the rose colored glasses off that his life might be a bit of a lie and hasn't come to grips with it. Meanwhile, Guo Jing and Lotus are having a wonderful time seeing the country, encountering martial masters and "definitely not learning from them" because of excellent cooking. Unfortunately a figure from his past crashes into his life again, hopefully his skull is hard.
Translated by Gigi Chang, thank you so much. I'll be sure to sneak copies into friends libraries.
Narrated by Daniel York Loh, very much enjoy the voice for a new character Hong Qigong. I too, can be convinced with food.
Reasons to read:
-Picks up immediately from the last book
-Backstory on some of the foes
-Hmm the context of a book being misconstrued, causing conflict? Only happens every now and then... Oh wait
-That's a lot of snakes
-Excellent names for moves
-I want to see some folks get comeuppance
Cons:
-Guo Jing, sometimes violence is the answer
Book two in the Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong "A Bond Undone." In which we spend a bit more time with the other child, Yang Kang. Who just found out/took the rose colored glasses off that his life might be a bit of a lie and hasn't come to grips with it. Meanwhile, Guo Jing and Lotus are having a wonderful time seeing the country, encountering martial masters and "definitely not learning from them" because of excellent cooking. Unfortunately a figure from his past crashes into his life again, hopefully his skull is hard.
Translated by Gigi Chang, thank you so much. I'll be sure to sneak copies into friends libraries.
Narrated by Daniel York Loh, very much enjoy the voice for a new character Hong Qigong. I too, can be convinced with food.
Reasons to read:
-Picks up immediately from the last book
-Backstory on some of the foes
-Hmm the context of a book being misconstrued, causing conflict? Only happens every now and then... Oh wait
-That's a lot of snakes
-Excellent names for moves
-I want to see some folks get comeuppance
Cons:
-Guo Jing, sometimes violence is the answer
timburbage's review against another edition
5.0
Why did I wait so long to read this?
This is definitely volume 2 of the same story, not a sequel. It start off at exactly the same place the last one finishes, and it took me a while to figure out who was where and doing what.
This part of the story is about Guo Jing and Lotus Hang, who are in love and go off on a martial tour of China. We see them meet 3 of the 4 living greatest kung fu masters. The Heretic of the East (Lotus' father), the Beggar of the North and the Venom of the West. They keep running into old enemies of Gallant Oullang and Cyclone Mei, though we learn a lot about Cyclone Mei and she becomes (almost) likeable.
The Seven Freaks of the South are not mentioned as much in this, though are still involved in key points. We also get revelations for Yang Kang, the prince's adopted son. He finds out his past and makes a big decision on his future.
A Bond Undone can mean the bond between brothers and betrothals. Both happen and will have lasting impacts on the story, the characters, and on China.
We get very little of Mongolia in this, though the Jin and Song dynasties at war are definitely playing in the background. I hope we see more of that later on in this story.
I love this series so much, and this really keeps it going. The kung fu is epic, and the humour is very slapstick and old school. I love how Guo Jing is the hero, an epic kung fu master who gets a lot of training, incredibly honourable and an absolute idiot.
This is definitely volume 2 of the same story, not a sequel. It start off at exactly the same place the last one finishes, and it took me a while to figure out who was where and doing what.
This part of the story is about Guo Jing and Lotus Hang, who are in love and go off on a martial tour of China. We see them meet 3 of the 4 living greatest kung fu masters. The Heretic of the East (Lotus' father), the Beggar of the North and the Venom of the West. They keep running into old enemies of Gallant Oullang and Cyclone Mei, though we learn a lot about Cyclone Mei and she becomes (almost) likeable.
The Seven Freaks of the South are not mentioned as much in this, though are still involved in key points. We also get revelations for Yang Kang, the prince's adopted son. He finds out his past and makes a big decision on his future.
A Bond Undone can mean the bond between brothers and betrothals. Both happen and will have lasting impacts on the story, the characters, and on China.
We get very little of Mongolia in this, though the Jin and Song dynasties at war are definitely playing in the background. I hope we see more of that later on in this story.
I love this series so much, and this really keeps it going. The kung fu is epic, and the humour is very slapstick and old school. I love how Guo Jing is the hero, an epic kung fu master who gets a lot of training, incredibly honourable and an absolute idiot.
skys's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was average. Less confusing than book one. Guo Jin's adventure continues but at the same time, I don't what his adventure is because, was the duel the original end goal??
Translation was not done well comparing to the original text therefore there were important character building traits missed and takes away from the story itself.
Translation was not done well comparing to the original text therefore there were important character building traits missed and takes away from the story itself.
katekoda's review against another edition
5.0
It just keeps getting better and better. I mean, the adventures and the fights and kung fu awesomeness is all still there, but the array of characters Jin Yong rolls out is colourful and entertaining, character-driven plot turns really work and the cheeky comedy is very much there as well. I’m really loving it!
rosemary_nagy's review against another edition
5.0
I can’t tell you a single thing that happened in this book besides the fact that there’s Exploding Toad Kung fu and that’s about the only fact you need to know.
puglord's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jrgreen15's review against another edition
4.0
I officially love this series. It's something I never knew I needed until I read it. This one I thought was stronger than the first, not just because you know the characters and setting, but you start to get a footing on how this is, well, supposed to work. It's also really, really funny.
virentiris's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
A Bond Undone is the second book in the Legends of the Condor Heroes series by Jin Yong. Originally published in 1959, this reformat and re-release from Macmillan on their St. Martin's imprint is 544 pages and available in hardcover, audio, paperback, and ebook formats.
This is an action epic in the wuxia style. As such, it's a nonstop martial arts movie set against a lush background of honor, love, filial duty, power, moral obligation vs. personal desire and expectations. The story picks up immediately after the first book in the series and I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone. (In fact, this review was delayed because I tried to read it without having read the first book, and couldn't understand much of what was going on, so I had to go back and read book one).
It reads well in translation although the non-stop action and grandiloquent style can take some time to get into. I highly recommend the series to lovers of martial arts and campaign epic fantasy. It's nice to see these books being released in translation to a new generation of readers.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
A Bond Undone is the second book in the Legends of the Condor Heroes series by Jin Yong. Originally published in 1959, this reformat and re-release from Macmillan on their St. Martin's imprint is 544 pages and available in hardcover, audio, paperback, and ebook formats.
This is an action epic in the wuxia style. As such, it's a nonstop martial arts movie set against a lush background of honor, love, filial duty, power, moral obligation vs. personal desire and expectations. The story picks up immediately after the first book in the series and I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone. (In fact, this review was delayed because I tried to read it without having read the first book, and couldn't understand much of what was going on, so I had to go back and read book one).
It reads well in translation although the non-stop action and grandiloquent style can take some time to get into. I highly recommend the series to lovers of martial arts and campaign epic fantasy. It's nice to see these books being released in translation to a new generation of readers.
Four stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
tomwright's review against another edition
5.0
This book is bananas. The first one was good, so I read this one.
This one is good, and hilarious. Defs moving onto the third one.
Also, most of the characters are jerks, and the one who reminds me of Bumi (from Avatar The Last Airbender) is becoming a favorite.
This one is good, and hilarious. Defs moving onto the third one.
Also, most of the characters are jerks, and the one who reminds me of Bumi (from Avatar The Last Airbender) is becoming a favorite.