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A review by grogu_djarin
A Hero Born by Jin Yong
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
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
5.0
Overall Thoughts:
Wow! This book amazed me! I'm quite a fan of wuxia films (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon being one of my favorites) and this more or less reads exactly like one of those films and I'd call it an action novel if there is such a thing. There were so many great martial arts scenes and they felt like something out of a movie or anime series. One even lasted 15 pages and had my heart racing!
That said, it's not a shallow action story at all. There are a lot of great themes presented in the story such as loyalty, duty, honor, and love all within the historical setting of Jin and Song China and the Mongolian hordes. There is a lot of political intrigue, culture, and history intertwined with the story to beautiful effect. There were also a substantial number of twists and turn of varying complexity and they all fit in very naturally into the story. Some were easy to anticipate while others were completely unexpected and they overall created a gripping narrative.
Wow! This book amazed me! I'm quite a fan of wuxia films (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon being one of my favorites) and this more or less reads exactly like one of those films and I'd call it an action novel if there is such a thing. There were so many great martial arts scenes and they felt like something out of a movie or anime series. One even lasted 15 pages and had my heart racing!
That said, it's not a shallow action story at all. There are a lot of great themes presented in the story such as loyalty, duty, honor, and love all within the historical setting of Jin and Song China and the Mongolian hordes. There is a lot of political intrigue, culture, and history intertwined with the story to beautiful effect. There were also a substantial number of twists and turn of varying complexity and they all fit in very naturally into the story. Some were easy to anticipate while others were completely unexpected and they overall created a gripping narrative.
Likes:
- I really enjoyed how the story fit within the history of the Jin invasion of Song China and the unification of the Mongolian tribes under Genghis Khan. While there are some minor liberties taken for the sake of the story, it contributes to an epic feeling of being part of something larger. I especially liked Temujin (Genghis Khan) as a character.
- There were a lot of really intense and exciting fight scenes that had me at the edge of my seat and my heart racing! My favorite was the fight between the Seven Freaks and Twice Foul Dark Wind that lasted 15 pages!
- This book had quite a few twists and turns and a great variety at that. Some you readily anticipate because you're privy to more information than the characters. Others you can figure out if you pay attention to a breadcrumb trail of clues. Some more twists I wasn't able to anticipate at all but in hindsight make perfect sense because the book didn't explicitly rule out the possibility. Lastly a fourth kind of twist exists that you'll only be aware of if you're familiar with the history of the period when the plot takes a turn to follow historical events.
- I found Guo Jing very endearing. He's a bit dim-witted but sincere and good-hearted to a fault.
- The villains are truly frightening, both from their personalities and their martial skills.
Dislikes:
- For the arc of the book premised on the bond between Guo Jing and Yang Kang, most of the story focuses on Guo Jing and Yang Kang does not have a huge part in it.
- Names are localized inconsistently. Some are direct translations (such as Ke Zhen'e) while others translate the first name and leave a Chinese surname (Mercy Mu). It was a weird stylistic choice and sometimes I was unsure if these were names or titles.
Other Notes:
- This book ends on a cliffhanger right in the middle of an action sequence so you'll definitely want to plan to read the next part, A Bond Undone, immediately afterwards.
- The appendix has various historical and cultural notes ordered by page so it's nice to check through these every few chapters because it adds some nice context. None of it was really necessary to follow the story, but it was quite neat seeing that certain characters or references have historical significance.
Would Recommend To:
- Anyone who enjoys martial arts, kung fu, or wuxia genres. This book also reads like it could easily be adapted into an anime or JRPG so if you enjoy either of these things you'll probably like this as well. Also someone interested in Chinese history especially that of the Song and Jin Empires and the reign of Genghis Khan as it's set during that time.
Do Not Recommend To:
- Anyone disinterested in martial arts, kung fu, or wuxia genres. Also it would be best to avoid this if you don't want a long read because this isn't a standalone book but rather volume 1 of a much longer book.