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Hero Born
Hero Born | Jin Yong
The epic Chinese classic and phenomenon published in the US for the first time! A fantastical generational saga and kung fu epic, A Hero Born is the classic novel of its time, stretching from the Song Empire (China 1200 AD) to the appearance of a warlord whose name will endure for eternity: Genghis Khan. Filled with an extraordinary cast of characters, A Hero Born is a tale of fantasy and wonder, love and passion, treachery and war, betrayal and brotherhood.And then a hero is born...After his father, a Song patriot, was murdered, Guo Jing and his mother fled to the plains and joined Ghengis Khan and his people. Loyal, humble and driven, he learned all he could from the warlord and his army in hopes of one day joining them in their cause. But what Guo Jing doesn't know is that he's destined to battle an opponent that will challenge him in every way imaginable and with a connection to his past that no one envisioned.With the help and guidance of his shifus, The Seven Heroes of the South, Guo Jing returns to China to face his foe and carry out his destiny. But in a land divided by treachery and war, betrayal and ambition, he'll have to put his courage and knowledge to the test to survive.
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IReadThereforeIBlog
A Hero Born | Jin Yong
Pickpick

This is the first ever English translation from Chinese of Jin Yong‘s classic historical fantasy tale of kung fu masters and evil empires by Anna Holmwood. Originally published in 1958 (the first in a quartet), it has an action-driven, energetic plot and although the portrayal of grumpy kung-fu masters seems stereotypical now, it was innovative at the time and there‘s a lot of fun to be had in seeing the various masters compete with each other.

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Kaag
A Hero Born | Jin Yong
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Panpan

This book was significantly lighter than I was looking for, not a fault of the book necessarily but it didn‘t really do a lot for me. Everything felt rather flat, maybe a translation issue or maybe it just wasn‘t trying to be what I want it to be. On the surface the story seems decent but when reading it I just didn‘t care all that much. At the time I read them I preferred Conn Iggulden‘s conqueror series about this historical time period.

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SassenachTheBookWizard
A Hero Born | Jin Yong
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Pickpick

This was incredibly well translated. I am very impressed considering you not only have a translation but a completely different alphabet and culture to think about during that translation.

The world...feels big and despite not being a giant book itself, there are a lot of characters but i really liked that we got so many perspectives and loved the adventure.

71 likes2 stack adds
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llcoolnate
A Hero Born | Jin Yong
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Pickpick

Great start to an awesome series!

bthegood Great to hear from you! 3y
llcoolnate @bthegood thanks! And same to you! Great to be back! 3y
64 likes1 stack add2 comments
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akaGingerK
Hero Born | Jin Yong
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Pickpick

An online friend fell hard for danmei novels and tv shows, and somehow dragged me into wuxia in their wake. Without having much cultural background, I frequently had the feeling that allusions had gone over my head - but the range of characters & interesting fight scenes kept me from feeling too lost. I‘m *extremely* glad I bought book 2 before I‘d quite finished the 1st. It‘s not a cliffhanger, but Tuesday is a long wait for “then what happened?”

akaGingerK The appendix contains *some* explanations of events/peoples/poems alluded to in the text, but far from all of them, at least in my #ARC 4y
6 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Angeles
Hero Born | Jin Yong
Bailedbailed

I could not get into it. It is a bit too fantastic for me (I cannot believe I am writing that) and somehow It didn‘t work for me. I still recognize how original the work is and the quality of the writing, but it is just not for me

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pasiphae_reads
A Hero Born | Jin Yong
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#currentlyreading 📚
“A Hero Born” (Legends of the Condor Heroes # 1) by Jin Yong
#jinyong #fiction #aheroborn #chineseliterature #fantasy #legendsofthecondorheroes

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Sensitivemuse
A Hero Born | Jin Yong
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Mehso-so

It's a great start to a well known series but the translation is just not so good. It bogs the story and by the time I was nearly finished, well I really couldn't wait until it was over. It dragged a lot throughout the book. Good Translation is crucial for novels like these to be successfully read and enjoyed.

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Quirkybookworm
Hero Born | Jin Yong
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Pickpick

Seriously! This book should‘ve been translated YEARS ago in English. I can see why it‘s one of the most beloved classics all over the world. It belongs up with my Hobbit, Lord of the Rings series, Dunes, many classics on my shelves. I CANNNOT wait for the next book to come out here in USA!!!

Ruthiella Sounds good. I am loving the general interest in translated Sci-Fi and Fantasy just now! Worlds to discover!😀 5y
Quirkybookworm @Ruthiella it is more of a historical fantasy. 5y
Nute You captured me with this recommendation! Stacking!🙂 5y
55 likes4 stack adds3 comments
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TheSpineView
A Hero Born | Jin Yong
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Bailedbailed

Billed as a Chinese epic tale a kin to LOTR. Unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. It was a DNF at 27%. A lot got lost in translation. The prose was lacking and there was no character development. Lots of action but not good enough to make up for the shortcomings

TheSpineView See my full review on my blog at www.thespineview.com. 5y
sisilia I watched the series when I was a kid, and I loved it! Beautiful story, but I won‘t be reading this book. Something is definitely lost in translation, and I heard the second book is worse 5y
erzascarletbookgasm Yup, lost in translation, I guess. The original text in Chinese is supposed to be fantastic! I watched the tv series too, it was great. 5y
TheSpineView @sisilia @erzascarletbookgasm I was super disappointed. By the description I thought I would devour the book and it would become a favorite. Oh well on to the next adventure. 5y
57 likes4 comments
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underground_bks
Hero Born | Jin Yong
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Pickpick

With a following compared to LotR, GoT, and Harry Potter COMBINED, it‘s wild that this is just now being published here. I‘ve never been into kung fu fiction (wuxia) but with all the hype, I had to try. A Hero Born is just so much fun. The fights are thrilling, the writing riveting & historical, the characters complex & engaging. I can‘t wait for the rest of the series, blessedly coming out over the next two years. Wuxia has won this reader over!

15 likes5 stack adds
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rachelk
A Hero Born | Jin Yong
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Novelist Jin Yong, known as the ‘Tolkien of Chinese literature‘, died today at 94. This book is the first in a highly rated four part series that is said to appeal to fans of George R.R. Martin, J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien. #TBR

31 likes1 stack add