A Hero Born: The Definitive Edition (Legends of the Condor Heroes, 1)
A Hero Born: The Definitive Edition (Legends of the Condor Heroes, 1) book cover

A Hero Born: The Definitive Edition (Legends of the Condor Heroes, 1)

Hardcover – Deckle Edge, September 17, 2019

by
Price
$12.84
Format
Hardcover
Pages
416
Publisher
St. Martin's Press
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1250220608
Dimensions
6.68 x 1.31 x 9.6 inches
Weight
1.35 pounds

Description

Praise for LEGENDS OF THE CONDOR HEROES: "A delightful entertainment." - Kirkus on A Bond Undone "Jin Yong’s work is undoubtedly worth reading." - Publisher's Weekly "Fans of sword-and-sorcery fantasy and historical fiction alike will enjoy this hard-hitting yarn." - Kirkus "Filled to the brim with characters and action, this translation will allow English-speaking readers to finally enjoy a classic of the wuxia fantasy genre, and hopefully whet their appetites for more." - Booklist "Pick [A Hero Born] up as soon as you can and check out its majesty for yourself." - SyFy Wire, 10 SFF Books You Shouldn't Miss This September "Full of noble heroes and pitched battles, Cha's stories were epic, featuring not just fantastical kung fu swordsmen who can fly and walk on water, but also complex characters and plots woven into dramatic historical events." – CNN"Widely known by his pen name, Jin Yong, his work, in the Chinese-speaking world, has a cultural currency roughly equal to that of 'Harry Potter' and 'Star Wars' combined." - The New Yorker "[A Hero Born is] actually one of the most famous works by author Louis Cha (commonly known as Jin Yong), a Hong Kong writer beloved across the Chinese-speaking world." – NPR "...his works were loved by generations - both in China and worldwide." - BBC“If you haven’t read Jin Yong’s work, you haven’t yet fully experienced the fantasy genre. Bursting with magic, heroism, history, drama, and epic martial arts battles, this is the wuxia genre at its very finest.” ―Fonda Lee, World Fantasy Award-winning author of the Green Bone Saga “The Hong Kong writer, Louis Cha, writing under the pen name Jin Yong from the mid-1950s through the rise of a movie star named Bruce Lee, created what have become the world’s greatest and most beloved martial arts novels. When he passed in 2018, he left behind epic stories of betrayal and honor, intrigue and amour, slashing blades and flashing fists, and a dazzling parade of indelible characters that hundreds of millions of readers have come to love. The arrival of the U.S. edition of The Legends of the Condor Heroes is a major event. Welcome to the world of Jin Yong. Once you’ve entered, you may never want to leave.” ― Jeff Chang, American Book Award Winner and author of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation "A Chinese Lord of the Rings." - Irish Times “The world’s biggest kung fu fantasy writer.” – The Guardian “In Anna Holmwood’s spirited translation, this action-packed and ideas-laden saga is as revealing of modern as of ancient China.” – economist.com “…the novel makes use of hundreds of characters to create an epic world of martial arts and entangled human stories, not just about familial bonds and romance, but also brotherhood and patriotism.” – Global Times “ A Hero Born reads like…an early legend, such as the Death of King Arthur .” - GeekDad “ A Hero Born is a stirring epic, full of gravity-defying kung fu, treachery, loyalty and love.” – The Times “The plot includes betrayal and allegiance in different martial arts schools, and the rise and fall of dynasties.” – Telegraph UK “…[Jin Yong’s novels have] become a touchstone for generations of readers, and an influence on authors such as Ken Liu.” – The Verge “The world imagined by Chinese writer Jin Yong is one which celebrates loyalty, courage, and the triumph of the individual over a corrupt and authoritarian state – carried out by no less than heroes who fly through trees and deliver deadly blows to their enemies with a single finger.” – Quartzy.com “You’ll be rooting for the heroes to the end.” – SFX Magazine , 4 starred review“Cha…created an imaginary world in his 15 novels – one featuring martial arts, poetry and plots with deep roots in Chinese history, culture and beliefs.” – South China Morning Post “Prepare to be swept along as our champion gallops towards his nemesis and destiny.” – Daily Mail "Jin Yong's stories have been passed down in the East from generation to generation and thus nurture people of all ages." - Yan Lianke, Man International Booker-shortlisted author Jin Yong (pen name of Louis Cha) was a true phenomenon in the Chinese-speaking world. Born in Mainland China, he spent most of his life writing novels and editing newspapers in Hong Kong. His enormously popular martial arts novels, including the epic Legends of the Condor Heroes series--beginning with A Hero Born --have become modern classics and remain a must-read for readers looking for danger and adventure. Anna Holmwood is a producer and translator from Chinese and Swedish into English. She is co-founder of the Emerging Translators' Network in the UK.

Features & Highlights

  • The epic Chinese classic and phenomenon published in the US for the first time!
  • Featured in iO9's
  • 2019 Fall Preview.
  • Set in ancient China, in a world where kung fu is magic, kingdoms vie for power and the battle to become the ultimate kung fu master unfolds, an unlikely hero is born… in the first book in the epic
  • Legends of the Condor Heroes
  • by the critically acclaimed master of the genre, Jin Yong.
  • After his father―a devoted Song patriot―is murdered by the Jin empire, Guo Jing and his mother flee to the plains of Ghengis Khan and his people for refuge. For one day he must face his mortal enemy in battle in the Garden of the Drunken Immortals. Under the tutelage of Genghis Khan and The Seven Heroes of the South, Guo Jing hones his kung fu skills. Humble, loyal and perhaps not always wise, Guo Jing faces a destiny both great and terrible.However, in a land divided―and a future largely unknown―Guo Jing must navigate love and war, honor and betrayal before he can face his own fate and become the hero he’s meant to be.
  • Legends of the Condor Heroes
  • A Hero BornA Bond UndoneA Snake Lies WaitingA Heart Divided

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(592)
★★★★
25%
(247)
★★★
15%
(148)
★★
7%
(69)
★
-7%
(-70)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Too much for me Grasshopper

A Hero Born by Jin Yong – 2 Stars
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 9781250220608

I suppose my expectation was to read a saga similar to Shogan by James Clavell where history flowed out of the story while the plot covered centuries and several volumes. Was I surprised when my mind became saturated with silly Kung Fu movements, names, and skirmish after skirmish that contributed to the advertised saga. Grammatically it is well written, a reflection of the translator I presume. The underlying plot of two children born to Song parents who were killed by Jin terrorists, manipulators and controllers of the governments for years, who reunite as sworn brothers under the Mongolian leader Genghis Khan was inviting. The continuous Kung Fu was a bit Beyond the Tallest Elephant Head and as interesting as the Boring Boar Trips on Chestnuts movement. Sorry, I just had to create my own nonsensical phrases to illustrate what is, I guess, the image of Chinese fantasy distributed throughout. I love Sci Fi and Fantasies; but, this was far too consuming for the enjoyment obtained -- 11 more volumes of this? No thanks. I’ll be generous and rate it a 2.

Reviewer: Rich
2 people found this helpful
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Just not for me

DNF'd @ 15%

I was really looking forward to A Hero Born, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I'm not entirely sure if that has more to with the genre or this new translation into English, but the style didn't do anything for me. I felt entirely disconnected from all of the characters and events to that point. I have a feeling though that I may enjoy the story in another format. Oh, well. Thanks anyway, NetGalley.
2 people found this helpful
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Lost in translation

• Title: A Hero Born
• Author: Jin Yong
• Series: Legends of the Condor Book 1
• Pages: 395
• Genre: Wuxia / Historical Fiction
• Rating Out of 5 Stars: 3.5

My Thoughts:
The story itself is fictional but based with factual historical events. The main gist of it is two pregnant woman are left behind after their husbands (both are from prominent fighting families) are murdered. They and their children are separated, one is born and raised in the army of Genghis Khan and is fated to fight the son of the other family. You cover multiple generations of characters but that is the sum of it.
I remember back in the 90’s coming across this story through school. While my teacher gave us the general idea of the story, this translation (while not bad), I fear will go over many western readers heads. The writing can come across as very clunky and repetitive. The point of view can be hard to follow.
Wuxia is a classic Asian method of story-telling with beautifully rendered scenes that lend better to a physical/visual story telling then a written one. The story lines are often quite complex with many characters involved. Characters often have romanticized or lengthy titles and fight scenes are one motion followed by another counter-motion that can go on for several sentences. Because of this, in action scenes much of the page consists of titles of our present characters and the moves of their various fighting disciplines. For those not familiar with this approach, you’re probably not going to get much out of the scene. If you’ve seen movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, House of Flying Daggers, Hero, the fight scenes in these movies give you a general idea of the scenes in the book.
There’s a lot of action. If you are a fan of those types of movies, or are trained in any fighting disciplines, you’ll likely enjoy this title.
*E-ARC kindly provided by St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley
2 people found this helpful
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Best Wuxia

Love the story. Grew up watching the series. My favorite Wuxia!
1 people found this helpful
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An entertaining read that explores the interplay of honor and family in a multi-generational epic

A Chinese martial arts fantasy epic from one of the most widely read Chinese writers, A Hero Born opens Jin Yong’s Legends of the Condor Heroes series, which is a classic of its time.

Following the death of his father, Guo Jing grows up on the Mongolia steppes alongside of Genghis Khan’s army. A brave and loyal, if not the brightest, boy, Guo Jing receives training from various instructors, including a group of martial arts masters who are honor bound for personal reasons to train him in their ways. What he doesn’t know is that the martial arts world is watching his growth. Due to circumstances surrounding his father’s death, he is fated to one day battle an opponent with whom he’s shared a connection since he was in his mother’s womb.

Set against a turning point in Chinese history, A Hero Born takes readers from the Song Empire to its Jurchen neighbors in the north to the Mongolian steppes and back again. As Guo Jing comes into his own as a young man and martial artist, various political factions plot to gain power in opulent courts both in the north and in the south, empires sit on the verge of rising or falling, and martial artists fight—whether or not to bring honor and glory to their name and their sect, at least to prove their might.

A Hero Born draws on a rich history of Chinese culture. Told through multiple perspectives (primarily those of martial artists, but including a few others), it explores the many reasons why an individual chooses to fight, the importance of acting with honor, and the complex family ties that bind us. It does feel as though some nuances are missed in translation—for example, the significance of Chinese names, as the characters are chosen to form a specific meaning. Some characters’ family names are listed first (as in Guo Jing), which is the traditional form of presenting names in China; some are provided second (as in Skyfury Guo, the protagonist’s father). However, the English translation is engaging and worth reading, especially for individuals who are unable to access the original works.

Fans of fantasy, historical fiction, and stories featuring contests (in particular one-on-one or one-on-multiple-opponents challenges) may enjoy this book.
1 people found this helpful
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A tough read but worth the effort

I won an ARC of the second book in this trilogy in a Goodreads Giveaway, so I bought this book to read first.

I was more than half way through this book before I adapted to the flow and could keep track of the characters without referring to the list in the front.

That being said, having finished the second book, I am completely hooked and eagerly waiting for the third one to be translated to English.
1 people found this helpful
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Wuxia masterpiece

Amazing!!! Showing the power and Beauty that is Chinese culture and it’s ability to overcome all obstacles!
1 people found this helpful
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Poetry.

First, a question: Does anyone know why the Hardback Edition of A Bond Undone was up for preorder, then cancelled? I would like a full HB set of these wonderful books.

Many other have reviewed the novel - I will add that this translation of A Hero Born is fantastic. The language is deceptively simple, yet poetic. The story and characters are exciting and interesting - I am simply in love with this series, and very happy that it's been made available in English so that I can finally experience it after reading so much about it for so many years.
1 people found this helpful
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Nothing but excitement for this Chinese classic now in English

I have a passion for foreign language literature without the ability to read anything but English. So, when I saw that the masterful work of Jin Yong was being translated into English, I jumped at the chance to read book one in this renowned series.

Now he hardest thing I find about reviewing translated works is knowing where to place both the praise and the criticism between the author and the translator. For one, this is definitely a story you know you're going to be in for a while (there are so many in the series, and I hope they all are translated in the end) so it requires some patience. That being said, the beginning was a bit slow for me and though it picked up I found this up-and-down interest level of mine to last throughout the first half of the book. In particular, the scenes with the Seven Heroes were dragging in the same way a television show who lets every character speak in every scene loses steam. I also found the fight scenes where there are more than two fighters to be rather boring because of how many people had to be featured and their actions explained before moving on.

But, that's my main criticism of the book. This combination of historical fiction, coming-of-age, and fantasy really enjoyable to me and it's even better knowing how long running the series is because I want to invest in the characters that much more. I loved the first generation of characters and watching Guo Jing grow up. Any part that focused on the fathers and sons was fantastic to me, my interest only wained when the story deviated to secondary characters. The whole section with the Great Khan in Mongolia was great and I can't wait for our hero to get back there.

One thing I would've liked to see though is less westernizing of the characters names. While some fit, like Charity for example, others like Lotus probably could've been left fully Chinese and then ones like Hector were just strange to read amidst the unchanged names. That's a small thing though.

I'm really looking forward to book two and the rest of the series. Bringing these kinds of huge works to an English audience is a real treat for me and I can't wait to see where the sons go next.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin's Press, the author Jin Yong, and the translator Anna Holmwood for the opportunity to do so.
1 people found this helpful
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Reminiscent of the old tales of knights and chivalry

A Hero Born (Legends of the Condor Heroes #1) by Jin Yong (translated by Anna Holmwood) is a martial arts epic, retelling Chinese legends. The author is one of China’s most widely read living writer.

The Song Empire in the 13th century has lost half its territory, including the capital, to the Jurchen invaders. While the war is raging, the peasants suffer and the great powers underestimate the Mongol warriors who are being untied by Genghis Khan.

In the great Kahn’s army, a son of a murdered Song patriot grows up. Gou Jing is humble and loyal, but not too smart. Gou Jing’s fate, however, is to confront an opponent who has many more advantages than him.

To help Gou Jing confront his fate, several masters, shifus, help him out. The Seven Heroes of the South train him endlessly so he can fulfill his destiny at the Garden of the Drunken Immortals.

As many people who do not live in China, I was unfamiliar with Yong, but I always enjoyed Chinese mythology (even though I could not tell you much about it) and the fantasy realm around them. The movies are mostly fantastic, so when I read about A Hero Born (Legends of the Condor Heroes #1) by Jin Yong (translated by Anna Holmwood), I decided to give it a shot.

This novel is very reminiscent of the old tales of knights and chivalry. Instead of swords, the warrior fight with kung fu, but are just as chivalrous and cartoonish. It’s easy to see how these stories have influenced many in the literary world, as well as other media such as TV shows and movies.
In fact, I could easily see Kill Bill and other Tarantino movies being influenced by these stories.

This novel is the first in a series of 12 books, Legends of the Condor Heroes. The novel draws on Chinese history, traditions, myths, and legends. The translation reads like an adult fairytale, it is vibrant and easily imagine if you’re a fan of kung-fu movies, or even the epics coming out of China in recent years.
1 people found this helpful

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