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

by Jin Yong (Author), Anna Holmwood (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 1,094 ratings

Book 1 of 4: Legends of the Condor Heroes

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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 Born
A Bond Undone
A Snake Lies Waiting
A Heart Divided

Editorial Reviews

Review

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

About the Author

Anna Holmwood is a producer andtranslator from Chinese and Swedish into English. She is co-founder of the Emerging Translators' Network in the UK.

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.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07P2NX2LV
Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press; Illustrated edition (September 17, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 17, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 18140 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 433 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1250220629

Best Sellers Rank: #85,748 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #206 in Asian Myth & Legend eBooks
- #474 in Historical Fantasy (Kindle Store)
- #1,446 in Family Saga Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.6 1,094 ratings

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4.6 out of 5

1,094 global ratings

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nekozukiChris

After 15 years of waiting I'm not disappointed

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2018

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About 15 yeats ago my sister and I found the anime Legends of Condor Heroes. We absolutely loved the story. Knowing it was a novel series I have really wanted to see it. Now i know the anime I saw covers the second story arc, the return of condor heroes. I've also seen the chinese drama of the same story. When i saw the novel was out in English I purchased it right away. This part of the series is one I haven't read previously so it is all new to me. So far I am very pleased. The writing is really nice. I love the richness of the vocabulary and the story is interesting. I'm only half way in but I love it. The story is about two men who are sworn brothers who used to live in the north until after the Jin conquered it. In the south these two Song patriots Skyfury Guo and Ironheart Yang live as farmers with their wives. They end up getting killed after helping a monk who killed a treacherous official. Both men end up killed and their pregnant wives are stolen away. The story then follows the twos sons and their masters in a turbulant world. We even get to meet Ghengis Khan in the story. I am really looking forward to all the novels being translated. One word though is that you will see british spellings like colour instead of color since this was published in the UK. I am thrilled that my wish has been and i can read this great series.

14 people found this helpful

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Peter Fabell

Reads like magic on your soul

Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2023

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The first of four books that comprise Jin Yong’s masterpiece, this feels like Lord of the Rings in the complexity of the lore, but reads like a thriller. Steeped in Chinese history, this is historical fiction at its finest, combined with the action of a Western, fleshed out in the intricacies and details of the superhero genre, with the quiet grace of language that is readable despite age or intellectual capacity.

Like Charles Dickens, Jin Yong (also known as Louis Cha) wrote these as serials. He imitates the best of the Chinese classics while throttling the story like a 90s era Hong Kong martial arts movie. True entertainment.

13 people found this helpful

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Eduardo R.

Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting…

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2022

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A enjoyable adventure. The story moves through locales and sets up the struggle of good and evil. The translation is sometimes awkward in context for some passages but that is normal for translated texts. It is still very fluid and consumable. The fight scenes are littered with elaborate moves, all given elaborate names (as they are the fighting style for a specific family), and are descriptive and imaginative. As a lover of old Kung-fu movies from the 70s and 80s, this book felt familiar. Some of the scenes of characters gliding through the air or performing acrobatic moves with grace and ease as they engage, chase or meet clearly reflect that “Kung-Fu” movie style I am used to seeing. The encounters follow, what I could imagine in my mind visually in the kung-fu movie style, and the events all lead to the epic showdown. Since this is the first of a series, I am curious to see how this epic moves on. I was attracted to it because it was described as the “Chinese Lord of the Rings”. Indeed it is epic in nature and the host of characters is grand. The supernatural aspects are there and you really want to root for the hero. This is a great beach read or afternoon trek for those who need a little classic kung-fu and high spirited adventure. I saw there is a subtitled series that is available. I may have to check it out to see how they presented this story in an episodic format. Cheers!

8 people found this helpful

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J

Wonderful on so many levels!

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2021

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I love this book. It’s a wonderful hero/ adventure story, full of excitement and intrigue, all while being supported by an enormous depth of influence from many ancient Chinese arts: martial arts, medicine, poetry, philosophy, and more. A marvelous celebration of Chinese culture in the form of a captivating and heartfelt story.

Great start to the series. I’m enormously grateful that Jin Yong/ Louis Cha’s stories are finally getting translated into English. I really hope they keep coming. I already have book 4, of this series, pre-ordered.

The one hesitation I had was in reading was the description of the martial arts moves. Eventually it occurred to me that it really wasn’t important if I knew what the move “flying mountain” or “the sword of mutual demise” actually looked like. It would surprise me very much if many Chinese readers, save those well versed in Kung Fu, would know what the moves were. I just consider them poetic descriptions, which they obviously are, and enjoy them on that level.

6 people found this helpful

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Maggie Li

Nice book

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2023

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I ordered for a friend, he loves this book.

One person found this helpful

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Kai Mantsch

If this is the kind of thing you like...

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2019

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I'm paraphrasing from a site talking about Kung Fu films but I have to say, "If this is the kind of thing you like, this is the kind of thing you'll like!" I think it perhaps takes some familiarity with Chinese culture and storytelling styles, but for the eager and curious it may also be a joyful introduction.

I *love* this ridiculous, wild ride of a series. Epic battles. Mystical and creatively weird powers developed by supreme dedication to the art. Questionable decisions. Manipulation and escape and triumph through cleverness. Complicated relationships. It made me so happy to find this published translation because - this is the kind of thing I like.

Relevant note: For context, I am so much this kind of person I flew to China and lived there for a year to train in Kung Fu. You'll have to decide if this is anything like you. ;-)

CONS:

The names are, for some reason, occasionally "westernized" as someone else mentioned. Worse, the Chinese names that remain don't have tone markings so I can't even pronounce them. I hope this is fixed in the next volume.

29 people found this helpful

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Cireasa

Rather bad

Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2023

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”the character said this, but he was intelligent so he evaded". This is the type of prose this is. And a lot of reviews compare this to LOTR. Omg!

4 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Harry

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 31, 2023

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Eastern stories and tales are so good! This book is everything great about this time period. Loved it

Rana Bhattacharyya

Very good

Reviewed in India on August 1, 2023

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I knew nothing of this series, but reading the reviews here I thought to read it. This book, the first one, was a little awkward to read. Many of the strange names took time to settle in my head, I think. Or, may be the narrator needed a little time worth a book to transfer himself into a great storyteller. Whatever, I could not leave the book!
It really is a good story which only gets better with the other books of this series.
Loved reading it.

3 people found this helpful

Oops

Page one

Reviewed in the Netherlands on December 8, 2020

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Page 1, row 3: “Ten cypresses... leaves red like fire.” From the original text, it should be Chinese tallow tree instead of cypress.

Fynn-Fabian P.

Simply beautiful

Reviewed in Germany on November 1, 2020

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