A review by millennialbookreview
A Hero Born: The Definitive Edition by Jin Yong
4.0
I enjoyed this novel overall. It's a great start/introduction to a sweeping epic story. It balanced martial arts, politics, and great character moments really well, with one component of the story overshadowing the others. The narrative was rich and immersive. The magic system in the novel was subtle which made the story feel grounded. There were some loveable characters and just as many love-to-hate characters, creating an engaging story. It's a fun story to read. The novel takes place in 13th century China, a fascinating era of history given the conflicts and wars between the Song, Jin and Mongolian cultures, and uses that setting to show the reader a deep, complex, rich world.
The story moves slow at the start, but picks up before too long. There are a lot of names and information to keep track of, so it's not a book I'd recommend to readers just getting into fantasy. Some names read as a bit silly, the Seven Freaks of the South for one, but I think that's due to the translation from Chinese to English and some words not translating well or directly from the original language.
I feel like the description on Goodreads that calls A Hero Born (and The Legend of the Condor Heroes series overall) "the Chinese Lord of the Rings", due to its popularity in China, is misleading as English-readers might go into the novel expecting a different story than what it delivers. It shares some themes such as justice and heroism but this is a wuxia novel, a very specific genre of literature, with little in common with classic western fantasy.
The story moves slow at the start, but picks up before too long. There are a lot of names and information to keep track of, so it's not a book I'd recommend to readers just getting into fantasy. Some names read as a bit silly, the Seven Freaks of the South for one, but I think that's due to the translation from Chinese to English and some words not translating well or directly from the original language.
I feel like the description on Goodreads that calls A Hero Born (and The Legend of the Condor Heroes series overall) "the Chinese Lord of the Rings", due to its popularity in China, is misleading as English-readers might go into the novel expecting a different story than what it delivers. It shares some themes such as justice and heroism but this is a wuxia novel, a very specific genre of literature, with little in common with classic western fantasy.