Review by Booklist Review
This first volume of the official translation of Jin Yong's acclaimed saga is set against the backdrop of the 12th century Jin-Song wars. Two sworn brothers, who have also promised that their sons will be sworn brothers, are attacked by Song officials bribed by the Jin, and their pregnant wives are forced to flee. Soon after, a friend of the family, Taoist Qiu Chuji, accidentally provokes a fight with the Seven Heroes (or Freaks) of the South while trying to find the missing women, and to resolve their conflict a wager is proposed in which each group will find and train one of the two missing children. This first volume focuses primarily on one of the children, Guo Jing, who is eventually taken in by the future Genghis Khan and raised on the steppe, and his adventures while being trained by the Seven Heroes. 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.--Nell Keep Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
An unrefined translation muddles this posthumous U.S. debut for renowned wuxia author Jin Yong (1924-2018). During the Song Dynasty, Southern patriots Skyfury Guo and Ironheart Yang meet a Taoist monk, Qiu Chuji, who gives the sworn brothers names, daggers, and the promise of kung fu training for their unborn sons. An act of kindness by Yang's wife, however, has fatal consequences, thrusting the families violently apart. After Guo dies and Yang is presumed dead, Qiu Chuji and the Seven Freaks of the South make a bet. Each party will train one of the patriots' sons for 18 years; a fight between the two will determine which master was the better teacher. The Freaks locate and teach Guo Jing in Mongolia before sending him off toward Jiaxing, the battle site. The fate of Yang's son is less clear. Meanwhile, the machinations of the Sixth Prince Wanyan Honglie on behalf of the Jin Empire promise trouble for the Song in subsequent installments. Despite occasional illustrations, the fight scenes integral to the genre are stagnant due to Holmwood's mundane and sometimes confusing rendition (one character "jabbed at the housekeeper's jaw, splitting it"). The ending is not a cliff-hanger so much as an abrupt stop halfway through the plot. Jin Yong's work is undoubtedly worth reading, but this interpretation of it will do little to introduce or endear his writing to Anglophones. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Guo Jing is born to be a hero--some day. His father, Skyfury Guo, was a Song patriot, and when he was murdered by those loyal to the occupying Jin army, his mother fled to the land where Ghengis Khan and his people reside, giving birth to Guo Jing. Taken in by the warlord, Guo Jing is raised as a loyal follower of Khan and plans to avenge his father through the army. However, wandering the lands are the Seven Heroes of the South, sworn to find Guo Jing and train him in martial arts. Guo Jing is fated to face an opponent who will test his strength and determination and is connected to the past his mother left behind. The cast of characters, their backgrounds and futures are woven into a pivotal time in Chinese history, providing readers an epic wuxia fiction. VERDICT Newly translated into English, the "Legends of the Condor Heroes" series is an epic, fantastical tale filled with betrayal, brotherhood, and kung fu energy. The first in the series shows the depth of Jin Yong's writing, and the sobriquet of "China's Tolkien" is well deserved. [See Prepub Alert, 3/17/19.]--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Kung fu epic from one of the world's bestselling authors, translated for the first time into English.Jin Yong, the pen name of Louis Cha, was a Hong Kong-based journalist who died last year at 94. Between 1955 and 1972 he wrote 14 novels in the genre called wuxia, historical fiction with lots of martial arts brawling and "the clanging of metal." In this book, the first of the Legends of the Condor Heroes tetralogy published in 1957, he puts all the conventions of the genre to work. A somewhat simple-minded young man named Guo Jing, raised by his mother after his father's untimely death, grows up in a world torn apart by palace intrigues and stewing political factions behind the Great Wall. On the other side, there's a vast Mongol army led by none other than Genghis Khan, or Temujin, who enjoys a good massacre: "His heart quickened, and a laugh bubbled up from within. The earth shook with the shouts of his men as they withdrew from the bloody field." Fighting their way across the landscape with Guo are bands of Song dynasty patriots and traitors as well as legendary martial artists with names like The Eastern Heretic Apothecary Huang and Double Sun Wang Chongyangoh, yes, and the Seven Freaks of the South (one is blind, one 3 feet tall, one deft at chopping up enemies with a butcher's knife), who would prefer to be known as the Seven Heroes. Jin Yong draws on a body of legend, history, Taoist precepts, and various martial arts traditions to serve up a tale of stylized contests ("Nan threw a bone-piercing awl and Gilden Quan shot a concealed arrow from his sleeve") and good/evil binaries that ends on a satisfyingly cliffhanging note. Though Jin Yong's epics have been likened to Tolkien's and George R.R. Martin's, think Darth Vader's message to Luke Skywalker, "I am your father," as filtered through Jackie Chan and Chow Yun Fat.Fans of sword-and-sorcery fantasy and historical fiction alike will enjoy this hard-hitting yarn. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
