A Hero Born: The Definitive Edition

by Jin Yong, Anna Holmwood (Translator)

Overview

Now in English for the first time!

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 series 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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250220622
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/10/2020
Series:	Legends of the Condor Heroes , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	92,118
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the 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.

Editorial Reviews

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

“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

From the Publisher

06/03/2019

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.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 07/01/2019

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

Library Journal

2019-07-01
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 Chongyang—oh, 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.

Kirkus Reviews

Read More