A Hero Born cover art

A Hero Born

Legends of the Condor Heroes, Vol. 1

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A Hero Born

By: Jin Yong, Anna Holmwood
Narrated by: Carolyn Oldershaw, Daniel York Loh
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About this listen

THE CHINESE "LORD OF THE RINGS" - NOW IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME.

THE SERIES EVERY CHINESE READER HAS BEEN ENJOYING FOR DECADES - 300 MILLION COPIES SOLD.

China: 1200 A.D.

The Song Empire has been invaded by its warlike Jurchen neighbours from the north. Half its territory and its historic capital lie in enemy hands; the peasants toil under the burden of the annual tribute demanded by the victors. Meanwhile, on the Mongolian steppe, a disparate nation of great warriors is about to be united by a warlord whose name will endure for eternity: Genghis Khan.

Guo Jing, son of a murdered Song patriot, grew up with Genghis Khan's army. He is humble, loyal, perhaps not altogether wise, and is fated from birth to one day confront an opponent who is the opposite of him in every way: privileged, cunning and flawlessly trained in the martial arts.

Guided by his faithful shifus, The Seven Heroes of the South, Guo Jing must return to China - to the Garden of the Drunken Immortals in Jiaxing - to fulfil his destiny. But in a divided land riven by war and betrayal, his courage and his loyalties will be tested at every turn.

Translated from the Chinese by Anna Holmwood

©2019 Jin Yong, Anna Holmwood (P)2019 Quercus Editions Limited Action & Adventure Dragons & Mythical Creatures Fantasy Fiction Historical Superhero China Destiny Mongol Empire Romance Mythology

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All stars
Most relevant  
Narrator is brilliant, changing voices for different characters. Hope he'll do books in the series.
I don't understand why Huang Rong is the only name translated as Lotus as all other characters kept their Chinese name. Other than that, this is a classic series from my childhood. I am going to carry on with the following 3 books and I look forward to the complete translation of the Condor Heroes trilogy in future.

Very enjoyable listen !

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loved this book well narrated a great story well written cant wait to read more

brilliant

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As much as I have enjoyed te story, at some parts it was hard to follow with all of these characters. Some eben have more names than one. Good book tho!

Its alot

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Definitely up there with the best stories ever written. A joy from start to finish.

Amazing

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It really is the Chinese Lord of The Rings. I encourage you listen to it.

Tragic and beautiful

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No wonder it's one of the most widely read novels in the Chinese speaking world. Yes, it reads like a Wuxia movie, so expect people flying through the air, a lot of melodrama and kungfu masters numbing people with death touches, but the story is truly grand, even got me in tears at times. Check out the numerous TV adaptations, especially the one from 2003.

Magnificent

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Absolutely tremendous story, incredibly well told!
On to the next installment.
And kudos to the narratot for the parts that were sung, too!

A Fan Born

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This book, this trilogy, was totally unknown to me a year ago, and it was only by chance that a student mentioned the book to me as a possible book recommendation "if I were interested in martial arts". Being only halfway interested in those aforementioned martial arts, I opened this audiobook with some scepticism. And I must say my student was in the wrong: no interest in martial arts is needed to appreciate this very fine story! It is intricately woven, with great characters and plot. It drives you forward, and I who listen to audiobooks when I go for my pre-breakfast strolls found that breakfast had to wait for a long time indeed when these books were on my ear!

I have listened to audiobooks for three years now, and am up to a few thousand hours. And I have listened to some very fine books, read by some very fine narrators. But out of all those thousands of hours, this book series was when I listened to it, and remains in retrospect (half a year after listening) my definite favourites.

I feel I should also tip a hat to the narrator, Daniel York Loh. He shares the top spot of narrators with Dark Towers narrator Frank Muller, ahead of some other pretty impressive narrators. Even had this book not been as good, Loh's narration would have lifted it up, much the same way Morgan Freeman can lift a mediocre TV show to a good one and a good one to greatness. He both narrates the story as such well and in a pleasant voice, and captures the individuality of the characters and their voices. So I am watching for more titles read by him in the future.

The combination of great story and great telling makes for a great experience that I will heartily recommend.

Why hadn't I heard about this book before?

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I can't begin to tell you how much I like these books. If you are thinking about it, just get it! I promise you that you won't regret it. I read these books as a kid, and I would say they have influenced my ideas of morality, discipline and loyalty ever since. But revisiting it as an adult, the stories are even more entertaining, ridiculous and funny than I remember. Whatever your background, I would say these books are very entertaining.

Rollicking moving tale of honour, loyalty and heroism

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The adventure is great. It’s “of a time”, and I found the repetitive flushing/colourdraining of women’s cheeks a bit distracting as a female listener, but what book of this age doesn’t have that sort of rubbish :)

Epic adventure and beautifully read

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