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A Hero Born

The Definitive Edition

#1 in series

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

The epic Chinese classic and phenomenon published in the US for the first time!

Featured in iO9's 2019 Fall Preview.
A fantastical generational saga and kung fu epic, Jin Yong's A Hero Born is the classic novel of its time, stretching from the Song Empire (China 1200 AD) to the appearance of a warlord whose name will endure for eternity: Genghis Khan. Filled with an extraordinary cast of characters, A Hero Born is a tale of fantasy and wonder, love and passion, treachery and war, betrayal and brotherhood.
And then a hero is born...
After his father, a Song patriot, was murdered, Guo Jing and his mother fled to the plains and joined Genghis Khan and his people. Loyal, humble and driven, he learned all he could from the warlord and his army in hopes of one day joining them in their cause. But what Guo Jing doesn't know is that he's destined to battle an opponent that will challenge him in every way imaginable and with a connection to his past that no one envisioned.
With the help and guidance of his shifus, The Seven Heroes of the South, Guo Jing returns to China to face his foe and carry out his destiny. But in a land divided by treachery and war, betrayal and ambition, he'll have to put his courage and knowledge to the test to survive.
"Actor/filmmaker Daniel York Loh draws from his British/East Asian background to bring a unique cross-cultural graphic novel voice and energy in this Chinese version of a super hero saga." — BookTrib

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    • AudioFile Magazine
      Actor/filmmaker Daniel York Loh draws from his British/East Asian background to bring a unique cross-cultural graphic novel voice and energy to this Chinese version of a super hero saga. Author Jin Yong (1924-2018) was a literary phenomenon in his native China; he combined a love of martial arts with fantasy and history in his 15 bestselling novels. In A HERO BORN, a boy destined for greatness takes refuge on the plains of thirteenth-century Mongolia and is tutored in ancient combat techniques by craggy-voiced Shaolin masters and the crazy-talking Seven Heroes of the South. Loh is at his best when describing the story's evocatively named kung fu moves like "Embracing the Moon" and "Behead the Dragon." This is the first time this audiobook has been available in English. B.P. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 3, 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.

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  • English

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