If you enjoy epic adventures and martial arts than A HERO BORN by Jin Yong is a book for you. This is book one in the Legend of the Condor Heroes series and introduces readers to two best friends both enjoying life and love. Their lives change abruptly when the two men meet and develop a friendship with a monk. Finding out that their wives are pregnant, the men vow that the children will always be together; brothers if they are boys and promised to each other if they are a boy and a girl. Yet the men and their wives will not find happiness as they thought. Fate has other things in store for them. Soon the men are killed, the women are separated, and the children will grow up in different worlds than their parents would have ever dreamed. We follow the women and what happens to them after the men are killed. We also travel with the monk who has sworn to protect each of the family lines. Much of this story is about Gou Jing and his adventures while he grows up and learns to master the martial arts living amongst the Mongolians. The other child, Yang Kang, is adopted by a prince and grows up believing himself to be his son. As this is the first of many books in this series this story ends on a cliffhanger when identities and secrets are revealed.

These stories are old and favored Chinese tales have been translated into English for many others to enjoy. Although it is nice to have them in English the translation does not always fit. The prose sometimes sounds stilted and the descriptions get lost in translation. I did enjoy the story and was quickly immersed in it. As with many Asian tales, it is told in a fable-like quality. It is full of action and emotions. There is a lot of flowing descriptions that help the reader imagine the scenes. This is a wonderful tale filled with ancient traditions and lore. You are left wondering what will happen next and eager to return to this world. I am a big fan of ancient Chinese history and found myself enjoying the world that the original author created so many years ago.