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Post by kyc on Jul 7, 2019 13:56:12 GMT
I've just finished another volume of Gu Long containing Seven Killing Hands (《七殺手》) and Seven-Stars Dragon King (《七星龍王》).
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Seven Killing Hands was first published in 1975, around the time of Tianya Mingyue Dao ("The Horizon, Bright Moon, Saber").
It's not a bad piece, slightly better than Never Submit (絕不低頭), Sword Flurries, Misty Rain, Jiangnan (劍花煙雨江南), but not as good as TYMYD, The Sword of the Third Young Master (三少爺的劍). All these novels were first published in 1975. The title is proof that GL changed his mind again while writing this piece. The person who is called "Seven Killing Hands" (in the book's context, not assassins) dies after the first chapter, rendering the title nonsensical.
Also, the explanation at the end shows that GL has lost interest in the plot. He doesn't even tie up the loose ends convincingly.
This is good but not top notch GL. Readable and engaging enough. I give it 4/5. I may be a little generous though.
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Seven-Stars Dragon King (《七星龍王》) is late GL, first published in 1978.
I have mixed feelings about this one. The ending chapters are good, but the beginning and the middle are something of a slog. Also, by now, much of the novel strikes one as self-parody. GL has already recycled so many plotlines--some of them read like repetitions or permutations of earlier and better novels.
The central plot on the love triangle is probably better than most GL, but the novel is too long, not helped by GL changing his style to a more verbose one. He deliberately writes in longer sentences and paragraphs. The first 2/3 lacks the cutting edge of the best GL.
Also, I'm not so convinced about GL's detective explanations. He's not a very rigorous puzzle solver, and the detective work only convinces 50%. He only tries for the hyperbolic and the incredible. Unfortunately, much of it here is unconvincing.
I must have missed something about the Long (龍) family. This novel seems a sequel; about a famous xia family Gu Long must have written about in earlier works.
My rating: 3.5/5.
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Post by atumiwa on Oct 7, 2019 10:45:38 GMT
could someone translate this?
桃花傳奇 有活潑鬼靈精的張潔潔及艾青、艾虹、卜阿鵑等麻衣教弟子
especially "卜阿鵑等麻衣教弟子"
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Post by kyc on Oct 8, 2019 4:45:12 GMT
could someone translate this? 桃花傳奇 有活潑鬼靈精的張潔潔及艾青、艾虹、卜阿鵑等麻衣教弟子 especially "卜阿鵑等麻衣教弟子" I haven't read this novel before. Here goes... 桃花傳奇 有活潑鬼靈精的張潔潔及艾青、艾虹、卜阿鵑等麻衣教弟子 The Peach Blossom Legend has the vivacious, impish Zhang Jiejie, as well as Hemp Garment Sect members like Ai Qing, Ai Hong and Bu Ajuan. 卜阿鵑等麻衣教弟子 = Hemp Garment Sect members like Bu Ajuan etc.
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Post by atumiwa on Oct 8, 2019 7:45:30 GMT
could someone translate this? 桃花傳奇 有活潑鬼靈精的張潔潔及艾青、艾虹、卜阿鵑等麻衣教弟子 especially "卜阿鵑等麻衣教弟子" I haven't read this novel before. Here goes... 桃花傳奇 有活潑鬼靈精的張潔潔及艾青、艾虹、卜阿鵑等麻衣教弟子 The Peach Blossom Legend has the vivacious, impish Zhang Jiejie, as well as Hemp Garment Sect members like Ai Qing, Ai Hong and Bu Ajuan. 卜阿鵑等麻衣教弟子 = Hemp Garment Sect members like Bu Ajuan etc. thanks kyc, so 麻衣教 is basically the name of sect... google translates 麻衣教弟子 to "Ma Yi teaches disciples" , which make me confuse who is this guy Ma Yi, haha if you dont mind, please translate this too. 《圓月彎刀》為古龍晚期作品,1976年6月至1978年5月,香港〈武俠春秋〉282至348期斷續連載,原名《刀神》,1978年漢麟出版改名《圓月彎刀》。本書為《三少爺的劍》後傳,11集後由司馬紫煙代筆,約佔全書三分之二 what i want to know is this part "本書為《三少爺的劍》後傳" , that means 圓月彎刀's story related to 三少爺的劍 ?
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Post by kyc on Oct 8, 2019 8:55:49 GMT
google translates 麻衣教弟子 to "Ma Yi teaches disciples" , which make me confuse who is this guy Ma Yi, haha if you dont mind, please translate this too. 《圓月彎刀》為古龍晚期作品,1976年6月至1978年5月,香港〈武俠春秋〉282至348期斷續連載,原名《刀神》,1978年漢麟出版改名《圓月彎刀》。本書為《三少爺的劍》後傳,11集後由司馬紫煙代筆,約佔全書三分之二 what i want to know is this part "本書為《三少爺的劍》後傳" , that means 圓月彎刀's story related to 三少爺的劍 ? Many Chinese characters have more than one meaning. Not surprising Google Translate got confused. 《圓月彎刀》為古龍晚期作品,1976年6月至1978年5月,香港〈武俠春秋〉282至348期斷續連載,原名《刀神》,1978年漢麟出版改名《圓月彎刀》。本書為《三少爺的劍》後傳,11集後由司馬紫煙代筆,約佔全書三分之二 Full Moon, Crescent Saber is a work of Gu Long's later years. It was serialized from June 1976 to May 1978 in Hong Kong's Wuxia Spring and Autumn, editions 282 to 348. Its former title was The God/Goddess of Sabers. When published by Hanlin in 1978, its title was changed to Full Moon, Crescent Saber. It is the sequel to The Sword of Third Young Master. After 11 instalments, Sima Ziyan took over, writing two-thirds of the book. So yes, Full Moon, Crescent Saber is the sequel to The Sword of Third Young Master. All these sequels/prequels are getting confusing.
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Post by kyc on Oct 14, 2019 5:06:48 GMT
OK, I've finished another fairly short Gu Long, A Hero Sheds No Tears (《英雄無淚》). This is late Gu Long (published 1978) and not one of his more famous works.
Quite good Gu Long, but not good enough to be among his best. It's routine stuff but engrossing enough. On the whole, this is not that memorable. The only thing new to Gu Long is writing about a figurehead, in the character of Sima Chaoqun (司馬超群).
The sect/armed escort conflict central to the plot can easily be interpreted as "struggles between Triad syndicates." All the descriptions of male brotherhood and loyalty are so typical of Gu Long, who seems to be writing for Triad members (?). If there is an author who writes to attract Triad recruitment, Gu Long is it.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Not bad, but not that great. Fairly routine but diverting enough.)
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Post by kyc on Oct 14, 2019 10:36:32 GMT
My wuxia reading plan until the end of the year:
1) Finish all the one-volume standalones completely written by Gu Long: Happy Heroes (《歡樂英雄》), Blood Parrot (《血鸚鵡》) and Flying Eagle Across the Land (《大地飛鷹》).
2) Finish my final Wang Dulu novel before embarking on the Crane-Iron Pentalogy next year. In fact I already have the book borrowed: The Gallant Heroes of Loyang (《洛陽豪客》).
3)If there's still time, I will read Legend of the Heavenly Glacier Maiden (《冰川天女傳》). That will mean I have finished all of LYS's works from 1954–1962, excepting Strange Heroes from the Female Emperor's Reign (《女帝奇英傳》, 1961-1962) and The Romance of the Jade Bow and Sea of Clouds (《雲海玉弓緣》, 1961-1963). Pardon the poor title translations.
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Post by siuyiu on Oct 14, 2019 18:44:05 GMT
kyc any impressions on zhuo donglai?
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Post by Admin on Oct 15, 2019 3:21:04 GMT
kyc any impressions on zhuo donglai? I second Siuyiu for this the series (Vincent Chiao) made Zhuo Donglai an interesting figure though!
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Post by kyc on Oct 15, 2019 12:51:14 GMT
kyc any impressions on zhuo donglai? For a moment I froze. I could not recognize the pinyin name. Then I realized it was 卓東來. Spoilers ahead. Zhuo Donglai is like Lu Xiangchuan in Meteor, Butterfly, Sword, someone purportedly very smart and a second-in-charge. Which was why he manages to make Sima Chaoqun a figurehead. Gu Long hints that he is impotent. But the psychology of this man isn't explored thoroughly. Is he psychiatrically perverse in some way? One thing I have to complain about is the ending. It doesn't make sense. The whole novel is built around the mystery of a suitcase (or a box) which is supposedly the world's No. 1 lethal weapon. At the end, Zhuo Donglai is tricked into being killed. But the whole "ruse" is so silly that it doesn't hang together. How can anyone believe Zhuo Donglai would do something so stupid? Possibly only about 1% of the population (the dumber 1%) will do what he does. It is Zhuo Donglai's folly (and Gu Long's illogic) which got himself killed. I gave the novel 3.5/5 partly because this ending doesn't make sense. BTW, the mystery of A Hero Sheds No Tears revolves around a box (or suitcase) which is the world's most lethal weapon. So we are left to figure out why. The common Gu Long tagline "Expect the unexpected" can be applied to this book, but the mystery of the suitcase doesn't make sense to me at all.
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Post by soengyee on Oct 15, 2019 17:28:34 GMT
You read more novels in one month then I do in a year kyc. lol I'm in my 30's but I feel so much older that sitting there reading is not what it used to be when I was younger. When you get a chance, could you please post a small/brief summary of (大地飛鷹). I have only watched the TV adaption and I am not a fan. I also heard this is not one of his better novels either. I seriously don't think I will read it too. In the TV adaption both twins die, Fang Wei gets a happy ending with Su Su (I seriously don't know how she became the lead role here, where did she even come from), Yang Guang gets unites with Pu Ying and both become god like figures (in a way I guess they both perish?). Is this the case in the novel as well?
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Post by kyc on Oct 16, 2019 12:27:53 GMT
You read more novels in one month then I do in a year kyc. lol I'm in my 30's but I feel so much older that sitting there reading is not what it used to be when I was younger. When you get a chance, could you please post a small/brief summary of (大地飛鷹). I have only watched the TV adaption and I am not a fan. I also heard this is not one of his better novels either. I seriously don't think I will read it too. In the TV adaption both twins die, Fang Wei gets a happy ending with Su Su (I seriously don't know how she became the lead role here, where did she even come from), Yang Guang gets unites with Pu Ying and both become god like figures (in a way I guess they both perish?). Is this the case in the novel as well? Sure, I will post a summary. Just that my summary won't be that long. Actually I would like to read even more novels, but find myself sluggish especially after work. Nowadays, I'm more likely to listen to music than read. I make it a point to watch more old (i.e. classic) movies, but even that has proved difficult. And TV series are too time-consuming. If 大地飛鷹 features Bu Ying (卜鷹), then it is related to his last work, 《獵鷹·賭局》. It's not strictly a standalone.
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Post by Admin on Oct 17, 2019 3:04:48 GMT
kyc any impressions on zhuo donglai? For a moment I froze. I could not recognize the pinyin name. Then I realized it was 卓東來. Spoilers ahead. Zhuo Donglai is like Lu Xiangchuan in Meteor, Butterfly, Sword, someone purportedly very smart and a second-in-charge. Which was why he manages to make Sima Chaoqun a figurehead. Gu Long hints that he is impotent. But the psychology of this man isn't explored thoroughly. Is he psychiatrically perverse in some way? One thing I have to complain about is the ending. It doesn't make sense. The whole novel is built around the mystery of a suitcase (or a box) which is supposedly the world's No. 1 lethal weapon. At the end, Zhuo Donglai is tricked into being killed. But the whole "ruse" is so silly that it doesn't hang together. How can anyone believe Zhuo Donglai would do something so stupid? Possibly only about 1% of the population (the dumber 1%) will do what he does. It is Zhuo Donglai's folly (and Gu Long's illogic) which got himself killed. I gave the novel 3.5/5 partly because this ending doesn't make sense. BTW, the mystery of A Hero Sheds No Tears revolves around a box (or suitcase) which is the world's most lethal weapon. So we are left to figure out why. The common Gu Long tagline "Expect the unexpected" can be applied to this book, but the mystery of the suitcase doesn't make sense to me at all. I didn't read the novel, but in the series, Zhuo Donglai had a psychological problem due to his limp leg. He had to use straps to make his legs even and walked properly. He's not impotent since Tie Wu was his lover before he gave her up to seduce the enemy of Sima Chaojun (I forgot his name). And in the series, Zhuo Donglai knew that he was trapped because of 'the box', but he kind of 'love' Sima Chaojun so much that he was willing to sacrifice his life for him. I'm kinda curious to read the novel now though! But I have to find the English translation since I read Chinese slowly
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Post by kyc on Oct 17, 2019 11:55:19 GMT
I didn't read the novel, but in the series, Zhuo Donglai had a psychological problem due to his limp leg. He had to use straps to make his legs even and walked properly. He's not impotent since Tie Wu was his lover before he gave her up to seduce the enemy of Sima Chaojun (I forgot his name). And in the series, Zhuo Donglai knew that he was trapped because of 'the box', but he kind of 'love' Sima Chaojun so much that he was willing to sacrifice his life for him. I'm kinda curious to read the novel now though! But I have to find the English translation since I read Chinese slowly Yes, Zhuo Donglai seems to be in love with Sima Chaoqun. A homoerotic relationship which is not explicit because of the sensitivity of the period. Actually, GL is easy to read. No easier wuxia writer than him!
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Post by siuyiu on Oct 17, 2019 14:14:34 GMT
Actually, GL is easy to read. No easier wuxia writer than him! yep, and this is why i've read more GL than LYS.
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