|
Post by kyc on Jan 19, 2021 8:01:13 GMT
Just finished another GL novel: Full Moon, Curved Saber/Scimitar (《圓月彎刀》). It's not wholly written by GL; judging from how the novel progresses, I suppose the second half was written by a ghostwriter, Sima Ziyan (司馬紫煙). I think a TV series I watched in my childhood, with Jenny Tseng singing the theme song, was based on this novel.
The first half, probably written by GL, is quite good. It's about a martial artist Yu Peng (于鵬), who masters saber skills from an alleged tribe of fox spirits and marries one of them, Qingqing (青青). He then goes to challenge Xie Xiaofeng (謝曉峰), the master of Divine Sword Manor (and the hero of an earlier GL novel, The Sword of the Third Master.)
From thereon, the writing seems to change hands, and the second half is just plain... awful. So excruciatingly bad that words fail me to describe how bad it is. There are slapstick scenes that don't move the plot forward, the logic is totally off, the dialogue is lame... just dreadful. Sima Ziyan seems to have none of the mastery in logic that makes GL riveting. And the ending makes no sense at all.
The second half is so shoddy that I cannot in all conscience recommend this book--unless you want to read for yourself the vast difference between GL and his ghostwriters.
Not recommended.
|
|
|
Post by kyc on Jan 19, 2021 8:27:33 GMT
I thought this might be of interest.
GL has a number of ghostwritten works, but the publisher in mainland China removes the completely ghostwritten ones. (For a full list of his ghostwritten novels, check the first post.)
The three partially ghostwritten are:
Mingjian Fengliu ("Renowned Sword, Debonair Charms", 1966)(《名劍風流》) - ending ghostwritten by Qiao Qi (喬齊).
Full Moon, Curved Saber/Scimitar, 1977 (《圓月彎刀》) - "largely" ghostwritten by Sima Ziyan (司馬紫煙)
The Sound of Saber Amid Wind Chimes, 1980 (《風鈴中的刀聲》) - ending ghostwritten by Yu Donglou (于東樓).
In other words, the rest of the ghostwritten works contain nothing by GL.
---
Update 2022: I now think Blood Parrot (《血鸚鵡》)was partly ghostwritten too (the second half), although the Mainland Chinese publisher did not indicate that.
|
|
|
Post by soengyee on Jan 29, 2021 22:17:19 GMT
This week I read superfast and completed The Bordertown Wanderer (《邊城浪子》)。 It's the sequel to Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword (which I have not yet read) and prequel to The Horizon, Bright Moon, Saber. It keeps up the high standards of middle Gu Long and has probably the best ending of any GL novels I have read so far. The novel revolves around Fu Hongxue (傅紅雪) and Ye Kai (葉開), the latter who is a disciple of Flying Dagger Li (李尋歡). The front and middle parts are pretty good but the resolution is the best I have read in GL. Of course, as is typical, there're plenty of surprises and revelations, but at least for this novel, everything hangs together well. You don't get the feeling in late GL that he is trying too hard to impress with surprises. That said, this novel piqued my interest in Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword, which will be my next GL once I get hold of the books. Also, once I finish the Xiaoli Feidao series, I will progress to Chu Liuxiang and Lu Xiaofeng. GL's works aren't as daunting to read as LYS, and I think I can read three GL novel for every LYS novel. So I've been ill lately because of the harsh cold weather here in Canada and haven't had a chance to post much. One question I've been pondering about this novel is Cui Nong's identity; is she really a bastard child of Ma KongQun? And she definitely doesn't deserve to die. There have been many TV adaptions of this novel compared to others in the Dagger Lee series, yet none have quite followed the novel very closely. The TVB 1989 is the closest and my favourite adaption so far; the most recent Mainland one is just awful. Merging characters and changing their personalities. In the TV series the women are less sluttier of course than their novel counterparts. Ma FangLing was seemed to be forgotten in the novel with no actual ending while in the adaptions she mostly gets a happier ending with Ding LingLin's brother. Her character wasn't very likeable and by the end it kind of seemed like Gulong said let's all just forget about her. I like both main protagonists Ye Kai and Fu HongXue; to me they seem like brothers even though they are not related at all. And they are actually more interesting characters than Dagger Lee himself IMHO. Jing WuMing and Ah Fei make cameo appearances at the end, and Dagger Lee is Ye Kai's master but was it ever mentioned what happened to Sun XiaoHong and Lin ShiYin? We have to assume they are living quiet reclusive lives I guess...
|
|
|
Post by atumiwa on Jan 30, 2021 4:36:52 GMT
I thought this might be of interest. GL has a number of ghostwritten works, but the publisher in mainland China removes the completely ghostwritten ones. (For a full list of his ghostwritten novels, check the first post.) The three partially ghostwritten are: Mingjian Fengliu ("Renowned Sword, Debonair Charms", 1966)(《名劍風流》) - ending ghostwritten by Qiao Qi (喬齊). Full Moon, Curved Saber/Scimitar, 1977 (《圓月彎刀》) - "largely" ghostwritten by Sima Ziyan (司馬紫煙) The Sound of Saber Amidst Wind Chimes, 1980 (《風鈴中的刀聲》) - ending ghostwritten by Yu Donglou (于東樓). In other words, the rest of the ghostwritten works contain nothing by GL. how about 飞刀又见飞刀? is it fully ghostwritten or partial?
|
|
|
Post by texture on Jan 30, 2021 4:41:31 GMT
... In other words, the rest of the ghostwritten works contain nothing by GL. Which are the ghostwritten ones which contain nothing by Gu Long? Thanks!
|
|
|
Post by kyc on Jan 30, 2021 7:14:00 GMT
How about 飞刀又见飞刀? is it fully ghostwritten or partial? 飞刀又见飞刀 ( The Flying Dagger, The Flying Dagger Appears Again) was completely written by Gu Long, according to the mainland Chinese publisher. It's a relatively short novella, so I don't think GL needed anyone to ghostwrite for him there.
|
|
|
Post by kyc on Jan 30, 2021 7:19:23 GMT
... In other words, the rest of the ghostwritten works contain nothing by GL. Which are the ghostwritten ones which contain nothing by Gu Long? Thanks! According to the first post, these are the wholly ghostwritten ones: Jianqi Shu Xiang (劍氣書香)* (1960) Jian Du Mei Xiang (劍毒梅香)* (1960) The White Jade Dragon Carving (白玉雕龍)* (1981) Nujian Kuanghua (怒劍狂花)* (1982) Na Yijian De Fengqing (那一劍的風情)* (1982) The Dagger Echoes in the Bordertown (邊城刀聲)* (1983) Tianmo Dao (天魔刀)* Hei Xiyi (黑蜥蜴)* Shuijing Ren (水晶人)* Fen Kulou (粉骷髏) Luocha Nü (羅剎女)* Wuyi Bianfu (無翼蝙蝠)*
|
|
|
Post by atumiwa on Jan 30, 2021 15:34:36 GMT
in my country, someone published and translated a novel that said from Gu Long or his ghostwriter and the story is about Chu Liuxiang after Orchid Midnight. Indonesian title is "Legenda Kumala Hijau" , which can be translated to english as "The Legend of Green Jade" i wonder what is the mandarin title
|
|
|
Post by kyc on Feb 3, 2021 5:35:49 GMT
in my country, someone published and translated a novel that said from Gu Long or his ghostwriter and the story is about Chu Liuxiang after Orchid Midnight. Indonesian title is "Legenda Kumala Hijau" , which can be translated to english as "The Legend of Green Jade" i wonder what is the mandarin title Don't think it's one of GL's real novels. Maybe someone from Indonesia wrote it himself? EDIT: There is a Green Jade Saber (碧玉刀) though, part of the Seven Weapons series.
|
|
|
Post by kyc on Feb 3, 2021 5:52:53 GMT
Just finished The Eagle Soars in the Ninth Month (《九月鷹飛》), the third installment in the "Flying Dagger Li" (小李飛刀) series.
A decent novel, typical of GL during this period. The protagonist is Ye Kai (葉開), the antagonist is Shangguan Jinhong's daughter Shangguan Xiaoxian (上官小仙). Ye Kai plays sleuth and wrecks her conspiracy to control the Demon Sect and Money Sect.
Ye Kai doesn't do much in this novel but play detective, and his girlfriend Ding Linglin stabs him once. She also almost becomes the bride of two different men. That's about the most memorable events of the novel. The logic, as often with GL, doesn't make much sense if you reason it out. Once again GL incorporates elements of the detective story into the wuxia genre, but his deduction is much less rigorous than, say, Sherlock Holmes's. GL tries to confound the reader all the time, but his surprises are sometimes rather forced, to be honest.
I have now finished the entire Xiaoli Feidao (Flying Dagger Li) series, and rank them as follows:
The Bordertown Wanderer = The Horizon, Bright Moon, Saber (tie) > Sentimental Swordsman, Ruthless Sword > The Eagle Soars in the Ninth Month
I think this novel is the weakest installment of the series, but all things considered, the Xiaoli Feidao series is still pretty good and worth recommending.
|
|
|
Post by atumiwa on Feb 3, 2021 11:31:13 GMT
in my country, someone published and translated a novel that said from Gu Long or his ghostwriter and the story is about Chu Liuxiang after Orchid Midnight. Indonesian title is "Legenda Kumala Hijau" , which can be translated to english as "The Legend of Green Jade" i wonder what is the mandarin title Don't think it's one of GL's real novels. Maybe someone from Indonesia wrote it himself? EDIT: There is a Green Jade Saber (碧玉刀) though, part of the Seven Weapons series. some indonesians believe it is real, because the translator and publisher is a famous and credible here, some said the story is probably ghostwritten, but i still doubt it. i upload the cover picture that i found in internet. there is a chinese title on the side, but not clear, is it readable?
|
|
|
Post by kyc on Feb 3, 2021 15:10:30 GMT
Don't think it's one of GL's real novels. Maybe someone from Indonesia wrote it himself? EDIT: There is a Green Jade Saber (碧玉刀) though, part of the Seven Weapons series. some indonesians believe it is real, because the translator and publisher is a famous and credible here, some said the story is probably ghostwritten, but i still doubt it. i upload the cover picture that i found in internet. there is a chinese title on the side, but not clear, is it readable? View Attachment View AttachmentI can just about make out the Chinese characters 碧玉傳奇 "Legend of the Green Jade". Googling, it is a fanfic written by someone by the name of Wen Ding 問鼎.
|
|
|
Post by atumiwa on Jul 30, 2021 5:20:55 GMT
how about his one? Lencana Pembunuh Naga (Tu Long Ling)(translated to english as Dragon Killer Badge) by Gu Long
|
|
|
Post by kyc on Jul 30, 2021 11:38:42 GMT
how about his one? Lencana Pembunuh Naga (Tu Long Ling)(translated to english as Dragon Killer Badge) by Gu Long Every website I checked says that this isn't Gu Long's original work.
|
|
|
Post by nickyboy2 on Nov 22, 2021 8:32:53 GMT
Liu Yong(or Tony Lau) portraying Luk Siu Fung in the big screens. I watched The Clan of the Amazons and Embroidery thief. Liu Yong was quite humorous as Luk Siu Fung. He tries to be suave looking with his moustache but IMHO loses to Damien Lau in the TVB series. The chemistry with FML, XMCX and even YGZ is also lacking. What are your thoughts about this ?
|
|