Black Gate

St. Martin’s Press paperback editions. Cover design by Ervin Serrano

Louis Cha Leung-yung, known more widely by his pen name Jin Yong, was a Hong Kong wuxia author whose tales of martial arts heroes in ancient China made him one of the most popular writers of all time. He wrote 15 books between 1955 – 1972, and by the time of his death in 2018 he was the best-selling Chinese author. The New Yorker proclaimed that “in the Chinese-speaking world, has a cultural currency roughly equal to that of Harry Potter and Star Wars combined,” and The Guardian called him “The world’s biggest kung fu fantasy writer.” CNN said that “Cha’s stories were epic, featuring not just fantastical kung fu swordsmen who can fly and walk on water, but also complex characters and plots woven into dramatic historical events.”

At long last four of his most popular fantasy novels have been given modern English translations, and mass market editions in the US. The Legends of the Condor Heroes series has sold over 300 millions copies worldwide; here’s the Kirkus Review of the first volume.

A somewhat simple-minded young man named Guo Jing, raised by his mother after his father’s untimely death, grows up in a world torn apart by palace intrigues and stewing political factions behind the Great Wall. On the other side, there’s a vast Mongol army led by none other than Genghis Khan… Fighting their way across the landscape with Guo are bands of Song dynasty patriots and traitors as well as legendary martial artists with names like The Eastern Heretic Apothecary Huang and Double Sun Wang Chongyang — oh, yes, and the Seven Freaks of the South… Jin Yong draws on a body of legend, history, Taoist precepts, and various martial arts traditions to serve up a tale of stylized contests…. Fans of sword-and-sorcery fantasy and historical fiction alike will enjoy this hard-hitting yarn.

Here’s the back covers for the first three books.

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Cover by Nekro (left) and unknown (right)

In his enthusiastic review of War Girls here at Black Gate, Jeremy Brett wrote:

War Girls is a novel of intense, determined hope in the face of overwhelming obstacles; in this current historical moment it’s exactly the book we need. In 2172, the world is a damaged place. Climate change and war have destroyed much of the Earth, and millions have fled the planet…  The war has left much of the area saturated in radioactivity that kills or mutates the local wildlife, and battles are fought using unmanned drones, human-piloted mechs, and augmented soldiers refitted with bionic limbs.

Onyii is such a soldier, a young woman and war hero who lives to protect both her new nation and her adopted orphaned sister Ify. When the two become separated through the usual vagaries of war, they find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict….  Part of the greatness of this book lies in Onyebuchi’s multidimensional descriptions of war. Yes, giant mechs fly through the skies and attack each other with gun and sword, which is always fun and exciting and begs to be a movie. But also, children are taken and augmented to become pitiless warriors, at the cost of their humanity and that of the people who build and direct them… There are exciting gunfights, but there are also moments of quieter emotional and physical healing.

The sequel Rebel Sisters arrived in hardcover last month, and it looks like a worthy follow up. Kirkus Reviews calls it “A thought-provoking, action-packed addition to the series,” and there’s been plenty of interest here in our offices. Looks like I’ve found a good 2-book series to dive into over the Christmas break.

Rebel Sister was published by Razorbill on November 17, 2020. It is 464 pages, priced at $18.99 in hardcover and $10.99 in digital formats. The cover artist is uncredited. Read an excerpt (or listen to an audioclip) here.

See all our latest coverage of the best new releases in SF and fantasy here.