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juliwi's review
3.0
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of my favourite foreign films and was what made me fall in love with Chinese martial arts films, as well as Ang Lee. So when I heard there was not only a sequel but a novelisation of said sequel I was very excited! And I'm glad I had a chance to read it and that I am today's blog tour stop! Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What I have always loved about Chinese martial arts films is the crucial role women play to the plot. In Hollywood action films they're too often relegated to the sidelines, made to fight in high heels or are killed to provide a tragic backstory for the male hero. In the last year we've seen some change come into that with films like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Force Awakens, but it's something that I've always found in films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. Shu-Lien was one of my favourite characters in the original and she continues to be so in Sword of Destiny, where she undoubtedly becomes the main star. The novel also fares best when dealing with her and her story, calming down a little bit and going into depth on the ideas of honour and duty which were also strong in the original film.
Overall I did enjoy reading Sword of Destiny. Hill writes a beautiful story which isn't always equally engaging but has heart to it. Shu-lien remains an amazing character and Hill writes her well. Above all, this novel has made me very excited to see the film. I'd recommend this to fans of martial arts films and China-inspired literature.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/review-crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon.html
What I have always loved about Chinese martial arts films is the crucial role women play to the plot. In Hollywood action films they're too often relegated to the sidelines, made to fight in high heels or are killed to provide a tragic backstory for the male hero. In the last year we've seen some change come into that with films like Mad Max: Fury Road and The Force Awakens, but it's something that I've always found in films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero. Shu-Lien was one of my favourite characters in the original and she continues to be so in Sword of Destiny, where she undoubtedly becomes the main star. The novel also fares best when dealing with her and her story, calming down a little bit and going into depth on the ideas of honour and duty which were also strong in the original film.
Overall I did enjoy reading Sword of Destiny. Hill writes a beautiful story which isn't always equally engaging but has heart to it. Shu-lien remains an amazing character and Hill writes her well. Above all, this novel has made me very excited to see the film. I'd recommend this to fans of martial arts films and China-inspired literature.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/review-crouching-tiger-hidden-dragon.html
maureensbooks89's review
3.0
When I was approached about this book a while ago I was immediately intrigued by the book description. ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon..’ is not a book I would usually read, but somehow it really interested me and I was in desperate need of reading something a little different. And different than my normal reads it definitely was.
First of all ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon..’ takes place in ancient China and involves warriors. Second of all this book includes Martial arts and Sword play. Those are all things I honestly wouldn’t read a book about. And apparently there have been movies about this book, something I really didn’t know. For me it was a completely new story. And overall I did like it. The writing was easy to follow and written in a way that I wanted to keep on reading. The characters where interesting and the story was fascinating because I was just so out of my comfort zone.
But men, the names!! I’ve mentioned a view other times that I have a problem with names, especially if there are many and if they are in a way alike.. Well add Chinese names to that list of things that make me confused. Yu Jiaolong, Li Mu Bai, Yu Shu Lien.. They may not be alike but I just couldn’t seem to remember which name was with which character. I literally needed to see where the chapter was about to get who we were talking about.. Frustrating! Maybe I need to start writing them down.
The battle scenes where really something different! It’s not often that I read a book in which a battle almost felt beautiful. But Justin Hill really achieved that.
Although I don’t think I will be reading other books in this style and about this subject, I did really enjoy it. It was just not something I would want to read again.
First of all ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon..’ takes place in ancient China and involves warriors. Second of all this book includes Martial arts and Sword play. Those are all things I honestly wouldn’t read a book about. And apparently there have been movies about this book, something I really didn’t know. For me it was a completely new story. And overall I did like it. The writing was easy to follow and written in a way that I wanted to keep on reading. The characters where interesting and the story was fascinating because I was just so out of my comfort zone.
But men, the names!! I’ve mentioned a view other times that I have a problem with names, especially if there are many and if they are in a way alike.. Well add Chinese names to that list of things that make me confused. Yu Jiaolong, Li Mu Bai, Yu Shu Lien.. They may not be alike but I just couldn’t seem to remember which name was with which character. I literally needed to see where the chapter was about to get who we were talking about.. Frustrating! Maybe I need to start writing them down.
The battle scenes where really something different! It’s not often that I read a book in which a battle almost felt beautiful. But Justin Hill really achieved that.
Although I don’t think I will be reading other books in this style and about this subject, I did really enjoy it. It was just not something I would want to read again.
jamestomasino's review
4.0
There novel worked well to carry on the feeling of the first film. I can't speak to its place related to the original pentology and something in me is a little torn on a book of a movie of a book. Still, it may not have had Ang Lee's level of depth and layering, and it relies too heavily on the combat, but it felt a part of the whole. If this were unconnected from anything I imagine one less star would be above.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
3.0
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
It should be noted that this is a novelization of the script for the screen to the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, while this book and the movies are based on a pentalogy, the film (and therefore this book) contain some major differences from the source material by Wang Dalu.
Shulien (Michelle Yeoh’s character from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) finds herself dragged rather unwillingly out of herself exile to see to the safety of the Green Sword, yet again.
In many ways, while this book does tell the reader what happen to the other characters from the previous movie, it also feels like a redo of the phrase movie. Once again, we have an older would be couple, and a younger would be couple, who are fated to be together.
It’s not a bad book, but in many ways it is simply a slightly happier version than the first movie. The most interesting parts are the ones with Shulien, and not solely due to the fact that she is the hold over character from the movie. It is in the scenes with her that the novel slows down and is actually more than round two of the same story. It is in these scenes that there are reflections about honor, power, and duty. While these reflections are transfer to the character of Snow Vase, they are dealt with to a stronger degree with Shulien.
It’s not the best book in the world, yet it is more than a cheaper novelization. It does make me wish that the original pentalogy was available in English.
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