A long, long, long time ago I played a game for the Apple computer called "Romance of Three Kingdoms" by Koei. The game had you attempt to "unite" China by conquest. The game was fun and started me on a mild hobby of learning more about the history under the game. (By the way, the game turned into a series and is up to its ninth incarnation though for the Playstation 2 now.) I had wanted to read the Three Kingdoms series for the longest time but copies just weren't available in the U.S.
A couple years ago I took a vacation in Amsterdam and in my wanderings I came across a Chinese bookstore on Damrak. Went in and there to my amazement was "Three Kingdoms" in a nice boxed set (not for sale in the U.S. - wonder why?). Bought it, read it, loved it - all 2,300 plus pages of it. It got a little tedious in the last 100 pages or so but a good read if the topic remotely interests you. And now it's available in the U.S.. Check out the zshop of the fine seller zhihongx. I recommend this cheap, cheap version. If you'd like to download the book in ebook format or just read it online, this www.threekingdoms.com is unsurpassed.
Recently I got an urge to play "Three Kingdoms" and while snooping for reviews of the latest PS2 incarnation I ended up on Yellow Bridge that talked about the other great classics of Chinese Literature. My interest was piqued. I didn't buy "The Scholars" but I did order the others sets (cheap!) from Zhihongx. Eventually in the mail I got a nice heavy package - thousands of pages to lose myself in. My eyesight would pay heavily and Xena would have to wait.
First up was Journey To The West, over 2,300 pages. I lasted 350 pages. The story is eventually about a Monk and three companions travelling to the "West" in retrieve some Buddhist sutras. The beginning sections - the part I read - tell of the rise of Monkey to a near God and his downfall, followed by the beginnings of the Monk and the start of the quest. My problem with the story and what caused me to put the book down was the lack of empathy I felt for the main characters. Monkey, simply put, was an obnoxious self-centered ass. The Monk was a whiny coward. They may have become heroic by the end of the tale but the slow build-up killed the enjoyment. Plus, the tale is very heavily laced with Buddhism - not a bad thing - but if you're not into the religion and mythology, it gets quickly dull. Not recommended for the impatient.
A Dream Of Red Mansions was the second book I tackled and, honestly, I couldn't get past 100 pages (out of 2,556 pages). It's a romance story but it spends so much time on relationships and class differences that the plot if any disappeared. Sadly, another not recommended (at least for guys).
I'm currently reading Outlaws Of The Marsh (AKA Water Margin) and enjoying it very much. Easily as much as "Three Kingdoms". It's 2,149 pages of action and intrigue, honor, corruption, heroes, and villains and that's in the couple of hundred pages I've read so far. The story (from the cover blurbs) is about a group of people forced to become outlaws because of Governmental corruption and other circumstances, essentially when good people have to become "bad". Highly recommended!
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