Romance of the Three Kingdoms

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View books by Lo Kuan-Chung, Kuang-Chung Lo.
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Beats Iliad - Rated
As a military history fan I picked up this book several months ago and I must say it's one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Romance of three kingdoms focus on arguably the most chaotic and ruthless period of the acient China (220-280 AD), shortly after the collapse of eastern Han dynasty, over a dozen warlords rose to power in the name of 'Restoration of Han', this book is based on three major power, Shu, Wei, Wu and their constant struggle for power. Instead on focusing on warfare itself, this book gives absolutely brilliant account on deceptions, trickery, use of intelligence, as well as cunning diplomatic solutions behind the warfares. Clearly, Sun Tzu's Art of war has infulenced the author greatly.

The only problem about the book is the character names, as the translated Chinese names seem to running to each other every two paragraphs, it takes alot of memorization. But if you have the patience, it will pay off soon.

However, some famous battles mentioned in this novel was not well chronicled, it's highly likely many historical details are simply made up. And the purpose of Shu is probably not as noble as the book portrayed. But as a novel, it's unparalleled.

Read, if you want to know what deception means.

China's best loved epic - Rated
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a fantastic story about the struggle of the Han empire. The first novel concentrates on the rise of the "Three Kingdoms" period, which begins life as a strategy for balancing power between the three main rivals. I use the word fantastic because the stories in this book were recorded by those who were there at the time, but they were also passed through word of mouth all around China. Therefore parts of the story are exaggerated and twisted in the telling (or writing). There are also spectacular observations of shamanistic type magic and very advanced healing methods, Hero's of epic proportions and might, and characters with very interesting traits. This book contains a great balance between an epic dialogue concerning the main protagonists and several short moral stories about specific characters. It also gives you a great sense of Chinese culture, the story being about the re-uniting of the three factions in order to re-form China.

ROTK - Rated
This review is looking at both books one and two as they are meant to be read together.These books are a good blend of History and Fiction. Focusing on the major powers in the 'Three Kingdoms' period, it looks mostly at the eponymous kingdoms, Wu, Shu and Wei. The fact that the novelist lived at the time is a mixed blessing. On one hand he has a keen insight into the events and the context surrounding them. Unfortunately, his early ancestors sided with Shu's leader Liu Bei (or Pei). The bias placed on the Shu characters can get a little grating at times and it places questions on the texts overall validity. However, it remains a good read and highlights an intruiging clash of ideologies, each faction representing one style of rule. You'll soon find yourself siding with one side or another, and when you do the books become difficult to put down.

One of the worlds oldest, and greatest novels - Rated
This is undoubtedly the greatest of all books. It focuses on three men who lived at the end of the China's Han dynasty and displays their struggle to prevent its downfall. It is very long, however is definitely worth the money and effort.

As good as the first! - Rated
Although it's not a made up story it still gives a proper over view of the whole situation in China around 200AD.
The characters, now aging begin to die off as battles are lost and health grows worse. This story tells of how the succesors took over and how their contribution to the era brought the total destruction of the Han and the rise of the Wei, then Jin dynasties.
A very good follow up from the first book and an essential for owners of Volume 1.