A Love Illicit

Return of the Condor Heroes Volume 2

By: Jin Yong

THE CHINESE "LORD OF THE RINGS" - NOW IN ENGLISH FOR THE FIRST TIME.

THE SERIES EVERY CHINESE READER HAS BEEN ENJOYING FOR DECADES - 300 MILLION COPIES SOLD.

"Jin Yong's work, in the Chinese-speaking world, has a cultural currency roughly equal to that of "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars" combined" Nick Frisch, New Yorker

"Like every fairy tale you're ever loved, imbued with jokes and epic grandeur. Prepare to be swept along." Jamie Buxton, Daily Mail

China: 1200 A.D.

In the fourth and final volume of Legends of the Condor Horoes, the first novel in the Condor Trilogy, Guo Jing is at last forced to make a choice between loyalty to the land of his birth and keeping faith with Genghis Khan, who has been like a father to him. As the Mongol armies descend on China, Jin Yong brings this most beloved of his novels to a thrilling conclusion, complete with vast battles, stirring heroism, heartbreak, triumph and loss.

This volume will be followed by the first volume in the second novel of the Condor Trilogy, Return of the Condor Heroes.

Translated from the Chinese by Shelly Bryant and Gigi Chang

(P)2021 Quercus Editions Limited©2026 Jin Yong (P)2026 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

[Jin Yong's] work, in the Chinese-speaking world, has a cultural currency roughly equal to that of "Harry Potter" and "Star Wars" combined . . . With his combination of erudition, sentiment, propulsive plotting, and vivid prose, he is widely regarded as the genre's finest writer . . . Holmwood's translation offers the best opportunity yet for English-language readers to encounter one of the world's most beloved writers

The most widely read Chinese writer alive. His books have been adapted into TV series, films and video games, and his dense, immersive world inspires the kind of adoration bestowed on those created by writers like western worldbuilders such as JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling and George RR Martin.

This publishing phenomenon comes to us in a brisk and thrilling new translation . . . The tale is like every fairy tale you're ever loved, imbued with jokes and epic grandeur. Prepare to be swept along. (Jamie Buxton)