Eterno Campeão

Champion Standing #1

by M.A. Gardner, Eduardo Vargas Rodrigues (Translation)

Um homem e sua luta para viver honradamente em um mundo sem honra. Liao, guerreiro chines pertencente a um Cla mergulhado em degraca, atua como soldado de aluguel a servico do Reino de Kush. Em uma decisao polemica, o Chanceler da Dinastia Han permitiu que Liao participasse do prestigiado torneio da ilha de Hainan, enfrentando os melhores guerreiros do Imperio. Sua presenca no epico evento pode restaurar a honra do proprio Liao e de seu Cla. Os inimigos do jovem guerreiro protestam contra a presenca dele no evento de lutas com sabres. Enquanto alguns querem sua derrota na arena, outros tramam sua morte a qualquer custo. Se Liao tem esperancas em triunfar, devera escapar de tentativas de assassinatos, vencer competidores muito habeis no manejo da espada mortal, e se livrar dos planos de um general romano que pretende usar o torneio para mergulhar a Dinastia Han em uma sangrenta guerra civil. ETERNO CAMPEAO, titulo em portugues, e uma ficcao que mistura personagens inesqueciveis atuando em acoes eletrizantes, mas tambem em busca de resgate para fatos dolorosos, ha muito tempo escondidos em suas memorias.

Genres: Historical Fiction, China

294 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 2015

About the author

M. A. Gardner is a pseudonym for Mark Gardner. Mark lives in northern Arizona with his wife, three children and a pair of spoiled dogs, and holds degrees in Computer Systems & Applications and Applied Human Behavior.

Reviews

[Megan Tee · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an insult to my culture, the Han dynasty and history. That’s all that you need to know. And that I gave up at 11% into the book, because I cannot stand it any further. If they claimed this as alternate world, okay whatever but no, they said it was historical fiction and they basically threw it all out of the window.

Where do I start telling how wrong this entire book is? Let’s start with the names shall we?

Why is there a princess with the name Ayana in Han dynasty? Even if it can be created, I can tell you that it would end in a three syllable name at best(that only comes in in Tang Dynasty where it was much looser on the names). But it had its roots in Japan, and in 1st century Japan this name didn’t even exist.

And that princesses were never called by name, give her a title please, they were either named after counties(Princess Guantao and Princess Pingyang(although it was an adoption of her husband’s title and fiefdom.) No princess were ever referred to by name, even at best their surnames, and you don’t really see their names being recorded at all, and their titles is more than enough to distinguish them.

Names wise, if it was a little weird I could accept. Roman names here did make sense and had its roots before the first century.

There were some mentions of Wang Mang, and his eventual plot development and possible usurpation of the throne to create the Xin dynasty. However, why is the Chancellor called Gengshi. I can tell you no one called a Chancellor that, they were often referred to by their surnames and even here, it is an actual title held by an Emperor (although some histories suggest that he wasn’t, and his rule short.) But why is he called Gengshi, it makes no sense. And the era of the Warring States where this may or may not be given as a title to a Lord is long over.

But really, this is just scratching the surface of all this problems. Although the Roman Empire and China may have some interactions together and the Han saw the beginning of the silk road and that at this point in time, Han dynasty was at its lowest point but it makes no sense why they would be accepting foreign people inside or hosting tournaments. And also, how is there even a clan which goes by the name Tai Yang inside there? Even for dual surnames there is none which is Tai Yang.

But then, there are just simply so many things wrong that I can’t read it. It isn’t a respectful way of dealing with my culture not when it gets even its basics wrong, even someone who watches Chinese dramas know that no princess in any dynasty borne the name Ayana, or were called by that. And I doubt there were any prefectures or counties which were named like that too.

I would have been fine if this book was shelved in Asian inspired or alternate world, but once it took on the name historical fiction, this isn’t all that okay with me anymore. Not when it is giving a rather false impression of my culture. Just the names alone is enough to make me cringe, I don’t want to suffer through such a book since I can’t even get over my dislike of the way he named the characters which to me tells a lot about his effort to try and learn out culture he does get some things right, but if the author can’t differentiate Chinese names and Japanese names, I doubt he would really know Han dynasty culture. And I’m incredibly nitpicky with them, so yeah, I’m dropping this book within the 11% of it.

[Wendy Strain · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mark Gardner has done an excellent job creating an ancient world, preserving the customs and traditions of the past while creating an entirely unique story. His character has a lot to prove and even more to overcome, whether he knows it or not. The action is nearly constant without being tiring or always about battle. While there is a lot of wisdom included within the pages, it’s difficult to see a lot of growth in the characters partially because of the way in which the story is told. It may simply be an element of the genre that I am not familiar with, but I would have liked to have been shown more and told less. Overall, I’ll give this one 3 stars, but with the caveat that this isn’t my usual reading and I may be judging it against inappropriate standards.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Champion Standing treads the fine line between accessible fiction, and a stirring asian saga. The book's action spans a mere few days during the greatest warrior's competition set in the Han empire era of China. Liao, our protagonist, from a previously disgraced clan is fighting for his honour, his clan's honour, and against a sinister plot against the emperor. At times it feels like the author is aiming for rich descriptive florid language - along the lines of Musashi, but doesn't quite make it. That being said, the action keeps moving at quite a pace, and it's still an enjoyable read.

[Sean Bela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved every moment of this tale. Can't wait to read another. I'd definitely suggest it to those who read samurai tales.

PROS
Very good worldbuilding
Character is well rounded

CONS
I wish it was longer, but overall the story was well told.

I would definitely recommend this story. Great tale.