First off, I want to make it clear that I respect the people who love and enjoy this novel. I do not think that their opinion of it is somehow "wrong."

The following, however, has been my experience:

Among East Asian classics, and among Chinese classics, this novel is one of the least accessible to the average English-speaking reader. The way in which the story is told is extremely dry and downright baffling to someone schooled in Western literature. The writing had no emotional resonance ever.

The lack of emotional resonance is expected, seeing as there's very little description of anything beside physical occurrences, which are summarized in very succinct form. (i.e. Character 435 stabbed Character 762, then rode to [the city of] JFDFSDG and stabbed Character 953). This sort of sentence compromises the entire book.

Basically, it reads like a reference work. It's not a "novel" as most western readers would be accustomed to thinking of one. Even if you're open to forms of literature that are drastically different from anything else you've read (as I was, going into this), you'll probably find yourself too exasperated by the novel to finish. It was really a painful experience for me.

However, all is not lost for the person seeking an entry into Chinese literature.

I recommend Dream of the Red Chamber as a good starting novel, especially the translation published by Penguin under the title "The Story of the Stone" (don't be discouraged by the alternative title, it's the same novel as Dream of the Red Chamber).

Furthermore, Red Chamber was written in the late Qing, which makes it more relevant to the modern history and identity of the region we know as China.

Those looking for older quality pieces of writing from East Asia as a whole may enjoy The Tale of Genji and The Tale of the Heike more than they would enjoy Three Kingdoms. Both "Genji" and "Heike" are lengthy novels of Japanese origin, with Genji often being considered the world's first written novel, and certainly the first in East Asia.

To all, Good luck in your readings.

Three Kingdoms is a action packed novel that deserves to be calle a classic. Nevertheless all the Chinese names and the repetitive battle scenes could easly lose the novice reader after the first thousand pages or so. If you buy this be prepared to read the footnotes throughly and become a student of Chinese culture.

This is the unabridged version and truly a masterpiece. I was familiar with a very small portion of the history during this time period before I read it, so that encouraged me to try it out. If you love epic stories, this is a great one. Guanzhong based his novel on solid historical facts while adding some fictional elements in order to bring out the characters and events for the reader. I've heard it said, and I agree with it, that it is 70% history and 30% fiction. Addtionally, this is a must read for any fans of the Dynasty Warriors gaming series. My recommendation is that if you have any interest in this period of Chinese history or stories of heroics and loyalty-to-the-death, buy it, and I guarantee that you wont regret it.

I'll be perfectly honest: I've never been one to actually sit down and read a book unless it's been marked required reading. In fact, my only fantastic literary claim up to this point was conquering the Harry Potter series. Then, I picked up these volumes. I was absolutely enthralled.

I picked up this book because I'm a big of the Dynasty Warriors series. In fact, I just recently discovered that the games themselves were based entirely off of this collection. From then on, I had a blast both playing through the games and reading the books, trying to pick out scenarios and information the game had changed (or in some instances, just completely left out). In the process, I learned something new about ancient Chinese culture and managed to have a fantastic time doing so.

I highly recommend this book. And as many others have said, do NOT buy the abridged version. Spend a little extra and get the four volume set. You'll get a lot more out of the reading.

Whether you've been there or not, "Three Kingdoms" will provide you deep insite into Chinese History and Culture. Encapsulated in a Swashbuckler worthy of Hollywood, it is a roadmap to over 2000 years of a culture the West generally knows so little about. Much as the tales of King Arthur, portray Romanized Britain during the disintegration of Rome, Knightly Brothers strive to preserve the Han Empire or carve kingdoms amidst battles, plots, counter plots, seduction, and betrayal. These are stories that, even in English translation, show us as much about Chinese thought, in the way place, time, and events are portrayed, as can be gleaned from actual dialog. Annotated, Three Kingdoms can read on many levels from light entertainment to historic cultural education.

It fits its hype of being one of the four Chinese classics. It takes you back in time and shows the culture, drama, and situation of China around 190 to 220 AD. You will find yourself reading the first chapter and not wanting to stop. The epic book does well by hooking the reader in.
However, there are many characters in which to remember. Luckily the characters themselves, can at many times, be distinguish from each other.

Very good book indeed!

This is a great CD full of Rampal's great masterpiece. Although the flute legend has passed away for over ten years, his legacy lives on. His interpretation of these pieces are splendid and one can truly appreciate his work. I would recommend this to anyone who loves the flute, especially those who want a different interpretation in music from someone other than James Galway.

I bought the book with some background of the subject(s) so I had a good idea of what it would be like. It is written differently than most American writers' style, which may be weird to somebody that does not realize how authentic the subject and writing actually is. The book is very detailed and for anyone that loves Chinese history of the 150-200 AD period, this book will give you a good description of it.

The characterization and background of the main parties is very in-depth and you get a great idea of the temperaments for all the main characters.

What keeps me from giving this a 5 star rating is that some words are missed due to translation errors, as well as some poor attempts at dramatizing certain moments. Other than those few awkward moments, I am really enjoying the books. I love the story, characters and overall cultural depictions.

The tactics of The Art of War is pretty much used throughout the book by many of the warlords.

The multiple layers of military deception and feints gets so deep that it creates the oddest strategy of all:
Predicting that your enemy will anticipate a trap or deception, and go the obvious route instead.

Basically to sum it up.
1) China splits up into a dozen warring states and warlords.
2) The "Mandate of Heaven" seems to motivate the warlords to continue fighting, thinking it's heaven's wish to eventually reunite China (which probably keeps China from becoming like Europe, with a dozen states coexisting).
3) The Art of War is known by nearly all the warlords, all the battles are very tactical.
4) If you're interested in Game theory, there are many complicated alliances, breaking of alliances and betrayals between warlords.

The historic novel of the three kingdoms was a fantastic read. The literary style was, at first, difficult to get used to but the story itself is told in a very straightforward fashion and the characters are very rich. The constant turn of events will have you rooting for the splendid victories throughout Shu-Han's campaigns and lamenting their bitter losses. I noticed many typos throughout the entire novel but they're few and they're small enough to avoid confusion as you read. Overall I think this particular translation was excellent. It was recommended to me and I would gladly recommend it to anyone who has an affinity for this great age of chivalrous heroes and tyrannous villains.

These books are telling a story about what happened in the late Han Dinasty. Full of dramatic event, magnificent stategems implemented and actually fun to read as long as you have stamina to do it since it is a really thick for every volume.

When I first read Three Kingdoms it was quite a confusing story, what with all the endless characters that came and went, not to mention the impossibility of pronouncing their names properly!

Nonetheless, I was captivated by the quality of the story, despite the very basic narrative style (being hundreds of years old) and the fairly simple way it must have been translated.

With the amount of trials and tribulations that the reader witnesses in following the extremely incredible characters, it is no wonder that these real people from history mean so much to people today, nearly two thousand years later.

Containing personalities of all kinds, Three Kingdoms offers so much wisdom and excitement, that once you get past the first couple of chapters, you are really drawn into a whole new world.

To follow the struggles of men like Guan Yu, Cao Cao and Zhuge Liang as they fight for peace amongst the absolute chaos, gives hope and solutions to any of the problems one can face in today's world.

Yet there are hundreds of characters who fight by their sides in attempts to reunite China, each having their own story to contribute to this immortal saga. It is truly a credit to Luo Guanzhong the way he managed to interweave so many storys, and yet stay prevalently factual.

If you can get past the confusion and the slight redundancy of the narrative style, Three Kingdoms is a story you have to read within your lifetime, and preferably as soon as possible.

According to DW3K.COM, there is a new version of Three Kingdoms that is to be released soon, designed to be more entertaining and less confusing than the 600 year old original. Apparently it will still contain all of the wisdom from Luo Guanzhong's, but will make a much more accessable and hopefully even more enjoyable way to learn about Three Kingdoms.

In the meantime I can also suggest the other 3 chinese classics, in english known as Dream of the Red Chamber/Dreams of Red Mansions(Romance), Monkey King/Journey to the West (Adventure/Fantasy) and Water Margin/Outlaws of the Marsh (Adventure). Each are incredible stories in their own right, and are in many ways equal or even better than Three Kingdoms/Romance of Three Kingdoms.

Three Kingdoms is one of the most important works of Chinese literature. The story itself if there, but the ridiculous amount of grammatical and spelling errors throughout the 4-volume set can spoil the experience just a bit.

This book is based on the critical time at the end of the Han Dynasty. It all starts with the Yellow Scarves Rebellion lead by Zhang Jiao and his two brothers, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang , plung the land into complete chaos. Answering the call of duty, three sworn oath brothers , Liu Bei , Zhang Fei , and Guan Yu , go to fight the menece, along with thousands of others. After that was done , Dong Zhuo , an Imperial General, was controling the Emperor like a puppet. Him and his mighty step son, Lu Bu , take control of the Imperial Court. To Stop these traitors , many great generals, Including Cao Cao , Sun Jian , Liu Bei , and many more with the chosen leader, Yuan Shao, destroy these verman. From these events comes a chain of cause and effect that, basicly , leads to the collapseof the , once great , Han Dynasty . Best book I've ever read, EVER. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give it a 15.

I love history. Now when I read this Novel, I was in heaven. I mena I read about the defeat of Mengde (Cao Cao) at Red Cliffs, I red about the Death of Kongming (Zhuge Liang) with great sadness. I efinately recommend this novel to anyone. Even if they don't like histoy, they should still find theis to be a great read.

I first became familiar with the Three Kingdoms period through the video game "Romance VII" (on PS2). Through the game, I was able to understand what each charecter is capable of doing, which illustrated a clear narrative of the basic concepts involved. After playing "Romance VIII" & "Romance X", I more or less understood what the novel had to offer. After playing these games, I decided to go to the main source - the novel. While reading the novel, I started associating the images and scenarios from the games with the text. Although you will know how most events will unfold, the endless names, ranks, locations and procedures, will make sense; which without, you will be bored to death. So to sum things up, I highly recommend you play some of the romance games (in particular "Romance X") so to know how significant some events (like the meeting of the brothers, or the battle with the 'strongest man under heaven') are.

I first became familiar with the Three Kingdoms period through the video game "Romance VII" (on PS2). Through the game, I was able to understand what each charecter is capable of doing, which illustrated a clear narrative of the basic concepts involved. After playing "Romance VIII" & "Romance X", I more or less understood what the novel had to offer. After playing these games, I decided to go to the main source - the novel. While reading the novel, I started associating the images and scenarios from the games with the text. Although you will know how most events will unfold, the endless names, ranks, locations and procedures, will make sense; which without, you will be bored to death. So to sum things up, I highly recommend you play some of the romance games (in particular "Romance X") so to know how significant some events (like the meeting of the brothers, or the battle with the 'strongest man under heaven') are.

For Americans. Is it the correct translation? No, but that is okay, because a lot of people who buy this book will have done so from exposure to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games from Koei, and they used the Americanized spelling that unfortunately doesn't match up pronunciation wise, but the names are the same as they appear in all the games. I much prefer this, as I bought a copy of the original translation, and had no idea who the hell they were writing about. For those of us who got exposed to this, one of the greatest stories (about 70% true) ever told, having to go back and relearn all the names would be VERY taxing, not to mention annoying as hell.

The story itself is amazing, the translation lively and I like that it had little pictures once in a while to give me a picture in my head of what these characters looked like.
HOWEVER...There are quite a few spelling mistakes, out-of-place words, and mixed up letters (b,d and p,q). I bought a set directly from China so I'm not sure if the edition for sale in North America has these flaws. They don't cause any major comprehension problems, but they're frequent enough for me to knock off 1 star.
Still, this is the translation you should get, even if their proof-reader should have been fired.

the story or legend of the three kingdom is very poorly translated by the author.this story is an epic novel of ancient china which is as famous if not more famous than illiad and odessey of ancient greece by homer. as a young boy of ten years old i can almost recite the whole story by heart. that why i can say that the english translation is a poor and inadequate version especially with respect to important characters and events. the english version is hazy inaccurate incoherrent. perhaps the author didnot apprehend or appreciate the real message of confucianism which is the whole plot of the novel.

I first found this edition of three kingdoms while in Beijing, a friend of mine was reading it, and so when he finished with the first volume I picked it right up and kept reading. Three kingdoms is a dynamic story of the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of the fragmented three kingdoms period in Chinese history, where no new dynasty would rise until the Tang. The characters are colorful and dynamic, and the battles are described in great details to preserve the tactics of the era. similar to a the Iliad in its storytelling the book follows the main characters of Liu Bei and his generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as they fight to rebuild the crumbling empire. Great historical generals like Lu Bu and Cao Cao fight for their own territory as they also sought to regain the empire that once was. Intrigue and epic battles follow, and be careful to not speak Cao Cao lest Cao Cao appear. Gamers may recognize all the characters and battles because this ancient classic is the basis for the Dynasty Wars series which replicates the battles as they happened in the book (with some license)

I first found this edition of three kingdoms while in Beijing, a friend of mine was reading it, and so when he finished with the first volume I picked it right up and kept reading. Three kingdoms is a dynamic story of the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of the fragmented three kingdoms period in Chinese history, where no new dynasty would rise until the Tang. The characters are colorful and dynamic, and the battles are described in great details to preserve the tactics of the era. similar to a the Iliad in its storytelling the book follows the main characters of Liu Bei and his generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei as they fight to rebuild the crumbling empire. Great historical generals like Lu Bu and Cao Cao fight for their own territory as they also sought to regain the empire that once was. Intrigue and epic battles follow, and be careful to not speak Cao Cao lest Cao Cao appear. Gamers may recognize all the characters and battles because this ancient classic is the basis for the Dynasty Wars series which replicates the battles as they happened in the book (with some license)

This is the most amazing story I've ever read in my whole life. I started reading this story because of the vast amounts of material found throughout Asian culture based on this novel. I soon discovered the an amazing epic and soon, like all who have read this story before me, fell became a great fan of the story. This translation is the better of the two and the footnotes are a very wonderful and nessisary addition to the story. Do yourself a favore a pick this book up. Trust me, you won't regret it!

Regarding the four Classics of Chinese literature, there is a popular saying that goes: "lao bu kan san guo, shao bu kan shui hu", translated as: "The young shouldn't read Water Margin while the old shouldn't read The Three Kingdoms". I did just the reverse: as a teenager living in France I voraciously read Water Margins, that depicts the lives of 108 outlaws (I knew all of their names by heart!) and is supposed to have a negative influence on young boys because of its vivid display of violence and its apology for the overturn of the social order that made it a favorite of Chairman Mao. The Three Kingdoms was not available in French at that time. I discovered this second classic much later in a Japanese translation, at an age when readers allegedly shouldn't be exposed to its depiction of stratagum, deceptions, frauds and trickeries that cunning politicians could use to their advantage. My dream is that when I reach old age and become conversant enough in Chinese, I will be able to read The Three Kingdoms and Water Margins, as well as the other two classics of Chinese literature, Journey to the West and Dream of the Red Chamber, in their original versions.

Book is well written and fairly easy to understand. I mainly just love the subject matter.

The Three Kingdoms is set right at the end of the Han dynasty and covers more than a century when the unity of China was broken. Moss Roberts has done a good job translating this vigorous history of alliances, betrayals, bravery, cowardace, and greed. It isn't exactly a historical novel as there are many supernatural elements, but you do get a good feeling of what life was like in those turbulent times.

He cleverly puts the analytical essay at the end, since most of us wouldn't appreciate it if it had been at the beginning.

"Do not discuss life with men who have not read the Romance of Three Kingdoms"

any Chinses born in China knows this saying.

Four GREAT Chinese classics roam over Chinese Literature, and among those (Romance of the three kingdoms, Dream of the Red Chamber, the Monkey King, and ShueyHudran), Romance of the three kingdoms is deemed as second place, right after the Dream of the Red Chamber. It is a work in the plot of the Three Kingdoms history book, which is written in ancient Chinese and is thus very hard to comprehend. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms however, is a very intriguing accomplishment. However, if one read the translation version, one must bear in mind that there are lots names very similar. I myself have read the Chinese version, which made it much easier to comprehend. The storyline is an adventure, and a great warning to imperialism. The three kingdoms stand in enmity and eventually none of them won. This is the Three-Kingdom tragedy, and the end of the Three-Kingdom dynasty. Lots of symbolism and fables to be interpreted. Very thoughtful and comprehensive, all plot tied up extremely conherently. The characters, as far as I know, are all real. China could not have thrived without the greatness of the Three Kingdoms, for it developed numerous Chinese proverbs, numerous location names, and numerous Gods to be worshiped. It is one of the greatest classics in the world, and it must be savored - every bit of it.

Luo Guanzhong and others have contributed one of the most significant true war stories to ever been discovered and documented to date. Through their findings I have been able to observe how Chinese history was within the years of the Han dynasty, and the costs of war. From reading this remarkable historical novel, I have discovered a whole new world and have witnessed the costs of war. A world of tragedy, warfare, political and turmoil brought to peace by some of the most intelligent minds and valiant hearts. The reader first enters the scene at the brewing eye of the storm. Bandits have begun to break out across the country, causing local lords to rise up in defense of the Han. Soon, the major characters of the story are revealed, characters of great virtue and grand intentions. Over the next few years, certain lords gain massive power and begin to stake claims and glory for themselves, totaling disregarding the needs of the failing Han dynasty. Eventually three specific lords rise up among the others, forming three unique and distinct kingdoms, Shu, Wu, and Wei. These three kingdoms or dynasties; Shu led by Liu Bei, Wu by Sun Quan, and Wei by Cao Cao, all have certain advantages over the other two. Varying from wily strategists, massive amounts of manpower, and significant terrain advantages. Over the course of the next few decades these kingdoms clash for power over China. Who comes out the victor? Which Kingdoms rises above the others? Enter the Three Kingdoms.

Three Kingdoms is truly a book I look forward to reading again. Among its greatest strengths were the awe-inspiring plot, the well-developed characters and discovering the strategies and tactics of the older times. I recommend this excellent historical read to any whom have an interest in history, warfare or China. This is definitely one of the greatest historical novels known to date.

First of all, this is a classic of Chinese that is relatively unknown in the west. This epic could be considered the Shakespeare of the Chinese language. It depicts the decay and collapse of the Han dynasty. In the process of this decay, the nation is split into three kingdoms which stuggle for supremacy. In the process of this struggle, we find tales of friendship, heroism, betrayal, and tragedy. This novel has thousands of characters, but perhaps the main character is Kongming, the military strategist of one of the kingdoms. It's a pure pleasure to read his elegantly executed strategies.

This translation has a modern feel, so it was easier to read than other translations that I have read. Robert Moss does a good job of making the story flow. However, as some other reviewers have said, it doesn't have a poetic feel. While the story has been translated, it is always difficult to translate literature into other languages. Having said that, I think this is an excellent translation for those who want an easy read or those who are reading Three Kingdoms for the first time. Also I strongly recommend an unabridged version, such as this one. If you read an abridged version, the story won't seem well developed. The full text is necessary. I especially recommend this novel for those who are studying politics, military science, or business. You'll learn lots of strategies for living life.

The Three Kingdoms have been, since its creation, the staple of literature in the Orient. It has been translated into Korean, Japanese, and numerous other languages and has been read by scholars, historians, and military strategists everywhere in Northern Asia. However, as anyone who has already read the Three Kingdoms in any of the North Eastern Asian languages will promise, the English version unfortunately does not capture the essence in which the "Odyssey" of China rose to its widespread fame and ubiquity. It lacks the characterstics that demand to stand as one of the greatest historical and legendary pieces in existence today. That is why it is literature, not simply history. The artistic hand of Luo Guanzhong is almost wiped off and a bland history with awkward word choice is left that leaves little to imagination and wonder.

For people who are interested in the epics of Chinese literature, to gain a simple understanding of the events and perhaps some of the strategies, the book can be recommended. However, to truly appreciate the epic that has created sayings that if you read the story three times, you can be deemed a scholar, the translation simply lacks too much.

It is unfortunately, another case of great literature unable to be shared since it was lost in translation.

"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is possibly the most famous and important novel in classic Chinese literature. Not only is it the earliest of the "Four Great Books" (as evidenced by its more archaic language), but it created a complete cultural phenomenon whose impact is still fresh today -- just ask all the young people today who, without having read a word of the book, still know the characters from the strategy and fighting video games released by the company Koei. And how many literary works can claim to have had a direct impact on history as this book, which was used as a strategy text by the great Manchurian leader Nurhachi and his son Hongtaiji?

I'd read the original archaic text when I was about eight years old, so obviously my views will be heavily slanted by my familiarity with this text. On approaching this translation, what I find is a well done, respectful and informative translation that doesn't quite nail the tone of the original text, but will be a good read for modern readers who don't read Chinese.

And to be honest, Chinese is extremely hard to translate into English. Just the fact that subjects, articles and pronouns are often omitted from a sentence is enough to cause nightmares for a Chinese-English translator. And even by Chinese standards, The Three Kingdoms is a work whose linguistic economy is staggering. In one page, this book can convey the deaths of half a dozen characters, three to four battles, multiple schemes, and include four or five "tribute" poems, to boot. Such is the style of this work, and it could not have been easy for translator Moss Roberts to adapt this style into English. And he has done the job remarkably, for though I don't think he was able to convey the flavour and rhythm of the original language (the question is, also, whether that would have been possible), his translation makes a good read, and strives to be faithful to the original text, down to the chapter divisions and the inclusion of the "tribute" poems which frequent the book. This was an essential piece in the style of the book and I was joyed to see the device retained.

There are instances scattered throughout where I felt the tone of the language may have been misinterpreted, or diluted by the language barrier. Obviously, I'm not a Chinese professor (as Prof. Roberts is), but as a native speaker, I felt his translations sometimes didn't quite hit the mark. For example, in the original text, one poem on the character Cao Cao distinctly used a word which meant "deception" or "guile", but Prof. Roberts adapted it to "craft", which dilutes the disapproving tone of the original. When Yuan Shao refused aid to Liu Bei on account of his son's illness, his advice to the messenger was "if he is in trouble, he may seek refuge with me", which suggests patronage, not "find refuge north of the river", which suggests a tactical manoeuvre related to geography. These are but two examples and you can certainly argue that the meaning of the original text is up for grabs, but as a Chinese native speaker and reader, one who has grown up with this text and re-read the book hundreds of times, I still find the translation a little off. There is also no attempt at creating period flavour in the language -- the translation is modern, not aiming to add archaic English flavour to try to reflect the age of the original Chinese text. This may be a good point, however, since the use of archaic English added to the language barrier might have resulted in a book that's very difficult to read. I think Prof. Roberts sacrificed flavour for clarity, a fair tradeoff to the benefit of the translation.

Again, the question is whether an English translation (or any other translation) could ever be accurate in this way to the original. Personally, I do think many of the discrepancies in meaning could have been avoided, or ameliorated. However, as aforementioned, for a reader who's never read the original, this issue won't affect his/her enjoyment of the text. Just the fact that there is a translation of this extremely important work of Chinese literature is a cause for celebration, and for those people new to this realm, this set of books is a great discovery.

Like many other reviewers, the way I first found out about this book was through the Dynasty Warriors video game. I decided to try reading the unabridged version, though somewhat daunted by the size. I did expect the book to be interesting, but I also thought it would be difficult reading. Little did I expect for the book to far exceed my expectations! The Three Kingdoms is a fascinating look into the history (albeit somewhat fictionalized) of China during a roughly 100 year period between 180-280 AD, during which the Han Dynasty fell(the Han was the longest lasting and most powerful dynasty according to the Afterword).

The book is full of stories of honor, courage, and loyalty; as well as betrayal, cowardice, and deception. Three Kingdoms is not just a book about wars, although battle is featured prominently in the book--it spends equal or greater amounts of time peering into the political intrigue, power-struggles, and military strategy. The book is loaded with characters, which presents probably the greatest challenge to a Western reader. Learning the names of the main characters might come easier than you might think, and there is a helpful list of main characters in the back of the fourth volume (though even many of those listed there appear only momentarily in the novel). I would also suggest reading the foreward and at least the beginning of the afterword in the fourth volume before beginning the book--it will give helpful background information.

The storytelling in the Three Kingdoms is so compelling that I often found myself practically cheering for my favorite characters, and often laughing out loud at peculiar victories or witty dialogue. The beginning of the book focuses on Liu Bei (Xuande) a man of admirable character and virtue, but often frustrating leadership. The main body of the book deals with Zhuge Liang (Kongming), who is Liu Bei's military strategist. Kongming is definitely the most fascinating character, and his strategies and manipulation are delightful to watch unfold. The book also has scores of heroes and villains, and gives insight into the values and virtues that were highly regarded by the Chinese. Towards the end of the book the storyline briefly begins to sag as most of the main characters die off, and yet the characters Jiang Wei and Deng Ai redeem the end of the book, and still carry on the suspense and excitement that was stronger and brighter in the first 3/4ths of the novel. All in all I was disappointed when I finished, ONLY because there wasn't more to read! I would definitely read this book again and recommend it to anyone who wants to read a true epic of Chinese history.