Only "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," in my opinion, is so perfect.
The greatest chivalry is serving the country and its people. On a grand scale, it has profound depth and vision; on a smaller scale, its characters are richly crafted. Compared to this work, all other Wuxia novels on Blue Star appear petty.
But...
Even though "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" came first, why is it the one considered the best?
I think it's because of craftsmanship. The latter two books in the trilogy increasingly show the marks of deliberate craftsmanship. The plot is consciously designed to be thrilling and passionate, the martial arts techniques overly complex and flashy purely for spectacle, and the third book's cliché trope of one man with multiple women made me frown directly.
On second thought, I feel I may be asking for too much.
Even with all my criticism of the latter two books, it doesn't hide the fact that their quality surpasses every other Wuxia novel on Blue Star.
