Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
October: Season of Heroes
10
items The world’s most famous wuxia novelist, Jin Yong (1924–2018), passed away on October 30, eight years ago. To commemorate his legacy, I’m bringing you a selection of novels with a similar spirit from different parts of the world, including one from a ...
A gripping tale of samurai, rival clans, forbidden love, assassins, and extraordinary warriors, set in a beautifully imagined version of feudal Japan. Takeo's journey from an ordinary young man to a formidable fighter gives the story a strong coming-...
Across the Nightingale Floor (Lian Hearn)
Inspired by China's Tang dynasty, Under Heaven is a sweeping epic of war, court intrigue, betrayal, honor, and personal destiny. Guy Gavriel Kay creates a richly detailed world where the fate of kingdoms is constantly colliding with the lives of ordi...
Under Heaven (Guy Gavriel Kay)
Samurai, secret clans, political intrigue, romance, foreigners, and supernatural mysteries collide in nineteenth-century Japan. Cloud of Sparrows captures a Japan caught between its ancient traditions and the rapidly changing modern world.
Why read i...
Cloud of Sparrows (Takashi Matsuoka)
The quintessential wuxia adventure. Guo Jing's journey takes him from a humble young man to a legendary martial artist, encountering powerful masters, rival schools, romance, friendship, political intrigue, and some of the most memorable characters i...
A Hero Born - The Legend of the Condor Heroes (Jin Yong)
The dramatic story of Temüjin, the young man who would become Genghis Khan. Set among the brutal rivalries of the Mongolian steppe, the novel is packed with horseback warfare, survival, loyalty, revenge, ambition, and tribal politics.
Why read it? I...
Wolf of the Plains (Conn Iggulden)
Step into ancient Greece through the eyes of Arimnestos, a young warrior caught in a world of warfare, political conflict, and survival. Cameron pays exceptional attention to the realities of ancient combat, from weapons and tactics to the physical a...
Killer of Men (Christian Cameron)
The legendary journey of Miyamoto Musashi from a wild young fighter to a disciplined master swordsman. Yoshikawa turns swordsmanship into something much larger: a path toward self-knowledge, discipline, philosophy, and mastery.
Why read it? A founda...
Musashi (Eiji Yoshikawa)
A powerful family of martial artists, spectacular elemental combat, war, sacrifice, and a young generation questioning the beliefs of their elders. Beneath its fantasy action is an unexpectedly moving story about family, duty, trauma, and what it rea...
The Sword of Kaigen (ML Wang)
Set in Japan in the early seventeenth century, Shōgun follows John Blackthorne, an English navigator whose shipwreck leaves him trapped in a world of samurai, rival warlords, political intrigue, and unfamiliar customs. His relationship with the power...
Shogun (James Clavell)
I know this one is a little odd, since it happens to be my own novel. Set in Java in 1587, "The Eagle of Menoreh" follows Nara, a mountain boy who finds himself caught in the political intrigues between Mataram and the kingdoms of the northern coast...
The Eagle of Menoreh (Wiwien Wintarto)