Luo Guanzhong's historical epic is the national literary treasure of the People's Republic of China, their national legend much like King Arthur for the English, or Charlemagne and his Paladins for the French. Romance of the Three Kingdoms has been exported to Japanese and American audiences by the KOEI game entertainment company through such titles as the Dynasty Warriors series and Kessen II.

As a young teenager fresh off Dynasty Warriors I purchased this abridged version of the book with the expectation it would skip the minutiae which I wasn't interested in. In actuality the abridged version focuses on the faction of Shu, headed by Emperor Apparent Liu Bei. Also focused on is the warrior-brother of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, who is now honored as a Bodhisattva, analogous to a "Saint" of Catholic theology. Without the added information of the kingdoms of Wei and Wu when they aren't interacting with Shu, some purists or literary converts from the Dynasty Warriors series might feel cheated by this abridged version, but on the other hand the limitation of characters (of which there are MANY in RoTK) and focus on one faction potentially makes this less of a "historical" epic and more of an acceptable novel form.

Tactics of Sun Tzu, good dialogue, a non-romanized translation, and a storyline that spans over 100 years. Read this book, then look for the small statues of Guan Yu that dot chinese restaraunts across the United States, you'll impress the owner with your appreciation for Chinese history. ( )