Hydra's true identity: SPOILERS for Kung Fu by Giddens Ko

[deathblade]

No plot spoilers, but there is some information about Hydra that will give you a pretty good idea of how the story could end. I will put them here.

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[deathblade]

Okay, so Hydra is actually a recurring character in Giddens Ko's Urban Horror Stories series of novels. In fact, he's not just a character, you could say he is the main character. Or the main villain at least. He has multiple personalities, although there is some amount of debate about it, because apparently the series has not officially been completed. It seems that each book in the series reveals a different one of his multiple personalities, and some people expect him to have a total of 9 in the end (because a Hydra of course is a mythical multi-headed serpent, and 9 is the most common number of heads, and in Chinese the translation of "hydra" is "nine-headed snake"). Each of his personalities have differing abilities and powers.

Here are some of his prominent and most obvious personalities:

1) Dr. Hydra. This appears to be his main personality. Has superhuman psychological and hypnotism abilities. His hypnotism arts are so powerful that he can change people’s basic nature. He is psychologically deranged and enjoys messing with peoples’ lives. The novels Yin Jing, Kung Fu, The Ice Box, and Different Dreams all have similar themes and he appears in all of them (this information I got from a relatively old internet post, there may be more updated information out there.) The following is a spoiler:

click to show/hide spoilers

If you had read the other novels that I just mentioned, you would have a good idea how this novel might end. That's because in those other novels he apparently uses his hypnotism powers to create a powerful enemy, messes with them, toys with them, but in the end leaves them alive. People speculate that the author is setting things up to eventually defeat Hydra once and for all. But that of course is just fan speculation.

2) Lan Jin. I will update information about this once the translation is complete.

3) The Vampire King. In Howl of the Werewolf, he is the leader of the vampires who oppose the werewolves. He has almost limitless magic powers. He makes an appearance toward the end of Kung Fu.

4&5) Mr. Game and Mr. Crazy. Two deranged, homicidal maniacs, who kill for fun and compete with each other in that regard. Mr. Game has extraordinary gun skills, and plays deranged games with and tortures his victims before killing them. Mr. Crazy has extraordinary skills with blades. He enjoys slicing up the skin of his victims before dying, apparently in a way where he cuts all the way to the bone, but doesn't kill them.

**

Hydra's reference to the Fortress of Cicadas is a little confusing. In another of Giddens Ko's series, Assassins, there is a book of the same name. In that book, it is revealed that throughout history, whenever assassins complete a mission, they receive some kind of document called the Fortress of Cicadas, that contains some kind of special information. The form and container of the document can change. In addition, some fans speculate that in the Giddens Ko book Fortress of Cicadas, the story told of a young boy is actually Hydra. But the book doesn't make it clear one way or another.

Another confusing thing is that in Hydra's narration, he clearly refers to Fortress of Cicadas as a place. He does so three times.

So, you can draw your own conclusions about it. Given what we know about Hydra and his powers, it seems totally plausible to me that he could have started out as, or still be an, assassin. But then again, I haven't read any other books in Urban Horror Stories or the Assassins series, so its purely conjecture.

**

Okay, that's all the information I have for now. If anyone else out there has read the Urban Horror Stories series or Assassins, or has friends that do who can provide some more details about Hydra, please send me a message or put them here.

[ycb5959]

Thanks.
Now that 'hypnotism' is revealed to be the 'cause', I wonder if (at any time, in any instance in the narrative), any of the story is true or just part of hypnotic implant...

like the vampire movie, "rigor mortis", in the end, it was revealed that all were simply

click to show/hide spoilers

part of a dying man's mental hallucination

[deathblade]

Thanks.
Now that 'hypnotism' is revealed to be the 'cause', I wonder if (at any time, in any instance in the narrative), any of the story is true or just part of hypnotic implant...

like the vampire movie, "rigor mortis", in the end, it was revealed that all were simply

click to show/hide spoilers

part of a dying man's mental hallucination

Yeah I considered that possibility, too. But based on Hydra's own explanation as well as how this connects to the other books, I don't think so. He's still not done telling his story and purpose, when you do I think you'll see what I mean.

[Catahn]

Deathblade, excellent explanation of Hydra. Since I have not been exposed to the other stories this gives me a great background picture of hydra without it spoiling the current story. I really appreciate your explanation!

[deathblade]

Deathblade, excellent explanation of Hydra. Since I have not been exposed to the other stories this gives me a great background picture of hydra without it spoiling the current story. I really appreciate your explanation!

I haven't read the other books myself either, just gathered this information from various locations on the Chinese internet.

It seems Hydra's personalities kind of blend together sometimes. For example, Lan Jin likes to cut people up similar to Mr. Crazy.

[LuDongBin]

So Hydra has many split personalities (9) and Lan Jin is one of them?

[deathblade]

So Hydra has many split personalities (9) and Lan Jin is one of them?

Yes, and he can control them. And as you will see in the update I'll post in a few minutes, he can actually create the personalities if he wants to.

[deathblade]

Fortress of Cicadas

Hydra's reference to the Fortress of Cicadas is a little confusing. In another of Giddens Ko's series, Assassins, there is a fictional book of the same name. In that book, it is revealed that throughout history, whenever assassins complete a mission, they receive some kind of document called the Fortress of Cicadas, that contains some kind of special information. The form and container of the document can change. In addition, some fans speculate that in the Giddens Ko book Fortress of Cicadas, the story told of a young boy is actually Hydra. But the book doesn't make it clear one way or another.

Another confusing thing is that in Hydra's narration, he clearly refers to Fortress of Cicadas as a place. He does so three times.

So, you can draw your own conclusions about it. Given what we know about Hydra and his powers, it seems totally plausible to me that he could have started out as, or still be an, assassin. But then again, I haven't read any other books in Urban Horror Stories or the Assassins series, so its purely conjecture.

Again, if anyone has read the other books, or knows someone who has, I would love to have more detailed information to post here.

[deathblade]

Regarding Hydra's mention of voodoo in today's update, here is a big spoiler:

click to show/hide spoilers

It seems Hydra has some big connection to voodoo and Hatian black magic. In a few updates, he will reveal that the eyeless corpses are actually reanimated corpses that he controls with Hatian poison magic (the blue silkworms).

[deathblade]

Glad to read the reveal, but I'm actually not sure how I feel about it. Hydra (especially reading the other spoiler thread) seems to be an unbeatable entity which somehow takes away from the story imo.

I'm not going to reveal how it ends, but what I can say is that when I reached the end, I questioned whether or not to take it on as a translation project. I think I might have even said something to that effect on a previous post somewhere, not sure.

Anyway, I'm not going to say how it ends, but I bet it will be somewhat polarizing. You're either gonna love it or hate it.

[LuDongBin]

This Hydra character is very complex. In order to understand him better, I guess you have no choice but to translate the rest of the Urban Horror Stories? No? xD

[tape]

I'm not going to reveal how it ends, but what I can say is that when I reached the end, I questioned whether or not to take it on as a translation project. I think I might have even said something to that effect on a previous post somewhere, not sure.

Anyway, I'm not going to say how it ends, but I bet it will be somewhat polarizing. You're either gonna love it or hate it.

Can't wait to read it then!

I think it's interesting though that the chapter by chapter release definitely affects the way I feel about it. It made it super suspenseful over the course of weeks/months rather than in a couple readings. I do like the idea of this Hydra character being directly and indirectly involved in a whole bunch of his novels, possibly leading into one big tie-in, but as a stand a lone character and ending plot I think I might be disappointed.

[WesY2K]

But if this all somehow relies on knowing Hydra from the other novels, they will have a problem with the movie, don't you think? I can't remember Hydra being part of his first movie "You Are The Apple Of My Eye"

[deathblade]

But if this all somehow relies on knowing Hydra from the other novels, they will have a problem with the movie, don't you think? I can't remember Hydra being part of his first movie "You Are The Apple Of My Eye"

Haha I hear you. But Giddens Konhas written like 60 novels, and Hydra is limited to the Urban Horror Stories series which is seven or so books. And potentially Assassins, also only a few books.

But I was thinking the same thing. He's not gonna make a movie for every book in the horror series, so how will the movie end?

I suspect it may be similar to the comic, which has a completely different ending than the book. Or perhaps it will have another different ending.

Or who knows. Maybe he will try to expand it into a movie franchise.

[tape]

Can you spoiler the comic ending too after you've finished the regular ending ?

[deathblade]

Can you spoiler the comic ending too after you've finished the regular ending ?

Yeah absolutely!

[deathblade]

This Hydra character is very complex. In order to understand him better, I guess you have no choice but to translate the rest of the Urban Horror Stories? No? xD

Hahaha.

[tape]

Can't argue with the man's logic deathblade. Sorry !

[regulus]

what happen to the protagonist's mother affair