The Heroes

The war between the Union and the North culminates in a three-day battle among two small villages, bogs, and barley fields. The high ground is a saddled hilltop ringed by ancient standing stones called the Heroes. The ruthless fighting prowess of Black Dow, the new king of the North, is pitted against Lord Marshal Kroy, the commander of the southern King's army. The Heroes reads more like historical fiction than fantasy. In true Joe Abercrombie fashion, it's a grim tale told by an array of intensely colorful and intriguing characters. Joe Abercrombie is to fantasy books what Clint Eastwood was to Western movies; he's taken the genre to a whole new level of bad@$$. From beginning to end, reading about medieval warfare cannot get any more real than it is in The Heroes. This book is sure to give readers the instinctive urge to duck a swinging battle-axe or dodge a spear thrust. As always, Abercrombie is a master of dialogue that ranges from hysterical to profound. While reading The Heroes, the pages (the e-pages, in my case) disappeared and I achieved the Holy Grail of bookworms: the complete mental transportation from reality into the imaginary world. If action is not your thing, worry not. This is a war story that takes place in the same world as Joe Abercrombie's other books: The First Law Trilogy and Best Served Cold. Take a gander at the "Order of Battle" -- the character list, which is cleverly placed at the beginning of the book instead of the end. Bayaz, Bremer dan Gorst, Black Dow, and The Dogman return from The First Law Trilogy. We also see some of Curnden Craw's "dozen." Named Men like the woman warrior called Wonderful and Whirrun of Bligh introduced in "The Fool Job," Abercrombie's short in Swords and Dark Magic, are more than enough for established Abercrombie fans. For newcomers, how could you not be enticed by names like Rurgen and Younger (who are described as "faithful servants, one old ... one younger"), Corporal Tunny, Caul Shivers, Pale-as-Snow, and Stranger-Come-Knocking? (Notice anything, veteran fantasy readers? Those names are all easily pronounced, making the story flow much better than many other fantasy stories where the author insists on bogging the reader down with words almost humanly impossible to utter.) As in Abercrombie's other books, the reader is often drawn to the most despicable of scoundrels like "Prince" Calder, whose clever wit gets him both into and out of trouble, or the standard-bearer Corporal Tunny, a con-artist who is proud that, despite his long-service, he's managed to rise no further in rank. There is also the politically ambitious Finree dan Brock. In a male dominated society, she strategically designs her husband's rise to power despite his own lack of ambition. My favorites are always Abercrombie's warrior-heroes, like Whirrun of Bligh, a.k.a. Cracknut. Each time Whirrun carries the Father of Swords into battle he wears fewer clothes. Col. Gorst is a master swordsman plagued with a high feminine voice. Gorst is angry at everyone, including himself most of all, and can only find joy in mortal combat. Those are only a handful of sensational but believable characters that bring this gritty story to life. Joe Abercrombie's writing is both fresh and edgy. He has that deep understanding of the human psyche and society that only the very best writers possess. The only other fantasy author that so grandly wrote such gray tales was the late master, David Gemmell. I had such a good time reading Abercrombie's latest story that I didn't want it to end. If I read just one more new fantasy book in 2011 that's two-thirds as good as The Heroes, I will consider it an outstanding year for the genre.

Last August I ordered The Blade Itself on a whim. For years I have kept strictly to science fiction having given up the fantasy genre for stagnant and unimaginative. Half way into reading The Blade Itself I went ahead and ordered the next two books in the First Law Trilogy as well as Abercrombie's standalone novel Best Served Cold. Abercrombie introduced me to a fresh fantasy world where the heroes aren't so heroic and the legends aren't quite so legendary. The Blade Itself brought me back to the genre that started my reading passion in the first place. I loved the First Law Trilogy and went on a week long reading binge to tackle it. Afterward I read Best Served Cold and was not nearly as pleased. Best Served Cold was much like its dark predecessor but even darker yet, featuring rather unlikable characters on a less interesting continent. Regardless of my feelings toward Abercrombie's first stand alone effort there was never a doubt that I would be purchasing his next entry in the series. The Heroes is ,at its heart, a very pure representation of the Sword and Sorcery sub-genre of fantasy that has gotten a resurgence in popularity as of late. Where as epic fantasy focuses on large scale struggles between the treacherous powers of evil and the unflinching forces of good, sword and sorcery is more about individual struggles and moral ambiguity. The Heroes is about a three day battle for a rather worthless valley between the savage Northmen and the civilized Union. Abercrombie highlights the horrors of war commonly overlooked in most fantasy novels that instead prefer to glorify combat and bloodshed. Abercrombie can paint a picture of warfare that is gritty and solemn and unflinchingly realistic. There are military blunders on both sides of the conflict, bravery as well as cowardice, honor as well as back-stabbing. A more accurate depiction of battle in fantasy you are unlikely to find. Though Abercrombie can write gripping action sequences his strongest point is the characters he populates the world with. The main characters of the First Law Trilogy were deeply flawed characters, villains to a greater or lesser degree, living in a world where doing the right thing can get you killed and the wrong thing can - well, also get you killed. Though these characters weren't always honorable (nor even mostly honorable) they were tragic heroes. The greatest testament to Abercrombie's ability was the character known as Logen Ninefingers aka the Bloody Nine. Somehow he took a bloodthirsty murderous thug and created a sympathetic man tired of his own legend. My greatest complaint about Best Served Cold is how much weaker the character development was. The standalone novel offered an assortment of characters but none of them were as endearing as the Bloody Nine. Though The Heroes does not match up to the First Law Trilogy in terms of characterization it is a major improvement over Best Served Cold. Abercrombie introduces new faces as well as brings back some familiar faces. Probably my favorite perspective during the course of the battle would be Bremmer dan Gorst, a disgraced member of the King's Guard. Because of an unusually high voice most of Gorst's dialogue is internalized resulting in some of the most humorous parts of the novel. Other characters include Calder, a clever schemer and son of the now deceased King of North, and Curden Craw a straight-edge warrior from the old days. The perspectives truly propel this novel along, a novel that could easily be bogged down with repetitive violence and flat characters. I've seen some complaints that The Heroes doesn't advance the universe that Abercrombie has built but I believe this couldn't be further from the truth. There are some major power shifts and conditions elsewhere in the world are brought into focus. A certain Magus conducts an experiment on the battlefield that I'm sure will have repercussions in future works. This story doesn't strike me as an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the franchise, Abercrombie could have achieved that with much less effort. On a small note I have to commend the wonderful map of the Valley of Osrung and the troop displacement maps featured at each segment. This is a great read, a true example of sword and sorcery fantasy that adds to Joe Abercrombie's growing repertoire.

Arguably the best WRITTEN of any of the First Law extended series. 75% of the characters will be (and need to be, for most of it to make any sense) familiar to a fan of the series, and they often are expanded upon from the parts they may have played before (Black Dow most notably and everyone will like seeing Caul Shivers again from Best Served Cold). For sheer ingenious world building, suspense and complete WTF! moments, I guess I'd have to choose LAST ARGUMENT OF KINGS as my "favorite" of the series, but I found myself really appreciating the clever ways The Heros novel unfolds. For now it'll be my second favorite. In THE HEROS what we have are much more subtle story lines (I know that seems hard to believe in a story of almost continuous blood-letting). But what I mean is that when the big surprises happen, they feel much more organic and less forced or for easy excitement. And though his other books also had scoundrels become somewhat redeemed, and quite a few "good guys" that went bad, this book handles the same sorts of character transformations with more nuance and believability. A number of scenes, I have to say, were just about as good as one could hope for by ANY author, and they had a dramatic, almost cinematic weight to them that really stood out. And although I often got a guilty thrill when previous novels in the series would "pull the rabbit out of the hat" a la The First of the Magi, there were a number of times when it all felt like Deux ex Machina on Abercrombie's part (generally after having written himself into a corner). This almost never happens in The Heros and the story is better for it. Best Served Cold probably was the most guilty of using "Super Magic" to change the course of events just when things seemed most dire or stuck, and it often read like not that creative scene knock-off from the Matrix. Another interesting aspect of the novel one will notice here is also the fact that it all takes place over around 4-5 days. Mostly in the middle 3 days actually, but it's all told via the widest panoply of characters possible, often in direct parallel. This can both be a great way of keeping you grounded as to all the action, and as opportunities for a lot of humor (in the "one mans fortune is anothers doom" kind of manner). Bottom Line: Plenty of fun and action, more character and environmental detail to enjoy, improved writing technique, plot twists that are surprising AND believable!

Set in the world of his First Law trilogy, Joe Abercrombie takes on the fantasy war novel in the standalone novel The Heroes, which tells the story of a three-day battle between the forces of the North and the Union, all over an unimportant hill in the middle of nowhere significant. With a scope that includes more than a dozen different perspectives throughout the book - on both sides of the battle - Abercrombie plunges you into the conflict, depicting every aspect of it, from the large-scale planning to the brutality of the front lines, from the feints and bluffs to the incompetent commanders, from the individual acts of heroism to the pathetic acts of cowardice. As ever, Abercrombie is incredibly character-driven and grounded in realism, refusing to flinch from the unpleasant aspects of his world, but also treating his characters with respect, no matter how flawed or selfish they might be. The Heroes uses all of these elements superbly, making a book that explores war in all of its horrors, while also understanding how it can forge bonds, shape destinies, and more. It's neither pro-war nor anti-war; instead, it shows the toll it can take on people, and celebrates those who have to fight them, even as it questions whether any of it is worth the human cost involved, or the way that the people who suffer least so often are those who send others to their deaths. In that, it's pure Abercrombie, looking at so many fantasy tropes and stories and exploring them from the inside out, turning it all over and questioning whether the legend is more important than the truth, all while telling a gripping read with countless great characters, incredible action, and a compelling, unputdownable narrative.

Warriors meet. Arrows fly. Swords slice. Axes chop. People die. That's just how it is. Sign of the times, I reckon. The Heroes is a stand-alone book in Joe Abercrombie's First Law Series. You'll enjoy the book more if you've read the First Law Trilogy, but it is not necessary. (But you should.) Story: This isn't your typical war story with good guys and bad guys. Instead, the story is told from the perspectives of the leaders and footmen on both sides of the battle. Both sides have their flaws as well as their strenghs. Union Soldiers from the south march to the northern border to claim a strategic landmark called The Heroes. The Heroes are a circle of giant stone slabs standing at attention atop a steep hill. Barbaric mercenaries from the north occupy The Heroes and will fight to the death to defend them. The battle lasts three unpleasant days and nobody will ever be the same. World: Joe Abercrombie's world is gritty and realistic. The world is muddy. The weather is terrible. Magic is powerful, but scarce. Leadership is incompetent. Battles are vicious. Men are very, very flawed. This book focuses on the border between the northern highlanders and the southern union. The lands in the north are unforgiving and the men are hardened by the constant struggle to survive. The climate in the south is much more moderate, allowing a civilization with abundant resources to thrive. The Union troops are equipped with superior armor and advanced military tactics, while the Northmen are tough, blood thirsty, and bold. However, both sides are full of incompetents, cowards, traitors, lunatics, and heroes. Characters: There are a lot of characters in this book. Keeping track of them all is a challenge. Luckily, there is a character list with descriptions at the front of the book. You can refer back to this if you ever get confused. The first 90 pages are dedicated to character development. They're all gritty and a bit psychotic, but very human at the same time. These definitely aren't the heroes from fairy tales. Nobody is valiant or honorable. They're just people trying desperately to survive in a bad situation. Writing Style: Joe Abercrombie sets the scene and the mood with short declarative sentences and 'to the point' dialogue. You get a good sense of the character's motivations and you start liking them... all of them are likeable in some way... or dislikeable in other ways. You really start to feel like you know them. The battles are the most gritty, chaotic, and exciting that you'll ever read. If I had to compare them to a film, I'd say, "Remember the first time you saw, `Saving Private Ryan.' Pure Chaos!" You feel every slash of the sword and feel pain for every death. The story structure is interesting, too. There really isn't a long drawn out quest or an Act I, Act II, Act III. There is just character development, a battle, and reflection. It's refreshing! Although, 90 pages of character introductions is a bit overwhelming. Also, the short descriptions help the pacing of the book, but there are quite a few parts that are hard to visualize. I had to re-read a few pages now and then so I could envision the scenes. But there are some character driven scenes in the book that remind me of classic literature or the movie `True Grit.' You'll definitely remember parts of this book months after you've read it. Action: There are battles, duels, assassins, more battles, tactics, and battles. These battles are gritty, gory, and violent. Heads roll, limbs fall, torsos are hacked, and many die horrific deaths in the mud. This book also takes the battles one step further. Most of all, the action is not without consequences. Characters lose their limbs, their lives, and their humanity. At the end of each day in the story, they show a map and where the north and south forces are placed. Black Dow is here, General Jaelenhorn is here, etc... It's a great way to show progression. Maturity: Adult or Late Teen Violence, Gore, Language, Sex... This is not for kids... or anyone who is idealistic about life. Overall: This book is Gritty, Exciting, Entertaining, and Dark. It has memorable yet sinister characters and visceral battles. What it lacks in pacing and description, it makes up for in style and action. If you love fantasy battles, then this book is for you. Buy it if you love violence. Buy it if you love shady characters. Buy it if you enjoyed the First Law Trilogy. Buy it if this 'story structure' sounds appealing. Buy it if you like stories told from different perspectives. Avoid it if you like your heroes to be virtuous. Avoid it if you like verbose descriptions. Avoid it if you don't like the idea of a 400 page battle. Avoid it if you need to follow one main character through a story. Avoid it if your fantasy needs to have elves and dragons. This book has more in common with Braveheart than Lord of the Rings. If you enjoyed this book, check out the Blackhearts Omnibus set in the Warhammer Universe, The Black Company by Glen Cook, or Legend, Winter Warriors, The Lion of Macedon, and Waylander by David Gemmell. They all feature real men in violent battles.

By the dead! By the ****ing dead! And yes, I feel (and perhaps, look)almost dead. Dark circles under my eyes, my sleep-deprived body run ragged and limp. As if I had myself just taken part in the mad carnage between the Union and the Northmen and have nothing but musings to show for it. Well, Mr. Abercrombie, sir, you are yourself a First Magi of the High Art of story-telling. And not just a telling of stories, but a telling of the complexities and paradoxes of a human person. Every one of the major characters, from the war-god Bremer dan Gorst to the country boy Beck, was masterfully crafted with depth -- the agonies and ecstasies of human desires and emotions (power, love, fear). Oh so very engaging, each one, I was rooting back and forth between Union and Northmen on account of the struggles of the characters. My wavering loyalties (easily won by one side, and then by the other, and then back again, and then again...)may get me a well-deserved "blood cross" by the Northmen or a hanging by the Union...but it couldn't be helped under Mr. Abercrombie's relentless efforts to make you apprehend and empathize, to the last surge of adrenaline available in your body, the excruciating emotional and physical tribulations of the characters. Wow. And the book is peppered with passages for hearty chuckles. Hilarious internal dialogues (like Bremer's), the witty POV's of Calder, the comical interactions (like between Tunny & his recruits). I got a particular CHARGE (pun intended) out of the un-glorious "attack" by the First Regiment of Cavalry. That made me laugh a good bit! And the book is brazenly graphic in violence, as well. But the conveyance through description and through the characters' own musings, in my opinion, is a superb indictment of WAR. I quote, loosely, a passage in the book: something like war serves the rich men's ambitions and makes for the poor men's graves. I take away a lot of things to think about, from this masterful book. About war; about humanity; about life. Nothing new, really, but resonant to my own philosophies. Made fresh once more because of Abercrombie's keen talent to phrase them, or portray them, meaningfully. Just so you know (though this is only my opinion) the full appreciation of "HEROES" might be achieved only after you've read the First Law trilogy first. The character development, the history, the backdrop, the ambience. Such prior knowledge will enhance the experience of "HEROES". 5 Stars!

"The Heroes" is stand alone work by Joe Abercrombie. Although a separate story, there are definite connections and references to the previously published "The First Law" trilogy and the single novel "Best Served Cold". The hardcover book is 560 pages in length while the Kindle e-edition is a 1538 Kb download. *SPOILER* This book describes 3 days of an ongoing battle in the Osrung Valley. A valley that contains the hamlet of Osrung and whose outstanding feature is a centrally located hill called 'The Heroes', so named because of a circle of huge monolith carved stones around its top. And of course 'The Heroes' could also refer to anyone of several individuals you'll come across during the telling of this gruesome and violent tale. The story involves a showdown battle between two groups: the wild and unruly 'Northmen' on one side and the King's Union Army on the other. This is a tale that makes me recall the statement, 'the fog of war' in which so many perfectly set-up situations can, and often do, go awry. All as a result of uncontrollable things such as the weather and good old fashion luck (or lack thereof) and also things that should't be a factor but frequently are, such as petty rivalries and jealousies, inflated egos, military incompetence, miscommunication and even well intentioned human error. *END SPOILER* Things I liked about this novel... 1.) lots of actions...lots of intrigue 2.) told from many different individual points of view. I really liked how this multi-person story telling technique was able to show a persons individual strengths and courage as well as his/her hidden vulnerabilities and frailties. 3.) alternating location viewpoints...frequently when an event/action was occurring in one camp, the subsequent scene was of the same event/action, but from the viewpoint of the other side. This was particularly effective in demonstrating the effects 'the fog of war' could/would have, in what seemed like a fairly straight forward situation. 4.) many interesting characters with many interesting and different personal agendas...often having little to do with the overall military objectives. 5a.) Five MAPS...The maps are concise and give the names of all important landmarks to be found in the Osrung Valley. The first map gives a view of the Osrung Valley prior to the engagement. The second through fourth maps show the positions of the two side at the beginning of a new day...very useful in comparing changes from the day before. The fifth map show the final positions of the two sides after the battle. 5b.) The Kindle e-edition have maps that are expandable for greater detail...a useful feature in this particular case. Concerns: 1.) extremely graphic descriptions of gore and violence that may put off some readers. So be forewarned. 2.) the character of Colonel Bremer dan Gorst. An interesting, larger than life action hero of the King's Union Army. My concern here was that Abercrombie was trying to recreate a character much like the incredibly tragic hero/villain from "The First Law" trilogy, Sand dan Glokta. Glokta was/still is, one of my favourite characters in all of the fantasy genre. When I perceived an attempt was being made to recreate another such person I was wary...and rightly so, because Gorst, despite all his 'baggage' and internal musing, does not come close to reaching the quality of Glokta, with his inner tortured soul. Gorst, after a while, I found hard to like. Conclusion: I loved this book; I could barely put it down. My only minor complaint as mentioned above. Otherwise brilliant. 4 3/4 to 5 Stars Ray Nicholson

The Heroes is a standalone written by Joe Abercrombie. It takes place after his First Law trilogy and Best Served Cold. Although it is a standalone novel and you can read it well enough without reading the previous four novels, the Heroes will spoil a lot of their major plot turns. So you're best off starting with the Blade Itself and working through Best Served Cold before you take on the Heroes. Stylistically, the Heroes is very similar to Abercrombie's other books, so if you didn't enjoy those books you almost certainly won't like the Heroes. Abercrombie writes violent, bloody books rife with bad language and sex/sexual references. So if that's not your style, you probably shouldn't bother with any of Abercrombie's books. The Heroes tracks the events of a three-day battle between the Union (more or less an analog of England) and the North, a barbaric people currently under the rule of Black Dow, a vicious killer. The story is told from a number of points of view: Some returning characters, such as the Dogman, Bremer dan Gorst, and Calder, and some new characters, such as Curnden Craw, a straight-edged Northern warrior, Finree, the ambitious wife of a disgraced but decent officer, and Beck, a young Northman who dreams of becoming a great warrior like his father. Given that the novel is almost exclusively about a war, the Heroes is bloody even for an Abercrombie novel. Although I think the Heroes is Abercrombie's weakest work to date, it's still worth your time. As always, his creates and develops some really entertaining characters - Whirrun of Bligh is hysterical, Beck develops in an interesting way, Black Dow is fleshed out into a surprisingly three dimensional character, Calder actually becomes worth caring about, and so on. There are some weaknesses though. Although Curnden Craw is a likable character, his straight-edge philosophy also makes him enormously predictable. And although Bremer dan Gorst has some really entertaining fighting scenes, his internal monologues are all basically the same and tend to the really whiny. Further, Abercrombie still writes some of the best action scenes you'll find. His fighting is very realistic - it's not the high minded swordsmanship you find in a lot of fantasy novels. Instead, it's dirty, gritty, desperate. People through mud, kick their opponents in the crotch, try to blind them, etc. Whatever they can to survive. And Abercrombie's ability to describe the action can leave you breathless. Abercrombie introduces a method of describing a battle whereby he jumps from perspective to perspective as characters come in contact with each other. Often, the points of view in these chapters come from random one-off characters that are never heard from again and aren't much developed, but they demonstrate the flow of fighting beautifully. Finally, Abercrombie continues to write some really snappy, believable dialogue, even if it is sometimes over-the-top and seems custom made for a film adaption. My biggest problem with the Heroes is that, unlike Abercrombie's other works, it tended to be a little boring at times. About halfway through the book I lost interest, put it down, and didn't pick it up again for about two months. When I did pick it up, I found that the tempo picked up and the book became rather interesting. But the first 250 pages or so were a real slog. For whatever its merits (and the Heroes has quite a few), I can't give more than three stars to a book who's first half bored me so much I had to stop reading for a long while. Further, Abercrombie's writing tends to be pretty predictable in my opinion. It works fine in his other novels because the books are just so darn entertaining, but the Heroes isn't nearly as entertaining as his other works, so the lack of surprise really serves as a hindrance. So if you have enjoyed Abercrombie's other books, you really should read the Heroes. It's lower quality, in my opinion, but it ties up a lot of loose ends and does have some really entertaining moments and some good character development. Further, the second-half of the book was far better than the first. The Heroes warrants three stars, which I consider a decent review, but the book was a bit of a disappointment considering Abercrombie's prior novels.

Enligt beskrivning

I was looking forward to this book. Although you could have met some previously known characters, I think this was the weakest from the First Law world (I have not read yet Red Country). It is worth reading if you are fan of Abercombie or the First Law world but the trilogy was uncomparably better than this book. I marked that I liked it because I did as it was a good read but less to what I am used to from this author.

Really excellent story telling, with fine, three dimensional characters and a great recognition of the two sides to every story - and of the difference between right and wrong. First class.

Iconic cast. Incredible action. Joe at his best.

Este libro fue para mi la entrada al circulo del mundo, este universo creado por Joe Abercrombie. Si bien, hay referencias al pasado creo se puede leer bien de manera independiente a los otros 5. The Heroes, es sin duda mi libro favorito de Abercrombie. ¡Saludos!