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4.5/5 Stars

The Heroes depicted an unforgettable three days of intricate battles; Joe Abercrombie has once again proved himself to be my shining star in grimdark fantasy.

For me, thereÂ’s simply no one that can write grimdark fantasy as good as Abercrombie. The Heroes has been claimed by many AbercrombieÂ’s fans to be his best book so far, and although I disagree because in my opinion that crown still belongs to Last Argument of Kings, I rank The Heroes as his third-best work so far. I loved it almost as much as I loved Before They Are Hanged, which is a LOT.

Picture: The Heroes by Raymond Swanland



The year is now 584 AU, itÂ’s been four years after the events in Best Served Cold. The entire setting of The Heroes takes place in The Valley of Osrung in the North, located between Uffrith and Carleon. The story revolves around the three bloody days of the climactic battle between the Union and the North. ThatÂ’s it; this is the main plot of the book. The Heroes is thoroughly a military grimdark fantasy; Abercrombie doesnÂ’t shy away from displaying the horror of war, both physically and mentally, to the participants of the battles. The preparation, the wars, plus the aftermath of each battle were written magnificently. It was utterly impressive how gradual the flow of the book felt; the intensity of the war became more palpable with each passing day.

“All you can do is take each day as it comes. Try and do the best you can with what you're given. You won't always do the right thing, but you can try. And you can try to do the right thing next time. That, and stay alive.”

There are no heroes in this book; each protagonist is a villain from the opponent’s perspective and vice versa. Although The Heroes can be read as a standalone, and it indeed has a self-contained story, I strongly suggest that you read The First Law trilogy and Best Served Cold first. This is crucial; many side characters from the first trilogy and Best Served Cold played a bigger role this time. Bremer dan Gorst, for example, has become one of the main POV characters in this book. There’s a huge cast of characters in The Heroes, and Abercrombie made sure to introduce the characters to the readers first. Readers need to feel invested in the characters first, and this, I feel, has been successfully delivered. As expected, Abercrombie’s characterizations towards his variety of characters—both returning and new characters—were incredible. The character development of the six main POV characters was outstanding; whether physically or mentally, almost every character in the novel ended up being changed by the three days of mayhem. There is no exception; war changes you.

“It is easy to forget how much you have, when your eyes are always fixed on what you have not.”

Terrific characterizations aside, one of the best strength of the book definitely lies within the stupendous battle scenes. Abercrombie’s masterful usage of consecutive perspective change exhibited the relentless coup de grace dealt from both sides of the armies brutally. This was also the first time I read a fantasy novel that utilized the view of war from the eyes of a common soldier, and they’re terrifying as hell. The action sequences felt incredibly cinematic; it’s brutal, visceral, and bloody thrilling. I’ve read plenty of epic/grimdark fantasy, and other than John Gwynne, no one else can write realistic and explosive close-quartet combat scenes—imbued with raw emotions—as good as Abercrombie does. Every action scenes were truly breathtaking; most epic fantasy books featured one climax sequence to conclude their story, but The Heroes featured five. Consisting of five parts, each part displayed a compelling vivid war or duel scenes. Combined with Abercrombie's impeccable prose, The Heroes is filled with memorable and rewarding battle sequences.

Picture: One of the interior arts by Raymond Swanland for The Heroes Subterranean Press edition



The first time I fell in love with grimdark fantasy novels was after reading The First Law Trilogy, and The Heroes will mark the fourth time his book entering my favorites of all time shelves. Thank you for reminding me once more why I love grimdark fantasy novels. All hail Joe Abercrombie, the Lord of Grimdark. I absolutely recommend The Heroes to fans of grimdark or military fantasy. IÂ’m closing this review with this little beautiful quote or advice from the book that I think every one of us should always try to remember.

“Savor the little moments, son, that's my advice. They're what life is. All the little things that happen while you're waiting for something else.”

Bonus Picture: My gorgeous UK paperback of The Heroes



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First time I read it I gave a 4/5. What was I thinking? On re-read this is an easy 5/5 and maybe my favorite First Law book.283 s11 comments Rob50 186

The Piles

“Fuck this shit” grumbled Slicker Gutwruck as he wearily limped up the hill, bile tickling his tonsils. “I couldn't give an arse about war anymore,” he spat. How ironic that I'm so good at it he mused, as his rag-tag squad of soldiers showed off their cool moves on a group of unfortunate peons they got the drop on. There was Broody McBrooderson, master of the garotte; Slicker's second-in-command, Little Miss Sunshine, tougher than any man, and more than capable of commanding Serenity, er, the squad, on her own; wise-cracking Esposito from Brooklyn; Ole Five-Finger Discount; the triplets, Gramps, and the rest. A hard bunch. Sick of fuckin' war. But fuckin' good at it.

Back at HQ, the Big Chief grimly sat in conference, looking over the hardest men of the North a hamster considering pellets of its own shit. There was Brandis Bowel-burster, clawed face fixed in a rictus of hate, scowling while he stroked his axe made of sharpened pelvic bones. Next to him loomed the always dangerous Farnsbury Flopper, commander of the 3rd Signal Corps, as hard as un-rinsed oatmeal that has dried on a bowl for two days. And eyeing them all cynically from the back of the tent was the Gooch, another complete arsehole.

The last to enter the tent was He-Who-Heaves, green of face and unsteady of gait. The other war chiefs inched away warily, vomit frothing in their gullets.

“We have to show the Confederacy who's boss,” growled Brandis. “Those fucking arseholes are too effete and corrupt for my liking. And they're a perfect stock antagonist for our hard Northmen trope.”

The Farnsbury Flopper swirled his granite eyeball in a mug of lager and hissed “Fucking retard, we don't know where the arseholes are.”

“Retard?” queried the Gooch from the shadows. “What's with the anachronism?”

“This is a gritty fantasy story, playing with the genre conventions by mashing up movie, television, and other source material familiar to its audience,” growled Brandis. “Just enjoy the story, you butthead.”

“So there's no internal consistency, even within the conventions of the setting as depicted by the author?”

“Nope,” sneered the Flopper. “That shit don't fly with our crew.”

The Big Chief raised his mangled hand menacingly. “Enough! We do know where the Confederate forces are” he gloated. “Slicker Gutwruck's expert scout/commando/spy/hand-to-hand combat squad has found the whole fucking Confederate army. They're south of Toad Hall, split into three divisions, marching in mutually-supporting columns, converging on this obscure hill called the Piles.”

“The fuck,” interjected the Gooch. “The division was introduced during the Napoleonic era as a military unit containing all the necessary arms – infantry, cavalry, artillery - to sustain independent combat. It was facilitated by the tremendous growth in the size of armies nations could field at the time, owing to improved roads, conscription, the mass production of arms, innovations canning -”

“Shut it!” shouted the Big Chief. He resumed, glowering. “As I was saying, the first division is commanded by Harold Lacksack. The second, by Marshal Fritz Loober and his chief of staff Colonel Quiff.”

“Whoa, whoa – his chief of staff? What kind of staff work is necessary in a pre-gunpowder army living off the land, without the logistical network, let alone the command and control capabilities, that would support a system of centralized staff planning?”

“Stop thinking and just enjoy the story, you fucking douchebag!” bellowed the Big Chief. He ripped out his own kidneys and waved them in the Gooch's face menacingly. “Any more chirping out of you, mate, and it'll be your kidneys next time.”

The Gooch raised his hands. “Whatever,” he murmured. “Mellow the fuck out.”

The Big Chief resumed. “They're supported by two brigades of conscript cavalry -”

The Gooch couldn't help himself “Conscript cavalry? You mean civilians drafted to fight on hugely expensive animals that take years of training to simply learn how to ride properly, let alone manage in battle? There's a reason every fucking cavalryman in the history of warfare was either born to the saddle, or was an aristocrat who had the means and time to raise his own horses and gallivant around on them all day. And you're suggesting some out-of-work bakers assistant will be assigned to the cavalry, learning to be a mounted soldier is as easy as cleaning latrines.”

Shaking with fury, the Big Chief drew his dread sword Dreadblade, shimmering in the torchlight, and brandished it balefully before the mouthy critic.

The Gooch carried on, heedlessly. “This is supposed to be a gritty military story, about armies and warfare and all that cool shit. Shouldn't it have at least the basics right in regards to military structures and tactics? I mean, if the author has free license to go completely off the grid about this stuff, why not include jeeps and predator drones? That's about as plausible as an ostensibly renaissance-era army set up a - “

The Farsnsbury Flopper whipped out a twinned pair of repeating crossbows and shot several bolts into each of the Gooch's eyes, which burst in sprays of glistening gore. The Gooch groaned and sunk to his knees, clawing at his eyes, as puke jabbed his molars.

The Big Chief stepped forward and grunted in rage as he swung Dreadblade in a murderous arc, cleaving the Gooch in two. He shit himself and collapsed on the ground with a deafening crash, lifeblood streaming out of his shit-stinking body the rivers of beer pissed in Northern halls on the eve of hard-won victories.

“Fucking troll” growled the Big Chief.

Slicker Gutwruck, who had a knack for being at the right place at the right time, stepped out of the shadows and spat. “Waste of a good man. A good, hard man. The poor bastard didn't know how to suspend his sense of disbelief and overlook lazy cliche and awful prose. But those are the times.”

He scowled at the blood-oozing body. “I'm sick of genre fiction,” he grumbled. Sick to my arse of it.169 s4 comments Stephen1,516 11.6k



"HE WAS AS UGLY AS INCEST"...now that is funny!! Okay, so do not...DO NOT listen to those who call this a less than a stellar performance by the god-king of grit, Joe Abercrombie. This is not only a 541 page manual on the art of breezy, muck-dripping proseology, but it also sports an intricately layered and well designed plot, three dimensional characters that are just saturated with nuance and some powerful evocative statements on the “underpants loading horror” of war and the pain-burden born by those who must fight it.

Despite the “war is pretty shitty business” sentiment expressed throughout the book, the common soldier and those doing the actual fighting are shown, for the most part, to be men of quiet bravery and just trying to do their best and get through in one piece. Of course, there are certainly a lot of venom-filled cannon-shots fired across the bow of the leaders and instigators of the conflict and some fun poked at the conventions of war, but I found that Abercrombie was generally respectful of the fighting soldiers and didn’t portray them as murderous meatheads out to rape and pillage.

The majority of the story takes place over three days with the Union Army and the Northmen fighting for control over a strategically located hill called “The Heroes.” That is the story’s cover, but underneath it is so much bigger and so much bolder…….OH, OH, OH, and lest I forget, this book also includes a whole bounty of Abercrombie’s always amazing and often amoral Ass-kickers, Ass-kissers and Ass-holes, including:

BAYAZ: The First of the Magi: The most amazingly complex and compelling wielder of magic that has ever been inked on paper. While the Bloody-Nine is an awesome character, it is Bayaz that has all TEN fingers on the strings of the world.

HARDBREAD: A named man and the early proof that Abercrombie has new memorable characters growing in his brain a fungus. A terrific character developed fully in the space of a handful of pages.

CAUL SHIVERS: Supporting star of Best Served Coldand early proof that Abercrombie can take a character we have seen a lot of and shine a brand new light on him that feels as natural as life. Shivers is a new favorite character of mine.

WHIRRUN OF BLIGH aka CRACKNUT: Wielder of the Father of Swords and yet another in a seemingly endless supply of fresh, original and epic kickers of that we call ass.

PRINCE CALDER: Another great character and without giving away spoilers, I think the character arc that Abercrombie gives Calder is the best in the book. I loved the nuanced complexity of his final “decisions” because I was completely not expecting them. I also think that his character arc shines a massive OMG spotlight on how deliciously complex BAYAZ plans are.

SEFF: Yes, I would have been happier had there been more female characters, but this is the story of a three day battle out on the front lines so I guess it is forgivable. That said, Seff is an amazingly well realized female character and I thought she was terrific.

STRANGER-COME-KNOCKING: My favorite new character and a top 10 favorite character of all of the Abercrombie storiesÂ…the Giant who would be a GentlemanÂ….Stranger-Come Knocking. I sense BIG things coming from him down the road.

I see the complete gush I have left all over this review so I will try and rein it in and wrap it up. In summary, I loved the book from the opening pages to the unbelievable ending and at all blood, gore and humor in between.

I will leave you with a quote that is pretty close to the exact opposite of what Abercrombie’s central “war sucks” message is, but I really d it so I thought I would share. Whirrun of Bligh (aka Cracknut) in describing his affection for war says: “The smell of it. The feel of it." He rubbed one hand up and down the stained sheath of his sword, making a faint swishing sound. "War is honest. There's no lying to it. You don't have to say sorry here. Don't have to hide. You cannot. If you die? So what? You die among friends. Among worthy foes. You die looking the Great Leveller in the eye. If you live? Well, lad that's living, isn't it? A man isn't truly alive until he's facing death." Whirrun stamped his foot into the sod. "I love war!." …Well he is called Cracknut after all.

Joe Abercrombie has yet to write anything that I have not loved. I canÂ’t wait for the next one. In the meantime, this is definitely a book that I think could be even better upon a second reading because there is so much going on. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION!!!
2011 audiobook dark-and-gritty ...more151 s Robin HobbAuthor 290 books102k

Forty-eight hours. So much can happen in such a short span of time in the middle of a war. This tale shifts between varying viewpoints, from soldiers to commanders to camp . There are no good guys and no bad guys. The reader will wind up caring about all of them, and knowing that not all of them can win, let alone survive. Highly recommended.143 s oyshik242 825

The Heroes (First law world,#5) by Joe Abercrombie

It's lower quality in my opinion. I feel no real empathy with the characters. Although the book is set over a very short period, it seems to drag to its conclusion. However, the second half of the book was far better than the first. But the book was a disappointment.
The truth is salt. Men want to taste a little, but too much makes everyone sick.
Disappointed126 s William Gwynne400 2,113

I now have a YouTube channel that I run with my brother, called 'The Brothers Gwynne'. Check it out - The Brothers Gwynne

“The truth is salt. Men want to taste a little, but too much makes everyone sick.”

Continuing my recent Joe Abercrombie First Law binge with the second standalone story, The Heroes. But, do not be fooled by the title. There are no heroes, just in keeping with everything in this world to date. No glory. No winners. No heroes. As always, most of the characters are self-serving, calculating and traitorous figures with a variety of power, with the main goal being just to survive. But, despite that, as a reader I love to accompany them.

The Heroes returns us to the north, reuniting us with some characters who survived the original trilogy (which isnÂ’t many), as well as a nice variety of new characters. All the PoV characters are one of these new figures thrust into the story, with the older ones being seen around them, but still acting a pivotal moments throughout.

“Get what you can with words, because words are free, but the words of an armed man ring that much sweeter.”

Whilst I did not connect with all the characters, as I did in the original trilogy, there are some amazing ones, and many of the perspectives are genius. I really enjoyed the arc of Craw and also Beck, and Gorst was hilarious as I was expecting, but with a depth I was not expecting as well, in a good way. So, whilst I probably prefer the cast overall in the trilogy, those in The Heroes still surpass the majority of other books I have read. Joe Abercrombie is known for the strength and depth and originality of his characters, and once again he delivers in The Heroes.

Whilst trying not to regurgitate what I have said for every other Abercrombie book I have reviewed, I will mention again that his prose is brilliant. It is used to reveal so much about the characters, depending on the perspective he is with, with specific vernacular and structure enforcing the creation and crafting of character. Also, whilst talking about prose I cannot ignore a certain chapter in this. In an action sequence, we follow about a dozen perspectives who we do not follow again before or after. You change to the perspective of the killer of the previous character. And the way it is done is absolutely masterful. It has become iconic since, and for good reason.

“It is easy to forget how much you have, when your eyes are always fixed on what you have not.”

The drawbacks for me was, firstly, not feeling attached to Tunny, so there were points I just wanted to get back to other characters. And secondly, one of the major events at the end made me feel a bit cheated. It didnÂ’t feel as real to me, in absolute contrast to everything going on. I found that a bit jarring. But otherwise, everything was fantastic. When these are the only two things that detracted from the story a bit, then it is obviously still great.

“Names turned over by time, the plough turning the soil. Bringing up the new while the old were buried in the mud.”

The Heroes is the second standalone in this world, with its own nearly wrapped story within the larger world of the First Law, but it still has a feeling of gravitas and also of high stakes. It has brilliant characters, wonderful prose, and an awesome concept.

4.5/5 STARSaudible fantasy reviewed115 s Sean Barrs 1,121 46.5k

IÂ’ve got a really great idea for a novel. Do you want to hear it?

Okay, so here goes:

Well I was thinking I could create a story in which everything relates back to the title. That way I could say the title over and over again.

WouldnÂ’t that be fun?

I mean I could write about heroes fighting at a place called the Heroes and then they could have a crisis about being heroes whilst worrying who has taken the Heroes and if enemy heroes are going to kill them. And then I could say heroes a few times more and relate all the events to heroics and consider what makes a hero a hero.

DoesnÂ’t that sound one big heroic headache? See! I can do it too Joe. Maybe that makes me a hero. Damn IÂ’m getting good at this.

That isnÂ’t the only reason I hated the novel, but it did piss me off the most. Nothing speaks the word redundancy more than an overly used metaphor. The entire novel also felt restrictive. It is essentially one big battle sequence. So, its layers of action upon action in the same boring place. I hated the end. I hated the beginning too. And I especially hated the middle. This is Joe AbercrombieÂ’s worse book. Please bear in mind that IÂ’m actually a big fan of this author. IÂ’ve read all of his books, and this is the only one I strongly dis. So, donÂ’t hate me. I do Joe Abercrombie, but not this book.

Joe keeps telling us the same thing throughout. The characters keep lamenting (or rejoicing) the fact that they are not heroes. I meanÂ…Â…I think we get it. After the first few chapters it is clear that these guys arenÂ’t nice people. ThatÂ’s not a bad thing. I dark characters, but I donÂ’t need to be told every chapter what they are. SHOW IT TO ME. It became incredibly annoying. I think I can draw my own opinion; I donÂ’t need to be told the authorÂ’s intent. So many chapters ended on the reminder; it became ridiculous. ItÂ’s a shame really because this novel could have been good. I just think it lacked the balance of his usual style. Abercrombie can do wonderful things with words. Sometimes itÂ’s the short sentences, the phrases that hold so mush dramatic effect. In this he overused them that they only resonate with one thing: WEAKNESS.

I donÂ’t care about any of it

The characters that tell the story are just as bad. I really think Black Dow should have been the protagonist. The cover certainly made it look it was his tale, but I canÂ’t exactly blame the author for a misleading cover. That fault resides with the publisher. But at least Dow is interesting. Instead Abercrombie uses a bunch of weak and flat characters. I canÂ’t even remember half of their names because theyÂ’re that unmemorable. One of them was a basic warrior, not much else. Gorst was an annoying blubbering wretch with some weird inferiority complex that made no sense because he was a huge and attractive brute. Calder was okay, but lacked motivation and presence in the story. They were a rather meagre bunch to be honest.

See? IÂ’m turning into a critic, though this did have some real problems.

But I just didnÂ’t care if these men lived or died. It felt the author just shoved all the random non-essential characters from The First Law series into here and then let them fight it out. All it needed was the annoying, and overused, Cosca then it would have been a full house. There was no room for character development or investment, only cheap, thoughtless, blood. I just hope Abercrombie doesnÂ’t write anything else this in the future because this was nothing short of terrible.

1-star-reads fantasy100 s Lena229 101

I hesitated between 3 and 4 stars review due to the good ending, but end up giving 3 stars because this book didn't strike me as the previous ones. At first glance it has everything that other novels do, though I couldn't attach to any of the characters.88 s Edward425 1,223

3rd read - this will always be my favourite First Law book. Gorst, Whirrun of Bligh, Bayaz' death-tubes. I love everything.

Re-read - My favourite First Law standalone. Gorst is the king.

***

One of the best books I've ever read. Gorst is my new favourite character. FRTC.fantasy favorites68 s Overhaul372 1,008

"En cuanto un hombre está bajo tierra, ya sólo es barro. Barro e historias. Y las historias y los hombres de las que éstas surgen no suelen tener mucho en común"

Joder, por las santas barbas de Abercrombie, qué puñetera obra de arte cruda salpicada y manchada con total impunidad y cinismo.

Cuentan que Dow el Negro ha llegado al trono del Norte subiendo una montaña de calaveras. Mientras, el rey de la Unión ha decidido que hay que pararle los pies y sus ejércitos ya han invadido el Norte. Miles de hombres están convergiendo en un antiguo círculo de rocas (los Héroes), en un valle anónimo que se convertirá en escenario de una de las batallas más sangrientas que el Norte ha presenciado. Al mismo tiempo, los dos bandos están infestados de intrigas, rencillas y envidias, que hacen el final imprevisible...

Para mí simplemente no hay nadie que pueda escribir fantasía épica tan bien, dura, cruel y cínica como Abercrombie. Muchos han afirmado que este es su mejor libro. Por ahora coincido.

¡BRUTAL!
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