The Heroes

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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. Este libro pertenece a las novelas independientes de la Primera Ley. Sin embargo, yo no lo consideraría como tal. Si algo he aprendido leyendo por orden estos libros es que te destripas mucho sobre los personajes de la primera saga. Además, te los encuentras en estos libros bien como protagonistas o como personajes secundarios. The world is dark and that’s not a surprise since it is an Abercrombie book. I like how some of the secondary and minor characters from the older books gets bigger roles here and are thus more fleshed now for me. I think if I reread the first trilogy it will be a much better experience now!

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. Ahora mismo el 3 y el 4 de la primera ley se quedan entre mis favoritos. Esta novela, por su parte se merece una relectura mucho más calmada para poder captar totalmente su potencial, pero por el momento no. Le tengo muchas ganas a la nueva saga. Eso sí Abercrombie esta en mi top de autores. His wonderful Sixth Regiment, his life’s work, built out of copious polish, and rigorous drill, and unflinching discipline, utterly shattered in a few insane moments. If any survived it would be those who had chosen to run first. The rawest recruits and most craven cowards. And he was one of them. His first instinct was to ask Major Culfer for his opinion. He almost opened his mouth to do it, then realised the man had been butchered by a lunatic with a metal eye. The Heroes is arguably my biggest surprise of 2022. Not only did I enjoy this book, I LOVED IT! While it is true that this book focuses on a large battle (or battles), the focus in this story is very much on the characters, the themes and the different experiences people have in war. Let’s start talking about the characters. As always, Abercrombie’s character work is top-notch. It is astounding how well Abercrombie is able to flesh out each character in this book. Each character has such a distinctive tone and voice and is deeply flawed. Almost none of these characters are likeable, but Abercrombie is somehow able to get you fully invested in everyone’s story.

The year is now 584 AU, it’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. That’s it; this is the main plot of the book. The Heroes is thoroughly a military grimdark fantasy; Abercrombie doesn’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. Abercrombie does an excellent job, both in the preparation of the battle, focusing on the many characters involved, and in the incredible action scenes in which the realism and drama emerges forcefully. Masterful. Colonel Wetterlant was still having trouble believing it, but it appeared the King’s Own Sixth Regiment was in a great deal of difficulty. The wall, he thought, was lost. Knots of resistance but basically overrun, and Northmen were flooding into the circle of stones from the north. Where else would Northmen come from? It had all happened so damnably fast. 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. Shaking with fury, the Big Chief drew his dread sword Dreadblade, shimmering in the torchlight, and brandished it balefully before the mouthy critic.

The real power of this novel is on the exploration of the characters on both sides of the scrimmage, measuring what makes a hero and what makes one something else. On the North side, you have a crew of barbarians akin to Vikings or Cimmerians to whom battle is all. Indeed, many of these mighty warriors can do little else. And, it being the North, one man's enemy today is one man's ally the next and vice versa. Loyalty is great, but it can change like your wardrobe. Take victory quiet and careful, Rudd Threetrees used to say, ’cause you might soon be called on to take defeat the same way."The fool's tasks lined up in crushingly tedious procession. Run. Practice. Shit a turd. Write a letter. Eat. Watch. Write a turd. Shit a letter. Eat. Bed. 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.” 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. Prince’ Calder (POV) – Bethod’s younger son, an infamous schemer, temporarily exiled for suggesting peace too. Get what you can with words, because words are free, but the words of an armed man ring that much sweeter.”

The Heroes unflinchingly chronicles a 3 day battle between two warring nations. It's a story filled with visceral fighting, complex characters and constant danger and suspense. For me this is the best of Abercrombie's standalone novels and is on a par with his 'First Law trilogy'. Being a massive Abercrombie fan as I am the fact that this is my favourite of his works says a lot. The Heroes combines Abercrombie's dark fantasy with a war story and while the entire novel revolving around a single battle limits the plot in some ways it still manages to be inventive and gripping. Abercrombie never glosses over a moment of the madness, passion, and horror of war, nor the tribulations that turn ordinary people into the titular heroes." --- Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)He could not stay here. He would never make it to the river. But he could not stay here. It had to be now. He broke from the undergrowth, running for the shallows. There were other runners everywhere, most of them without weapons. Mad, desperate faces, eyes rolling. Wetterlant saw the cause of their terror. Horsemen. Spread out across the fields, converging on the shallows, herding the fleeing Union soldiers southwards. Cutting them down, trampling them, their howls echoing across the valley. He ran on, ran on, stumbling forwards, snatched another look. A rider was bearing down on him, he could see the curve of his teeth in a tangled beard. Two of my favorite characters from the original trilogy return in this one, and one is utilized excellently and one is, unfortunately, just around for a cameo or two. The fight scenes were once again excellent, especially the more intimate fights. The chapter "Casualties" is one of the best chapters Abercrombie has written, showing a bunch of regular soldiers during battle. The humor was outstanding, once again. Genuine laugh out loud moments. The cheese trap!!! Now that's progress. And its books where I continue to think on them after I've put them down that show a talented writer. Mr. Abercrombie you have a new fan. Curnden Craw, the last honest man in the North, has gained nothing from a life of warfare but swollen knees and frayed nerves. He hardly even cares who wins any more, he just wants to do the right thing. But can he even tell what that is with the world burning down around him? 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.

And now I'm not sure what took me so long! Heroes is a gritty book about a war between the Northmen and the Union, which takes place around a hill called the Heroes. Over three bloody days of battle, the fate of the North will be decided. But with both sides riddled by intrigues, follies, feuds and petty jealousies, it is unlikely to be the noblest hearts, or even the strongest arms that prevail… Culfer gave a thin scream. A narrow split had appeared in his shoulder, right down to his chest, splinters of white bone showing through it. Wetterlant wanted to tell him not to scream in a manner so unbefitting of an officer in the King’s Own. A scream like that might be good enough for one of the levy regiments, but in the Sixth he expected a manly roar. Culfer almost gracefully subsided to the ground, blood bubbling from the wound, and a large Northman stepped up with an axe in his fist and began to cleave him into pieces.I'll leave you with a piece of wisdom by this book's real Hero, Whirrun of Bligh: "Armour is part of a state of mind in which you admit the possibility of being hit." A 20,000 word 'planning' document which contains all of Joe's behind-the-scenes notes, plans and timeline for THE HEROES 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.”