The Heroes

War! What it is good for? To everyone there is a different answer and when all those people populate the same battlefield it adds another layer to the fight. The Heroes is the fifth book and second standalone set in Joe Abercrombie’s First Law world as old foes locked in a new war that suddenly comes down to a devastating battle for all involved.Eight years after the end of the original trilogy, The Union and The North are at war once again, but impatience is growing on both sides. Prodded by the ancient Magi Bayaz the Union army under commander-in-chief Lord Marshal Kroy with his ally The Dogman advance towards the town of Osrung that is situated next to a Stonehenge-like structure on a hilltop named The Heroes which is on the road to the capital of the North that Protector of the North Black Dow had slowly retreated towards. Seeing the sudden change of plans of the Union, Black Dow rallies his forces that are feed up with his fighting retreat strategy. Over the course of a little more than a week as the opposing forces head towards the battlefield, fight for three days, and aftermath which results in peace are seen by six characters: Curnden Craw, the aging chief of a crew of Named Men, known to all as a real straight edge; Prince Calder, Bethod's younger son, an infamous charmer and schemer among the straightforward Northmen; Bremer dan Gorst, King Jezal's disgraced former bodyguard, and a near unstoppable one-man-army; Finree dan Brock, the venomously ambitious daughter of Lord Marshal Kroy; Corporal Tunny, a long-serving veteran and cynical profiteer, who also does his best to keep his misfit rookies alive; and finally, Beck, a young farm-lad craving to follow in his famous father’s footsteps, until his first taste of the atrocious waste of human life. By the end of the book, the Union sets up a protectorate under The Dogman while transferring its army to Styria to fight the Snake of Talon while the North regroups under the rule of King Scale as his brother Calder begins manipulating things behind the throne.Once again Abercrombie writings a compelling narrative with very questionably moral characters, though as his arc goes throughout the book Beck appears to be the most morale character by the end which is saying something. Though not directly connected, the effects of Monza’s vengeance tour through Styria have had ramifications in the North as the two supernatural powers of the world have to contend with this third player on the game board and that effects decisions on both sides of the battle. This is seen from the beginning when Bayaz joins the Union army looking to test new weapons while getting out of a needless war in the North but with a complaint King of the North who will not go along with his rival’s plans to spread Union forces on various fronts. For those following Black Dow, the long stretches of campaigning are tiring and frankly privately agree with Calder that the North needs to rebuild again but cannot come out and say it. Added to the mix are those looking for personal glory or advancement that themselves impact the broader battle and thus effect the politics on both sides for good or ill. Over the course of 541 pages that covers roughly seven days in which three are flowing with blood these interactions as well as in the heat of battle events shape not only the battle but the world in unexpected ways.The Heroes might focus on one battle, but Joe Abercrombie packs so much into this battle that the reader realizes that so much more is going on that they’ll want to see what the fall out years down the road will be.

I've never enjoyed military fantasy so much. Hard hitting, sweeping, gritty, awash in blood gore and filth, Joe Abercrombie's best effort yet. I haven't read his "Best Served Cold" yet, I've heard it's about a linear singular plot of revenge as the name suggests. His grittiest till date. Well, Gritty is one word that never escapes you when you talk about Joe Abercrombie. I soon plan to get back to his first trilogy, where he had taken the usual fantasy tropes and given them a all a nasty little tweak in the head and produced a best seller that took the world by storm announcing the arrival of a major tour-de-force in the Fantasy voices.Coming back to Heroes - Remarkable military fantasy that reminds us time and again, that at the end of the war, there are no winners. There are only casualties. To quote Mr. Abercrombie, Luck. Some men have it, some don't.The novel unfolds over 3 days of war between the Union (the civilized folks) and the North ( a cluster of barbaric warmongers who keep bickering among themselves). It's a character study of three to four major characters, all of whom are multi-dimensional, flawed and yet endearing in their own ways. The story follows the war from the POV of all these characters, equally spread between both the sides so you get a pretty balanced view of the whole thing as it unfolds. Smattered with pointless jealousies, blood red ambitions running hot and cold, conspiracies and betrayals galore, an average blood thirsty "gritty fantasy fan" would have nothing to complain. What makes this blood soaked, war story even more attractive is the intelligent pacing and the mini-plots that keeps surfacing through the story. Frequent mentions of heroes from the past books keep popping up, so be warned that you might want to finish his first trilogy. It all flows from there. But heck, not to worry, this serves very well as a standalone and one easily slips into the grim world of Abercrombie's through the Heroes.Curnden Craw, a war weary veteran who wants nothing more than to retire and go home, has this last battle to fight for the North. He knows everyone's a coward but he's a "Straight Edge" - which means he does things by the right always. Least favorite of mine.Bremer Der Gorst, the finest fighter south of the Kingdom, formerly First Guard to the King, now is a disgraced soldier whose punishment is to be sent as the Royal Observer of the war. This fellow has some serious issues. Man, I just loved the mental tsunamis that erupt in his mind whenever he gets faced down in any situation. Some of the battle's bloodiest darkest graphically depicted scenes flow from Gorst. A remorseless killer, I just adored this guy and would love to see him come back in some of Abercrombie's later works. Joe paints the picture of a man, clearly humiliated and having a self-esteem lower than the whale shit at the bottom of the ocean, who comes alive only when the steel is singing its song dipped in dark blood. Crackerjack of a character.Calder, younger son to former "King" to the Northmen, he easily takes the cake for the best etched character. Dark, scheming, pure evil and yet, a cowardly skunk, an ambitious man who wants to get the Kingdom back at any cost and is willing to scheme and kill anyone in his way. The depth of this character is unbelievable, as he flits his way from black to grey to white and switches back to grey to ...I ain't telling you what shade he is, but he's definitely my FAVORITE character of the lot. His chapters are like pure silk, smooth and slick. And am sure Abercrombie enjoyed bringing this meanie bad-ass to life in the pages.The only major female POV is that of Finree, a girl whose got more steel than a lot of soldiers in the union army and whose ambitious overtures challenges that of Calder himself. Her chapters are smaller, but I still enjoyed this fiery feisty little shitkicker, Abercrombie always wants to paint his lead girls as the ass-kicking bad-ass show stoppers, Finree just about stops short of being that.Another side character that I truly enjoyed was that of the Corporal Tunny who brings alive the sardonic wit that's so predominant in his fiction. His words are gems that I'd treasure, "War is 99% boredom and 1% arse-opening terror." Tedium and terror are the two major emotions in the war.Abercrombie neatly stitches together all POVs in the backdrop of this useless, yet bloody war and finished off with a flourish, understating that important fact that in a war, there are no Heroes. Only casualties.His settings are already in place as he borrows from his world that he so painstakingly built in the First Law trilogy. But his characterization is bloody brilliant, gems by themselves and they outshine the bloody dark pall that war spills onto the entire book. I've become a huge fan of Joe Abercrombie and have vowed to go back and complete his first Law Trilogy which I'd left off after the Blade Itself.Posted on my book blog : http:{...}A full 5-stars, if a book ever deserved one, then that's this one.

Abercrombie novels cover it all; from the finest things in life to the darkest depths of human depravity. His books are not for the meek, mild and politically correct. So be warned.Some of the content is toe curling and teeth grinding. Abercrombie does not hesitate to call a spade a spade, in fact he will more likely call it a f.....g shovel.There are episodes of gratuitous violence which rather than promote violence are skilfully employed to mock the failures of elements of society and demonstrate his abhorrence of it. Whilst graphically describing warfare his underlying message is to decrie the very purpose of human conflict.Abercrombie has an understanding of military matters and can readily match the likes of Bernard Cornwall, Simon Scarrow, Conn Iggulden and associates in creating battle scenes of immense proportions.The character development throughout the series of books is a lesson to any prospective writer. I simply love his books.Whilst he can graphically describe warfare in the most stunning detail; the underlying message is to decry the purpose of conflict in the first place. He gainfully employs a degree of humour and cynicism to make his point.The entire series of books is set in a medieval world which is an area that I enjoy to read anyway. The fantasy element although running throughout the books does not dominate the stories but rather runs seamlessly throughout; underpinning the plot .Whilst I have a comprehensive library of books that include many classics, I am now an Abercrombie fan forever.

As a stand alone novel 'The Heroes' can work extremely well however, the gist would probably be easier to get to grips with if the previous 3 were read beforehand.  The Blade Itself: Book One Of The First Law (Gollancz S.F.)   Before They Are Hanged: The First Law: Book Two   Last Argument Of Kings: The First Law: Book Three Both armies depicted here contain fascinating and extremely funny characters (Whirrun Cracknut, Bremer dan Gorst and Corporal Tunny being my own particular favourites.) So much so that at times it's hard to decide which side you are on.Definitely worthy of at least 5 stars. The Blade Itself: Book One Of The First Law (Gollancz S.F.)Before They Are Hanged: The First Law: Book TwoLast Argument Of Kings: The First Law: Book Three

I share some of the previous reviews. It's another great read, another real page turner. Compared to his trilogy, however, The Heroes is not really embedded in a bigger sociopolitical context. This is a shame as this context was so well established in his other books. Saying that, it is still among the best books I have read in recent times.

A tale woven into one battle.A battle over nothing much . But then that is the way of war.Maybe a little over long .But good non the less

Not quite as griping as Joe Abercrombie's other works but no less enjoyable with the trade mark humour and depth of character which we've come to expect in all his work.