The Heroes: Book Review

I just finished reading The Heroes, which is the second standalone novel written by Joe Abercrombie. This book is an account of three days of battle over a hill between the forces of the North, led by Black Dow, and the forces of the Union. The book is not plot driven, but rather focuses on the characters and the theme over the course of this very short period.

Overall, the book is good. I don't think this one is near the top of my rankings for Abercrombie, especially surprising because I knew this one was a favorite among fans, but the book was still enjoyable, all around.

Overall (No Spoilers)

I think Whirrun of Bligh is my favorite character in the story. The audiobook gave him more or less the same voice as Casca, which made me draw a connection, though I'm not sure there are many more parallels. Either way, the voice was perfect. And the fight he has in the latter part of the book was both unexpected and amazing. I'm conflicted about how it ended, but not because I disliked the writing decisions. I can't say more.

I also really like Corporal Tunny. I heard one commentator I respect say that he was the most pointless Abercrombie character he's read, and he might be right, but I don't really care. Because I read these books out of order, I already know Corporal Tunny, so seeing him again just tickled me. He's also just entertaining and provides snappy one-liners.

Bremer Dan Gorst is another character that enjoyed, and he seems to be the fan favorite. You know those people who are always in their heads, leaving you wondering what it is they are thinking? (As if I'm not one of those people). Well, here is one answer to that age old question. He is the perfect portrayal of the quiet person with a tumultuous, raging mind—someone who is yearning to speak his mind, but utterly incapable of doing so due to his pitchy voice. He is juvenile and petulant, but also snarky and entertaining. It is easy for an author to cut out some of the nasty sides of this kind of character, but Abercrombie never fails to show his characters in all their glory.

Black Dow is another character that I really liked. I remember liking him in the original trilogy, as well. There, we saw a vicious character with a terrible reputation, but with consistent hints of cunning and even humanity, suggesting that he might be puffing himself up a bit. His betrayal of Logen was wholly justified, to my mind, and seeing him as the protector of the North was fun. I especially liked the conversation between him and Stranger-Come-Fucking.

Which leads me to the next character: Stranger-Come-Knocking. First, that name is just perfect. It's the perfect blend of humorously typical and interesting. I don't really know how else to describe it. I just like one-liners like this that puts a vague, but powerful image in your head, making you crave visualizing it, but with the actual image just out of reach. Or maybe that's just my mind. Lol. The man's character is also funny. His desire to take a Union wife to have civilized children with is just stupid-funny. I only wish I got more of him. I think I have more to mention in the spoiler section.

The little people chapters, where Abercrombie jumps from different perspectives throughout the battle, getting into the head of the common man was also well done. This is the first book where we see the technique, but I read the Age of Madness first, so I am already familiar with the technique. Either way, I think it is effective and I hope Abercrombie keeps to it. (And I see no reason to believe that he won't).

As for Calder and Finree, they are also fan favorites, but I was kind of let down by them a bit. I think this is because they show up later in the story and I just expected more to happen, I guess. What happens keeps with the themes, but I was also expecting a bit more.

There really is no plot, whatsoever, that not being the point of the story. And while much of it is literally just events happening and fighting happening, I never actually got bored. I enjoyed all the fights and the campfire scenes, and everything else. The characters and the fights we got were good enough.

I know that some people thought the themes were overwrought, but I never really noticed, even if I kind of get it in retrospect.

If I have any other negatives, I think they mostly involve the ending, so I will save the rest of this for the spoiler section.

Overall, the story was good. I will give it a 7/10.

Strides (Spoilers)

I heard another reviewer make this point first, but it is so true: What makes the depiction of this battle so great is just how meaningless and inconsequential it all is. No one cares about the Heroes on the hill. Yet they are all fighting for it. And the winner of the battle? I'm not even sure who won. They just killed each other for three days, and then negotiated peace and went home. The book is about how people respond to war, and it does not distract you with over-the-top stakes, like saving the world!

I also loved how Whirrun of Bligh's character was handled. The fact that he was fighting half-naked because he thought he wouldn't die is just hilarious. And, of course, the witch was lying to him. I also like that he held his own with Gorst, of all people, and then is unceremoniously killed by a stray spear. Lol. Too bad, but it's great writing.

Stumbles (Spoilers)

The first negative I need to talk about is Finree and Calder. I mentioned that I thought they were a bit of a let-down. This is partly due to the fact that I already know these characters from the other books that I have read.

I was expecting Finree to demonstrate her abilities as a strategist, the culmination of which we get to see in the Age of Madness trilogy. But, you would never know that from this book. What does she do? She states that she is ambitious. She wants Mead out of the way. Yet Mead just conveniently dies, and she simply asks Bayaz for a promotion, and she gets it. I guess the point could be that she isn't promoted because of heroism, and neither is her husband, but this is just anti-climactic. Again, what does she do? Some things, like negotiating the release of some hostages, but that was only because Dow came to her about negotiating peace.

And Calder. What are his schemes? What smart thing does he do in this story? Being a man behind the ruler at the end is a good example, but I can't really think of anything else. Is the point that he is no hero, too? There are more climactic ways to do this than how it was done. Calder could have orchestrated some clever strategy that works, but is forced to fight Dow in the circle in the end over a single impulsive thing he did (ask Craw to kill Dow). This would show that for all his planning, things still did not work out. And then Shiver's killing Dow and him becoming Black Calder would have the same effect. Abercrombie claims to be epic fantasy, rejecting the label grimdark, but there wasn't much epic in this story. And it's not like elaborate schemes always fail. Bayaz is the embodiment of that.

Another thing that I should mention that is along the same vein is the inclusion of Ishry. What did she contribute, really? I guess she blew up that wall and injured Finree's husband, and after the peace had been decided on (Lol), but that wasn't even that front and center to the story. When I heard her say she had surprise, I was excited, but it didn't really make that much of a splash. And the peace was still had . . .

As for Stranger-Come-Knocking, I am thinking that he is probably the greatest blue balls in the entire series up to this point. We get introduced to this behemoth in the beginning with this strange outlook on life, but he doesn't do much of anything. I expected him to take and get beaten by Gorst (though I now realize that he was beaten by Stour, even if I forgot the passing remark from reading the Age of Madness). I got Whirrun of Bligh, instead, and I'm not complaining about that. But even then, we don't see him do anything significant. I was so disappointed that I immediately connected him to that other wasted Crinna bastard who wore all those bones from The Wisdom of Crowds. And now, I'm thinking this might be deliberate on Abercrombie's part. I'm still vague on the original trilogy, other than the most obvious elements that stand out, so I can't remember whether there were any Crinna bastards in that trilogy. But from what I remember of this series as a whole, I think every Crinna bastard has been talked up as a vile savage, only to do not much of anything in the story. They vastly oversell themselves. And knowing Abercrombie, I would not be surprised if that was the joke.

Conclusion

Overall, the story was good. I will give it a 7/10.