The Heroes - Joe Abercrombie

The Heroes

By Joe Abercrombie

  • Release Date: 2011-02-07
  • Genre: Epic Fantasy
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 535 Ratings

Description

They say Black Dow's killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbor, is not about to stand smiling by while he claws his way any higher. The orders have been given and the armies are toiling through the northern mud. Thousands of men are converging on a forgotten ring of stones, on a worthless hill, in an unimportant valley, and they've brought a lot of sharpened metal with them.

THE HEROES

For glory, for victory, for staying alive.

Reviews

  • A great read

    5
    By Yellowhippos
    As good as any First Law books
  • So good, and you might have noticed…

    5
    By Choralriff
    Really enjoyed this, as I have the other Abercrombie books I’ve read so far. But there’s something about this one I’m surprised hasn’t seemed to come up yet in user reviews. This book is like a sword-fantasy version of Michael Shaara’s novel “The Killer Angels” (and Jeff Shaara’s two books around it) which paints the battle of Gettysburgh from multiple points of view. Not only does Heroes use a similar format about a similar (but fictional) campaign, but Abercrombie actually sneaks in details from the Civil War battle. Notice that it’s North vs. South. One side is called the Union. The maps are depicted in the way Civil War maps are. There are names of officers eerily similar to Civil War leaders (Meed, etc.). Neither side is painted as good or bad, but you find yourself sympathizing with characters on either side. I’m sure there are other details I’ve missed, but it looks to me like Abercrombie was having fun recreating Shaara’s vision of Gettysburg in a sword-fantasy setting. And he did so, I think, with the same degree of brilliance. I loved it.
  • Amazing

    5
    By Arob801
    My favorite book in one of my all time favorite series.
  • When your craving some medieval warfare

    5
    By wildchild2644
    Absolutely fantastic writing. Plenty of violence, blood and grit! I highly recommend the audio version. Steven Pacey reads with such vigor and emotion, really makes the story come to life!
  • Best of Abercrombie

    5
    By Sofa king psycho
    Well written, descriptive, and fun, without being long winded. One of my favorites.
  • A masterpiece

    5
    By Chris Calrissian
    Joe Abercrombie is one of the best authors I've come across in a long time. His books are an amazing blend of cynicism and humor in a fantasy setting. If you're looking for a fresh take on the fantasy genre, look no further.
  • Delightfully bloody

    5
    By Lcberg
    Joe Abercrombie's writing style is by far my favorite. I haven't enjoyed a single writers complete published writings like his ever!
  • Great book!

    5
    By Bearded Biker
    Abercrombie tells a great story... I hope another book is coming soon!
  • Wow.

    5
    By freeformed
    What a great read. I hadn't read a book so enjoyable in many years. Characters are great and the world they live in believable. My only regret is I started with this book, now I will have to read from the beginning of the series. I guess there could be worse things to look forward to. If you don't read this book straight through, the mud with you!