Reviews

The Heroes is an awesome book about the bleakness and senselessness of war. And still it gives some of the greatest fight scenes there are. We find ourselves right around the time of the events in Best Served Cold and many of the characters from the First Law Trilogy show up here. The whole book is centered around The Heroes, which is a place, not a group of people. On both sides of the fight, the Union and the North, we find some great characters we've met earlier. And most of them have made some advancement. We also meet some new characters.

Although a bit whiny, I loved the perspectives from Bremer dan Gorst and Calder. And you can be sure that wherever Black Dow shows up or Bayaz, some very heavy lifting will be done. This is also the book with the famous long scene where the perspective changes continuously from the person being killed to the killer, on and on, to better emphasize the senselessness of war and the fleeting nature of life in war.

Abercrombie, as always is a master at creating people to read about. All characters feel truly real and alive, and mostly petty, self-absorbed and trying to get by. It is a pleasure to read it and gives all kinds of perspectives on what's truly important in life. I definitely recommend this one. And yes, having read the first trilogy does really add to the fun.

lakerguynz's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

franciram's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

rickwren's review against another edition

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5.0

Great old characters revisited. This time we're back in the North and it's a single battle for control. Our cast is familiar - Black Dow, Dogman, Shivers, Scale, Calder.

This is told as a nonstop battle story where every decision means life or death and the clashes are among titans.

balefulknight's review against another edition

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5.0

Steven Pacey is unmatched. This book was good on paper, but to hear it read by mister Pacey is superb. Not much to say other than it's a good book read by a great narrator.

dangergoose18's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jacobaccountant's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My favorite of the Abercrombie standalones - it also surpasses what I've read in the first trilogy. All the point of view characters hit the mark in this one. The journey of each character is deeply satisfying, their internal and external dialogue moving and thought-provoking. The plot around a back-and-forth battle over a single, pointless hill shines here. Altogether human and horrible.

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