The Heroes

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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. The main problem I faced with this one is that it had too many characters for my liking and the way they are introduced did not work for me. I don’t mind books with many characters if they are introduced well and given the appropriate time to do that but I do mind it when it feels like info dumping and it becomes too hard for me to remember who is who. If there was not a character’s list at the beginning of the book, I would have probably lost interest much faster. I prefer when characters are introduced gradually and given the time to become realistic which was the case for BSC. To be fair, after 40% of the book, we say goodbye to many characters and the ones that stay are more fleshed which made the second half of the book better than the first half! 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. 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 Farsnsbury Flopper whipped out a twinned pair of repeating crossbows and shot several bolts into each of the Gooch's eyes, which burst in sprays of glistening gore. The Gooch groaned and sunk to his knees, clawing at his eyes, as puke jabbed his molars. The Big Chief stepped forward and grunted in rage as he swung Dreadblade in a murderous arc, cleaving the Gooch in two. He shit himself and collapsed on the ground with a deafening crash, lifeblood streaming out of his shit-stinking body like the rivers of beer pissed in Northern halls on the eve of hard-won victories. A full behind-the-scenes interview with Joe Abercrombie covering the writing process, the importance of maps, the genesis of and influences on the novel, the six main characters and their story arcs, and the cover . . . amongst other things! On coming to after the war I found myself stumbling on lines I had already read in before the war. Was this laziness on the authors part? Or was he saying this is just an endless cycle. Is before and after the war the same thing as after one war at some point becomes before another war?

Pues no. Todo sigue igual. De hecho, por culpa de tanta presión, de tantas preocupaciones y de tanto miedo es todo mucho peor. Hay muy pocos hombres que piensen con mayor claridad cuando hay algo en juego. Por eso, la gente se comporta de forma más estúpida en una guerra que durante el resto del tiempo. Siempre están pensando en como esquivar las culpas, o cómo salvar el pellejo, en vez de en algo que realmente sirva para algo. No hay otro trabajo en donde se perdone más la estupidez que el soldado. Ningún otro trabajo la fomenta más". The Heroes was a very good standalone book that shares many similarities to the First Law Trilogy, but doesn't quite hit the same "highs". My other favourite character was Curnden Craw. Craw was a really atypical Abercrombie protagonist: an honourable man in a world without honour. His interactions with his 'dozen' were a really cool study in the camaraderie and trust that develops between soldiers in war and was one of my favourite parts of the book. It also reminded me of the Northman crew in the original trilogy. (I loved those guys and was super bummed about how the trilogy ended for them). 'Red' Bek provided interesting parallels to the typical Abercrombie characters with bloody pasts. His desire to be a warrior followed by his experiences of the horrors of war provided a nice contrast to the cynicism and experience of the hardened warriors who comprise the main cast. As a sidenote I didn't understand the point of Corporal Tunny. He didn't interact with any of the other main characters and didn't have any real effect on the battle. Más que una novela de aventuras es una reflexión sobre la guerra y todo lo que conlleva para bien como para mal. He aquí una de las citas que más destacaría de la novela. There are no heroes in this book; each protagonist is a villain from the opponent’s perspective and vice versa. Although The Heroes can be read as a standalone, and it indeed has a self-contained story, I strongly suggest that you read The First Law trilogy and Best Served Cold first. This is crucial; many side characters from the first trilogy and Best Served Cold played a bigger role this time. Bremer dan Gorst, for example, has become one of the main POV characters in this book. There’s a huge cast of characters in The Heroes, and Abercrombie made sure to introduce the characters to the readers first. Readers need to feel invested in the characters first, and this, I feel, has been successfully delivered. As expected, Abercrombie’s characterizations towards his variety of characters—both returning and new characters—were incredible. The character development of the six main POV characters was outstanding; whether physically or mentally, almost every character in the novel ended up being changed by the three days of mayhem. There is no exception; war changes you.

However, what really makes this book stand out is the exploration of role models, the absurd glorification of war and human cynicism. This book is rather ironically titled “The Heroes”. While we follow the so-called “heroes” of this war, Abercrombie masterfully highlights how flawed our role models often are. Consequently, this book focuses heavily on the downfalls of human nature, which you would think would make this a depressing read. However, Abercrombie’s humour perfectly balances out the “grimness” of the story, making this feel like a very entertaining and thought-provoking read. Un año y medio he tardado en volver de verdad a la primera ley. Todo por esta novela, la que fue por estas fechas el año pasado mi talón de Aquiles. Lasmark sprang at the shield with the bridge, for some reason barely taking note of the man behind it. Perhaps he wanted to pretend there was no man behind it. His sword instructor would have been livid with him. Before he got there a spear caught his breastplate, sent him stumbling. The point scraped past and he swung at the man who thrust it, an ugly-looking fellow with a badly broken nose. The sword split his skull open and brains flew out. It was surprisingly easy to do. Swords are heavy and sharp, he supposed, even cheap ones. The Gooch carried on, heedlessly. “This is supposed to be a gritty military story, about armies and warfare and all that cool shit. Shouldn't it have at least the basics right in regards to military structures and tactics? I mean, if the author has free license to go completely off the grid about this stuff, why not include jeeps and predator drones? That's about as plausible as an ostensibly renaissance-era army set up like a - “For me, there’s simply no one that can write grimdark fantasy as good as Abercrombie. The Heroes has been claimed by many Abercrombie’s fans to be his best book so far, and although I disagree because in my opinion that crown still belongs to Last Argument of Kings, I rank The Heroes as his third-best work so far. I loved it almost as much as I loved Before They Are Hanged, which is a LOT. Lasmark could only swallow and ready himself as his men flung down their weapons around him. As they turned and ran for the river or the hill, too far, far too far away. As the makeshift line of his company and the company beside them dissolved leaving only a few knots of the most stunned and hard-bitten to face the Northmen. He could see how many there were, now. Hundreds of them. Hundreds upon hundreds. A flung spear impaled a man beside him with a thud, and he fell screaming. Lasmark stared at him for a moment. Stelt. He’d been a baker. CAUL SHIVERS: Supporting star of Best Served Coldand early proof that Abercrombie can take a character we have seen a lot of and shine a brand new light on him that feels as natural as life. Shivers is a new favorite character of mine.