The Heroes

By: Joe Abercrombie

Narrated by: Steven Pacey

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 neighbour, 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.

Over three bloody days of battle, the fate of the North will be decided. But with both sides riddled by intrigues, follies, feuds and petty jealousies, it is unlikely to be the noblest hearts or even the strongest arms that prevail.

Three men. One battle. No Heroes.

©2011 Joe Abercrombie (P)2011 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Joe Abercrombie At His Best!

read it!

...or the BLOODY-NINE will get you!

Or will he? Whatever happen to him? That is one of the question left hanging in the other books, this book brings you one step closer to finding out the truth. A great story with multiple plots and fantastic storytelling!

A beast of a book.

My favorite by Abercrombie, and I love all of his work. Steven pacey performance is outstanding.

There are two real heroes Joe Abercrombie and Stephen PC great job guys

Very good story excellent writing an even better narration if there can be one fantastic just go grab it only the audio version

Amazing!!!!

Just amazing!!! An outstanding performance of a beautifully crafted story! Among the very best audiobooks i have ever listened to.

an audble masterpiece!

Steven Pacey entertains with a superb performance and Joe Abercrombie keeps you spellbound! Thank you!

People in battle

As in real life, all characters are trying to stay afloat, while being pulled down by their past, their weaknesses and ambitions. Although the story is about a bloody battle, with wizards fighting at both sides, to me this is the most memorable theme of the book, It sets it apart from the black and white characters usually found in epic fantasy novels. Well done, looking forward to the next book

Entertaining, but leaves you thirsting for more.

The Heroes is once again a very well written book and supported by the excellent narration from Steven Pacey. I rate this book above Best Served Cold (BSC) as it gets back to the meat and potatoes of his world and gives us a further insight into the large scheme.

If you like the general Abercrombie style: raw, bloody, full of human failings and no real happy endings you'll like this book. His style cuts closer to the real world than one expects, but has a whole lot more entertainment and is bolder to boot.

There aren't any real surprises in this book, much as Best Served Cold, but it has the usual excellent character development, lots of bloody action, remarkably little sex (he's getting better at it ;) ) and some nice twists in the plot. More so than BSC but a lot less than his First Law trilogy.

This is where I feel that Abercrombie is falling down. Yes the individual books are good, a nice diversion, but frankly he's set such a high bar with First Law that the following novels just don't match the majesty of the trilogy. An individual novel just doesn't give the room to expand grand ideas and create marvelous intricate plots.

This book, much more so than the last at least gives more in the way of the trilogy, but it still pales by comparison. We get reacquainted with some old characters, but essentially we don't know much more about his world nearly a decade on.

Frankly, I'd like to see his talent put back into a First Law effort. This is what he is best at.

This is a good book, but in context of the world he has created, just a little slice of the pie to keep you going.

Wish I had more stars to award

I am mostly an easy listener to please, and I often give five stars for books I liked. But the Heroes are exceptional and for the first time in years it made me think I should not have been going around giving out five stars. I am listening to the First Law series in sequence, and I really liked the previous four books, but the Heroes were even better. It often made me stop and think: "This is such good writing." Perfect!

Brillant as always

Joe Abercrombie is a master story teller and Steven Pacey does a stunning job of bringing the world to life.

Favorite

I have read this book four times, two as hardcover and twice as audiobook. Great characters, great story developing, intriguing fights. I will surely read it again before I’m back to the mud.