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The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
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The Heroes (edition 2011)

by Joe Abercrombie (Author)

Series: First Law World (5)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,968538,274 (4.08)56
Fantasy. Fiction. HTML: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.
… (more)
Member:mamzel
Title:The Heroes
Authors:Joe Abercrombie (Author)
Info:Gollancz (2011), Edition: 1st Edition, 512 pages
Collections:2017
Rating:***1/2
Tags:horse-and-sword adventure, war, leaders, soldiers, AD

Work Information

The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

Recently added byprivate library, Ailujj, agkeery, Jon.G, aaronedgell, pobo, Silverwolfman12, johnpatton, simon916
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    The Black Company by Glen Cook (Rouge2507)
    Rouge2507: fantasy battles told from the point of view of soldiers
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» See also 56 mentions

English (50)  Spanish (1)  German (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (53)
Showing 1-5 of 50 (next | show all)
I think I get the point the author was trying to make (it's not subtle), but I just didn't find it very compelling. It's the obvious subtext found in more interesting works written in all caps for five hundred pages. ( )
  sarcher | Nov 28, 2023 |
For some reason, in contrast to the other First Law books, I found the beginning of this excruciatingly slow, and many times I wondered if I should just abandon it. I'm glad I didn't---it picked up in an incredibly satisfying manner. ( )
  mirryi | Apr 21, 2023 |
Fantastic book. Grimmer and grimmer and darker and darker. I love it. ( )
  NachoSeco | Oct 10, 2022 |
Unfortunately I didn't like this book as much as the ones that came before in the series. I suspected that would be the case since I don't tend to like stories about war, but I was hoping the characters would get me through this.
There were some really good and complex characters in this book, but there were also characters I didn't care about and that didn't have a strong enough personality for me to remember them (I kept checking the list of names in the begining of the book). The characters I was more interested in were Calder and Black Dow. Finree had some good moments in the second half of the book. Gorst's obsession with Finree was creepy and he annoyed me most of the time with his repetitive thoughts. Tunny's more comedic chapters made me laugh sometimes and it was a nice break from all of the seriousness of the other chapters.
There were some really good moments, but I felt bored for the most part while reading this book. The last 100 pages were fantastic though.
This was a dificult book to rate because I really liked some parts of it and a few characters, but it was boring and repetitive for the most part. I will probably skip this book when I reread the series, but I don't regret reading it. ( )
  elderlingfae | Aug 11, 2022 |
Didn't think it was possible for me to like Dow even just a little bit. A very very small bit, mind you. Gorst however stole the show for me! The book was a solid read, very entertaining with characters we knew and liked- or hated- from the First Law. You like First Law, you like this.

After all, you have to be realistic about things... ( )
  KeriLSalyers | Jul 1, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 50 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (10 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Joe Abercrombieprimary authorall editionscalculated
Borchardt, KirstenTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Graffet, DidierCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Senior, DaveCartographersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes. - Bertolt Brecht
A rational army would run away. - Montesquieu
You can't say that civilization don't advance, however, for in every war they kill you in a new way. - Will Rogers
I'm not sure how much violence and butchery the readers will stand. - Robert E. Howard
You never have to wait long, or look far, to be reminded of how thin the line is between being a hero or a goat. - Mickey Mantle.
Dedication
For Eve
One day you will read this
And say, 'Dad, why all the swords?'
For Eve. One day you will read this and say, 'Dad, why all the swords?'
First words
'Too old for this shit,' muttered Craw, wincing at the pain in his dodgy knee with every other step.
'Too old for this shit,' muttered Craw, wincing at the pain in his dodgy knee with every other step. High time he retired. Long past high time. Sat on the porch behind his house with a pipe, smiling at the water as the sun sank down, a day's honest work behind him. Not that he had a house. But when he got one, it'd be a good one.
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Wikipedia in English (1)

Fantasy. Fiction. HTML: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.

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Book 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 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. Bremer dan Gorst, disgraced master swordsman, has sworn to reclaim his stolen honour on the battlefield. Obsessed with redemption and addicted to violence, he's far past caring how much blood gets spilled in the attempt. Even if it's his own. Prince Calder isn't interested in honour, and still less in getting himself killed. All he wants is power, and he'll tell any lie, use any trick, and betray any friend to get it. Just as long as he doesn't have to fight for it himself. Curnden Craw, the last honest man in the North, has gained nothing from a life of warfare but swollen knees and frayed nerves. He hardly even cares who wins any more, he just wants to do the right thing. But can he even tell what that is with the world burning down around him? 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.
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Orbit Books

2 editions of this book were published by Orbit Books.

Editions: 0316044989, 0316193569

Hachette Book Group

An edition of this book was published by Hachette Book Group.

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Tantor Media

An edition of this book was published by Tantor Media.

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