Reviews with content warning for Gore - The Heroes

I don't know quite what to make of this one. It's a First Law novel, so of course it was highly enjoyable and often very funny. However, with it only taking place over 3 days, and following the course of one battle, it lacked the usual plot-heavy momentum of the previous books. It was like a slice-of-life/vignette of a larger story and felt like a place-holder for what's to come. The characters were brilliant as always. Shivers' descent into cold-hearted existentialism develops further, and I particularly enjoyed Bremer dan Gorst's arc. This has left me wanting more, which I suspect was exactly the point!

Content Warnings

jombo65's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

surdiablo's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad 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

5.0

Engrossing, exhilarating, and absolutely tragic. Abercrombie excels as usual at characterization, taking many side characters from the original trilogy, giving them distinct, compelling voices, and also adding new people to the cast who are just as interesting ( maybe not up to the level of BSC though ) within limited pages. I enjoyed

Gorst and Craw

POVs the most, the former being someone who I loathed and rooted for at the same time since he's just so well-written as this

delusional self-pitying, incel who also happens to be a courageous, invincible bulwark of the Union.

This book encapsulates everything about war, the best and worst of it, even the boredom aspect while managing to remain dark, reflective, and humorous. It hooked me from the very beginning regardless of the slow build-up, and most of the character POVs were intriguing enough. Even those I was not too fond of were fun to follow, and the POV switches were seamless. I don't have any serious complaints at all so if I had to nitpick, I would say we could have used more of

Dogman

maybe. The chapter called

Casualities

was a fantastic highlight, perhaps one of the best fantasy chapters I have ever read. The action sequences were gripping with palpable tension

( Day 3 duel had me on edge..)

, all the character arcs had fitting conclusions, and Joe's traditional anticlimactic moments weren't a bother for me at all. It can feel slow at times since the book consists of either talking or fighting in its entirety, so you may not like it as much as I did if you aren't a fan of either of those. I'm just glad to be back in this world again after a long hiatus, great to start 2024 with a 5-star read.

Content Warnings

mylkyjo's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny sad 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

4.5

As with all Abercrombie books, they're a mixed experience while reading.

At times, the darkness of Abercrombie's characters can be hard to get on board with. However, in The Heroes, we have the pleasure of reading some of the best and most memorable characters so far. Gorst, for example, may be one of the most unexpectedly wild POV characters I've ever experienced.

The Heroes is a poignant examination of war and soldiering and if you've enjoyed Abercrombie's writing before, you are in for a treat.

Content Warnings

10stormlight's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

amir_hamza's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny informative 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? Yes

4.25

A clear step up from Best Served Cold and comfortably my second favourite First Law Book after Last Argument of Kings, The Heroes was still something that left me somewhat disappointed. By all means, it's not a bad book, but my expectations from it were much, much higher. When I finished Day 2 I thought the quality of the book would just keep on climbing higher, but it seemed from that point the quality, like the pacing, it just jogged steadily towards the ending. This is a straightforward book, almost painfully so. (Vague spoilers)

There's no mind-blowing plot twist, no jaw-dropping revelation or epic magical twist (this book has basically no magic or fantastical element at all).

There's just a deus ex machina in the very last part

Shivers killing Dow , after which literally everything goes to Calder's favour instantaneously

, which was the only decision in the book I hated, as it was far too convenient a thing to occur by First Law standards.
Yes, the character work is the best yet, by far. Yes, so is the thematic work. This is absolutely one of the most thoughtful reads I've had along with Dandelion Dynasty. But it just lacks that oomph that to me, regrettably makes it harder to rate above:
8.5/10.

Content Warnings

k22ks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

More...