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A review by veronica87
Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover
4.0
I read this eight years ago and just finished a re-read. Yep, rating still stands. This book is like a shot of adrenaline that manages to still deliver a cool, yet thought provoking, concept.
I read this book simply to fulfill a reading challenge requirement for one of the Goodreads groups to which I belong. Needless to say, I had zero expectations going in and found myself pretty quickly engrossed in the plot. I'm not even sure quite how to classify this book as it is, in my estimation, equal parts fantasy and science fiction. It's set on Earth albeit many, many, many years in the future when society has evolved (or devolved, depending on the POV) into a caste system and the ideas of Abraham Lincoln, John Locke, John Kennedy and others of their ilk are considered grounds for sedition. But it's also set on Overworld, a kingdom closer to a medieval level society that's polpulated by humans and "subs", the substandard species like elves, dwarves, ogres, etc. It's a high octane, action-adventure tale full of violence and greed that nevertheless speaks to the deeper issues of self-identity, what it means to be truly free, and what sorts of evils can arise when society is only willing to consider its own desires. It's a mash-up of The Running Man, The Warriors, Escape From New York, The Truman Show, reality TV, and any sword and sorcery movie you can name. And if all of that sounds crazy that's because it is...and yet, it works. It's an example of old school writing where information and meaning has to be gleaned from the context as there is no spoon feeding done here. But if you pay attention, you'll be rewarded with a fascinating concept and larger than life characters who nevertheless play to motivations that anyone can relate to and recognize. My only quibble? I'm not sure the book needed the epilogue.
I read this book simply to fulfill a reading challenge requirement for one of the Goodreads groups to which I belong. Needless to say, I had zero expectations going in and found myself pretty quickly engrossed in the plot. I'm not even sure quite how to classify this book as it is, in my estimation, equal parts fantasy and science fiction. It's set on Earth albeit many, many, many years in the future when society has evolved (or devolved, depending on the POV) into a caste system and the ideas of Abraham Lincoln, John Locke, John Kennedy and others of their ilk are considered grounds for sedition. But it's also set on Overworld, a kingdom closer to a medieval level society that's polpulated by humans and "subs", the substandard species like elves, dwarves, ogres, etc. It's a high octane, action-adventure tale full of violence and greed that nevertheless speaks to the deeper issues of self-identity, what it means to be truly free, and what sorts of evils can arise when society is only willing to consider its own desires. It's a mash-up of The Running Man, The Warriors, Escape From New York, The Truman Show, reality TV, and any sword and sorcery movie you can name. And if all of that sounds crazy that's because it is...and yet, it works. It's an example of old school writing where information and meaning has to be gleaned from the context as there is no spoon feeding done here. But if you pay attention, you'll be rewarded with a fascinating concept and larger than life characters who nevertheless play to motivations that anyone can relate to and recognize. My only quibble? I'm not sure the book needed the epilogue.