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The Heroes Audiobook
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(4.00) - 7,545 listener ratings
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Publisher 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 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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"I cannot believe this has sat on my shelf for so long. Abercrombie's ability to make you sympathize and hate each of the characters in turn, where nothing is black or white is the reason I love his stories so much. With this one, he did something new, where the whole book is just centered around one battle, told from each side, with great characters each. I absolutely love this book, and can't wait to read more from him."
— Patrick (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Lord of the Rings as directed by Kurosawa”
— Wall Street Journal -
“The Heroes is an indictment of war and the duplicity that corrupts men striving for total power: bloody and violent, but never gratuitously so, it’s imbued with cutting humor, acute characterization and world-weary wisdom about the weaknesses of the human race. Brilliant.”
— Guardian (London) -
“Abercrombie never glosses over a moment of the madness, passion, and horror of war, nor the tribulations that turn ordinary people into the titular heroes.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
Lord of the rings as directed by Kurosawa
— Wall Street Journal. -
Magnificent, richly entertaining.
— Time -
"Abercrombie never glosses over a moment of the madness, passion, and horror of war, nor the tribulations that turn ordinary people into the titular heroes.
— Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) -
The Heroes is an indictment of war and the duplicity that corrupts men striving for total power: bloody and violent, but never gratuitously so, it's imbued with cutting humour, acute characterisation and world-weary wisdom about the weaknesses of the human race. Brilliant.
— Eric Brown, The Guardian (UK) -
Delivered in Abercrombie's trademark witty style ... This is an action-packed novel full of brutality, black humour and razor-sharp characterisation.
— Dave Bradley, SFX (5 star review) -
It's an excellent tale and arguably Abercrombie's best book yet ... Its pace really showcases his talent for differently voiced and realistically motivated characters ... any genre fan can enjoy what's one of the best fantasy books of the past year.
— SciFi Now (5 star review)
The Heroes Listener Reviews
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matan zagag, 8/20/2023
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" Latest in sword and sorcery series, very graphic violence but mixed with great storytelling, humour , and characters that you believe in. "
— David, 2/12/2014 -
" j. abercrombie kicks the concept of heroism up and down a verdant, soggy valley. the concept of heroism seems to, mostly, enjoy the abuse. abercrombie seems to, mostly, enjoy the abusing. some wonderful one liners. "
— Blake, 2/4/2014 -
" Very good. Stand alone but tied with the same characters and places as all his other books. Other books are a bit more epic. "
— Raven614, 2/1/2014 -
" Didn't care for it much. It did have interesting insights into the impotence of large bureaucratic organizations. "
— Cjeight, 1/20/2014 -
" About what I expected from Abercrombie: blood, guts, and decent storytelling. "
— Ron, 12/1/2013 -
" Every book in this series is amazing! This one was fantastic! I could not put it down! "
— Michelle, 11/30/2013 -
" This book was okay but with so much going on and so many characters, i found myself confused many times "
— Tanika, 7/16/2013 -
" Short chapters, lots of PoV changes and a cast of thousands makes this a confusing read. Joe's still got that special knack to make a great story but I think he overreached here a bit. "
— Simkine, 6/21/2013 -
" Currently marking 3 stars (3.25), but will be giving it more thought over the course of the day. I can see it going up to 4 stars, as I liked how it ended, but it was a rather meandering path along the way... "
— J.M., 1/25/2013 -
" Great book. Another entertaining read from Abercombie! "
— Phil, 12/4/2012 -
" Excellent, another great example of the genre (hard fantasy) from the new master. Highly recommended. "
— Alex, 11/10/2012 -
" Must say i prefered his other books, but its still good "
— Gustav, 9/23/2012 -
" I love Joe Abercrombie, I want to have his babies. This book was fantastic, the only thing missing was The Bloody Nine! "
— Elana, 8/4/2011 -
" Gritty, character-driven military fantasy that really explores war from the good and bad angles. Highly recommended. "
— Jamie, 5/10/2011 -
" Good read. Not as engaging as his trilogy, even though a lot of characters overlap. But if you like lots of fighting, gore, and dirt - you'll enjoy it! "
— Brad, 4/26/2011 -
" Love Joe Abercrombie...great account of a four day battle and nice to return to the familiar world. Really liked it, but as a stand-alone, I liked Best Served Cold better. "
— Eric, 4/24/2011 -
" Lived up to my expectations. Stunningly violent with underlying wry, dark humor. Not splatter-violent as much as human-violent. There is no formula to this book - it is truely surprizing. "
— Tess, 4/8/2011 -
" Bloody fantastic. <br/><br/>Not for the epic-minded fantasy fan, as this is a story that spans only 3 days and is almost completely spent in one area. And there are no unicorns, dragons, elves, or anything else of the sort. Just war.<br/><br/>Bloody, brutal, funny and gritty as fuck. "
— Justin, 4/7/2011 -
" Excellent tale of a three-day battle from multiple perspectives, fifth in the First Law series but can be read independently. "
— Syp, 4/5/2011 -
" Grrrreat. You cant love or hate any of these characters. They are all flawed in some way, and all have some sort of redeeming trait...except Bayaz... "
— Jared, 4/5/2011 -
" Abercrombie's best work so far. Tight prose, excellent narrative, and I felt "satisfied". That's something very difficult to accomplish in the fantasy genre with a stand alone novel. "
— Justin, 4/4/2011 -
" Simply the best Fantasy author working today. "
— Peter, 3/30/2011
About Joe Abercrombie
Joe Abercrombie is a British fantasy writer and film editor. He is the author of The First Law trilogy, as well as other fantasy books in the same setting, and a trilogy of young adult novels. His novel Half a King won the 2015 Locus Award for best young adult book. He was born in Lancaster in 1974, spent much of his youth in imaginary worlds, and left school with a good idea of how to make stuff up. After graduating from Manchester University he worked as a television editor, but he never stopped making stuff up.
About Steven Pacey
Steven Pacey is an actor and Earphones Award-winning narrator. He is a highly decorated stage actor, performing often at the West End Theatre. He has appeared in numerous television roles, including Tarrant in Blake’s 7, and has made over three hundred radio broadcasts.