16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
great fun with serious undertones, November 29, 2000
I bought "Heroes Die" on a trip after I ran out of other reading material; I was bored and found the title intriguing. I didn't expect more than a standard, entertaining slash-em-up, and am delighted at how wrong I was.
"Heroes Die" follows anti-hero Hari Michelson, an Actor (the capital is warranted; this is not the acting we know) in an unpleasant, caste-bound future whose job is, basically, to kill people in another reality for the entertainment of the rich Leisure caste on Earth. On Overworld -- a gritty medieval fantasy setting -- Hari is Caine, a legendary assassin and warrior; his excessively bloody adventures have made him immensely popular back on Earth. As the book opens, he is estranged from his wife Shanna, an Actor who plays magician Pallas Ril. On Overworld, she poses as Simon Jester (a nod to Heinlein), champion of the lower classes. However, she has vanished from the studio's tracking systems and will soon fall back to Earth, fatally and uncontrollably.
Hari is sent to Overworld to rescue his wife, depose the suspiciously godlike emperor of Ankhana, and revive the studio's fortunes. The story includes betrayals, mysteries, megalomaniacs, daring escapes and rescues, gods, magic, gobs of violence, and a climactic final confrontation. "Heroes Die" works beautifully as a straight adventure, but also contains much more. The characters are well-developed (though the villains are occasionally a bit two-dimensional) which gives weight and meaning to their ordeals and changes. And the entire adventure is colored by the ethics of the studio system and the political situations in both worlds.
But the story is not flawless. Stover dangles some portentious hints and ideas that unfortunately never amount to much. He also never resolves his ethical and political dilemmas to my satisfaction. After taking the trouble to set them up, he shunts them aside or tries to subsume them in Hari's struggle with the studio head and his relationship with Shanna. Given that little changes on Earth, the ending seems unreasonably upbeat; it's also a letdown after the government's grave concern that Hari's subvocalized political musings might affect the people who live his adventure with him.
Despite the loose ends, Stover does a fantastic job bringing plots strands together while maintaining suspense and a breakneck pace. He integrates serious issues without making his story one bit less enjoyable. I honestly think he could have resolved even the dangling bits and still made everything work. I wish he had; it would have transformed a very good book into a great one.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting and fun, January 13, 2001
I'd like to briefly add my praise to the numerous reviews already posted here. 'Heroes Die' is an endlessly exhilarating read. I was enthralled from page 1 to the back cover. Stover's future universe is fascinating in its complexity and depth. While giving us an exciting hack-and-slash adventure, Stover subtly weaves together a social commentary on our culture's decadence.
I don't want to give the wrong impression. This isn't a mindless killing book. The main character, Caine, is motivated in his quest to save his estranged wife. Through the course of the novel we see Caine grow into a mature and rational man. I recommend this novel to all fantasy readers.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This was an excellent well thought out book, August 13, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Heroes Die (Paperback)
Normally I'm not a big one for SF or fantasy. I was pleasently surprised when I got "Heroes Die" on a whim and as it turns out I loved it. I'm not sure I agree entirely with Stover's rather dismal view on our society's future, but it's possible. The characters of the story were very well written and surprisingly versitial. One of the aspects of the book I liked the most was the fact that people (both heros and villians) didn't do things just because they were good, evil etc. They had motives for their actions and weren't just radomly good or evil as the plot needed them to be. The settings and plot twists (there were many of those) were believable and entertaining. In my humble oppinion, this book was an all around good read. Can't wait for the sequal! Hint, hint, publishers.
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