Heroes Die [Mass Market Paperback]

Matthew Woodring Stover (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 29, 1999

Renowned throughout the land of Ankhana as the Blade of Tyshalle, Caine has killed his share of monarchs and commoners, villains and heroes. He is relentless, unstoppable, simply the best there is at what he does.

At home on Earth, Caine is Hari Michaelson, a superstar whose adventures in Ankhana command an audience of billions. Yet he is shackled by a rigid caste society, bound to ignore the grim fact that he kills men on a far-off world for the entertainment of his own planet--and bound to keep his rage in check.

But now Michaelson has crossed the line. His estranged wife, Pallas Rill, has mysteriously disappeared in the slums of Ankhana. To save her, he must confront the greatest challenge of his life: a lethal game of cat and mouse with the most treacherous rulers of two worlds . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After two fantasy novels (Iron Dawn; Jericho Moon), Stover combines fantasy and SF in this vigorous adventure story. Our world has developed a hyper-rigid, occupation-based caste system in which the reading of freedom-based philosophy, from John Locke to Robert A. Heinlein, is punished. For entertainment, people participate vicariously in recorded Adventures from the Overworld, an other-dimensional realm of sword and sorcery with its own repressive government. On Earth, Hari Michaelson is the most popular Actor in Adventures; in Ankhana, with its rich palaces and criminal slums, he is known as Caine, the Blade of Tyshalle, famous assassin and warrior. Tired of killing, Hari agrees to return to the Overworld, driven to save his estranged wife, Pallas Ril?Actor and sorceress, unable to return to Earth due to a powerful spell?and ordered by the Studio to kill the tyrant Ma'elKoth. Stover's writing throughout is unoriginal but vivid, and his story is well plotted (though relentlessly violent), with numerous noteworthy secondary characters, from Hari's father to Kierendal, the non-human manager of a vice-den in the Overworld's Alien Town. Hari begins as a stereotyped cold-blooded killer but develops credibly, gaining a sense of moral responsibility and realizing that his true enemies are not on the Overworld but within the Studio that directs his life for its profits. Stover's fans and those who like their fantasy/SF tinged red should enjoy this energetic tale. Author tour.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Dubious sf/fantasy hybrid from the author of the paperback Iron Dawn. Stover's future Earth is run by and for the entertainment networks, with society locked into a rigid and unforgiving caste system. Coexisting with Earth but in another dimension is planet Overworld, with its stereotypical medieval sword-and-sorcery fantasy scenario. Entertainers from Earth can be projected into Overworld, their adventures then relayed back for vicarious VR enjoyment. So on Earth, Actor Hari Michaelson does what his boss, Arturo Kollberg, chairman of San Francisco Studio, tells him; on Overworld, Hari becomes Caine, a dreaded and highly successful assassin. But now also on Overworld, the Emperor Ma'elKoth, together with his henchman, the supernally skillful swordsman Count Berne, has achieved supreme power by mounting a successful pogrom against ``Aktirs,'' thus threatening Earthly profits and the engineering of new dramas. Kollberg therefore orders Hari back to Overworld, where his mission will be to kill Ma'elKoth and rescue his ex-wife, the Actor Shanna Leighton, trapped on Overworld in one of her two identities, as the revolutionary Pallas Ril or the resistance fighter Simon Jester. Unfortunately for Hari, Ma'elKoth is already aware of Caine and Pallas/Simon and has devised his own plans accordingly. So, can Caine kill his enemies, survive a voyage of painful self-discovery, and win back his lovely wife? Shallow and unsurprising, a furious, gory hack-'em-up witheven for this subgenrea high expletive count. Stover does, however, work hard to develop his characters. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (May 29, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780345421456
• ISBN-13: 978-0345421456
• ASIN: 0345421450
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.3 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars great fun with serious undertones November 29, 2000

By Diana Nier

Format:Mass Market Paperback

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.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and fun January 13, 2001

By Fosky Bob

Format:Mass Market Paperback

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.

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

Format: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.