Customer Reviews

Heroes Die

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This novel is set in a future were earth's resources are limited and world society has split into a rigid cast system based on the work you do, or what your parents do. Hari Michaelson is an actor and a world-wide superstar. In an alternative earth, known as the overworld, where magic works, he is also known as the assassin Caine where his "adventures" are eagerly watched by billions. When Hari's ex-wife, another actor, vanishes in the overworld Hari is drawn into saving her for what the studio on earth sees solely as another action-packed adventure, but for Hari it is much more importance than that.

This is both a brutal and brilliant novel. You really shouldn't like Hari/Caine. He's not a nice man by most accounts. He swears all the time (lots of the "f" word in this book), he'll kill you as soon as look at you and is outstandingly ruthless. Despite all this, he is a compelling and complex character and this novel easily pulls you from chapter to chapter.

Both the overworld and earth society have been given a great deal of thought in this novel, and both are equally richly detailed to provide a combination of Sci-Fi and fantasy in the one book. I hadn't expected this book to be so well written, based on the blurb on the back, and while I'm disgusted by some of the things Caine does, its also fascinating, a bit like watching a natural disaster on TV - and in effect that is what Caine is to the overworld as he keeps earth mesmerised as he navigates both the politics of home and the brutality of everyday life in the overworld.

But then again, maybe not. Matthew Stover is using the mercenary anti-hero to explore social and existential issues that Glen Cook so far has proven for the most part reluctant to pursue. And Stover's assassin-protagonist---his symbolic role loudly announced by the stage name Caine---is a conflicted character that grows in ways that Cook's cast never achieves, the players and worlds here a vehicle that blurs and pushes the boundaries of the genre, despite the similarities of fast-paced action and gritty milieu, taking this novel to a creative and darkly realized realm that by comparison is metaphorically dizzying. Few unexamined moments here, and despite the almost non-stop, grim and graphic pull of conflict and action, there's a lot more going on here than simple combat and hack and slash adventure.

As has been noted elsewhere, Caine is an Actor who actually lives his role, a resident of some human future in which, creatively recontextualizing and extending earlier ideas contained in works such as "The Running Man" or the film "Rollerball," and topically reflected in the current popularity of so-called "reality" television such as "Survivor," residents live out fantasy adventures on the parallel and magically endowed world of Ankhana vicariously through virtual reality adventures of a star-system transported to a largely medieval realm. Despite the obvious entertainment value for the audience of experiencing another world instantaneously through the eyes, experiences and actions of the Actors, there is a dark side to this theater verite, a blurring of imagination and reality in which outside, invisible and largely commercially indifferent interests are controlling both the players and the set, somewhat analogous to the projected introduction of the 60's television series, "The Outer Limits." Everyone involved become just puppets in a ratings driven play, the sale of virtual adventures determining the action as well as the experiences of both participants and audience. The ultimate vision, instead of invigorating is chilling, revealing a dark and disturbing mirror onto our own potential escape into entertainment, which in part even the reading of fantasy has become. The author is directing his social criticism and commentary not only at our own entertainment industry, but in many ways at the genre itself.

This is at once ironically entertaining as well as thought-provoking, the title of this novel itself hinting at the author's desire to debunk not only the human illusion of the heroic reflected over and over in movies and television, but the conventions of high fantasy itself. This is in part an examination of escapism, while at the same time a dark examination of society and an exploration of more existential and philosophical issues disguised within the garb of heroic fantasy. As an earlier reviewer has noted, the author does not always take these explorations to a full or satisfying conclusion, at times hinting at ideas to come that never actually arrive. Nonetheless, the author is to be applauded for exploring ideas and topics not usually found in the typical fantasy, bringing to the genre a conceptual weight and substance usually found lacking. This is not your usual quest or tale of magic: the author's aims are far more literary and complex.

I was referred to this novel by a new column offered on the sfsite, contributed by Gabriel Chouinard. This column is being used to present readers with works written by what the columnist calls "The Next Wave," a reference to writers such as Michael Moorcock, Philip Jose Farmer, and Philip K. Dick that were hailed in the 60's and 70's as the "New Wave" for their creative and often revolutionary impact upon the stale tropes coming out of 50's speculative fiction. Whether one agrees with Mr. Chouinard's opinions or not---I personally continue to enjoy the better offerings of high fantasy, despite its well-worn conventions---his column offers recommendations of newer and significant authors whose work is less well-known, and whose aims are well beyond that of the epic, more conventional doorstopper fantasy of Jordan or George R.R. Martin. These newer authors, such as Matt Stover, Michael Swanwick, Paul Witcover, to name a few, or especially, in my opinion, China Mieville, should be on the reading lists of anyone seriously interested in speculative fiction, regardless of their personal tastes or preferences. Mr. Chouinard's column offers an excellent reference and discussion.

While "Heroes Die" is written as a stand-alone, I have noted that a sequel has been released, "The Blade of Tyshalle." I for one certainly intend to read it in the near future.

A good mixed drink is a rarity, but when you find a bar that serves it, you stick with it.

Matthew Woodring Stover brings to life Hari Michaelson, an Actor, whose life inevitably led him to the art and business of killing. It is similar in tone to Heinlein's most mature works, with a sprinkling of Nietzche's Will to Power and Jack London's White Fang, but whereas Heinlein only worked in Fantasy Epic or Sci-Fi Epic, Heroes Die is Sci-Fi Fantasy Epic. It is, for all intents and purposes, the Perfect Mix.

You've read the reviews, you know the setup. Suffice it to say, this book is in my top five favorite books of all time. It is truly Epic: the fates of empires on two worlds hang in the balance. It is truly Fantasy: Power belongs to things far older and more wild than you or I, and to ask their permission to use it is to come into the presence of a god. It is truly Sci-Fi: an overpopulated, technologically advanced human civilization under a seemingly benevolent but ruthlessly anti-revolutionary oligarchy, uses a parallel Earth as entertainment for the masses.

And the sequel is even better.

This book is so amazing that I had no idea a fitting sequel could be written, but "Blade of Tyshalle" had me shaking with rage, screaming with anticipation, and reading (again) until four in the morning.

If you are feeling the weight of social pressure crushing you like an unliftable weight, Hari Michaelson will be your hero.

[Amazon.com editors, feel free to remove this link if you do not want links to external sites.] A more complete review by someone else is at:

http://deadcities.crimsonzine.com/20020729-1190.html

I'd say the best thing about this book is its outstanding character development. The main characters, especially Hari/Cain and Berne, really draw the reader into the story. Their emotions are so clearly depicted that you quickly become immersed and can truly empathize with them, even the ones you hate. Speaking of which, the main villain, Count Berne, is developed with the same level of care and skill as Hari/Cain, so that you TRULY despise him. The other side of that coin is Ma'elKoth, whose character is so richly developed that he actually becomes a "sympathetic" villain by the end.

One thing I dislike about many fantasy books is that I never get the sense that the characters are ever in any *true* danger... not so with this book! The characters often find themselves in very dangerous situations, and not just physical danger, which lends great tension to the novel. The plot twists are great, as are the fight scenes (Stover is an accomplished martial artist, and his descriptions are quite vivid and accurate).

The book concludes with an incendiary climax and by far the most fulfilling ending I have ever read in a fantasy book. If you are looking specifically for a typical, cliched high-fantasy novel (of which I'm a fan by the way), this is not for you. For everyone else, I recommend that you get this book before it goes out of print!

I've always love books that can cross genres without any efforts.That is why I loved this book! Mr. Stover has created a novel which combines a dark high tech future with tolkeinish fantasy world and spy thriller type action sequences.Our hero has two personas: a actor on ridge caste future earth and lethal assasin on a fantasy world must save his enstranged wife from death against ruthless employers and a brutal emperor.This novel has scenes of brutal hand to hand combat, techological advances,magical battles and plenty of plot twists.So like I said in my title of this review: get ready for ride of your life!

Matthew Woodring Stover is a truly gifted writer. I have read this book several times, and every time take away something more; not just details that I missed the first time around, but layers and levels to his writing that continue to impress me. This book is about the abuse of power by government, big religion and big business; it's about searching for the self among the collective. If you want to read a book that is really about something more than entertainment but still entertaining, and written by an author that has mastered the Language; read this book. You won't be dissappointed.

WOW!!

I just finished readin an advance copy of this book (thanks to Coosin Al- a definite Hero). The setting of the book flips between a fantasy setting, and a harsh look at the future of humans on Earth. Both settings were blandly generic though a few original twists and ideas have been thrown in.

The compelling points of the book did not involve the setting. However the characters have been carefully formed and well rounded, and more importantly- realistic. Even the supporting characters have a suprising depth to them, with their own beliefs, desires and plots.

"Heroes Die" (listed here in Amazon as "Caine") is a masterfully built book. A story within a story, independant plots and intrigues are woven together for a believable resolution. Romance, grim humor, blood and death thread themselves through the story, creating a complex pattern that will delight and enthrall the Reader.

Matthew Woodring Stover has brought us a book with something for everyone. The story is compelling, and the characters will hook themselves into your heart as you find yourself fighting with the main character against all odds.

If you want to read an epic adventure that leaves you wanting more, give this masterpiece by Stover a try. This is the first novel I have read by Stover, and I am now planning on going back and reading his prior novels, "Iron Dawn" and "Jericho Moon."