Rise of a Hero (The Farsala Trilogy, 2) [Paperback]

Hilari Bell (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 462 pages
• Publisher: Simon&Schuster; 1 edition (2005)
• ISBN-10: 068903668X
• ISBN-13: 978-0689036682
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,239,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Me the writer--a loose, not-really-biography of Hilari Bell.

A lot of writers will tell you that they've been writers from the time they were children--well, I'm not one of those people. I was always a reader. There's nothing better than falling into the world of a book and just living there till the story's over...and even then, it stays in your head and heart. At least, the best ones do. But writing came a lot later, in school assignments--which I enjoyed, but still, assignments. Homework no less.

I started writing seriously when I first got out of library school. I'd been reading picture books preparing to do storytimes, and I thought, "Picture books. They're short. They're for little kids. How hard could it be?" Several years and dozens of unsold--and unsalable--picture books later I'd found out how hard they could be! Picture books are harder to write (a good one, anyway) than anything except poetry. And they're harder to sell than anything but poetry, too.

One of the things I've learned about writing over the years is to never say never, because whenever I've said "I will never write XYZ" within a few years I end up writing it. Some true examples: I could never write a novel. I could never write a young adult novel. I could never write science fiction. I could never write an adult novel. I could never make those books a romance. (OK, so I haven't actually made them into a romance, but a lot more romantic elements are creeping into my writing.) I should probably say, I could never write a best seller, just to see what would happen... Hmm. I could never write a best seller!

OK, Murphy's Law being what it is, that probably won't work. If for no other reason than that, primarily, I write for me. This is something I probably shouldn't admit, but I don't really care that much about my audience. (Sorry, audience.) I write the books I want to read. I tell the stories that I want to tell. And I write to make the story the best it can be...because the story is what I care about it. I love it when other people care about my stories too, but that's not my primary motivation. Which is the other reason "I could never write a best seller."

(I know it probably won't work--but it doesn't hurt to try, now does it?)

--Hilari

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a thrilling adventure, April 26, 2005

By 

Tamora Pierce (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rise of a Hero (Farsala Trilogy) (Hardcover)

I liked RISE OF A HERO even more than FALL OF THE KINGDOM, and that's saying a lot! All three of the young heroes in this book are now struggling to deal with the collapse of their old world and the building of a new one under the conquering Hrum. Soraya, who was my least favorite character in the first book, is finally starting to grow up as she searches for her family and discovers the reality of how the nobles of her class ruled Farsala. Jivan is trying to create a new style of fighting with nobles who are married to the old way, and the old prejudices. And Kavi, who thought the Hrum would be so much better than the old nobility, is discovering they bring a new set of injustices with them. They have a chance to get their country back from the Hrum--but how can they get their fellow countrymen to rise up against the invaders? How can they inspire frightened and beaten people to fight back? They need a hero, and if they can't find one, they'll have to invent one. And since they aren't working together, none of them know they're all dealing with the same problem.

The suspense is wonderful as each of the three heroes plunge from danger to danger, scrambling to escape in one piece. The characters catch you up in their struggles to keep the people they care about--and themselves--alive. The Hrum officers we get to know aren't just simple bad guys, but people who are trying to do their duty by their own country. And the pace keeps you turning the pages. I can't wait to read the next book!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars *jawdrops*, April 30, 2005

By 

Ulyyf "Connie" (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rise of a Hero (Farsala Trilogy) (Hardcover)

I have a real problem explaining why I like things. It's easy for me to explain, in detail, if I dislike something, but liking it? Not so simple. So let's cover, instead, a short list of "what this book caused me to do".

1. It caused me to miss going to see H2G2 with my sister. Yes, I did NOT see the new Hitchhiker's movie, even though I wanted to.
2. It caused me to put back a lot of books I'd planned to buy my niece. Sorry, Ana, you're not as important as my reading pleasure.
3. It caused me not to get the Diana Wynne Jones book I've been waiting for for years.
4. It caused me to buy a hardcover book without even finishing reading it. I only ever by paperback.
5. It caused my family to spend a few hours thinking I was dead because I didn't call them after missing the movie. I was too busy reading.

Does this give you an idea of how engrossed I was by this book?

I know this isn't a very well-written review, and I apologise. I also suspect that nobody is going to read this review, since those who read the first book in the trilogy are just going to automatically buy the second.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yesssssss!, October 16, 2005

By 

Cheesehead (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rise of a Hero (Farsala Trilogy) (Hardcover)

Blew me away. It...Just.....Blew me away. The first book was a bit choppy and could have used a good sequel to help it, but this was far beyond anything I had hoped for. The heroes became extremely believable and had dimensions not seen in more amateur writing. I found myself loving and hating each character numerous times in this book. However, Bell just had to leave me waiting for the third book, wondering if it would live up to my now lofty expectations. That is my only criticism. There is only one.