Customer Reviews

The Trouble With Heroes

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This anthology's topic is the all-too-unknown down-side of heroes. We see them as mythical, wonderful figures. But what do their loved ones and helpers see them as? Who gets to see them when they're cranky, or do their laundry because they're always off saving the world? And what happens when a hero's PR makes him out to be something rather different than he really is? This is a theme both hilarious and poignant, as the tales in this book reveal.

The Trouble With Heroes includes 22 stories by such wonderful authors as Jean Rabe, Laura Resnick, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch. A few don't delve very far beyond the hilarious or the most simplistic aspects of their topic, and those are my least favorites (although they're still fun!) as they're a bit shallow and unmemorable. I think the best stories hit the funny-bone but still manage to touch on something a little deeper or more lasting.

Jean Rabe's Merry Maid was one of my favorite offerings in this book. Maid Marian takes on a most unexpected role in the legend of Robin Hood, and Robin turns out to be something rather different as well. I wouldn't dream of spoiling it for you, but I'll just say that I was quite surprised and thought Rabe carried out her take on Marian quite beautifully! Robert T. Jeschonek's Ballad of the Groupie Everlasting is right up there with Rabe's work, exploring the life and work of the muse Terpsichore and the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamlin. My other favorite work from this anthology is Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Clay Feet, a tale in which a museum curator faces off against a god over the provenance and proper destination of his statue!

As always, while there were a few stories that didn't resonate very strongly with me, there were some that blew me away. And overall the quality is quite good--even the stories that didn't stick with me were ones I enjoyed at the time. Certainly this is an unusual topic with a wealth of material, and many of these authors mined it to great results.



[NOTE: review book provided by Penguin Group]

Comedic outlook on the real life drama of our well loved heroes. Wonderful stories that really spin the life of the hero.

but even heroes need to eat, sleep, work, and have an occasional bad day. The stories herein are (mostly) imaginative vignettes, not of the heroes themselves, but of those who love them or who must otherwise abide them. It may not be easy to be a hero, but it's a helluva lot harder to have to deal with them on a day to day basis. The women in this collection are the true heroes.

You've heard of heroes, kings, and Greek myths. Handsome,
strong young men, the envy of guys, the want to-be
boyfriend of girls, but have you ever wondered what its
like to see them all the time, I mean when there's no halo
around their head because they just did a great unselfish
deed. Because you're crazy if you think a cowboy smells good
after he's been sitting outside, on his horse, all day,
and Robin Hood, is it really too much to ask for you to
change clothes every once in a while. I can't even begin
to imagine what it must be like trying to juggle H. P.
Lovecraft's fights around dinner, and dinner dates hardly
ever happen when you're dating a superhero.

This was a really creative, well put together book. All 27 stories
were unique, and different. Some stories were the light-
hearted and laugh out loud type, while others were more
serious, some were full of suspense, and a couple were
just action. All of the different authors personality's
stood out, which helped to create this funny spin on the
tales and encounters the girls and women, behind the
hero's face. One of the things that really bothered me,
though, was that I didn't feel the book was good for the
recommended age group, young adult, because of all the
innuendo. Some of the content didn't make me feel
comfortable nor did it meet up with my religious views. A
lot of the story's left me thinking wow but others
weren't so greatly written, it's like the author was
trying to get somewhere but it didn't work. I didn't enjoy
the book so much; but I think someone who knows a lot
about the tales of the Greek myths or heroes would REALLY
enjoy it.

NOTE: This book contains mature language and sexual content!


Reviewed by a young adult student reviewer
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