The Heroes
by Joe Abercrombie
fantasy, military
copyright 2011
read in July 2014
rated 7/10: well worth reading
This is a brutal story of steel-edged killing and blood-soaked betrayal.
Or, possibly, it's the strongest anti-war book that I have read for many years.
Brutality is matched by futility. The tagline says, No Heroes. The Heroes of the title is a location. The fighters are not heroes. They do as they are told: attack, fight, kill, retreat, on command.
The army commanders range from competent to absolutely useless, with most of them on the useless end of the scale. They spend as much time battling for personal glory and promotion as they spend on battle tactics.
Yet even the least competent has redeeming features. The general whose bad tactics killed thousands of his troops is driven to improve. The stickler for rules provides balance for the impulsive enthusiast. The coward uses cunning tactics to win a battle.
On the surface, all but one of Abercrombie's characters are dislikeable. Then he gives the characters enough depth to allow us to understand and sympathise with the characters. Yet I can never quite like them...
The violence is non-stop. The futility is ever-present. The final victory is an uncomfortable revelation.
A brutal book of blood and thunder. The strongest anti-war novel that I have read for years.
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