Heroes Die
A Fantasy Novel
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- 49,00 kr
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- 49,00 kr
Publisher Description
A man shouldn’t die with no understanding of why he’s been murdered
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 . . .
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.
Customer Reviews
Brilliant, intelligent, exciting sci-fi/fantasy blend
This book is one of the very best scifi/fantasy novels ever written. Authored by the prize winning and very well known Star Wars writer, Matthew Stover.
It is very intelligently written, and at the same time very present; it draws the reader from page 1, as almost no other book I've ever read.
Compared to Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, Heroes Die is much more fast-paced, and centered around a smaller character cast, which we are getting presented for in deep.
The setting is in a future, where a parallel dimension to Earth has been discovered. It's called Overworld, and there, Earth laws doesn't apply - legally as well as physically. Earth actors with thoughtmitters are sent there, to entertain the public back home - and they're pretty much allowed to do anything as long as it's entertaining.
Heroes Die also presents us with a lot of well explained philosophies and intelligent thoughts, and the fights are so vividly described, that the reader almost feels that he/she is a martial artist expert after reading the book.
A MUST BUY no matter which type of books you prefer; as long as you like intelligent writing with more complications than an A to B plot delivers.