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The Heroes

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The Heroes

By: Joe Abercrombie
Narrated by: Steven Pacey
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About this listen

They say Black Dow's killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbour, is not about to stand smiling by while he claws his way any higher. The orders have been given and the armies are toiling through the northern mud. Thousands of men are converging on a forgotten ring of stones, on a worthless hill, in an unimportant valley, and they've brought a lot of sharpened metal with them.

Over three bloody days of battle, the fate of the North will be decided. But with both sides riddled by intrigues, follies, feuds and petty jealousies, it is unlikely to be the noblest hearts or even the strongest arms that prevail.

Three men. One battle. No Heroes.

©2011 Joe Abercrombie (P)2011 Orion Publishing Group Limited
Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Scary Heartfelt

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Editor reviews

Prepare for one of the fiercest battle’s you’ll ever hear in The Heroes, written by the brilliant Joe Abercrombie with the complete and unabridged fantasy audiobook narrated by English actor Steven Pacey. Black Dow is a legend. He will kill any man that stands in his way. When the Union Army starts heading towards the North, he prepares for battle and for victory. There are only two people brave enough to fight against this impenetrable enemy alongside him. This is an all-encompassing saga of incredible scope and unparalleled depth. Available now from Audible.
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Very different to the other JA novels, but he just keeps getting better and better

Story – 5/5

Joe Abercrombie has taken a different approach to this story – he has removed pretty much all of the plot, and created an entire story based on a single battle between the Union and the North which spans a few days.

What this story does concentrate on though is the character development and how different people cope with a bloody battle from both sides and all officer levels (including new recruits). He does this superbly, incorporating his usual sharp whit and ensuring that all characters are extremely likeable; both the good and the bad ones. I especially loved Wirren of Blye’s character (apologies if I have spelt that wrong), even though he wasn’t a main character in the story. As usual with JA, I found myself laughing out loud on a regular basis.

As you can expect with a story-long battle, there is plenty of action – probably the most I have come across in a single novel before. There was no confusion for what was happening, even though the small interwoven sections of each day of the battle make it an extremely complex story to tell. This shows masterful writing on JA’s part, and a very well deserved 5/5 stars

Performance – 5/5

Steven Pacey is one of the best narrators out there. His character acting was flawless, each having a distinctive and believable voice. His narration enhanced the dark comedy and whit of Joe Abercrombie’s writing, and I felt myself absorbed into the action scenes/battles.

Music/sound effects between scenes/chapters was a nice touch as well, although it would have been nicer to not re-use sound effects from the previous books.

Overall – 5/5

Can't get enough

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This is a brilliant audiobook. Joe Abercrombie has a writing style that lends itself to narration, it’s like listening to a play! His exceptional writing is matched by the incredible talent of Steven Pacey. There are a vast number of characters in this book and somehow Pacey has found a distinctive voice for each of them which is maintained faultlessly throughout. Even if you have read “The Heroes” already (as I had) this audiobook is well worth adding to your collection.

Highly recommend

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Some reviews complain this novel was set over too short a time period... hell of an eventful few days though I recon!
I loved it. Again great to see characters briefly encountered in previous novels fleshed out in such depth.
Dark, witty and entertaining.

Another Abercrombie masterpiece narrated brilliantly.

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love the stories, love the gore and humour. love the narration. bloody brilliant! top Mark's.

best series of books ever

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This is the best audiobook I’ve heard and I’ve heard a few. Excellent storytelling from both the author and narrator. Really good and thoroughly recommended.

The perfect partnership

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Again a good storyline but be aware that the whole story revolves around one battle and the different goals, outcomes, frustrations, politics and struggles (both life and death, sometimes from both points of view for the same fight)

Excellent story and Fantastic performance again by Stephen pacey

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I love the narration in these books- Steven Pacey has given me so many hours of pleasure
And none more so than when the stories are set in The North
A well rounded world with well rounded hints of language and culture
By the dead, it’s enough to put a tingle in your fruits

The joy of the north

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The combination of Abercrombie hitting a new peak in his writing and Pacey’s peerless performance, deeply engaging characterisations and superb timing makes The Heroes a flawless audiobook that further transcends the source material.

Probably Flawless

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The best living fantasy author strikes again. This has everything we have come to love. Joe is a master and this is another masterpiece.

Only gone and done it again

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loved it, Abercrombie writes war like no other fantasy writer I know of and Pacey is a master, thoroughly enjoyable and you will love it if you read the first law

Another smasher

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