Once a Hero by
Michael A. Stackpole is a book that has been on my read pile for so long that I don't remember the circumstances under which I came to it. It was published in 1994 and was an early book by the author who has since risen to fame largely on the back of Star Wars books (which don't interest me in the least). The front cover is far from mesmerizing, the author must have been unknown to me (he didn't ring any bells when I picked this book up off the stack), and the summation on the back is ho-hum. I do not know Jennifer Roberson (who has a blurb on the top of the front cover) and, had I known who she was (I researched her) I doubt seriously that her comment would have been enticing in any way. My guess is that I was waiting for someone else and picked up the book and started thumbing through it largely because it was nearby. I must have read something gripping, because this book (when judged by its cover) doesn't seem like the kind of thing I would ever read. In fact, when I've been choosing books to read, I've skipped this book many times although I try to choose from the 8-10 oldest in the pile and work to keep the pile in some kind of chronological order from acquisition (with sequels and "must reads" screaming to the top).
Started: 10/31/2012
Completed: 11/18/2012
Recommendation: Good read, a little long
Recommended By: Nobody
Words I looked up:
devoir -- an act of civility or respect
mangonel -- a military device for throwing stones and other missles (e.g. catapult)
nimiety -- excess or overabundance
pennoncel -- a small pennant borne on a lance
peregrination -- travel from one place to another, especially on foot
revetment -- a barricade of earth or sandbags set up to provide protection from blast
sanguineous -- of, pertaining to, or containing blood
sartorial -- of or relating to tailoring, clothes, or style of dress
Review:
Yes, I enjoyed it. The sappy love story of true love denied, the hero who wasn't quite all he was cracked up to be, but was the hero nonetheless, the genocide...woah, genocide? Yeah, pretty heavy topic for a casual book, but this one takes on genocide while also addressing issues like slavery, racial discrimination, and even takes a swing at how societal decline happens. Pretty impressive little romp. There is plenty of action, made up creatures, familiar made up creatures (elves, dwarves, etc), golems, sorcery, and travel. Yeah, travel is pretty cool. They don't teleport around but the means of travel is pretty inventive and it ties in well with the overall theme. I was a little unhappy with the cop-out, "magic you do, magic I am" that seems to show up way too often for my liking, but given that is the only really outstanding fault, I think this book is pretty well put together. Oh, and the main characters are set 500 years apart in time. That kind of sucks and you know something has to happen (heck, they talk about reincarnation on the back cover), but the journey is worth the read. The author does a good job of weaving the story lines together and I especially enjoyed the way the point-of-view flipped around in chapter increments.
