What Makes A Hero?

What makes a hero?

An alternative term for epic fantasy is heroic fantasy and it’s certainly arguable that this particular type of fantasy turns on heroism. Most often, the stories centre on saving the world in one form or other and reader (and writer) discussions around the best type of stories not infrequently involve declarations of preference for good old-fashioned heroes, anti-heroes, or even outright villains as protagonist.

Outside of fiction, the term “hero” also seems to be bandied a...