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Heroes Arise
In a world where justice is achieved through careful customs of vengeance, Gundack pursues love and the preservation of his honor. Heroes arise is a modern parable about timeless ideals: The pursuit of honor and justice, and the right to love and family. In an era when definitions of terrorism and heroism can seem fickle and where honor may be capricious, Laurel Anne Hill gives readers a story of great insight and inspiration.
- GenresFantasy
198 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 19, 2009
As a debut novel, this really impressed me. The author was very descriptive and shows a very well thought out world and society. I love the lessons the characters learn in this story as well.
I rated it five stars because it was just absolutely a stunning first novel. I plan to recommend to many. If you were thinking about reading this one, please don't hesitate any longer.
There's no where for me to mark this with stars, but i wanted to say the artwork was impressive. This had a few drawings throughout the pages and each one was fantastic. The artist is quite talented and the author should consider herself lucky!
I rated it five stars because it was just absolutely a stunning first novel. I plan to recommend to many. If you were thinking about reading this one, please don't hesitate any longer.
There's no where for me to mark this with stars, but i wanted to say the artwork was impressive. This had a few drawings throughout the pages and each one was fantastic. The artist is quite talented and the author should consider herself lucky!
December 6, 2012
I love a story which takes me to another place entirely yet keeps me engaged with the characters, despite the fact that they are truly alien creatures. Heroes Arise does this masterfully.I had a great time imagining the main character's lives, what they ate, how they moved. I enjoyed the book thoroughly and highly recommend it.
November 9, 2009
In her debut novel, Laurel Anne Hill explores young adult fiction of the fantasy genre. She creates a world where savagery and revenge are commonplace, and where the Kren (who seem to be a lizard or reptilian-like tribe) are nomadic warriors who wander in the desert, trading, while protecting their customs and mythology from outsiders.
The protagonist, Gundack, is a tribal leader whose wife has been murdered by the Tarr, a splinter group of Kren who are a mountain-dwelling people. According to the customs of his people--and to defend his honor, so he may marry Eutoebi, a fellow tribeswoman--he must seek revenge.
Along the way, Gundack meets a human, Rheemar, who is searching for her sister who has been stolen by the Tarr. Thus is formed an unlikely, and tentative, alliance. Rheemar seems to know many mysterious things about the Tarr that enable her to assist Gundack in fulfilling his quest, while simultaneously providing herself with the muscle with which she hopes to fulfill her own.
In the end, all are challenged to review deeply-held beliefs, not only about each other, but also about their own individual cultures, as well as what defines a true 'hero'.
Hill is very adept at building the world of the Kren; the reader gets a sense of how the people live, including what they eat and what they worship. She gives the Kren an honor code that is unmatched by anything human, and a thirst for vengence that would give pride to any warrior culture. Because she chooses to unveil these details in a slow manner, the world is seemingly built around you as the narrative grows. I'm not a huge Fantasy fan, but I found the world Hill created engrossing.
The action in this book is well-written and fast-paced. The escalation from scene to scene develops smoothly and seamlessly, Some of the dialogue is a bit repetitive and stilted, and, well, somewhat corny. Dialogue is often the most difficult bit for a writer to master, and so I believe Hill will likely refine her technique in future novels. Also, some of the back-and-forth between the two main characters seemed repetitive and unnecessary. Gundack questioning Rheemar once or twice would have made sense, but more than that seemed overdone.
As a side note, I found the illustration a bit boring and unnecessary. I could have easily done without it, and found it distracting as opposed to enhancing. However, I am the type of reader who prefers to imagine these things in my mind; I know a lot of young adult readers do enjoy a bit of illustration to go along with the story, so I have mixed feelings about it overall.
All in all, a decent effort, if a bit hampered by some beginners' mistakes. I believe readers will enjoy the world Hill has created, as well as the exciting battle scenes.
In her debut novel, Laurel Anne Hill explores young adult fiction of the fantasy genre. She creates a world where savagery and revenge are commonplace, and where the Kren (who seem to be a lizard or reptilian-like tribe) are nomadic warriors who wander in the desert, trading, while protecting their customs and mythology from outsiders.
The protagonist, Gundack, is a tribal leader whose wife has been murdered by the Tarr, a splinter group of Kren who are a mountain-dwelling people. According to the customs of his people--and to defend his honor, so he may marry Eutoebi, a fellow tribeswoman--he must seek revenge.
Along the way, Gundack meets a human, Rheemar, who is searching for her sister who has been stolen by the Tarr. Thus is formed an unlikely, and tentative, alliance. Rheemar seems to know many mysterious things about the Tarr that enable her to assist Gundack in fulfilling his quest, while simultaneously providing herself with the muscle with which she hopes to fulfill her own.
In the end, all are challenged to review deeply-held beliefs, not only about each other, but also about their own individual cultures, as well as what defines a true 'hero'.
Hill is very adept at building the world of the Kren; the reader gets a sense of how the people live, including what they eat and what they worship. She gives the Kren an honor code that is unmatched by anything human, and a thirst for vengence that would give pride to any warrior culture. Because she chooses to unveil these details in a slow manner, the world is seemingly built around you as the narrative grows. I'm not a huge Fantasy fan, but I found the world Hill created engrossing.
The action in this book is well-written and fast-paced. The escalation from scene to scene develops smoothly and seamlessly, Some of the dialogue is a bit repetitive and stilted, and, well, somewhat corny. Dialogue is often the most difficult bit for a writer to master, and so I believe Hill will likely refine her technique in future novels. Also, some of the back-and-forth between the two main characters seemed repetitive and unnecessary. Gundack questioning Rheemar once or twice would have made sense, but more than that seemed overdone.
As a side note, I found the illustration a bit boring and unnecessary. I could have easily done without it, and found it distracting as opposed to enhancing. However, I am the type of reader who prefers to imagine these things in my mind; I know a lot of young adult readers do enjoy a bit of illustration to go along with the story, so I have mixed feelings about it overall.
The protagonist, Gundack, is a tribal leader whose wife has been murdered by the Tarr, a splinter group of Kren who are a mountain-dwelling people. According to the customs of his people--and to defend his honor, so he may marry Eutoebi, a fellow tribeswoman--he must seek revenge.
Along the way, Gundack meets a human, Rheemar, who is searching for her sister who has been stolen by the Tarr. Thus is formed an unlikely, and tentative, alliance. Rheemar seems to know many mysterious things about the Tarr that enable her to assist Gundack in fulfilling his quest, while simultaneously providing herself with the muscle with which she hopes to fulfill her own.
In the end, all are challenged to review deeply-held beliefs, not only about each other, but also about their own individual cultures, as well as what defines a true 'hero'.
Hill is very adept at building the world of the Kren; the reader gets a sense of how the people live, including what they eat and what they worship. She gives the Kren an honor code that is unmatched by anything human, and a thirst for vengence that would give pride to any warrior culture. Because she chooses to unveil these details in a slow manner, the world is seemingly built around you as the narrative grows. I'm not a huge Fantasy fan, but I found the world Hill created engrossing.
The action in this book is well-written and fast-paced. The escalation from scene to scene develops smoothly and seamlessly, Some of the dialogue is a bit repetitive and stilted, and, well, somewhat corny. Dialogue is often the most difficult bit for a writer to master, and so I believe Hill will likely refine her technique in future novels. Also, some of the back-and-forth between the two main characters seemed repetitive and unnecessary. Gundack questioning Rheemar once or twice would have made sense, but more than that seemed overdone.
As a side note, I found the illustration a bit boring and unnecessary. I could have easily done without it, and found it distracting as opposed to enhancing. However, I am the type of reader who prefers to imagine these things in my mind; I know a lot of young adult readers do enjoy a bit of illustration to go along with the story, so I have mixed feelings about it overall.
All in all, a decent effort, if a bit hampered by some beginners' mistakes. I believe readers will enjoy the world Hill has created, as well as the exciting battle scenes.
In her debut novel, Laurel Anne Hill explores young adult fiction of the fantasy genre. She creates a world where savagery and revenge are commonplace, and where the Kren (who seem to be a lizard or reptilian-like tribe) are nomadic warriors who wander in the desert, trading, while protecting their customs and mythology from outsiders.
The protagonist, Gundack, is a tribal leader whose wife has been murdered by the Tarr, a splinter group of Kren who are a mountain-dwelling people. According to the customs of his people--and to defend his honor, so he may marry Eutoebi, a fellow tribeswoman--he must seek revenge.
Along the way, Gundack meets a human, Rheemar, who is searching for her sister who has been stolen by the Tarr. Thus is formed an unlikely, and tentative, alliance. Rheemar seems to know many mysterious things about the Tarr that enable her to assist Gundack in fulfilling his quest, while simultaneously providing herself with the muscle with which she hopes to fulfill her own.
In the end, all are challenged to review deeply-held beliefs, not only about each other, but also about their own individual cultures, as well as what defines a true 'hero'.
Hill is very adept at building the world of the Kren; the reader gets a sense of how the people live, including what they eat and what they worship. She gives the Kren an honor code that is unmatched by anything human, and a thirst for vengence that would give pride to any warrior culture. Because she chooses to unveil these details in a slow manner, the world is seemingly built around you as the narrative grows. I'm not a huge Fantasy fan, but I found the world Hill created engrossing.
The action in this book is well-written and fast-paced. The escalation from scene to scene develops smoothly and seamlessly, Some of the dialogue is a bit repetitive and stilted, and, well, somewhat corny. Dialogue is often the most difficult bit for a writer to master, and so I believe Hill will likely refine her technique in future novels. Also, some of the back-and-forth between the two main characters seemed repetitive and unnecessary. Gundack questioning Rheemar once or twice would have made sense, but more than that seemed overdone.
As a side note, I found the illustration a bit boring and unnecessary. I could have easily done without it, and found it distracting as opposed to enhancing. However, I am the type of reader who prefers to imagine these things in my mind; I know a lot of young adult readers do enjoy a bit of illustration to go along with the story, so I have mixed feelings about it overall.
June 9, 2020
After a run of bad luck in my book choices, it was really refreshing to read a good, solid story. I liked the world-building—enough to make it exotic, but not so much as to overwhelm the story. There were a lot of plot points that kept me guessing, and the ending satisfactorily resolved all of them!
July 26, 2016
I'd rate this 3.5/5. I enjoyed this story with it's simple, straight-forward portrait of an alien race. The world was well thought out, although a little more rational for the monstrous insects and micro-organisms would make it more credible. The plot is gripping and the book is very readable - a refreshingly simple plot arc with interesting characters. All the more interesting because they weren't entirely loveable or hatable, but I still wanted to know what motivated them and what would happen to them. Done well.
November 28, 2013
You really haven't read a book until this one. This one will take you to another world. If you loved the movie Avatar because it was unique then you'll love this one. Spoiler- two men are in a quest for love, honor and redemption. Please read!
November 16, 2009
How refreshing to read a science fiction book with truly alien aliens that have been well thought out by the author.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews