It is really hard for me to understand why I goddamn love Abercrombie's writing so much. I recommended the First Law trilogy to my wife, and she kinda despised the hyper-masculine world of the First Law setting.

This book is no different. And yet. Abercrombie's not great with plot, but he's amazing with characters. This book alone brings a plethora of fresh characters we never met, or only in passing, and then the return of many previous characters, including the most tragic character in fantasy, Caul Shivers. All in all we get 6 point of view characters. 3 for the union: Bremer dan Gorst, disgraced King's Guard after the events of Best Served Cold, Finree dan Brock, Lord Marshal Kroy's daughter, pined for by Bremer, but monstrously ambitious for her young husband, and Tunny, a corrupt Corporal of the First. The 3 characters for the North are Curnden Craw, probably the most lawful good character of the series, always doing what's right, Named Man for Black Dow; Beck, a young man who wants to earn his name and comes to regret every moment of it, and Prince Calder, son of the fallen King Bethod, manipulative, cowardly and scheming as they come.

As a feminist, does it bother me that there's room for exactly one woman in the cast? Yep, sure does. Did this book fuel me through the worst of my COVID-19 infection? Sure did. What a page turner!

Set after Best Served Cold, Caul Shivers is now back in the North, working for the Black Dow. The Heroes covers a time span of 3 days, as the Union tries to take down Black Dow by a hill of statues called The Heroes. It's Abercrombie, so we are quick to learn there are no heroes in war. Also, war is awful. There's one long chapter on the first day of the fighting where we jump from one character to the next, each dying by the end of their paragraph, a seemingly endless stream of senseless death.

The end was a bit drawn out, but all in all, I was quite satisfied. I wonder what that says about me, as by reviews it's a bit obvious this is a testosterone-fest?