Book Review: Fable: Blood of Heroes by Jim C. Hines

I received a free ecopy of this book from Del Rey and Netgalley in exhange for an honest review.

Title: Fable: Blood of Heroes

Author: Jim C. Hines

Publisher: Del Rey

Publication Date: August 4, 2015

Genre: Fantasy

Length: 336 pages
Source: Netgalley

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Synopsis:

Deep in Albions darkest age, long before once upon a time...

Heroes are thought to be gone from the land. So why have the bards begun singing of them once more? For Fable newcomers and dedicated fans alike, Blood of Heroes delves into a never-before-glimpsed era, telling the tale of a band of adventurers who come together to defend a kingdom in desperate need. 

The city of Brightlodge is awash with heroes from every corner of Albion, all eager for their next quest. When someone tries to burn down the Cock and Bard Inn, four heroes find themselves hastily thrown together, chasing outlaws through sewers, storming a riverboat full of smugglers, and placing their trust in a most unlikely ally. As the beginnings of a deadly plot are revealed, it becomes clear that heroes have truly arrived - and so have villains. 

What connects the recent events in Brightlodge to rumors about a malicious ghost and a spate of unsolved deaths in the nearby mining town of Grayrock? Unless Albion's bravest heroes can find the answer, the dawn of a new age could be extinguished before it even begins. 

My Thoughts:

This book was almost exactly what I thought it would be. Heroes and action mixed with a lot of fantasy and references to towns and creatures that exist in the XBOX game series, Fable. I really enjoyed those games in the past and loved being transferred back into the world of Albion via literature. I even listened to the 'start menu' song from the game while reading this. I always found it to be slightly haunting while still being whimsical like a music box. I've never read anything from Jim C. Hines before but I wasn't disappointed. He brought a lot of action to the world with his 8 heroes; Glory, Winter, Tipple, Sterling, Rook, Inga, Shroud, and Leech. 

My only problem was keeping track of who was doing what. With that many main characters all in the same place and in the same scenes it really is hard to picture what is going on. I feel like I didn't have a good enough idea of who each character was. Shroud and Leech seemed too similar. Rook really just seemed like a name thrown in there among the others. The only one that really stood out to me was Winter and she was self-explanatory. 

Despite the lack of character development, I really enjoyed it. 

My Rating:

3.5 stars