Hero Forged by Josh Erikson
Review by Noelle Nichols
Hero Unforged is a book to read when you’re craving a fast-paced story with strong elements of humor. It’s been a while since I’ve actually laughed out loud at a book, or actually rolled my eyes because the comparison of a giant locust lord’s voice to Cheech and Chong gave me such a distinct voice in my head that I could not read that character in any other way.
It was just a fun book. Which is something I crave every now and then.
I’ll admit I don’t read too much Urban Fantasy (being one of my least favorite sub-genres of fantasy), so I can’t speak to how original or true to the paranormal creatures that were in this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the humor from the main character in being introduced to them. I actually enjoyed reading the ebook version because I could look up what a “pishtaco” and a “succubus” was. And after typing that all I can remember is the main character, Gabe mentioning the pishtacos and “tacos”. LOL
This book takes place in the span of three days, so it’s very fast-paced and adheres to the phrase “out of the frying pan and into the fire” pace. At times, I almost wished that it slowed down, so I could spend more time with the two main characters Gabe and Heather, but there’s enough character development and moments to develop a very deep fondness for both of them. I wanted to spend more time in this world, so I’ll prematurely say I’m anxious to read the next book.
At the start of each chapter there are inserts, written by the main character himself. I liked them just as much as the main story (almost a little more), but it all tied into the story to give you a deeper look into the lives of con artists as a whole. It fascinated me, and any book that fascinates me is going to be one that I remember for a very long time. When I put the book down for the night I couldn’t help but sneak a peek at the beginning of each chapter because they were so enjoyable.
The story was very enjoyable. A typical action book I would say, but with elements of mystery strung through it. We follow the main character, Gabe on his quest to rid his mind of an evil god. He’s a wonderful character, and you can’t help but fall in love with him. Not in the “I want to be friends with him kind of way”, but in the sense that he’s a pretty lousy guy in some regards, but he does his best.
From there the story moves forward as Gabe travels from one odd character and encounter to the next with side-kicks and acquaintances who you’re never really certain are friend or foe. It definitely keeps you guessing and adds an element of fun as the story expands. There wasn’t one piece I would remove from the chain of encounters.
As a write I just have to note that some of the comparisons and ways to explain supernatural elements had me dissecting the words and sentence structure. A book like this could never have achieves this level of excellence without the strong craft of writing and ability to transcribe and explain things no one has ever experienced before. Thank you to the author for the countless revisions I’m sure it took to get the book to this level.
I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a humorous adventure story with supernatural creatures and magic and a shared out-of-body experience with the main character.