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Avg. Rating: 4.5
Does not live up to reviews, disappointing.
I purchased and read this book based on its glowing reviews and my affinity for Mr. Stackpole's BattleTech books, which I enjoyed many years ago, and was very disappointed. I found myself reading over (skimming) much of the book in an ever accelerating rate to obtain the basic gist of the story and the plot resolution. While the protagonist Neal, is a great character, I found that the heroine, antagonist wizard and other characters were shallow and predictable. The plot is thin and revolves around magical items that must be recovered to break a feud between two families vying for the economic control of a small realm of the larger world in which the story takes place. This plot seemed reminiscent of a video game. Another plot involves the forbidden romance between Neal and an Elf, which is more interesting than the main plot, but overall not enough to hold my interest. While these plots could have been compelling, I felt uninvolved and unconcerned in the story's development and resolution. In regard to the nooks and crannies of history and arcane technologies that attempt to create a believable world, I found them uninteresting and typical for this genrea. Fantasy has the potential to take the reader on an escapist journey; this book did not accomplish that end at for me. I would not recommend buying this out-of-print book.
Superb
The first time I read this, I knew it was the best book I'd ever read. After multiple readings, it continues to remain so. Stackpole describes thought processes, actions, settings-- basically everything-- excellently. The plot pacing is perfect, with the Neal chapters corresponding with the Genevera chapters to great effect, and it has just enough little hints in there that you only catch on the reread to make the second read as interesting as the first.
A stunningly good read!!
I started reading this book very critically because I feel that a lot of the Star Wars / Star Trek / Dragonlance / Forgotten Realms / RPG novels are extremely poorly written. Michael Stackpole has a background writing RPG games (very good ones, I might add), Star Wars and Battletech books. Despite myself, I wasn't expecting much, but what I got was one of the very **best** books I've ever read. Michael Stackpole writes rings around all but the best and the greatest of writers, with whom he stands proudly shoulder to shoulder. "Once A Hero" has started me on an addiction for Michael Stackpole's **stunning** fantasy. I've torn through "Talion: Revenant" and "A Hero Born" as quickly as I could get my hands on them and was not disappointed. Sadly, this book, "Once A Hero" is out of print, although it's readily available online used. Michael Stackpole has other fantasy books in print and if you're a lover of quality, engaging, high-spirited fantasy then you'd be mad not to seek them out. I will read his books over and over again as the years go by. They're that good...
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