No Hero

Arthur Wallace #1

by Jonathan Wood

"What would Kurt Russell do?" Oxford police detective Arthur Wallace asks himself that question a lot. Because Arthur is no hero. He's a good cop, but prefers that action and heroics remain on the screen, safely performed by professionals. But then, secretive government agency MI37 comes calling, hoping to recruit Arthur in their struggle against the tentacled horrors from another dimension known as the Progeny. But Arthur is NO HERO! Can an everyman stand against sanity-ripping cosmic horrors?

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror, Fiction, Science Fiction, Paranormal, Lovecraftian

306 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2011

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Homicide cop Arthur Wallace gets recruited by British intelligence agency MI37 and plunged into a secret war against alien horrors called the Progeny. But one member of his team is a mole and is actually working to bring the unspeakable cosmic horror known as the Feeders into our reality...

This book was almost good. Let's examine the good points first before I tear it a new orifice.
- The core concept was well thought out. I love the idea of neighboring realities and horrible maggot like things that live inside people's heads working to bring Cthulhu-like monsters into our reality.
- The electricity-based magic system was great. The phrase "Electricity is the universal lubricant" will stick with me for quite a while.
- The characters Clyde, Tabitha, and Kayla were quite memorable. You've got the nerdlinger wizard, the angry goth researcher, and the killing machine, all with quirks that make them more than stereotypes.
- Copious Kurt Russel references. Come on, the man played Snake Plissken AND Jack Burton!
- British humor. No explanation needed.

And here comes the rant:
Arthur is a veteran homicide cop but acts more like an insurance agent for most of the book. One of the supporting characters tells him to grow a pair at one point. Arthur apparently needed to grow an entire squadron. He spends most of the book bemoaning that he's not a hero. Like most urban fantasy heroes, he spends most of the book out of his depth and takes a tremendous shit-kicking.

Basically, if No Hero had a lead who wasn't so passive, it probably would have been a four star book. All the winning ingredients are there. Its magic system is very original and I love a lot of the cast. It's not a bad book but the fact that it took me three attempts to get all the way through it should be an indicator of how many problems I had with it. I enjoyed the hell out of a few parts of it but not enough to read the next book in the series.

A phrase that is repeated quite a few times in the book is "What would Kurt Russell do?" Well, he probably would have quit reading this book after fifty pages.

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

No Hero aims to be a dark comedy with lovecraftian theme. It's not bad. I love the idea of a not very heroic hero (don't confuse not very heroic with a coward), a secret government agency trying to fight creatures from a different reality. The creatures, called Progeny, have a disgusting way of infiltrating human lives. I won't say how. They do that in order to prepare the way for something even bigger and with those you get that cosmic horror layers of the story. I really liked that part.
The humour is great. There are a couple of laugh out loud moments.

If my liking of this book depended on the first 30% and a couple of female characters, it wouldn't get very far. It took ages to move the plot forward. I think I read that part the longest.
The weakest part of this story are characters. While I am indifferent towards the main character himself and the woman he starts working for in this book, I hated the two other female members of that government team. One of them is one of those let me show you how tough I am by hitting you or trying to kill you for no reason and the other communicates by insulting people and giving them the finger every couple of minutes. God, they were trying. I hate characters like the first one so much. I would rather read about a hundred Mary Sues than this type. Hopefully, she will get a personality in the second book.

Anyway, the theme is awesome, the humour is good (of course it is - it's Lovecraftian) and I am going to continue with the series. There are many things to like here.

[Danielle The Book Huntress · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty darn strange, but fun and fascinating dark urban fantasy with lots of elements that would appeal to Lovecraft fans, and to those who don't mind a good dose of cosmic horrors and tentacles. Throw in a lot of action and British humor ala Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz), and you have a good combination. I liked it quite a bit.

Reviewed for Bitten by Books. http://bittenbybooks.com.

[Stefan Bogdanski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want you to imagine Men in Black, but more British - so, less guns, more tea and more weirdness. Although the latter one is, in all fairness, probably not the fault of the British. (Then again, they drive on the wrong side of the road, so what can you expect, really?) And with this mental image, I bid you welcome into the world of Arthur Wallace! And don't mind Kurt Russell, he's also not the fault of the British, more likely the aftermath of our protagonist watching a lot of 80's action movies. (Not too much, though, mind you - there's no such thing as too much 80's action movies, especially not of the Carpenter/Russell variant.)


Great movie taste you've got there!

Arthur is a British detective who happens to stumble into a war for the future of our reality, and he's pretty much out of his comfort zone (and his wits) all the time. Which makes for a few funny scenes, most apparently when he raises the most important question of all times:

What would Kurt Russell do?

Those are the moments when Arthur tells himself to just sod it, and goes with his guts. Of course, the Kurt Russell that is channeled here is the Hollywood version of an action hero, and Arthur simply is NO HERO - so don't expect Hollywood advice to achieve a good result everytime. (Or barely any time.)

But the humor does exist for a good reason - it's there to counterbalance the more dramatic portions of the plot. This story is, at once, funny and dark. Is grimfunny a genre? It should be.

The plot is exciting, rather fast paced and blessed with a dark humour (and some pop culture references about 80's action movies, just in case you haven't realized that yet). I think it's a good start to a series that makes me, at least, craving for more.




So, 4 out of 5 Snake Plissken Memory Eye Patches in my books. And to answer the eternal question of what Kurt Russell would do? Probably read this book and enjoy a few good hours. Maybe he even would subscribe to my Blog for more reviews like this?

[Qwill / The Qwillery · Rating 4 out of 5]

No Hero is essentially a book about an ordinary man trying to grapple with the unfathomable. Arthur Wallace is a police detective in Oxford, England going about the business of solving crimes when he becomes involved in something extraordinary. He’s then recruited by M137, an understaffed British government agency that deals with the Progeny and their threat to Earth. The Progeny are tentacled nightmares from another dimension. They are Lovecraftian in their creepiness. While they are presently not on Earth, their agents are. These agents are working to find a way to bring the Progeny to Earth. If that happens, the Earth will be consumed.

I really like Arthur Wallace. He’s a very engaging character, and I was firmly cheering for him in the fight against the Progeny. Arthur gets through some of the most difficult situations in the story by wondering what Kurt Russell would do. It works for him; it focuses him… sometimes. He is just a regular guy who tries to do what appears to be impossible. He often wonders what he’s gotten himself into, but still soldiers on.

Arthur’s co-workers at M137 are a bit unusual. I truly enjoyed getting to know them. Jonathan Wood does an excellent job developing these characters. Each of Arthur’s co-workers is important to the story and the unfolding events as they battle against the Progeny threat. There is even a touch of romance though romance is by no means the focus of the story.

No Hero is an exhilarating story with excellent pacing. It is at times humorous, at times thrilling, at times frightening, and at all times a terrific read. I don’t know what Kurt Russell would do, but I will definitely read the next book about Arthur Wallace.

I give No Hero 4 ½ Qwills.

http://qwillery.blogspot.com/2011/08/...

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let me say first that I wanted to like this book. AND there are some things to like about it. It's got a nice hook that somewhat (though not totally) hearkens back to H.P.Lovecraft's Great Old Ones/Cthulhu mythos. The general idea which we've seen before is that a "normal guy" a "mundane" as it were stumbles into a world they never knew existed.

We've seen that done before and it works. many, many UF (Urban Fantasy) books open up on that premise. It's a good premise, it CAN work.

Okay that's the molasses now for the sulfur. The book never really jells. I kept laying the book aside and not getting back to it. I just didn't care if I got back to it. there are too many odd things that make no sense.

For example, see the cover picture or our "hero who's no hero" holding a gun? Well here nobody uses a firearm. We have one unstable person who uses a sword but for some reason even though the world is at stake we seem to be required to fight the threat off with broken chair legs or something. The book has this cosmos set up where horrible super intelligent and super powerful beings are playing "whack-a-mole" with any intelligent race that sticks it's head up yet we can't seem to wake most of the powers that be up to the threat. And at times we have things that seem to push that aside so we can deal with our own personal issues or something.

All in all, a good idea but (I thought) poorly executed. Maybe see what you think. I just never got involved...to each their own i guess, but I can't really recommend this one.

[Gregoire · Rating 4 out of 5]

en voilà une distrayante surprise après le sombre (mais magnifique)The Reapers are the Angels j'avais besoin d'un vrai moment de détente Merci à Greg et à son petit commentaire;

Le livre de Jonathan Wood est bourré d'actions à la
Men In Blackavec une pincée de Lara Croft: Tomb Raider et une autre de Indiana Jones (entre autres) C'est plein d'humour bien amené Tout le monde sait combien il est difficile de doser l'humour...) Le héros - Arthur - fort sympathique, au regard un peu décalé et lucide, n'est pas un surdoué Il s'efforce d'être à la hauteur (et holala que c'est haut) en se motivant avec moult références cinématographiques. De ses trois compères certes stéréotypés qui forment son équipe spéciale au MI37 j'ai un faible pour Clyde et la créature WILSON de la bibliothèque qui est très visuelle

nota : quant aux dreamers, ils pourraient bien être une manifestation subliminale de l'âme des auteurs, des écrivains de tous poils Ha, le pouvoir du Mot !

Après, c'est pour amateur du genre. Ne pas s'attendre à de grandes réflexions existentialistes ni même à des trouvailles extraordinaires quand on a déjà beaucoup lu, mais l'ensemble est bien ficelé et tient la longueur.

La difficulté pour Jonathan Wood à mon avis sera d'arriver à se renouveler car il serait lassant de rester toujours figé dans cette trame (ce que je reproche à beaucoup de (bonnes) séries) et à donner un peu plus de profondeur à l'univers

Here is an amusing and good surprise After the somber (but magnificent) The Reapers are the Angels I needed a real moment of relaxation Thanks to Greg and to its short but nice comment

The book of Jonathan Wood is filled with actions bits of
[ Book:Men In Black|2010110] with a pinch of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and other one of Indiana Jones (among others) It is full of well brought humor Everybody knows how difficult it is to write humor The hero - Arthur - very nice, with a bit off but lucid look, is not a gifted man He tries hard to be up to what falls on him (and holala it's falling from high) by motivating himself with many film references. Of his three stereotypical accomplices who form his special team in the MI37 I have a weakness for Clyde and the WILSON creature in the library


Noted: as for the dreamers, they could well be a subliminal appearance of the soul of authors, the writers of any hairs Ha, the power of Words!

Then, it is for amateur of the genre. Do not expect big existentialist reflections nor even extraordinary finds if you have already read a lot, but the story is well tied up and holds the length.

in my opinion the difficulty for Jonathan Wood will be to manage his next story to be renewed because it could be quickly boring to remain always congealed in this weft (for what I blame many of good ones series and also, to give a little more depth to the universe

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I'd give this book 3.5 stars out of four; my feelings fell somewhere between "liked it" and "really liked it". But since half stars aren't allowed, I'm rounding up.

This book had a lot going for it. I've read a good bit of urban fantasy -- some of the Dresden books, early Anita Blake novels, and Kim Harrison's Hallows series, among others -- and the main reason I don't read the genre much these days is because it all started to feel very cookie cutter to me: similar plots, similar threats, and the same monsters, just with different people (&/or monsters) fighting them. No Hero was different, and I liked that. I didn't feel like I was reading the same story I'd read dozens of times before. (Note: I've been told that a lot of the supernatural elements of the story were inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's world, and I'm not very familiar with that mythology; someone well-versed in those stories may feel differently about the freshness of this novel.)

I also liked that the narrator, Arthur Wallace, is just a normal person thrust into an abnormal world. He doesn't have magic powers or end up being a vampire or a werewolf or anything else. So that brought a different angle to the story as well.

After an initial false start, I ended up reading this book in less than a week (a good pace for me). I felt like the story was compelling and it kept me guessing; there were very few moments that didn't surprise me, and I was generally eager to keep reading.

The reason I didn't rate the book higher is that I felt like it didn't quite live up to its potential. The story seemed to drag a bit at the start, for one thing. But I think the bigger issue for me was that the tone of the novel wasn't entirely consistent. The book started with a lighthearted, B-movie, fun feel to it, and it maintained that for quite a while. Then a character died, and at first, I was convinced that the character wasn't really dead, because it felt like that kind of story, where the good guys always survive no matter what. And suddenly the narrator is feeling a lot of negative emotions -- only those emotions didn't seem entirely real to me, possibly because of the sudden shift from the B-movie tone to something more serious. The lighter tone returns after this incident, but then the story gets dark again, giving the book a sort of split personality -- sometimes fun, sometimes not. There were moments when I felt like the author was torn between writing two different books: one lightweight and one dark and gritty. I think more consistency would have made for a more satisfying read, and I hope that we see that in the novel's sequels.

(NOTE: I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway, although I was already planning to buy a copy.)

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is a good one.
The premise reminds me very much of Charles Stross's Laundry novels: underfunded British secret department using magic to protect our world from Lovecraftian horrors. Stross's is nerdier, because the main character/narrator is a programmer, whereas here the main character/narrator is a police detective who watches too many action movies and is drawn into the secret department when he's too good at his job. Stross's is also more of a satire on British bureaucracy, whereas this is more of a straight urban fantasy thriller, a bit like the more action-packed parts of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.
Not that it isn't funny. Arthur Wallace, the narrator, has a keen self-deprecating British sense of humour even in the middle of battling magic-distorted creatures under the control of other-dimensional mindworms out to destroy our entire reality. His habit of asking himself "What would Kurt Russell do?" is referenced perhaps two or three times too often, but despite his self-doubt (from being so thoroughly out of his depth in a universe that suddenly includes magic and aliens), his mistakes and his belief that he's "no hero", he manages to provide the leadership that the reduced and neglected team at MI37 need.
If you're actually British or know the difference between British and American language, you'll notice that the book has been translated into American (presumably a market thing). At first I was wondering whether the author was an American doing a good, but far from great impression of being English, but he actually is an Englishman living in America, and the references to "bangs", "fries" and "Mom" are therefore intentional. I found it slightly distracting but not too much so, and now that I know the reason it probably won't bother me in the second book.
The book is well-edited (I only spotted one or two typos, and if you follow my reviews you'll know that I'd see more if they were there). The action keeps flowing while still allowing time for character development and a little bit of reflection on what's important. Each character is distinct and clearly characterized, though Shaw, the boss, remained a little vague to me, partly because she's back at the office through most of the action and doesn't say a great deal when she is on screen. The dialogue is witty (and part of the characterization), and the author strikes a good balance between helping us to identify with the narrator's "what the hell is going on?" feeling and not giving enough background to be understandable.
I'm looking forward to reading the second book soon.

[Kara-karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5
Received through NetGalley from Night Shade Books

This was an awkward book.
On one side there is humour, there are distinct British accents and swear words, crazy dialogues, bunch of ditzy characters who look amazingly comical thrown together as a team of super agents: indecisive Arthur, nerdy magician Clyde, who pops AA batteries like there is no tomorrow, gothic and tattoed Tabitha, the researcher, Kayla, - manic depressive super Scottswoman with a sword...

Some of the descriptions also made me laugh out loud...

"Eventually we make it to the garage where it turns out Clyde drives a Mini that neither of us really fit in. Still, it's a classic vehicle and seems to accommodate Clyde's personality if not his form. We fold into it as best we can and he dials us into classical music, which also seems fitting until "Ride of the Valkyries" begins to accompany our inching crawl down St.George's Street."

"Alright then, gents," Winston says, stepping back, "what can I do you for, then?"
"A book," I say.
"A book he says," Winston barks, his rough voice sharp and loud in the quiet space, "of course a fucking book. I'm made of fucking books. I'm in a fucking library. You're hardly going to be here to ask me about the pleasant summer weather, is you?" (cockney accent)

Also there are prophetic twins in the water with lots of friendly squid :) Kind of reminded me The Minority Report. And there are magic mashrooms-induced aliens like Progeny, Feeders, Dreamers or Runners. The plot is wicked and feels very original.

Now I know you are waiting to hear BUT.

But I didn't like that everything was written from Arthur's point of view in Present Tense. I think it limits what the writer can do when there is only one POV. Also I didn't like Arthur himself. Sure he's got his moments and catch phrases like "What would Kurt Russell do?" but usually he does more harm than help people. I couldn't see why people thought he was a great detective. He is very unsure of things and charges ahead without thinking things through like a bloody teenager. Also I didn't like that his grief after a dear friend dies kind of disappears after a couple of mentions.

So, for me the book wasn't well done. I loved certain aspects of it but not the whole structure. However, I think fans of Men in Black and Gini Coch will like this book. Despite its flaws I certainly enjoyed it!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would consider any horror novel beginning with its main character asking himself “What would Kurt Russel do?” to be well worth my attention. Thankfully, Jonathan Wood’s No Hero manages to back up his grin inducing first lines with a solid story full of interesting characters and an exciting, if somewhat bleak, world. In No Hero, Oxford police officer Arthur Wallace has a near fatal encounter with a sword wielding woman seemingly responsible for several murders across town. As he recovers from his injuries he finds out that the truth is far more complex and far more terrifying.


Inducted into a shadowy government organization gathered together to fight an invasion by the offspring of unfathomable creatures from beyond our universe Arthur Wallace finds himself in situations both dangerous and profoundly strange. Wallace’s grossly underfunded new place of employment is staffed by a handful of quirky misfits including the geeky magician Clyde whose magic is powered by batteries and energy conducted along surgically implanted copper wire; gothy antagonistic Tabitha; the antisocial, cantankerous and sword-wielding scottswoman Kayla and a pair of strange, aquatic, clairvoyant twins who provide cyptic riddles that hint at the Progeny’s plans. Wood packs his novel with a humorous punch thanks particularly to Wallace’s wry borderline deadpan observations on his new-found coworkers and new experiences with the otherworldly. It works well for No Hero providing some much-needed levity during rather grim situations.

No Hero’s MI37 is a well blended mish-mash of X-Files, Torchwood and the Men in Black at times focusing on the deadly seriousness seen in the X-Files but not afraid to veer closer to the humor seen in the latter. Wood accurately captures the notion that secret government group was once more powerful than it once was but that its waning influence is most assuredly marked by a reduction in the threat it was founded to protect against. The protagonists of No Hero have to save the world with very little help from the government that supports them making our heroes including Wallace sort of the underdogs in the whole affair. This is an excellent start to a new series and fans of action and horror that would do Big Trouble in Little China proud should jump into No Hero as soon as possible.

[Khairul Hezry · Rating 1 out of 5]

At the time of writing this review, it looks like I'm the only one who was really disappointed with this book. No other 1-star reviews that I can see.

I love the premise; magic, Lovecraftian-horror, secret underfunded government agency fighting a secret war against said horror. What's not to love? Well, the protagonist for one. I can't root for him. He's supposed to be a veteran cop but he doesn't act like one. Rushes in without thinking (which makes things worse) and misses clues right and left. I started skimming the pages 160 pages in and when I skim a book that's a sign I've lost interest.

[Jim Gavin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting take on the "secret world" concept marred by a hopeless beta-male character who seems more like an introverted IT specialist than a veteran homicide detective. He is truly "No Hero" from beginning to end, down to the climactic battle scene where he stands by impotently while all his teammates save the day. What growth he does have is in too long of an arc so that it carries past the book and by the end he still seemed miles away from being someone the reader would want to read about again. The book comes across as microwaved Whedonverse mostly due to the character dynamics. Far cry from the bad-ass looking fella on the cover.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good series about a cop who ends up in a secret British government agency (dealing with the paranormal) after he sees too much at a crime scene. Maybe it's the nature of books that use Lovecraft's concepts and characters, but this reminded me an awful lot of the Laundry Files by Charles Stross.

[Keith Beasley-Topliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur Wallace, a British detective in Oxford, knows he is no hero, but idolizes the film persona of Kurt Russell. When facing danger he asks himself what Kurt would do. Then he witnesses a man get the top of his head sliced off to reveal some white wormy thing where his brain ought to have been before the killer stabs the detective. He wakes up in hospital and is soon whisked to the HQ of MI37, the tiny division of British Intelligence that deals with threats from alternate universes. That's about the first tenth of the book. From there it gets weird. Also scary, exciting, action-packed. The story is told in first-person present by Arthur, the often-bewildered no hero who nevertheless comes through when he has to with the help/leadership/mysterious presence of several amazing women, human and not quite human. The case leads him to ancient temples and a slam-bang climactic battle that nearly destroys the world (don't worry, it gets put back to rights -- there are 3 more books in the series!). It's all great fun.

[Elisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - kind of a hot mess, but so much fun. Our hero is thrown into a secret government anti-alien agency with pretty much only one sentence figure out...they run around from there.
But it is great fun in all its exploding, electric, tentacled glory. I like his internal dialogue, the characters are nuts (completely off their rockers) and the storyline impossible to fully explain.
When you best way of figuring out what to do next is to question "what would Kurt Russel do" you know craziness will ensue. It doesn't disappoint. Just go along for the ride, it is a bit mind-bending.

[Jude · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've found my new favourite author. There is pretty much nothing about this book that I didn't like.

I knew as soon as I read page 1 that I was in a good place, and that feeling remained right up to the last page 2 days later (what? I have a life to lead, holiday to be on, food to eat). I love Jonathan's style of writing. The informal, partial sentences stream-of-consciousness style that I have a tendency to employ myself, where he is not afraid to repeat phrases and swear in order to emphasize a point, and to convey his central everyman working through the challenges of being thrust into a situation he feels supremely ill-equipped for.

So: the premise. Arthur is a detective working in Oxford, investigating a series of unusual and gruesome murders, when he is approached by a government agency - the UK equivalent of Men In Black. This underfunded and sparsely populated department are all that stand between an unsuspecting public and an impending armageddon they are blissfully unaware of. Arthur has to get up to speed really fast, partly using the skills he has been recruited for and partly channelling his mis-spent film enthusiast youth by asking himself "What would Kurt Russell do?"

The pace of the action ramps up to a dénouement where the not-hero doesn't magically develop super-human strength or an ability to magically hack computers first time. The team maintain their ineptitude right to the last page which, I feel moved to say, I loved. The confrontations that our not-hero has do not disappoint.

Again, there is swearing and fairly graphic dismemberment, so these books are probably not for anyone younger than mid-teens, however, for everyone else they should be required reading.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

They're not quite Lovecraft's eldritch horrors from beyond, but the foes that poor Arthur Wallace - once a detective, now an agent for the underfunded anti-reality-destruction MI37 - has to face are equally mind-bending, terrifying, and utterly alien.

Punchy dialogue, zipping action, and strong characters make this a very fast, very enjoyable read, especially for those who don't mind having a LOT of exposition thrown at them. In fact, NO HERO could be a textbook case for "how to infodump without infodumping" in that it covers a lot of ground and gives a lot of worldbuilding information without feeling tedious or overwrought. That's probably because Arthur is just as clueless and bewildered as We The Readers, and we're all just sorting it out together.

The situations he finds himself in, and the characters he's working with and pitted against, are all incredibly imaginative; the combination of magic and aliens in a "composite reality" works very well, and is clearly well-thought-out and intensely developed. A++ worldbuilding here, folks.

Although I'd really like to know more about the squid.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

While reading this one I kept thinking I wanted our "not a hero" to stop acting so much like a teenager. But of course there's no guarantee I would have like the book as much if he had been some rough and tumble Bruce Willis or "The Rock" type.

I couldn't decide if I wanted to give this 3 stars or 4, so I went with 3.5 and then rounded up since goodreads only does whole stars.

[Fiona L-W · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you think of Oxford based detectives, Morse and Lewis come immediately to mind. Well, now you can add Arthur Wallace. I found the constant references to Kurt Russell a little forced at some points, but thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity of the premise. A solid read with entertaining characters, which kept me turning the pages.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewers have said that Charles Stross created the Lovecraftian detective sub-genre with the Laundry series. I think Jonathan Wood should be considered for high honors in this group. The magic is different but the thrills and humor are equal or better. The ending kept me up several hours after my bed time.

[C Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent action-adventure with Cthuluesque creatures from other dimensions and a somewhat plausible magic system.

Much like a Charlie Stross "Laundry" novel -- being British, and having an underfunded secret UK government agency determined to protect our reality.

[Wendy Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

If Jasper Fforde read too much Lovecraft one night, he might have written this book. A tasty blend of humor and horror.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun frantic book. Pretty good gore in it as well which I liked. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Enrique Arroyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this. The pace and story went well together.

[Wendy Bunnell · Rating 2 out of 5]

What does a 2 star Goodreads review mean for me? Does it mean that the book is terrible and I hated it? Absolutely not. I have no problems giving 1 star to any book that I think is actually a miserable reading experience. Here’s my rating system for Goodreads:
• Five stars means it is awesome and I am currently running up and down the streets of my town telling everyone to read it. Seriously, if you see me give a book a 5 star review, you should be reading it. Why are you reading it right now? What are you waiting for?
• Four stars means it is a very good book, but it has some rather material flaws that I think hold it back from a glowing endorsement. In my most judgmental manner, I’ll outline where I think the author went wrong and how this book could have been nearly perfect.
• Three stars is a seriously ambivalent review as I’m half liking the book, but also halfway thinking it has so many problems that it a waste of time.
• Two stars is a book that wasn’t awful. However, there is only a limited number of hours that I can spend reading books, and this was a waste of precious book-reading hours. The story could have been ok, but just not my taste, or else there were really big flaws that outweighed the benefits of this book. It is still probably more interesting to read than a typical textbook or professional article, so that is something.
• One star is the lowest rating possible on Goodreads, so this is a big range of books. Books so terrible that I couldn’t finish them. Books with literary failings paramount to sloppy fan fiction. Books more boring than the stuff I read for work, which are usually so dry they are a hazard for spontaneous combustion. Books that greatly disappointed me because they single-handedly destroy a trilogy or franchise (here’s looking at you, Allegiant) by disappointingly not meeting their potential, even though standing alone they probably wouldn’t seem to be this terrible.
I could probably easily differentiate onto a 10 point scale, but alas, here’s what we’ve got. Two stars isn’t terrible, but it also isn’t great.

So, let’s talk turkey about No Hero. This was a book club selection, so I probably wouldn’t have picked it up if it hadn’t been selected. When we got down to the final two, I voted for this book over the other choice, so I didn’t expect to dislike it. If I had a completely unlimited amount of time for reading books, I probably would have no problems and maybe even picked up the sequels. But, this book was ultimately disappointing:

• Show Me the Funny – I was somewhat disappointed in the lack of promised humor. The book I purchased had a quote from Charlaine Harris stating “So funny I laughed out loud.” While No Hero does probably have lighter moments than your typical Sookie Stackhouse book, there was a distinct lack of guffaws during my reading experience. What exactly are people finding “laugh out loud” funny about this book? Someone post a comment with a response please, as I’m searching for humor and not finding it. I’m probably particularly miffed on this point as this book was nominated at book club from a friend of mine who actually has picked books with humor that I quite enjoy. While this is definitely light and whimsical and not a bummer, I won’t be quoting its humorous anecdotes at upcoming cocktail parties.

• Not Quite Up to Snuff Bizarre English Governmental Agencies – in No Hero, British police detective Arthur Wallace is recruiting into working for MI37, a secret government agency dedicated to battling against aliens invading earth. While this is an interesting concept, and I too shared Arthur’s dismay that this task was: 1.) only being waged by the British government, despite the fact that it is a global problem, and 2.) very few resources have been devoted to this rather serious problem. I have high standards for my secret British government agencies as I have been spoiled by Thursday Next and the line of Jasper Fforde books (starting with The Eyre Affair) in which Ms. Next is employed by SpecOps SO-27, the Literary Detectives, while the ChronoGuard operate as SO-12, and so on with quite fanciful government units dedicated solely to quite improbably problem with silly names and yet familiar bureaucratic challenges. This whole shadow bureaucracy seems lame in comparison.

• Failed To Give Any Closure to Arthur Leaving His Police Job – so some secret agency has just claimed Arthur as one of their own because of his awesome ability to track down Kayla and Clyde in their “murders” of infected people at new construction site which have just had their power activated. And the next day he’s just there, with no explanation to his partner or anything, and then she ends up dead just as a final flipped bird to his old life. Nice. Doesn’t sound like something our otherwise likeable protagonist would do. Even if Arthur couldn’t tell his old coworkers what specifically he’s doing now, he would have at least agonized over it. But he doesn’t appear to give is a second what. What he does give second thoughts too however is the unhelpful cryptic warnings.

• Entirely Too Cryptic Warning Messages – Our protagonist receives two completely unhelpful warnings in his fever dreams. One indicates that he shouldn’t trust a painted man (presumably one who has tattoos), which includes every man he meets. The other warning indicates that a woman is not what she appears. So pretty much, he can’t trust anyone. Thank you so much for that incredibly helpful bit of insight. Why even have an oracle if the information is so generic that it could possibly apply to every single character?

• Too Many Action Sequences – I didn’t really think that was possible, but this book seemed to pile action sequence after action sequence without moving the plot forward. We have epic battle after battle while at the same time really learning very little. I skipped forward to just summarizing many chapters as “they fight, and win, and walk away with x” and x could be a book, or a clue, or a new enemy, or perhaps some of those squid-like alien thingees flying out of people’s heads in this book. How about some detective work for our trained detective, rather than just having him stand back, watch the stronger members of his team punch out the bad guys (while wielding huge swords or holding fistfuls of batteries in their mouth) and waiting for a critical moment to summon his inner Kurt Russell and finally jump into the fray. Speaking of which . . .

• Entirely too much Kurt Russell – while I enjoyed “Tango and Cash” as much as the next person (in 1989, when I was in high school and the movie came out), my favorite Kurt Russell movie is “Used Cars”, and while totally hilarious, he wasn’t really an action hero in that movie. So when our protagonist repeated asks, “What would Kurt Russell do” I mentally reply: “paint a bright yellow taxicab a non-descript blue and attempt to sell it as a car with only 50,000 miles on it to some unsuspecting fool while wearing a polyester suit.” This doesn’t really fit with his “channeling the action hero” motif Arthur Wallace is striving for. Has Russell even made an action movie in the last two decades? I’d think picking practically anybody from one of “The Expendables” movies would lend more action hero credence than a former Disney child star (he was "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes") whom I last remember watching as the dad character in Sky High (which is an awesome flick with a ton of fun cameos including Bruce Campbell and Dave Foley), but really not an action movie.

Ok, there you have it. If I’m ever stranded at an airport, some cabin in the north woods, or in a post apocalyptic library with unlimited time (like the episode of the old Twilight Zone) and have a copy of the sequel to this book and little else, I’d probably read it. But until that time, I’ll keep trolling the waters for other fish.

[Jasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2014...

No Hero actually escaped my attention when it was first released by Titan Books, it is that I saw the release of the sequel, Yesterday's Hero, which is out later this year that I found out that it was the second book in the Arthur Wallace series. Reading the synopsis of No Hero promised a lot of fun, last year I had the pleasure to read Guy Adams' The Clown Service which also goes about a secret service agency set in England, but this book didn't have that much supernatural going on compared to No Hero. No Hero closely reminds me to something of an The X-Files mashup, it dark and gritty but with a healthy dose of humor in the mix.

The story of No Hero picks up in a gentle sort of calm, focusing directly on the protagonist Arthur Wallace who is just your average police detective. All of a sudden strange murders are being committed across the Oxford area and Arthur is assigned to track down this serial killer, being the detective he is, he tries to find links and connections with the different victims using their backgrounds. All his effort are in vain as he and his partner cannot seem to find the right things to connect, until they encounter the deadly assassin, a sword wielding women at one of the crime scenes. Here Arthur becomes a victim of himself, he get beat up pretty badly and looses consciousness. Only to wake up and find himself at MI37 and learns that this assassin, the sword wielding women, Kayla is part of one of Britians most secret service. Being confronted with the facts that a more secret service than MI6 exists is something that Arthur finds hard to believe, until he is confronted by some horrific facts, ones that he also witnessed at one of the crime scenes. Arthur gets the full explanation that other dimensions DO exist and that these bring forth otherworldly and supernatural creatures known as the Progeny. The Progeny are alien tentacled creatures set on demise and destruction. And this all is just the start of one big non-stop adventure as Arthur now finds himself trading in his normal homicide detective job to join in up the ranks of MI37 and hunt the Progeny. Because they plan to take over planet Earth by bringing more of their kind into our world, well the Prgeny aren't yet on Earth but their agents are. Even though Arthur is a veteran police detective he is new in the other dimensional hauntings and fighting the Progeny and this does become apparent soon. He has his hands full, but luckily for Arthur he is backed up by an amazing team.

The title of the book, No Hero, refers to the main protagonist Arthur. He is definitely not a hero and constantly talks to himself with the single question "What would Kurt Russell do?" He isn't one that would jump to the occassion and charge in head first, his personality more like one that likes to hold back and watch how other people go about the task. I most Urban Fantasy setting that I have read I have encountered those proactive protagonist so I found the change to a more passive attitude quite fun to read, especially given with the humorous undertone that Jonathan Wood introduces. Also for me it would be quite logical to first have a look around when being confronted by creatures from a different dimension, my only small remark about Arthurs character is that at one point I would have had liked to see a switch towards being more proactive in his actions, since he had seen a lot already, it's non-stop action. I hope that in the sequel, Yesterday's Hero, a more active Arthur will be show, this will only bring out an even more faster paced book. On the whole I found that Arthur was a great protagonist to read about and since it's told from his perspective makes all the personal elements come out that much stronger.

I already mentioned that Arthur is backed up by an amazing team, this is a slight understatement. Jonathan Wood created a unique set of characters in this team, very creative and utterly cool! A magician called Clyde who doesn't get his arcane gifts from being born with them but with implants, surgically implanted wire patterns in run through his whole body and batteries, yes batteries! Type AA, the kind that you put in a flashlight, CLyde puts them in his mouth and is then able to cast some highly destructive spells. Next to Clyde you have Tabitha a computer genius, but fully tattooed, gothic kind of type and Kayla whom I already mentioned, the deadly Scottish sword-wielding women who rather talks by swinging her sword that actually saying words. This whole merry bunch is being led by the no-nonsense rule of Shaw, she has to make the best possible with a lot of cuts in the budget, and that isn't easy. Next to these character, MI37 does have some additional helpers like the twins, think here of sort of oracle (minority report style) that have clairvoyant moments about when and where and what the Progeny plan, they are there to give Arthur and his new team that edge. All in all some great and original characters, that will be directly to your liking.

Jonathan Wood introduces a breakneck pacing from when the Progeny make a first appearance and nicely keeps to this pacing. Even though the pacing is very fast, Jonathan Wood doesn't omit any details in building his world instead he cleverly uses Arthur breaking into his role as MI37 operative by feeding you information in bits and pieces as the story progresses, instead of giving an information dump sort of scene. A writing skill of Jonathan Wood is when the action takes place it is all over the floor and can be quite chaotic but as a reader you never loose sight of where what is taking place, keeping you that much more glued to the pages. Added to this is that the action scenes are just the length that you want to see, no unnecessary dragging of fighting scenes but direct and clear to the point with some electrifying bits!

The setting of No Hero reminded me closest to the The X-Files but with a lot more humor in there. The threat that is introduced by the existance of The Progeny feels dark and nefarous and inspires an impending doom feeling. Though the book does produce enough laughs, the Progeny still come over in their dark way and not an idle threat that you discard easily, it is serious (I hope you get where I am aiming at). Writing on one hand the serious threat that the Progeny are and on the otherhand introducing humorous scenes by all that Arthur goes through took some skill, I think, to make it come out the way it did. For me this was just spot on.

There are many Urban Fantasy - Paranormal books out there and writing an entry that places you in the top is hard but with No Hero Jonathan Wood managed this. No Hero has some great and bold ideas that are worked out in the big picture but also with a close focus on the minor details. Jonathan Wood introduces some very creative characters like Arthur Wallace who goes from an ordinary detective to fighting the extraordinary and lets not forget his team of "misfits" that accompany him in his newly assigned task, a great bunch and very interesting to say the least. The whole setting of the book is one that also isn't often found in Urban Fantasy it's not a simple case study. Jonathan Wood has kicked of his series with a great first book, the sequel: Yesterday's Hero, is out the 9th of September by Titan and it has the mentioning of a Zombie T-Rex! I am sure it's gonna be another wild adventure for Arthur!

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

"What would Kurt Russell do?" Probably not be such a putz.

WWKRD is the tagline of this men-in-black type tale about a British detective (Arthur Wallace) who gets recruited into a shadowy gov't agency to combat interdimensional aliens ("The Progeny") who have infected our world using humans as hosts as they plan a larger invasion.

The premise isn't bad, the cover art is great, the execution is lacking. While we're told the character of Arthur was a very accomplished detective, he comes across as a bland putz and displays none of the skills he allegedly has. The WWKRD tagline becomes both a crutch for the author as well as an inadvertent misdirection.

The author (and Arthur) constantly (and annoyingly) reference Kurt Russel characters and movies (Escape from New York, Tango and Cash, Big Trouble in Little China) giving the reader the impression/expectation that we'll see something like that smirking, sarcastic, anti-hero that Russell often plays. But we never get anywhere close to that with Arthur. While a character filled with self-doubt trying to live up to an idealized version of himself could be a compelling character arc, this doesn't get there because there's no arc. By constantly asking WWKRD?, the reader can't help but answer that "He'd probably make better decisions and be more entertaining about it" -- which has the effect of making our lead character, that much less impressive by comparison.

[Nick Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

"SO FUNNY I LAUGHED OUT LOUD” CHARLAINE HARRIS. Ah, Ms Harris has an odd sense of humour, take her on a date and I suspect she'll laugh at anything you say. Just to be clear, this is not a "funny" book, it is an urban fantasy that has been done better by Ben Aaronovitch and brilliantly by Daniel O'Malley.

Arthur Wallace is an Oxford detective who finds his latest investigation butts up against "weird stuff" and he finds that the mysterious MI37 end up recruiting him to their small team. So a bewildered Arthur finds himself in a new team against bad guys he never imagined existed. And he is well behind the curve in a team that has yet to trust him and can't see what he has to offer.

This is okay, but not enough here to really differentiate and make you emphasise with the characters. It feels like you have read it before and it adds nothing new or fresh to the genre. Not to say this is a waste of time, there are some interesting ideas here, but I'm not sure they are enough to make me want to pick up the next in the series.

[Amy Braun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating is 3.5! This was a fun read, though it took me a little while to get into. I liked the complete embrace of monsters, aliens, and comedy, loved the side characters, and the action. I wasn't a huge fan of the constant Kurt Russell references (seriously, CONSTANT) but I still had fun with it.

The characters are all a lot of fun and have their own quirks and distinctive traits. I wasn't a huge fan of Kayla, though I do understand her, and Arthur was definitely a fish out of water, but Shaw is a strong woman and Clyde is absolutely adorable.

Like I said earlier, I really loved the monsters and action and while my attention drifted at some points (especially near the beginning when the timeline and settings kept flip flopping), I was pretty well hooked by the ending. Fans of fun books with a lot of heart, imagination, and pop culture references will have a lot of fun with this one.