What do you think?
Rate this book
Hero In Hiding
Daring Heroics are back, but this time they’re on the run.
After their crushing defeat at the Vale of Dreams, the Apprentice Hero Cyrus and Kris the Katheni go into hiding as fishermen; Sir
Reginald Ogleby, the Crimson Slash, embarks on a new Quest to unite the races of the world; and the Arch-Villain Voshtyr Demonkin rules the world with a literally iron fist
But Cyrus has Destiny to fulfill and far too many jokes to crack to stay hidden for long. Evil triumphed before, but can it hold on
to its Ill-Gotten Gains?
Join the cast of Hero in Hiding for your next dose of Good Guys, Gryphons, Villains and their Victims, a Passel of Protagonists and their Plethora of Problems, with a few Teachable Moments along the way.
After their crushing defeat at the Vale of Dreams, the Apprentice Hero Cyrus and Kris the Katheni go into hiding as fishermen; Sir
Reginald Ogleby, the Crimson Slash, embarks on a new Quest to unite the races of the world; and the Arch-Villain Voshtyr Demonkin rules the world with a literally iron fist
But Cyrus has Destiny to fulfill and far too many jokes to crack to stay hidden for long. Evil triumphed before, but can it hold on
to its Ill-Gotten Gains?
Join the cast of Hero in Hiding for your next dose of Good Guys, Gryphons, Villains and their Victims, a Passel of Protagonists and their Plethora of Problems, with a few Teachable Moments along the way.
542 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2011
2 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 8, 2022
Hero in Hiding, like its predecessor, is possibly best described as a parody of Dungeons and Dragons with a good dollop of Elder Scrolls and a little bit of Lord of the Rings and other fantasy novels and video games. On first glance this is a promising concept, but as in the first book Hiding can't decide if it wants to be a serious high fantasy or a lighthearted comedy. Worst of all, it's not even always funny.
I didn't write a review on Hero, Second Class, but much of what I would have written for that title would go for this sequel. First I must address the most bizarre and usually avoided subplot of the book: the furry romance. Yes, I know, most people avoid writing on anthropomorphs to begin with, but a full blown human-meets-what-is-basically-a-human-but-kinda-an-animal story is shunned like the plague. Not sure why, saying we have romance subplots with aliens or even artificial intelligences. In fact, because this is such a rare trope (and possibly the only rare trope in the book - I'll get to that later) I picked up the two books to begin with. But, alas, author Mitchell Bonds messes the whole thing up. Badly. If you're planning on reading this I'll let you discover the scenes that pass between the catlike girl (Katheni is the race name) and the main character, Cyrus. Of course, if you haven't read the first book it won't make too much sense, but everyone reads the first book first. Right? No? Anyways, I need to make myself clear - it is not the "furry" or anthro aspect of the subplot that makes me cringe. It's just awkwardly written, and even if it was between two humans it would be odd. Enough said.
Okay, so with that out of the way (and assuming the reader is brave enough to keep going), what is the basic plot structure here? Well, as I mentioned before Hero in Hiding uses possibly every fantasy trope in the genre, and (more shockingly) it uses them all seemingly on purpose. Damsel in distress? Got it. Villain needs to collect item to rule world? Check. Fetch quests? Yep. And the list goes on... For a long time. While this wouldn't be an issue if Bonds was going for an entirely goofy book, there are two many tries at serious fiction and plot that I suspect he wanted a blend of the two. Sorry, that just doesn't work. At least not easily. The blend we result with here reads something like a lower-quality Pixar film, and while I love Pixar it doesn't make an entirely great read. Add this to the fact that the jokes in the novel (sprinkled quite liberally as in the first) are often rather bland, being either puns or just plain nonsense. I did get a couple of laughs though, but unfortunately the largest one was due to a misspelling that changed the words "shape-shifter" to a phrase that suggested the character defecated squares.
As before, there are numerous role-playing video game references here throughout, and the fights largely sound like RPG battles due to the purposeful use of ability names and effects. This didn't sit too well with me as before, but it is mildly amusing, at least for a while. Thankfully it was toned down a bit from book one, since it sometimes reads like World of Warcraft fanfiction or something.
This book had the potential to be great, even epic. Don't get me wrong, it's still a decent story. It's goofy in an oddball way but it still has its charm and you'll probably get a couple laughs every few jokes. However, what really makes me disappointed here is what could have been. I don't know what happened to Mitchell Bonds. These are his only two books, and at the time of writing this one is over a decade old. Anyone can clearly see there is definite talent that can be improved behind this, something I don't see often when reading Christian fiction. Sure, there's talent in the (very small) industry, but authors that have potential beyond what they've already written? Very rare indeed. The Istaka (wolf-people) story arc in Hiding is particularly excellent, and it comes as a shockingly good subplot to a book whose main story lacks at least a fair bit of inspiration. But that could change. If Bonds had kept writing, who knows where he could be by now? But, as they say about the kids who want to be astronauts - they just "grew up," (got mundane and uncreative) and blended into the everyday mindless workforce of the modern day. I just hope that Bonds will take up the pen again some day. It would be a worthwhile endeavor.
I didn't write a review on Hero, Second Class, but much of what I would have written for that title would go for this sequel. First I must address the most bizarre and usually avoided subplot of the book: the furry romance. Yes, I know, most people avoid writing on anthropomorphs to begin with, but a full blown human-meets-what-is-basically-a-human-but-kinda-an-animal story is shunned like the plague. Not sure why, saying we have romance subplots with aliens or even artificial intelligences. In fact, because this is such a rare trope (and possibly the only rare trope in the book - I'll get to that later) I picked up the two books to begin with. But, alas, author Mitchell Bonds messes the whole thing up. Badly. If you're planning on reading this I'll let you discover the scenes that pass between the catlike girl (Katheni is the race name) and the main character, Cyrus. Of course, if you haven't read the first book it won't make too much sense, but everyone reads the first book first. Right? No? Anyways, I need to make myself clear - it is not the "furry" or anthro aspect of the subplot that makes me cringe. It's just awkwardly written, and even if it was between two humans it would be odd. Enough said.
Okay, so with that out of the way (and assuming the reader is brave enough to keep going), what is the basic plot structure here? Well, as I mentioned before Hero in Hiding uses possibly every fantasy trope in the genre, and (more shockingly) it uses them all seemingly on purpose. Damsel in distress? Got it. Villain needs to collect item to rule world? Check. Fetch quests? Yep. And the list goes on... For a long time. While this wouldn't be an issue if Bonds was going for an entirely goofy book, there are two many tries at serious fiction and plot that I suspect he wanted a blend of the two. Sorry, that just doesn't work. At least not easily. The blend we result with here reads something like a lower-quality Pixar film, and while I love Pixar it doesn't make an entirely great read. Add this to the fact that the jokes in the novel (sprinkled quite liberally as in the first) are often rather bland, being either puns or just plain nonsense. I did get a couple of laughs though, but unfortunately the largest one was due to a misspelling that changed the words "shape-shifter" to a phrase that suggested the character defecated squares.
As before, there are numerous role-playing video game references here throughout, and the fights largely sound like RPG battles due to the purposeful use of ability names and effects. This didn't sit too well with me as before, but it is mildly amusing, at least for a while. Thankfully it was toned down a bit from book one, since it sometimes reads like World of Warcraft fanfiction or something.
This book had the potential to be great, even epic. Don't get me wrong, it's still a decent story. It's goofy in an oddball way but it still has its charm and you'll probably get a couple laughs every few jokes. However, what really makes me disappointed here is what could have been. I don't know what happened to Mitchell Bonds. These are his only two books, and at the time of writing this one is over a decade old. Anyone can clearly see there is definite talent that can be improved behind this, something I don't see often when reading Christian fiction. Sure, there's talent in the (very small) industry, but authors that have potential beyond what they've already written? Very rare indeed. The Istaka (wolf-people) story arc in Hiding is particularly excellent, and it comes as a shockingly good subplot to a book whose main story lacks at least a fair bit of inspiration. But that could change. If Bonds had kept writing, who knows where he could be by now? But, as they say about the kids who want to be astronauts - they just "grew up," (got mundane and uncreative) and blended into the everyday mindless workforce of the modern day. I just hope that Bonds will take up the pen again some day. It would be a worthwhile endeavor.
December 23, 2023
Like its predecessor, it is a fantastic satirical fantasy novel that (in my opinion) nicely wraps up the first book. No, it's not serious either so if you came for a serious fantasy epic, this isn't it.
Here's the downside: the book is out of print and good luck finding a copy. I managed to pick up a used copy from a thrift store for $1.50, but unless you're so lucky you're not about to get a copy of this book. I've even looked online and can't even find used copies. This book is a treasure and I'm going to keep mine as one of my prize possessions.
Here's the downside: the book is out of print and good luck finding a copy. I managed to pick up a used copy from a thrift store for $1.50, but unless you're so lucky you're not about to get a copy of this book. I've even looked online and can't even find used copies. This book is a treasure and I'm going to keep mine as one of my prize possessions.
July 18, 2014
Cyrus Solberg is back with more adventures, lame puns, and magic-wielding mishaps in the latest Hero Complex book, Hero In Hiding by Mitchell Bonds. This time around, the hero and his new wife, Kris, are on their way to hide on Starspeak, Cyrus' old home. A run-in with a vicious pirate strands them on Phoenix Island, where a prophet tells Cyrus that in order to defeat his archenemy, Voshtyr Demonkin, he must learn to master his magic. Though Cyrus initially refuses, circumstances conspire against him to set him forth on a quest to save the world.
My apartment neighbors probably heard me howling in laughter at 2 o'clock in the morning and thought that they had a crazy person next door. I love this book! It reminded me of The Princess Bride and the Talking to Dragons series by Patricia C. Wrede. A self-narrating swordsman? A villain who quotes word-for-word from the Villainic Phrasebook? A hero who has a penchant for bursting into flames when he's upset? Count me in! This book is just begging for people with good senses of humor to not take it seriously.
But even amid the goofiness, chaos, over-blown stereotypes, and ridiculous number of Important Places and Things In Capitol Letters, there are some genuinely touching scenes. The characters are likable and sympathetic--with exception of Demonkin, of course. It's also obvious that, if the story isn't to be taken seriously, Mitchell Bonds takes his writing seriously.
For some, the huge amount of magic may throw you off a bit--but don't let it. I've read fairytales with more serious magic in them than this book. Pretty much the only thing I didn't like about this book was the huge amount of made-up "cuss words"--it was just a little over the top, in my opinion.
All in all, another great book from MLP!
My apartment neighbors probably heard me howling in laughter at 2 o'clock in the morning and thought that they had a crazy person next door. I love this book! It reminded me of The Princess Bride and the Talking to Dragons series by Patricia C. Wrede. A self-narrating swordsman? A villain who quotes word-for-word from the Villainic Phrasebook? A hero who has a penchant for bursting into flames when he's upset? Count me in! This book is just begging for people with good senses of humor to not take it seriously.
But even amid the goofiness, chaos, over-blown stereotypes, and ridiculous number of Important Places and Things In Capitol Letters, there are some genuinely touching scenes. The characters are likable and sympathetic--with exception of Demonkin, of course. It's also obvious that, if the story isn't to be taken seriously, Mitchell Bonds takes his writing seriously.
For some, the huge amount of magic may throw you off a bit--but don't let it. I've read fairytales with more serious magic in them than this book. Pretty much the only thing I didn't like about this book was the huge amount of made-up "cuss words"--it was just a little over the top, in my opinion.
All in all, another great book from MLP!
June 10, 2012
Sequel to Hero, Second Class, but not as good as the first one due to an accelerated plot and some issues with theology that never get addressed.
Cyrus is fleeing the rout of the Heroes with his wife Kris. Voshtyr seems unstoppable, and even his half-brother Serinal is finally moving. The stage is set for a final conclusion. Will Hero, Villain, or rogue arch-villain win?
The books only has two issues which drag it down. The big one is that it resolves too quickly and leaves plot threads hanging. Part of that is lampshaded humorously in the book itself, but I would have liked a third book to end it rather than how abruptly it ends here, and sets up for a third book "many years later." It just feels far too rushed here.
The second is the religious part of it. This is Christian Fantasy, and I said in my review of the first book it felt tacked on. Here is still does, mostly because the Creator's role in this is never fully explained. He tries to maintain something called the Balance, but this seems close to Manichean ideas than Christian ones, and the whole Villain/Hero dynamic doesn't get properly explained in nature to that. It makes the Creator more of a Deus Ex Machina than a character Himself.
It's still a good book, with all the strengths of the first one, and strong, humorous fantasy. It just needs another book to end properly in my opinion. I wanted more of a good thing.
Cyrus is fleeing the rout of the Heroes with his wife Kris. Voshtyr seems unstoppable, and even his half-brother Serinal is finally moving. The stage is set for a final conclusion. Will Hero, Villain, or rogue arch-villain win?
The books only has two issues which drag it down. The big one is that it resolves too quickly and leaves plot threads hanging. Part of that is lampshaded humorously in the book itself, but I would have liked a third book to end it rather than how abruptly it ends here, and sets up for a third book "many years later." It just feels far too rushed here.
The second is the religious part of it. This is Christian Fantasy, and I said in my review of the first book it felt tacked on. Here is still does, mostly because the Creator's role in this is never fully explained. He tries to maintain something called the Balance, but this seems close to Manichean ideas than Christian ones, and the whole Villain/Hero dynamic doesn't get properly explained in nature to that. It makes the Creator more of a Deus Ex Machina than a character Himself.
It's still a good book, with all the strengths of the first one, and strong, humorous fantasy. It just needs another book to end properly in my opinion. I wanted more of a good thing.
December 23, 2012
This book is the sequel of Hero Second Class, which made it to my favorites list, so of course I liked it. I liked every bit of the sarcasm, puns and fourth-wall breaking. This book made me laugh out loud more than once, and it's certainly worth a read especially if you enjoyed the first book.
However, I must say that it suffered a bit for the multiple typos I saw. For most people, it's not usually a big deal, but it distracted me a bit.
The plot was just as fun as the first, though it was set at a faster pace. The ending was good, but there were several plot threads left hanging. I hope that this means that there will be another book to add to The Hero Complex.
April 14, 2016
I didn't know that Christian Speculative writing was a thing. This book is a great fantasy book for this genre. Enjoyable for anyone that enjoys fantasy, puns, and a hopeful story.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews