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Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?
A vast, homogenized city patrolled by heroes and populated by adoring masses. A pulp fiction fortress of solitude for crime-fighting team the Equalizers, led by new recruit Southern Cross - a lifetime away from the rain-drenched, dystopic metropolis of Melbourne. Who, then, is killing the great Capes of Heropa? In this paired homage to detective noir from the 1940s and the '60s Marvel age of trail-blazing comic books, Andrez Bergen and 35 artists gloriously redefine the mild-mannered superhero novel.
473 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
3 people are currently reading
837 people want to read
About the author
Andrez Bergen
31 books87 followersAndrez Bergen is an expat Australian writer, journalist, DJ, artist and ad hoc saké connoisseur who's been entrenched in Tokyo, Japan, for the past 15 years.
Bergen has written for publications such as Mixmag, The Age, Australian Style, VICE, and the Yomiuri Shinbun. He has published six novels, wrote and illustrated three graphic novels, and published five comic book series.
Bergen's fiction previously appeared through Perfect Edge Books, Shotgun Honey, Snubnose Press, All Due Respect, Roundfire Fiction, Dirty Rotten Comics, Crime Factory, Open Books and Another Sky Press, and he occasionally adapts scripts for feature films by the likes of Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) for Production I.G in Japan.
He also makes music as Little Nobody.
Bergen has written for publications such as Mixmag, The Age, Australian Style, VICE, and the Yomiuri Shinbun. He has published six novels, wrote and illustrated three graphic novels, and published five comic book series.
Bergen's fiction previously appeared through Perfect Edge Books, Shotgun Honey, Snubnose Press, All Due Respect, Roundfire Fiction, Dirty Rotten Comics, Crime Factory, Open Books and Another Sky Press, and he occasionally adapts scripts for feature films by the likes of Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell) for Production I.G in Japan.
He also makes music as Little Nobody.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
December 3, 2013
At some point in time, everyone growing up wants to be a superhero, or a detective (I wanted to be Nancy Drew), and most of us wanted to fight the bad guys and win the day.When I saw this book roll through from Novel Publicity and realized not only was it from a publisher who has given me lovely goodness in the past but it had three of the most interesting genre's rolled up into one. I bounced just a wee bit! Science Fiction, Noir thrown into a dystopic world, in the last city on earth Melbourne and blended together with the new genre on the block, Super Heroes! Well not really new, but new to print instead of comics. This story intrigued me so much.
It did take a bit of time to get into the nitty gritty but once I got into it and started reading I discovered *pausing for dramatic effect* this dark gritty hard-b0iled world slapped together with some science fiction and virtual reality kind of thing. *raising hands up and shaking them to the sky* Oh holy shrimp toast, how can I even explain it. It is 11PM on Friday night and I just literally finished reading it and still sitting here half giggling, a little of me going "oooooooooooh" and the rest a bit of a toss between, "Woah!" "More" and also clicking buy on the rest of Andrew's books.
I love noir, I love comics; especially the originals. Growing up I fell in love with hard-boiled novels by Dashiell Hammett trying to figure out the mystery before Sam Spade... made me feel suave. The beauty and metaphoric aspect of the orchids (as I have mentioned before) from Raymond Chandlers Big Sleep still haunts me to this day. I love the look of the art in the original covers, the feel of shadows both metaphorically. Heropa had all of it, plus it was chuck full of a bunch of MARVELous other things (ya I went there, whatcha gonna do about it *fluffing my cape).
Now apparently this city is originally introduced to us via a book of his called Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat, or at least this current version of Melbourne..(the last city on Earth) and the protagonist is a video game player, sort of. I mean.. a goat, wait.. ummm superheroes, noir-style detecting, the murdering thereof.. and well... wait.. I am stuck on the goat, I need to get him onto the blog & out of my system and then I can continue!
There.. that is SO much better, where was I ? *pushing my goggles onto forehead*
On any given Saturday morning you could find me in a cape gallivanting around the living room. Heck today you will find me occasionally sporting a cape, wearing my steampunk goggles and playing Alaskan Superhero! (Yes occasionally I am want to go out with goggles and bare feet just to say "I RULE THE WORLD! BRING ON THE BAD GUYS") .. OK maybe I got into this book a bit too much. Oh ummm but I do go and do that occasionally, and of course take pictures! Oh and slaughter the creatures of the forest...
How can you make this experience better? And yes, this was another book I would call an experience! You throw in as many pop-culture references in the bowl as possible, pour an overflowing cup of wit and humor, measure a good bit of some hominy homage to the classic comics, a thick slathering of slippery massive multi-player online virtual reality with a mixed up kid who will become a real hero, not just one in the game and .. and...Reset!!
You didn't really think I was going to tell you anything did you? HAH! I am KRISS.... CABIN GODDESS! I never give you SPOILERS!! (insert maniacal laughter). Seriously I am bouncy, I have been rewarding myself each night after work by reading this book. I am so very glad it was given to me to read *pausing to slide back on my goggles and cape*
Let's talk a bit about the nitty-gritty of this. Well first it was not perfect, I had a bit of a rough time getting into it but soon it picked up pace and I had a hard time keeping up with it. The characters were wonderful, their relationships were paramount and like any good superhero story very much caricature of what their Superhero person represents. There were times I really had to let some of my nitpicky behavior go and though it only bothered me a tiny bit it did take me a bit out of the story, but only a couple of times. His blending of these genres was more than blending it was true genre bending. You cannot possibly throw that all in a pot, no matter how good of a mixing arm you have and expect it to flow as well as it did. but it did, so...
Thanks Andrew! You really rocked my world, and though my husband currently thinks I have lost my mind, wait till he sees his new cape! Honestly makes me mourn for one of our favorite MMPRPG's, City of Heroes... Hmmmm indeed... indeed. I kind of see myself as a cross between Tank Girl and some kind of femme fatal who has been converted to the good guys... sort of. Heck as long as I can wear my goggles, I am in like Super Fly!
August 21, 2013
“…flick through pages defining an alien realm in which justice was king and superheroes fought the good fight to uphold dignity and equality. There was laidback humour in them, too, a sunny-side-up sense of cheeky bravado – since the world wasn’t the dystopia that existed just outside the door to his box.”
I woke up one morning to find an email sitting, unread, in all my clutter of an inbox. It had a long title, weird words that I didn’t quite understand. My first thought ran to spam. Whatever you say, I didn’t win six thousand pounds. I don’t even live in the UK. So I opened the note and found to my delight an author requesting I review his book.
That was a first.
Brushing off the notion that my blog is getting bigger, I skimmed over the blurb, past the striking cover, and settled on three words that grabbed my fancy: Noir, Sci-Fi, and Dystopian.
Three of my favorite genres tucked into one novel. I was excited, that is, until I stumbled upon the following word: Superhero. I’m no fan of Superman, Spiderman, Batman, or any other –man. They often times feel overpowered, overdone, too strong and all that jive.
So I emailed him back, saying I would read it, was excited, and held small hope that this would be a decent novel.
I was proven wrong.
This is a damn amazing novel.
Imagine a quick, all around fun story that has pacing lighter than a feather, a fast introduction that can be oh so confusing and analytical, but still deliver. Imagine humor at every turn, barreling to the rescue of a previously bland and horrible novel that I won’t dare to mention. Well, Bergen’s third take at writing was my savior, my superhero. If that makes no sense whatsoever, you have an inkling as to how amazing this book is.
“Chains hung from the ceiling with no apparent purpose other than making the place look more dangerous, but a worrisome iron maiden decorated one corner. ‘That’s our filing cabinet.’”
Jack, our protagonist, is thrown like us smack dab in the middle of this city, unaware of anything, but his ability to be a superhero. We learn through his eyes, come to see the majesty of a silver, urban land through his narration. Or, better put, the sarcastic and many times extremely funny third person narrator.
Still not making any sense? Well, I’ll get there.
As said, Jack comes to this city to escape his own. Yes, Heropa is all in his mind, what many could call an allegory to Fantasy fiction. But I’m not about to philosophize this great story. No, it’s meant to be a rollicking fun time, not some deep piece of sluggish existential trash. (Unless you enjoy that.) What it does have in place of *depth* is facts.
Yes, pop culture references from the kid, Jack, who’s brimming to the top with comic knowledge. That’s why he’s here, drawn into a land less bleak then his home. See, he’s an orphan living on the streets in a post-apocalyptic Melbourne. We don’t learn as to why the rest of the world was destroyed. It doesn’t really matter. Heropa is where it’s all at, a block of concrete reminiscent of the 40s to 60s where men wore fedoras and women smoked as much as the gangsters on the radio.
Yes, this is where the noir sprinkles in. Not just in the unnaturally shiny setting that contrasts our dystopia, but in the murder mystery. Because that is where the plot blossoms. Capes (Superheroes) are dying. The big problem with that is it’s kinda illegal. See, in Heropa, the Capes live by a set of rules. No swearing, drinking, intercourse, or downright R rated stuff. Killing is included in this humorous take. So when they start dropping like flies, Jack steps in to solve the case.
“’Thou shalt not kill.’
‘Hah. The Bible ref. No wonder I ditched it from me noggin. Fact is we’re not s’posed to die – no matter how much we pummel one another. Rules is rules.’”
But a woman gets in his way. She becomes his Juliet, a Blando or “normal” person, possibly compared to an NPC in video games. They aren’t supposed to fall in love, but the Reset button that does as it says, resets Blando’s memories, is on the fritz. Suffice to say, Jack unfortunately takes advantage of this flaw and thus the romance begins. But it’s not as cynical as I make it out to be.
This is where his second ability is checked off. Characters and dialogue.
Where most authors would stumble, Bergen gracefully slides. Dialect is where it’s at. I’ve never had a writer this breathtakingly amazing at writing dialect. The majority of the time, I hate the stuff with a fiery passion. But Bergen manages to make it flow so smoothly with the rest of the talk, very much like his prose.
“Jack gazed again at the silly banner on the wall. ‘What’s the story with the three-legged chicken?’
Bulkhead glanced up as well. ‘That’s not a chicken – any fool can see it’s a crow. Don’t you know your ornithology?’
‘Looks more like a chicken. Who’s the shoddy artist?’
‘Dammit, it’s a crow.’
‘Well, why the three legs?’
‘I don’t like you. You ask too many goddamned questions.’”
Brick was a favorite, popping off humor at every turn, arguing with Pretty Amazonia, his fellow Equalizer and giant friend. Add in a journalist whose snooping skills create the noir plotline, also adding more funny banter when conversing with her sister, and you have a strong cast just with three major characters. But that’s not the only ones.
The relationship between the people is another important factor. The Equalizers, the band of goodie Capes, can seem a bit distant in the beginning, as one would expect. As we go along for the ride, everybody (for the most part) begins to warm up to each other. Trust is a big moral in this novel, evident by the many coffee filled morning conversations these lads have.
As the story progresses, like the relationships, tension builds tremendously, growing darker, tighter, stronger, right up until the thread snaps and all hell blows loose. Twists fly hard; backstories shed light and clues bring forth more. Even the mystery is in plain sight, which is played off of by the villain for humor, exemplifying what this novel encompasses.
My only complaint is a tiny one: The ending fell a little flatter than I wanted it to. We stop right straight after the climax, and I felt it might’ve been a tad rushed. But I was reading this on the kindle, saw I had ninety percent left and expected a red herring. Alas, I think it was more me wanting to stay in this brilliant novel’s world, share one last cup of coffee with the crew while they waffled on at the Equalizer’s penthouse, gazing out into the sunset.
But that’s sappy stuff.
Bergen has created an amazing novel drenched in the glitz and glam of the silver age of comics, dotting this story with pictures of the cast and funny symbols like three-footed chickens. It moves at a quick pace, full of deep characters and a mystery that had me second guessing the whole way through.
It may be set in a silver world with the outskirts a tad gray, but Andrez Bergen’s third novel does everything it can to achieve the gold. And that it does.
I woke up one morning to find an email sitting, unread, in all my clutter of an inbox. It had a long title, weird words that I didn’t quite understand. My first thought ran to spam. Whatever you say, I didn’t win six thousand pounds. I don’t even live in the UK. So I opened the note and found to my delight an author requesting I review his book.
That was a first.
Brushing off the notion that my blog is getting bigger, I skimmed over the blurb, past the striking cover, and settled on three words that grabbed my fancy: Noir, Sci-Fi, and Dystopian.
Three of my favorite genres tucked into one novel. I was excited, that is, until I stumbled upon the following word: Superhero. I’m no fan of Superman, Spiderman, Batman, or any other –man. They often times feel overpowered, overdone, too strong and all that jive.
So I emailed him back, saying I would read it, was excited, and held small hope that this would be a decent novel.
I was proven wrong.
This is a damn amazing novel.
Imagine a quick, all around fun story that has pacing lighter than a feather, a fast introduction that can be oh so confusing and analytical, but still deliver. Imagine humor at every turn, barreling to the rescue of a previously bland and horrible novel that I won’t dare to mention. Well, Bergen’s third take at writing was my savior, my superhero. If that makes no sense whatsoever, you have an inkling as to how amazing this book is.
“Chains hung from the ceiling with no apparent purpose other than making the place look more dangerous, but a worrisome iron maiden decorated one corner. ‘That’s our filing cabinet.’”
Jack, our protagonist, is thrown like us smack dab in the middle of this city, unaware of anything, but his ability to be a superhero. We learn through his eyes, come to see the majesty of a silver, urban land through his narration. Or, better put, the sarcastic and many times extremely funny third person narrator.
Still not making any sense? Well, I’ll get there.
As said, Jack comes to this city to escape his own. Yes, Heropa is all in his mind, what many could call an allegory to Fantasy fiction. But I’m not about to philosophize this great story. No, it’s meant to be a rollicking fun time, not some deep piece of sluggish existential trash. (Unless you enjoy that.) What it does have in place of *depth* is facts.
Yes, pop culture references from the kid, Jack, who’s brimming to the top with comic knowledge. That’s why he’s here, drawn into a land less bleak then his home. See, he’s an orphan living on the streets in a post-apocalyptic Melbourne. We don’t learn as to why the rest of the world was destroyed. It doesn’t really matter. Heropa is where it’s all at, a block of concrete reminiscent of the 40s to 60s where men wore fedoras and women smoked as much as the gangsters on the radio.
Yes, this is where the noir sprinkles in. Not just in the unnaturally shiny setting that contrasts our dystopia, but in the murder mystery. Because that is where the plot blossoms. Capes (Superheroes) are dying. The big problem with that is it’s kinda illegal. See, in Heropa, the Capes live by a set of rules. No swearing, drinking, intercourse, or downright R rated stuff. Killing is included in this humorous take. So when they start dropping like flies, Jack steps in to solve the case.
“’Thou shalt not kill.’
‘Hah. The Bible ref. No wonder I ditched it from me noggin. Fact is we’re not s’posed to die – no matter how much we pummel one another. Rules is rules.’”
But a woman gets in his way. She becomes his Juliet, a Blando or “normal” person, possibly compared to an NPC in video games. They aren’t supposed to fall in love, but the Reset button that does as it says, resets Blando’s memories, is on the fritz. Suffice to say, Jack unfortunately takes advantage of this flaw and thus the romance begins. But it’s not as cynical as I make it out to be.
This is where his second ability is checked off. Characters and dialogue.
Where most authors would stumble, Bergen gracefully slides. Dialect is where it’s at. I’ve never had a writer this breathtakingly amazing at writing dialect. The majority of the time, I hate the stuff with a fiery passion. But Bergen manages to make it flow so smoothly with the rest of the talk, very much like his prose.
“Jack gazed again at the silly banner on the wall. ‘What’s the story with the three-legged chicken?’
Bulkhead glanced up as well. ‘That’s not a chicken – any fool can see it’s a crow. Don’t you know your ornithology?’
‘Looks more like a chicken. Who’s the shoddy artist?’
‘Dammit, it’s a crow.’
‘Well, why the three legs?’
‘I don’t like you. You ask too many goddamned questions.’”
Brick was a favorite, popping off humor at every turn, arguing with Pretty Amazonia, his fellow Equalizer and giant friend. Add in a journalist whose snooping skills create the noir plotline, also adding more funny banter when conversing with her sister, and you have a strong cast just with three major characters. But that’s not the only ones.
The relationship between the people is another important factor. The Equalizers, the band of goodie Capes, can seem a bit distant in the beginning, as one would expect. As we go along for the ride, everybody (for the most part) begins to warm up to each other. Trust is a big moral in this novel, evident by the many coffee filled morning conversations these lads have.
As the story progresses, like the relationships, tension builds tremendously, growing darker, tighter, stronger, right up until the thread snaps and all hell blows loose. Twists fly hard; backstories shed light and clues bring forth more. Even the mystery is in plain sight, which is played off of by the villain for humor, exemplifying what this novel encompasses.
My only complaint is a tiny one: The ending fell a little flatter than I wanted it to. We stop right straight after the climax, and I felt it might’ve been a tad rushed. But I was reading this on the kindle, saw I had ninety percent left and expected a red herring. Alas, I think it was more me wanting to stay in this brilliant novel’s world, share one last cup of coffee with the crew while they waffled on at the Equalizer’s penthouse, gazing out into the sunset.
But that’s sappy stuff.
Bergen has created an amazing novel drenched in the glitz and glam of the silver age of comics, dotting this story with pictures of the cast and funny symbols like three-footed chickens. It moves at a quick pace, full of deep characters and a mystery that had me second guessing the whole way through.
It may be set in a silver world with the outskirts a tad gray, but Andrez Bergen’s third novel does everything it can to achieve the gold. And that it does.
January 15, 2015
So I have to admit, this book was way out of my comfort zone and I only picked it up because it was recommended by my husband. I don't read super hero stories so this was a total stretch for me. But that being said I still really enjoyed it. The characters were well developed and likable, even for a "Blando" like me. I really enjoyed the banter between characters. I would imagine super heros having a bit of an ego so that made the dialog believable. Having just watched Black Mirror, the memory erasing was an eerily familiar concept. I can't say I'm a convert, but I am glad I stepped out of my comfort zone long enough to read this one.
October 5, 2013
The Review: http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/10/....
“A book that provides excellent fun with a strong look into the world of superheroes, Who is Killing The Great Capes of Heropa? provides readers with a enthralling, page-turning read that provides not only great things for fans of comics to enjoy, but fans of novels, too. A lot of fun.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields
"A vast, homogenized city patrolled by heroes and populated by adoring masses. A pulp fiction fortress of solitude for crime-fighting team the Equalizers, led by new recruit Southern Cross – a lifetime away from the rain-drenched, dystopic metropolis of Melbourne. Who, then, is killing the great Capes of Heropa? In this paired homage to detective noir from the 1940s and the ’60s Marvel age of trail-blazing comic books, Andrez Bergen and 35 artists gloriously redefine the mild-mannered superhero novel."
Who doesn’t love superheroes? I’m a massive fan of stuff being put out by DC and Marvel, and I’m certainly in the category of those people who spend far too much money on comics. Having recently read Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, Who Is Killing The Great Capes of Heropa? seemed like an interesting and fun continued exploration of the setting, and adopts a more traditional portrayal of heroes than Sanderson’s Epics, who are all pretty much evil, this time – the book chooses to adopt a more traditional take on superheroes, casting them as the main protagonists as opposed to the enemy.
Who is Killing the Great Capes of HeropaWelcome to the city of Heropa. A welcome escape from the hellhole of the modern-day world, where superheroes are real, existing alongside the “Blandos”, all the civilians, who play their roles as pretty much Non-Playable characters (NPCs) in a role-playing game would. The main focus is of course on the superheroes, and the main character who we follow is Southern Cross, a new member of the Equalizers, a group of costumed vigilantes. We get others, too – such as Pretty Amazonia, Brick and more – all with names that whilst may not seem much on paper, all help add to the pulp-themed aspect of the book, allowing for a lot of fun, where this would almost end up as well drawn out as a comic. The book takes place in an essentially an artificial reality – Heropa – where outsiders from society can take up the guise of a superhero and find themselves in a world of happiness. Sure, there’s a lot of camp in this book, but it also provides a lot of fun, with a large amount of over-the-top superhero identites and plots allow for a fun narrative style that provides a really awesome read.
There seems to be a lot of superhero novels nowadays. Not only do you have Andrez Bergen’s Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? and Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart, but also Adam Christopher’s Empire State, The Age Atomic and Seven Wonders. And unlike the movies, each book that I’ve read comes across as mostly fun and fresh, with books like this having a better track record than stuff like Catwoman, Daredevil and Green Lantern, as we haven’t been over-exposed to them yet. This novel is no exception, and Bergen has crafted an awesome, wonderfully fun read that will appeal to comic fans possibly even more so than non readers.
There are several things that help Bergen make Who is Killing The Great Capes of Heropa? fresh and entertaining. Firstly, as mentioned before, it’s set in an artificial reality, explaining the frequent over-the-top characters that you see as part of the Equalizers squad. As this is a fake city, the “Blandos” don’t get to keep memories for very long and find them reset each day. This is the world that people come to in order to escape the harsh reality, and the book itself follows main character Jacob Curtiss, who intends to escape from a futuristic Melbourne City (the last on Earth) to this virtual world of Heropa. In true comics fashion, this is a nice get out clause, as everybody knows that heroes don’t die in comics, so naturally, no heroes die here. However, when that rule is broken, and a superhero is killed, the Equalizers are mobilized into action.
There’s a lot of banter in this book, and you’ll find yourself full of quick-witted sarcasm and near-perfect timing for comic relief. Whilst it’s pulled off mostly well, sometimes it may feel like a bit too much – and occasionally detracts from the flow of the pacing, making the book relatively uneven, with the book starting off mixed, but really picking up towards the end – with the murder mystery taking up the strong portion of the book’s focus. It’s nothing that I imagined what it’d be like going into it and Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? really provides a lot of fun, packed with plenty of references that fans of the older Marvel and DC books will get. There’s even a handy guide at the end for people who perhaps aren’t too familiar with the comics genre to get up to date with all the appropriate terminology – with some informative explanations provided.
Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa then, is a lot of fun, even though it may suffer in places from an uneven pace and too much banter. It’s certainly worth checking out regardless, and continues the trend of fun and awesome superhero novels. If the quality from Adam Christopher, Andrez Bergen and Brandon Sanderson are anything to go by – then I would love to see more superheroes in prose in the future – it’s an angle I hope that more writers explore. This book is certainly worth checking out, and it provides a very entertaining read.
VERDICT: 4/5
“A book that provides excellent fun with a strong look into the world of superheroes, Who is Killing The Great Capes of Heropa? provides readers with a enthralling, page-turning read that provides not only great things for fans of comics to enjoy, but fans of novels, too. A lot of fun.” ~Bane of Kings, The Founding Fields
"A vast, homogenized city patrolled by heroes and populated by adoring masses. A pulp fiction fortress of solitude for crime-fighting team the Equalizers, led by new recruit Southern Cross – a lifetime away from the rain-drenched, dystopic metropolis of Melbourne. Who, then, is killing the great Capes of Heropa? In this paired homage to detective noir from the 1940s and the ’60s Marvel age of trail-blazing comic books, Andrez Bergen and 35 artists gloriously redefine the mild-mannered superhero novel."
Who doesn’t love superheroes? I’m a massive fan of stuff being put out by DC and Marvel, and I’m certainly in the category of those people who spend far too much money on comics. Having recently read Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, Who Is Killing The Great Capes of Heropa? seemed like an interesting and fun continued exploration of the setting, and adopts a more traditional portrayal of heroes than Sanderson’s Epics, who are all pretty much evil, this time – the book chooses to adopt a more traditional take on superheroes, casting them as the main protagonists as opposed to the enemy.
Who is Killing the Great Capes of HeropaWelcome to the city of Heropa. A welcome escape from the hellhole of the modern-day world, where superheroes are real, existing alongside the “Blandos”, all the civilians, who play their roles as pretty much Non-Playable characters (NPCs) in a role-playing game would. The main focus is of course on the superheroes, and the main character who we follow is Southern Cross, a new member of the Equalizers, a group of costumed vigilantes. We get others, too – such as Pretty Amazonia, Brick and more – all with names that whilst may not seem much on paper, all help add to the pulp-themed aspect of the book, allowing for a lot of fun, where this would almost end up as well drawn out as a comic. The book takes place in an essentially an artificial reality – Heropa – where outsiders from society can take up the guise of a superhero and find themselves in a world of happiness. Sure, there’s a lot of camp in this book, but it also provides a lot of fun, with a large amount of over-the-top superhero identites and plots allow for a fun narrative style that provides a really awesome read.
There seems to be a lot of superhero novels nowadays. Not only do you have Andrez Bergen’s Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? and Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart, but also Adam Christopher’s Empire State, The Age Atomic and Seven Wonders. And unlike the movies, each book that I’ve read comes across as mostly fun and fresh, with books like this having a better track record than stuff like Catwoman, Daredevil and Green Lantern, as we haven’t been over-exposed to them yet. This novel is no exception, and Bergen has crafted an awesome, wonderfully fun read that will appeal to comic fans possibly even more so than non readers.
There are several things that help Bergen make Who is Killing The Great Capes of Heropa? fresh and entertaining. Firstly, as mentioned before, it’s set in an artificial reality, explaining the frequent over-the-top characters that you see as part of the Equalizers squad. As this is a fake city, the “Blandos” don’t get to keep memories for very long and find them reset each day. This is the world that people come to in order to escape the harsh reality, and the book itself follows main character Jacob Curtiss, who intends to escape from a futuristic Melbourne City (the last on Earth) to this virtual world of Heropa. In true comics fashion, this is a nice get out clause, as everybody knows that heroes don’t die in comics, so naturally, no heroes die here. However, when that rule is broken, and a superhero is killed, the Equalizers are mobilized into action.
There’s a lot of banter in this book, and you’ll find yourself full of quick-witted sarcasm and near-perfect timing for comic relief. Whilst it’s pulled off mostly well, sometimes it may feel like a bit too much – and occasionally detracts from the flow of the pacing, making the book relatively uneven, with the book starting off mixed, but really picking up towards the end – with the murder mystery taking up the strong portion of the book’s focus. It’s nothing that I imagined what it’d be like going into it and Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? really provides a lot of fun, packed with plenty of references that fans of the older Marvel and DC books will get. There’s even a handy guide at the end for people who perhaps aren’t too familiar with the comics genre to get up to date with all the appropriate terminology – with some informative explanations provided.
Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa then, is a lot of fun, even though it may suffer in places from an uneven pace and too much banter. It’s certainly worth checking out regardless, and continues the trend of fun and awesome superhero novels. If the quality from Adam Christopher, Andrez Bergen and Brandon Sanderson are anything to go by – then I would love to see more superheroes in prose in the future – it’s an angle I hope that more writers explore. This book is certainly worth checking out, and it provides a very entertaining read.
VERDICT: 4/5
February 23, 2016
The Plot (very briefly):
Melbourne is (apparently) the last city on Earth. Those of it's inhabitants who are Marvel comic geeks, are recruited & enter a dingy hovel, after answering several questions only Marvel comic buffs would know the answers to. Upon admittance, they are invited to be 'jacked' into an on-line city called Heropa, where they become Heroes or Villains. Other than these worthies, the city is populated by 'Blando's' or disposable human facsimiles. The Blando's are disposable because they are supposedly binary code & therefore not human. They are often casualties in the battles between heroes & villains. But every night at midnight there is a reset & all the Blando's & the buildings destroyed by the battles between the warring factions are restored. The Blando's live the same day over & over. It's Groundhog Day for them. But some of the Blando's are immune to the reset & then the reset itself malfunctions. Oops.
I thought this quite enjoyable & entertaining, but with a lower-caste 'e' in both cases. It was a quick read for me & ideal if you're wanting something light (but not insultingly so), to read between weightier tomes. The 'Ocker-isms' (ie. Aussie slang) are there, but not overwhelmingly so. Having lived in Oz for a number of years, i felt the author could have upped the ocker quotient, but decided not to, so the book would be more reader-friendly. It's not a laugh-a-minute but it has it's humorous moments. The long-winded monologues disgorged by villains & heroes alike are typical comic-book touches.
I felt the premise had a lot of potential, but i didn't feel it's potential was fully realised. Still, as i said, enjoyable regardless.
3 1/2 stars from me.
Melbourne is (apparently) the last city on Earth. Those of it's inhabitants who are Marvel comic geeks, are recruited & enter a dingy hovel, after answering several questions only Marvel comic buffs would know the answers to. Upon admittance, they are invited to be 'jacked' into an on-line city called Heropa, where they become Heroes or Villains. Other than these worthies, the city is populated by 'Blando's' or disposable human facsimiles. The Blando's are disposable because they are supposedly binary code & therefore not human. They are often casualties in the battles between heroes & villains. But every night at midnight there is a reset & all the Blando's & the buildings destroyed by the battles between the warring factions are restored. The Blando's live the same day over & over. It's Groundhog Day for them. But some of the Blando's are immune to the reset & then the reset itself malfunctions. Oops.
I thought this quite enjoyable & entertaining, but with a lower-caste 'e' in both cases. It was a quick read for me & ideal if you're wanting something light (but not insultingly so), to read between weightier tomes. The 'Ocker-isms' (ie. Aussie slang) are there, but not overwhelmingly so. Having lived in Oz for a number of years, i felt the author could have upped the ocker quotient, but decided not to, so the book would be more reader-friendly. It's not a laugh-a-minute but it has it's humorous moments. The long-winded monologues disgorged by villains & heroes alike are typical comic-book touches.
I felt the premise had a lot of potential, but i didn't feel it's potential was fully realised. Still, as i said, enjoyable regardless.
3 1/2 stars from me.
September 15, 2013
Who Is Killing The Great Capes Of Heropa? by Andrez Bergen is a sprawling, and occasionally rambling (but that is part of the fun) love-letter to the comicbook superhero genre. It’s a loaded bag of super-powered action, cyberpunk sci-fi grit, and pop-culture references from the blatant to the so-obscure-they-can-hardly-be-considered-”pop”-culture.
The book is thrilling, full of unexpected moments - frequently funny and, occasionally, surprisingly poignant. There are some well-hidden existential quandaries buried in the plot as well, but don’t be alarmed because it is, from cover to cover, always fun.
Unreservedly recommended to fans of....well, just about anything really.
The book is thrilling, full of unexpected moments - frequently funny and, occasionally, surprisingly poignant. There are some well-hidden existential quandaries buried in the plot as well, but don’t be alarmed because it is, from cover to cover, always fun.
Unreservedly recommended to fans of....well, just about anything really.
August 24, 2013
Andrez Bergen is possessed of an enviable imagination, one that soars away with old ideas and turns them into Fresh New Things of Beauty. Just as importantly, he's got the writing chops to bring the reader along with him. His style is fluid and playful, full of the joy of language. When his first novel, TOBACCO-STAINED MOUNTAIN GOAT, debuted, I had an idea he was going places, and his new novel WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA, fulfills that promise. An excellent book. Don't miss it.
January 7, 2016
Slow going up front but picked up steam midway through. Think it would have worked better for me to start if I hadn't had so many small reading sessions to start.
Well written, snappy and fun overall. While this might not have hit my sweet spot as much as Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat did, I enjoy Bergen's world, the "autrailanness" and his penchant for well written dialogue and snappy humor.
Well written, snappy and fun overall. While this might not have hit my sweet spot as much as Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat did, I enjoy Bergen's world, the "autrailanness" and his penchant for well written dialogue and snappy humor.
April 18, 2013
When author Andrez Bergen undertook the Herculean task of describing to me the premise of his upcoming book, I was, quite frankly, amazed when he didn’t pass out from sheer exhaustion.
“It’s a futuristic-retro superhero romp that mixes and matches 1930s Art Deco architectural lines with the gung-ho Soviet formalist propaganda style, twisted into 1960s pop art sentiment and the huge influence of Jack Kirby. Think golden and silver age American comics channeled into a dystopian future—via Japanese manga—while heavily skewed by the ’60s Marvel comic book baggage of Kirby, Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Jim Steranko, Steve Ditko and their ilk. And then decant that concoction into the legacy of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.”
Now, I did say ‘book’, not ‘comic book’. Andrez Bergen has stuffed all these comic book concepts into one hefty novel. But the visuals so dear to comic book aficionados have not been forgotten. Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is illustrated by a variety of artists from the UK, Italy, the United States, Japan, Russia, Spain, Canada, Argentina, and the author’s homeland of Australia.
“I wanted a more professional take on the visual concept and I also liked the idea of disparate visions of the same character—it’s the way comic books, after all, work in the real world. Bryan Hitch’s perception of Captain America in 2009 was far different from John Buscema’s in 1969.”
But the most challenging hurdle of all was his decision to let me read the book. I appreciate comic books for their rich history and contributions to our culture in the form of action movies, occasional fashion statements and a rich abundance of cultural references. However, my own interest in comics was short-lived, just a small dose of Superman back in grade school. I was more of a Tales from the Crypt, MAD Magazine, Asimov and Bradbury girl. And so, with my anemic comic book background, I cracked into Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? feeling like the odd kid out. Right off, I was introduced to Jack, a kid struggling to survive in the dirty ragged remnants of Melbourne, Australia. Jack and I clicked immediately, since I’m fond of survival tales, and so through his eyes I was finally able to discover what comforts and wonders can be found within comic books.
Eventually, Jack learns of an unusual way to escape his life in Melbourne and finds himself wandering Heropa, a retro-virtual metropolis that seems capable of giving him everything he needs. He gets a fresh start, food, shelter, clothing, and caring friends. Jack bumbles along, slowly figuring it all out, while I cheered and encouraged him along. Turns out Jack is a ‘Cape’ (Heropa’s superheroes) by the name of Southern Cross. He settles in with other Capes and learns more about life in the virtual world of Heropa. There are standards he must uphold; no drinking, swearing, or smoking (there are repercussions), and he quickly learns that wearing a superhero mask every day is really annoying. Oh, and there’s another fact of life in Heropa – every night at midnight, the city gets a reset. The ‘Blandos’ (ordinary folk, think non-player characters in a roleplay game) wake up in the morning and go about their jobs and lives with any mayhem, personal injuries and city damage from the day before set back to a nice tidy default. Their memories are reset as well, so every day is a new chance to do the same old things, oblivious to the repetition.
Seems simple enough on the surface, but Jack begins to discover that something is very wrong in the city. Capes are being killed more often and more flagrantly. The resets have stopped working. Alcohol is re-discovered and overly enjoyed. Jack meets a bank teller Blando who steals his heart. And that’s just the beginning of some very big changes happening in Heropa.
Meanwhile, what’s happening to the people back in Melbourne while their virtual Cape personas fight, fall in love and die? And what about the Blandos? With the reset off, are they closer to becoming real people? Are they capable of building memories and relationships and bringing lasting changes to Heropa? Is the definition of reality changing?
I taunted Andrez about writing this whole review as an allegory to a 1947 Studebaker, but instead I’ll just give you a taste. By comparison, his previous novel, 100 Years of Vicissitude, is a Mazda RX-7, able to zip through convoluted Japanese streets and change directions quicker than you can blink.
Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is more like a 1947 Studebaker Land Cruiser. Big enough to hold a pile of passengers and all their baggage, but with enough attitude to cruise stylishly down a vintage virtual boulevard. First gear takes time to work up to speed, but that’s all right, we can study life on the sidewalks as we pass by. Second gear gets you moving along quicker – it’s going to be bad news hitting a pothole at this speed. Third gear and you’d better be strapped in because this car’s not stopping for anything. This novel ramps up the action one gear at a time, each shift revealing faster and more breathtaking scenery right up to the very end.
As a bonus, the back of the book contains a glossary of all the slang and comic books mentioned in his story, as well as bios of the artists, acknowledgements, inspirations, influences, moments of worth in the authors life, and essential comic book reading highlights. As you can see, Andrez is not one to take shortcuts when talking about his passions. I absolutely recommend Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? You have nothing to lose but your preconceived notions.
“It’s a futuristic-retro superhero romp that mixes and matches 1930s Art Deco architectural lines with the gung-ho Soviet formalist propaganda style, twisted into 1960s pop art sentiment and the huge influence of Jack Kirby. Think golden and silver age American comics channeled into a dystopian future—via Japanese manga—while heavily skewed by the ’60s Marvel comic book baggage of Kirby, Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Jim Steranko, Steve Ditko and their ilk. And then decant that concoction into the legacy of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.”
Now, I did say ‘book’, not ‘comic book’. Andrez Bergen has stuffed all these comic book concepts into one hefty novel. But the visuals so dear to comic book aficionados have not been forgotten. Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is illustrated by a variety of artists from the UK, Italy, the United States, Japan, Russia, Spain, Canada, Argentina, and the author’s homeland of Australia.
“I wanted a more professional take on the visual concept and I also liked the idea of disparate visions of the same character—it’s the way comic books, after all, work in the real world. Bryan Hitch’s perception of Captain America in 2009 was far different from John Buscema’s in 1969.”
But the most challenging hurdle of all was his decision to let me read the book. I appreciate comic books for their rich history and contributions to our culture in the form of action movies, occasional fashion statements and a rich abundance of cultural references. However, my own interest in comics was short-lived, just a small dose of Superman back in grade school. I was more of a Tales from the Crypt, MAD Magazine, Asimov and Bradbury girl. And so, with my anemic comic book background, I cracked into Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? feeling like the odd kid out. Right off, I was introduced to Jack, a kid struggling to survive in the dirty ragged remnants of Melbourne, Australia. Jack and I clicked immediately, since I’m fond of survival tales, and so through his eyes I was finally able to discover what comforts and wonders can be found within comic books.
Eventually, Jack learns of an unusual way to escape his life in Melbourne and finds himself wandering Heropa, a retro-virtual metropolis that seems capable of giving him everything he needs. He gets a fresh start, food, shelter, clothing, and caring friends. Jack bumbles along, slowly figuring it all out, while I cheered and encouraged him along. Turns out Jack is a ‘Cape’ (Heropa’s superheroes) by the name of Southern Cross. He settles in with other Capes and learns more about life in the virtual world of Heropa. There are standards he must uphold; no drinking, swearing, or smoking (there are repercussions), and he quickly learns that wearing a superhero mask every day is really annoying. Oh, and there’s another fact of life in Heropa – every night at midnight, the city gets a reset. The ‘Blandos’ (ordinary folk, think non-player characters in a roleplay game) wake up in the morning and go about their jobs and lives with any mayhem, personal injuries and city damage from the day before set back to a nice tidy default. Their memories are reset as well, so every day is a new chance to do the same old things, oblivious to the repetition.
Seems simple enough on the surface, but Jack begins to discover that something is very wrong in the city. Capes are being killed more often and more flagrantly. The resets have stopped working. Alcohol is re-discovered and overly enjoyed. Jack meets a bank teller Blando who steals his heart. And that’s just the beginning of some very big changes happening in Heropa.
Meanwhile, what’s happening to the people back in Melbourne while their virtual Cape personas fight, fall in love and die? And what about the Blandos? With the reset off, are they closer to becoming real people? Are they capable of building memories and relationships and bringing lasting changes to Heropa? Is the definition of reality changing?
I taunted Andrez about writing this whole review as an allegory to a 1947 Studebaker, but instead I’ll just give you a taste. By comparison, his previous novel, 100 Years of Vicissitude, is a Mazda RX-7, able to zip through convoluted Japanese streets and change directions quicker than you can blink.
Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is more like a 1947 Studebaker Land Cruiser. Big enough to hold a pile of passengers and all their baggage, but with enough attitude to cruise stylishly down a vintage virtual boulevard. First gear takes time to work up to speed, but that’s all right, we can study life on the sidewalks as we pass by. Second gear gets you moving along quicker – it’s going to be bad news hitting a pothole at this speed. Third gear and you’d better be strapped in because this car’s not stopping for anything. This novel ramps up the action one gear at a time, each shift revealing faster and more breathtaking scenery right up to the very end.
As a bonus, the back of the book contains a glossary of all the slang and comic books mentioned in his story, as well as bios of the artists, acknowledgements, inspirations, influences, moments of worth in the authors life, and essential comic book reading highlights. As you can see, Andrez is not one to take shortcuts when talking about his passions. I absolutely recommend Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? You have nothing to lose but your preconceived notions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 27, 2013
About the Book:
Jack, fifteen, lives in a ruined Melbourne, alone after his parents are disappeared by the state for sedition. On one of his forages out into the bowels of the city, someone hands him a flyer giving him an address. He follows the trail from one place to another where at each spot he must answer a question to get the next address. Finally he lands at the last stop only to be turned away until he accidentally says the password.
Jack's next stop finds him on the streets of a clean city with a mismash of architectural styled buildings unlike anything he had seen before. Here, he discovers he is Southern Cross, a superhero, also known as a Cape, and he is part of a group of Superheroes know as The Equalizers. The city is populated by people the Capes call Blandos (because they are so bland) and other Capes who belong to The League of Unmitigated Rotters.
There are rules to this new place - no cussing (though some words are okay), no drinking, no smoking, and no killing (other than Blandos), except someone is killing. And that is the mystery of the place. Who is killing the Capes, why are they killing the Capes, and how are they killing the Capes?
Jack, together with Equalizers Brick and Pretty Amazonia, sets out to find out what is really happening in this fair city. Along the way he picks up a petty reporter, a sharp detective, and a girlfriend. It is the girlfriend that has Jack sidetracked from his task of finding the killer or killers.
My Take:
This book is a huge tribute to comic books, with blatant, not so blatant, and obscure references to the comic book heroes of the last century. I read these stories back in the day, my favorite being Spiderman and Daredevil, though I was familiar with others. Most of the references in this work went over my head but it never, ever distracted from the story or the humor and there is plenty of both. Quite the opposite, in fact. And I enjoyed all the references I picked up on and learned a lot from others.
I was taken back when the jump from Melbourne to Heropa took place but soon sussed this is a story much like Tron or The Thirteenth Floor though with much more humor. As with all such stories, you die in Heropa, you die. The concept that everything is extremely real - food tastes, odors smell, pain hurts, and love is a deep emotion - keeps the reader vested in what is happening within Heropa. When our hero Jack faces death, it keeps us on the edge of our seat, just as his falling in love melts our hearts because we know for Jack it is all too real.
The mystery plot was well done and the why of it properly hidden. Like all life, the pathway through the plot is never direct since, like many, Jack gets taken in by a beautiful woman. The love interest keeps the mystery from overpowering the humor and lightness of this tale.
Bergen does his characters a powerful service by making them so real and simple to connect with throughout the story. It is too easy, when writing a light touch story to give a light brush to the characters. Not only did I connect with the main characters, I fell for the minor characters, too, being completely vested in their lives.
This is a quality tale with exceptional writing, dialect and all, and something I do hope you pick up. I have only one question for the writer. Who is Melbourne paying and why???
My Recommendation:
I loved, loved this book. I believe anyone who loves comic books and their heroes will love this book. Those who are not familiar will still find this edgy tale a keeper. There is a bit of sex, more than a bit of cussing (though clean by many standards) and some violence similar to comic books.
Jack, fifteen, lives in a ruined Melbourne, alone after his parents are disappeared by the state for sedition. On one of his forages out into the bowels of the city, someone hands him a flyer giving him an address. He follows the trail from one place to another where at each spot he must answer a question to get the next address. Finally he lands at the last stop only to be turned away until he accidentally says the password.
Jack's next stop finds him on the streets of a clean city with a mismash of architectural styled buildings unlike anything he had seen before. Here, he discovers he is Southern Cross, a superhero, also known as a Cape, and he is part of a group of Superheroes know as The Equalizers. The city is populated by people the Capes call Blandos (because they are so bland) and other Capes who belong to The League of Unmitigated Rotters.
There are rules to this new place - no cussing (though some words are okay), no drinking, no smoking, and no killing (other than Blandos), except someone is killing. And that is the mystery of the place. Who is killing the Capes, why are they killing the Capes, and how are they killing the Capes?
Jack, together with Equalizers Brick and Pretty Amazonia, sets out to find out what is really happening in this fair city. Along the way he picks up a petty reporter, a sharp detective, and a girlfriend. It is the girlfriend that has Jack sidetracked from his task of finding the killer or killers.
My Take:
This book is a huge tribute to comic books, with blatant, not so blatant, and obscure references to the comic book heroes of the last century. I read these stories back in the day, my favorite being Spiderman and Daredevil, though I was familiar with others. Most of the references in this work went over my head but it never, ever distracted from the story or the humor and there is plenty of both. Quite the opposite, in fact. And I enjoyed all the references I picked up on and learned a lot from others.
I was taken back when the jump from Melbourne to Heropa took place but soon sussed this is a story much like Tron or The Thirteenth Floor though with much more humor. As with all such stories, you die in Heropa, you die. The concept that everything is extremely real - food tastes, odors smell, pain hurts, and love is a deep emotion - keeps the reader vested in what is happening within Heropa. When our hero Jack faces death, it keeps us on the edge of our seat, just as his falling in love melts our hearts because we know for Jack it is all too real.
The mystery plot was well done and the why of it properly hidden. Like all life, the pathway through the plot is never direct since, like many, Jack gets taken in by a beautiful woman. The love interest keeps the mystery from overpowering the humor and lightness of this tale.
Bergen does his characters a powerful service by making them so real and simple to connect with throughout the story. It is too easy, when writing a light touch story to give a light brush to the characters. Not only did I connect with the main characters, I fell for the minor characters, too, being completely vested in their lives.
This is a quality tale with exceptional writing, dialect and all, and something I do hope you pick up. I have only one question for the writer. Who is Melbourne paying and why???
My Recommendation:
I loved, loved this book. I believe anyone who loves comic books and their heroes will love this book. Those who are not familiar will still find this edgy tale a keeper. There is a bit of sex, more than a bit of cussing (though clean by many standards) and some violence similar to comic books.
November 11, 2013
The last book I reviewed for Perfect Edge may have been Angel Falls, and I loved it. So, when the opportunity came to pick up 3 more books from Perfect Edge, I had to jump. I probably shouldn’t have. My schedule for the next 3-4 weeks is a little crazy, and between a new job for the winter, and taking part in National Novel Writing Month, I’ve got my hands full.
I prefer them to also be full of good books. That’s exactly what I got. Even though my expectations after reading 4 other books put out by Perfect Edge were very high, this one didn’t disappoint. I mentioned in my review of Reding’s Oathtaker that I’m very hard nosed when it comes to science fiction if I believe I’m the target market. I can be brutal with my critiques. There are also a number of sci-fi books that I haven’t reviewed yet, but have read, simply because I’m not sure how to review them.
Heropa, was definitely not one of those books, and I have so much to say about it, I don’t know that I have time in the 20 minutes before starting my new job with CMHA Westman to get it all down.
Instead, I’m going to leave you with the excerpts and info about the tour, as well as my initial thoughts (after the excerpt). This link will take you to the tour page where you can enter for prizes, and read about the other two books for the tour.
My initial thoughts after finishing Heropa were pretty much this.
[caption id="attachment_1266" align="aligncenter" width="183"]
Let me out of here![/caption]
I HAVE to get out so I can tell you how god-damned good this was!
As I mentioned, the success of the last tour of Perfect Edge Books had my expectations set very high. Then, the first book on the tour list was in one of my favorite genres. It's classified as Science Fiction Noir & Fantasy. It couldn't get much more intriguing than that.
It's also no small feat to successfully combine all those genres into one book and have it work out. I could say all the normal things like great characters, amazing plot lines, good story telling and world building. They're all true, but this book is so much more.
I wanted to feel like I was in a black and white movie, be close to the comic book style, and enter a science fiction world of dystopia like no other.
Thanks, Andrez Bergen, you've done it. You've gone and mixed genres, created a dystopic world like no other I've read before, and you've made it into a masterpiece with some great societal references I can't wait to jump into.
I prefer them to also be full of good books. That’s exactly what I got. Even though my expectations after reading 4 other books put out by Perfect Edge were very high, this one didn’t disappoint. I mentioned in my review of Reding’s Oathtaker that I’m very hard nosed when it comes to science fiction if I believe I’m the target market. I can be brutal with my critiques. There are also a number of sci-fi books that I haven’t reviewed yet, but have read, simply because I’m not sure how to review them.
Heropa, was definitely not one of those books, and I have so much to say about it, I don’t know that I have time in the 20 minutes before starting my new job with CMHA Westman to get it all down.
Instead, I’m going to leave you with the excerpts and info about the tour, as well as my initial thoughts (after the excerpt). This link will take you to the tour page where you can enter for prizes, and read about the other two books for the tour.
My initial thoughts after finishing Heropa were pretty much this.
[caption id="attachment_1266" align="aligncenter" width="183"]
Let me out of here![/caption]I HAVE to get out so I can tell you how god-damned good this was!
As I mentioned, the success of the last tour of Perfect Edge Books had my expectations set very high. Then, the first book on the tour list was in one of my favorite genres. It's classified as Science Fiction Noir & Fantasy. It couldn't get much more intriguing than that.
It's also no small feat to successfully combine all those genres into one book and have it work out. I could say all the normal things like great characters, amazing plot lines, good story telling and world building. They're all true, but this book is so much more.
I wanted to feel like I was in a black and white movie, be close to the comic book style, and enter a science fiction world of dystopia like no other.
Thanks, Andrez Bergen, you've done it. You've gone and mixed genres, created a dystopic world like no other I've read before, and you've made it into a masterpiece with some great societal references I can't wait to jump into.
May 17, 2015
A conceptually intriguing exploration of superheroes in an artificial playground where social outcasts can don capes and have a shot at happiness. The novel has great potential, but doesn't quite deliver the punch.
With comic book icons jumping across the multiplex cinema screens, it’s hard not to be involved in the superhero hype, which has been successfully crossing over from colourful panels to novels and short fiction. With Adam Christopher’s Empire State, Seven Wonders and The Age Atomic as well as Masked Mosaic: Canadian Super Stories edited by Claude Lalumière & Camille Alexa as most recent examples, it’s no wonder more people would examine the superhero narrative and myth, which leads us to Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?, a novel by Australian author Andrez Bergen.
What differentiates Bergen’s novel from the works above is the fact that Heropa is a digital city where players create a superhero avatar for themselves and have the chance to brawl it amongst each other either as a hero or a villain. These people are the so-called Capes in a fake city, where each day everything is reset and the NPCs (Blandos), who usually get caught in the crossfire, live from day to day with no memories. It’s in this world that 15-year-old Jacob finds himself as muscled and chiseled adult superhero Jack a.k.a. Southern Cross.
He comes to Heropa to seek refuge from the unforgiving, authoritarian nightmare Melbourne has become and the only prospect for happiness is to switch one world for another reality. Jacob does this readily, pushed onwards by his love for comic book lore, but his ultimate fantasy slowly tilts off-center. Yes, he joins the Equalizers, the elite team of do-goers in Heropa, but instead of team spirit and heroics he meets jaded players – tired of the game, tired of staying in characters, tired with each other. Barbs and cynicism have substituted playful banter. Disinterest has substituted team work. The heroes are players and since they’re the only real people, the civilian’s live have lost all value.
READ THE REST HERE
With comic book icons jumping across the multiplex cinema screens, it’s hard not to be involved in the superhero hype, which has been successfully crossing over from colourful panels to novels and short fiction. With Adam Christopher’s Empire State, Seven Wonders and The Age Atomic as well as Masked Mosaic: Canadian Super Stories edited by Claude Lalumière & Camille Alexa as most recent examples, it’s no wonder more people would examine the superhero narrative and myth, which leads us to Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa?, a novel by Australian author Andrez Bergen.
What differentiates Bergen’s novel from the works above is the fact that Heropa is a digital city where players create a superhero avatar for themselves and have the chance to brawl it amongst each other either as a hero or a villain. These people are the so-called Capes in a fake city, where each day everything is reset and the NPCs (Blandos), who usually get caught in the crossfire, live from day to day with no memories. It’s in this world that 15-year-old Jacob finds himself as muscled and chiseled adult superhero Jack a.k.a. Southern Cross.
He comes to Heropa to seek refuge from the unforgiving, authoritarian nightmare Melbourne has become and the only prospect for happiness is to switch one world for another reality. Jacob does this readily, pushed onwards by his love for comic book lore, but his ultimate fantasy slowly tilts off-center. Yes, he joins the Equalizers, the elite team of do-goers in Heropa, but instead of team spirit and heroics he meets jaded players – tired of the game, tired of staying in characters, tired with each other. Barbs and cynicism have substituted playful banter. Disinterest has substituted team work. The heroes are players and since they’re the only real people, the civilian’s live have lost all value.
READ THE REST HERE
September 4, 2013
Andrez Bergen's WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? is an ode to the golden age of comics, and then some. It's a novel of great ambition brimming with escapism and heroism, portrayed in a dystopian setting encompassing an ideal that's refreshing, honest, and true to pulp culture.
The superheroes (capes) of Heropa are being picked off one by one. Southern Cross (Melbourne teen, Jacob) is the newest member of a small group of heroes banded together under the good-guy banner The Equalizers - their primary goal, to keep the inhabitants of Heropa safe from rogue Capes and other criminal threats. A task made harder by the mystifying murder rate of Capes that came before him.
Core to proceedings is Southern Cross and his ability to adapt then evolve to his persona and surroundings. From apprehensive baby steps to duking it out with menacing foes direct from the pages of superhero comics, Jacob's journey compliments the artificial reality of Heropa.
True to form for a superhero caper, there's a love interest with a little likeness to Lois Lane (in terms of civilian-come-hero-love-interest), a broad spanning mystery across the city itself and a another within dystopian Melbourne, and cool character designs (some of which are provided in the book). Louise, a seemingly innocent and bland character at first captures Southern Cross' heart and kick starts another dimension to the already stellar story giving it a more human side.
There's a lot to like about WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA?. Fans of DC comics will marvel (pun intended) at the cityscape, and capes alike (some baring a likeness in premise to The Thing and Wonder Woman). The action is top notch with further exploration of the city and it's heroes not outside the realms of possibility. This is a book that demands future installments.
Highly recommended.
You can also read my interview with Andrez Bergen here: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
This review also appears on my blog: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
The superheroes (capes) of Heropa are being picked off one by one. Southern Cross (Melbourne teen, Jacob) is the newest member of a small group of heroes banded together under the good-guy banner The Equalizers - their primary goal, to keep the inhabitants of Heropa safe from rogue Capes and other criminal threats. A task made harder by the mystifying murder rate of Capes that came before him.
Core to proceedings is Southern Cross and his ability to adapt then evolve to his persona and surroundings. From apprehensive baby steps to duking it out with menacing foes direct from the pages of superhero comics, Jacob's journey compliments the artificial reality of Heropa.
True to form for a superhero caper, there's a love interest with a little likeness to Lois Lane (in terms of civilian-come-hero-love-interest), a broad spanning mystery across the city itself and a another within dystopian Melbourne, and cool character designs (some of which are provided in the book). Louise, a seemingly innocent and bland character at first captures Southern Cross' heart and kick starts another dimension to the already stellar story giving it a more human side.
There's a lot to like about WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA?. Fans of DC comics will marvel (pun intended) at the cityscape, and capes alike (some baring a likeness in premise to The Thing and Wonder Woman). The action is top notch with further exploration of the city and it's heroes not outside the realms of possibility. This is a book that demands future installments.
Highly recommended.
You can also read my interview with Andrez Bergen here: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
This review also appears on my blog: http://justaguythatlikes2read.blogspo...
January 11, 2015
Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa is a fantastically different and entertaining novel. Set in a dystopian post apocalyptic future where there is only one city left on earth. Therefore is it any wonder that the oppressed citizens of this city seek escape within a virtual world? Our hero, who is just fifteen, lives alone his parents long ago dragged off by the fascist police. He ekes out a meagre existence by scavenging for food. It's on one of these food hunts that he discovers a hoard of ancient comics. From that moment on he is hooked. Later, his knowledge of comic books will lead to him securing a place in a virtual world that is quite unlike any other. As with any virtual realm there are defined rules. Andrez Bergen is clear in outlining these: No swearing and no drinking among others. Breaking these will result in our player being kicked from Heropa with a two-day penalty.
I'm no reader of comics. I grew up reading the classic sci-fi novels so just about all of the author's carefully crafted references and in jokes probably flew right over my balding head. However, I enjoyed the witty comic book banter, which was always effective, and it was great to read a book with no swearing in for a change! In my own fiction there's foul language on almost every page.
What I enjoyed most about this novel is the interplay between the characters. Humour is very much the backbone of Chandler style who dunnit. Our hero, Southern Cross, attempts to find out who is killing the great capes of Heropa. It’s not a perfect world and relationships are flawed, things start to go wrong in the game with sometimes comic and even sinister consequences.
Bergen has created a spectacular world here and I could easily see it running to a series of novels, comics and spin offs. Interesting artwork enriches the kindle edition I read. A very different read that I enjoyed from page one until the conclusion. The author has researched his subject painstakingly and meticulously and the novel flows like warm butter from a pan. A well deserved five stars from me.
I'm no reader of comics. I grew up reading the classic sci-fi novels so just about all of the author's carefully crafted references and in jokes probably flew right over my balding head. However, I enjoyed the witty comic book banter, which was always effective, and it was great to read a book with no swearing in for a change! In my own fiction there's foul language on almost every page.
What I enjoyed most about this novel is the interplay between the characters. Humour is very much the backbone of Chandler style who dunnit. Our hero, Southern Cross, attempts to find out who is killing the great capes of Heropa. It’s not a perfect world and relationships are flawed, things start to go wrong in the game with sometimes comic and even sinister consequences.
Bergen has created a spectacular world here and I could easily see it running to a series of novels, comics and spin offs. Interesting artwork enriches the kindle edition I read. A very different read that I enjoyed from page one until the conclusion. The author has researched his subject painstakingly and meticulously and the novel flows like warm butter from a pan. A well deserved five stars from me.
November 2, 2013
Southern Cross is the newest superhero (cape) to arrive in Heropa, only to find that things aren't quite as expected - someone or something is killing off the capes, both heroes and villains, one by one.
Southern Cross must become familiar with the rules of Heropa, fit in with the Equalizers (a group of superheroes), try to find out who's killing off the capes, and develop a relationship with Louise, who doesn't seem to be like the other Blandos (non capes).
This was a fairly well written blending of an homage to the golden age of comics with a detective noir story. While I'm not a comics fan and probably missed many of the more esoteric references, there was enough there around the detective story and pop culture knowledge of superheroes to carry the story and keep me interested.
The characterisation was a bit one dimensional in places, but it's difficult to tell if that was deliberate homage, or not, so I have to give it the benefit of the doubt.
The dialogue was quite good, in particular the banter between several of the characters brought an appropriate level of light comedy to an otherwise dark story, stopping it from becoming too depressing.
There were also quite a few sketches of superheroes in different poses, which may mean something to comics fans or artists, but were wasted on me.
All up, I found it a bit slow going at first, but the second half of the book picked up significantly, and I was quite satisfied with the ending.
If you're a superhero and/or detective noir story fan, then this is definitely worth considering for the to-be-read pile.
prk.
Disclaimer: Whilst I read this as a judge for the 2013 Aurealis Awards, this review is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging co-ordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
Southern Cross must become familiar with the rules of Heropa, fit in with the Equalizers (a group of superheroes), try to find out who's killing off the capes, and develop a relationship with Louise, who doesn't seem to be like the other Blandos (non capes).
This was a fairly well written blending of an homage to the golden age of comics with a detective noir story. While I'm not a comics fan and probably missed many of the more esoteric references, there was enough there around the detective story and pop culture knowledge of superheroes to carry the story and keep me interested.
The characterisation was a bit one dimensional in places, but it's difficult to tell if that was deliberate homage, or not, so I have to give it the benefit of the doubt.
The dialogue was quite good, in particular the banter between several of the characters brought an appropriate level of light comedy to an otherwise dark story, stopping it from becoming too depressing.
There were also quite a few sketches of superheroes in different poses, which may mean something to comics fans or artists, but were wasted on me.
All up, I found it a bit slow going at first, but the second half of the book picked up significantly, and I was quite satisfied with the ending.
If you're a superhero and/or detective noir story fan, then this is definitely worth considering for the to-be-read pile.
prk.
Disclaimer: Whilst I read this as a judge for the 2013 Aurealis Awards, this review is my personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of any judging panel, the judging co-ordinator or the Aurealis Awards management team.
November 25, 2013
Review of ‘Who is killing the Great Capes of Heropa?’
I read the above mentioned book by Andrew Bergen. I liked it quite a bit, though it did have a few flaws. I thought a good portion of the beginning of the book was very slow and dragged quite a bit. Also the ending was very abrupt. The book just…ended. No epilogue, no wrap up. Not even a ‘The End’. I thought it could be about a hundred pages shorter and it would have changed the pace of the book quite a bit. Also, no back story at all. We don’t know what happened to the world other than that there was a war and Australia was the only place left. How long ago did this happen? What exactly did happen?
Now on to the good stuff: The story was pretty damned good. A world that was NOT what it seemed at first glance. It reminded me very much of a game I used to love to play ‘City of Heroes’ which was my favorite game I ever played. I felt this book borrowed heavily from that game, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
The references to comic book history brought a smile to my face. It was just great. The author did a fantastic job of researching the past greatness of Marvel Comics.
All in all the characters were fleshed out very nicely, the action was good though a little sparse. I could have done with more of it myself. But the mystery was interesting and what action we did see was great.
All in all I really liked this book. I thought it was a very good read. I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars Well worth reading.
I read the above mentioned book by Andrew Bergen. I liked it quite a bit, though it did have a few flaws. I thought a good portion of the beginning of the book was very slow and dragged quite a bit. Also the ending was very abrupt. The book just…ended. No epilogue, no wrap up. Not even a ‘The End’. I thought it could be about a hundred pages shorter and it would have changed the pace of the book quite a bit. Also, no back story at all. We don’t know what happened to the world other than that there was a war and Australia was the only place left. How long ago did this happen? What exactly did happen?
Now on to the good stuff: The story was pretty damned good. A world that was NOT what it seemed at first glance. It reminded me very much of a game I used to love to play ‘City of Heroes’ which was my favorite game I ever played. I felt this book borrowed heavily from that game, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
The references to comic book history brought a smile to my face. It was just great. The author did a fantastic job of researching the past greatness of Marvel Comics.
All in all the characters were fleshed out very nicely, the action was good though a little sparse. I could have done with more of it myself. But the mystery was interesting and what action we did see was great.
All in all I really liked this book. I thought it was a very good read. I give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars Well worth reading.
November 5, 2014
Andrez Bergen is a strange cat and WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? might just be his most puzzling offering so far. Think of it as a superhero story told from the whimsical perspective of a Wes Anderson or a Douglas Adams. I don't think it's on purpose, I just think that's who Bergen is and that's the only way he knows how to tell stories, which is peculiar, yet kind of cool.
Some of you know that I'm not into comic books at all and that Bergen's idiosyncratic delivery made it difficult on me to poke through the shell of WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA?, but it eventually settles into its rythm and delivers a competent caper mystery with distant shades of hardboiled sensibilities (notably Hammett's most classic novels). I'd recommend it to comic book historians who can take quirky and whimsical, but I can't say that I experienced overpowering feeling reading that novel. It wasn't bad, it was just not quite in my registry.
Some of you know that I'm not into comic books at all and that Bergen's idiosyncratic delivery made it difficult on me to poke through the shell of WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA?, but it eventually settles into its rythm and delivers a competent caper mystery with distant shades of hardboiled sensibilities (notably Hammett's most classic novels). I'd recommend it to comic book historians who can take quirky and whimsical, but I can't say that I experienced overpowering feeling reading that novel. It wasn't bad, it was just not quite in my registry.
June 3, 2015
In a future Melbourne, a young man escapes starvation and depression through an online game in which he becomes a super hero. Unlike today's online gaming, this one has the young man hooked up to wires and cables so that he actually resides completely within the game mentally.
After meeting with other players, he finds that he entered the game at a strange time. In the past, the heroes and villains never perished. They recovered from any and all injuries during the daily reset. This was now changing and several of the players known as capes were being murdered. Even worse, dying in the game was frying the brains of the players in real life.
The young man has a number of adventures before realizing he must find out what is going on with the game.
This was a pretty interesting read. The writing style was smooth and it was easy to get through. I would definitely be interested in reading more from this author at some point.
After meeting with other players, he finds that he entered the game at a strange time. In the past, the heroes and villains never perished. They recovered from any and all injuries during the daily reset. This was now changing and several of the players known as capes were being murdered. Even worse, dying in the game was frying the brains of the players in real life.
The young man has a number of adventures before realizing he must find out what is going on with the game.
This was a pretty interesting read. The writing style was smooth and it was easy to get through. I would definitely be interested in reading more from this author at some point.
October 21, 2014
I stumbled across this book entirely by mistake whilst trawling Amazon for something good to read. Sadly for most British readers you struggle to find out much about Andrez Bergen in the UK and what a huge shame this is.
The Capes was a marvellous read, the twists and turns in the story were largely unexpected and hugely entertaining, the world was well imagined and built and the concepts the book introduced were great fun.
For me this book stood out for its characterisation. All the characters were well fleshed out with great and unique personalities. Each had their own journey and quirks which really engaged you regardless of how much page time they had.
Rarely do I find a author who can keep me up until 3am when I have work at 8am to finish a book in one sitting. Mr Bergen is such an author and I am already keenly awaiting picking up his next novel.
The Capes was a marvellous read, the twists and turns in the story were largely unexpected and hugely entertaining, the world was well imagined and built and the concepts the book introduced were great fun.
For me this book stood out for its characterisation. All the characters were well fleshed out with great and unique personalities. Each had their own journey and quirks which really engaged you regardless of how much page time they had.
Rarely do I find a author who can keep me up until 3am when I have work at 8am to finish a book in one sitting. Mr Bergen is such an author and I am already keenly awaiting picking up his next novel.
February 24, 2014
First things first, you are going to have to slog through some banter to get through this book. Personally, nothing turns me off quicker. But I'm stubborn, and I kept reading, and good thing I did, because this book only gets better and better, until it becomes amazing. A fascinating virtual comic book world is the setting, yet the characters there are every bit as gripping as any you'll find in the real world. This was the type of book that I couldn't leave sitting there -- I had to read it, or be thinking about it anyway. An excellent read, and highly recommended.
August 13, 2016
I've enjoyed Andrez Bergen's work in the past, notably his "Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat" and "Depth Charging Ice Planet Goth". This one didn't connect with me in the same way, mainly because it's very, very heavy on the world of comic books, which simply aren't a great interest of mine. In the plus column are imagination and devotion -- "Capes" is obviously a labor of love. It's a sprawling effort, however, with an extremely busy plot that I thought could have been stripped down, starting with less encyclopedic detail of comics.
December 21, 2018
2.5 stars
I can't tell if the story is so simple it's easy to read more into it than is there or if the author intended to subtly seed in deeper meaning.
Some clear things: the author knows how to turn a quip, however, the rest of his prose is lackluster. Descriptions like 'art deco-style' or 'oriental-style' pepper the book, and the rest of the description is name-dropping, especially when it comes to cars. The overuse of epithets makes it surprisingly harder to understand who is talking. I tend to assume epithets are for characters whose name is unknown at the time. This confused me at least once: at the beginning of a chapter and scene change, I assumed the character referred to as 'the woman' was someone other than the woman already introduced. The writing is what drops this rating from 3 to 2.5. Two stars is for books that bore me. Frankly, I don't know if I actually found myself engaged with the story or if I was merely trying to figure out what was going on.
The thrust of the plot itself is quite simple: idealistic new kid brings the idea of heroism back to those too jaded to care anymore. The nitty-gritty is that Heropa is a virtual reality superhero game, somewhat like the Matrix, to use a broad pop culture reference. The 'Reset', that erases the damage done to the city of Heropa every midnight and allows the heroes to start afresh, is no longer working, so the capes have to face the consequences, from maintaining injuries to an anti-cape uprising.
Alas, so much of the story element go uncommented that I'm not sure whether it is meant to be unsettling because it is unspoken or whether the author didn't care. For example, some of the computer code citizens of Heropa develop sapience and no one cares. Our hero, who is revealed to be 15, has a sexual relationship with one of these pixel people - a grown woman who works as a secretary. There is no awkwardness around sex, so is the kid supposed to know the ropes already? From his solitary life in the real world, it doesn't seem like sex was in the picture.
The stakes don't seem to be worth the cost. Before their ability to logout was disabled, there's some mention that the other heroes are staying in Heropa because they want to solve the mystery of the murdered capes. However, killing the player's avatar cape causes the player to become brain-dead in the real world. Is curiosity really enough motivation? Is this supposed to be a commentary on the state of the world outside?
Because the world outside Heropa is a dystopia. The MC's parents were taken by government agent when he was 13 and he lives alone now. This? Has very little effect on the plot.
I was hoping the real world setting would shed some light on the story, but Heropa could very easily be set in a different near-future setting without much changing. In fact, a disappointing amount of the story is apolitical and aracial. We go into the psychology of our MC, who becomes the Australian answer to Captain America, Southern Cross, but are so many other heroes patriots? What would make someone want to play a Nazi villain? Should we assume there are neo-Nazis in the real world who get their kicks out of pretending to be fake Nazis? Australia has its own racial problems, notably the way they treat the indigenous groups, but none of that is here. The races of characters aren't mentioned, beyond mentioning that a character is blond. A few characters are hinted to be Japanese and manga and anime play a good-sized part. But what do the characters think of their team leader being called Great White Hope? Am I to assume that the author didn't realize the term was born of the racism of the US and was a deliberate call for white supremacy? Apparently the term has lost it's racial connotation, but I've never heard it used before and a character refers to him as 'Hitler's pinup boy', presumably in relation to his appearance, but no one in the story comments on it any further. Are there no people of color in the future? The logo of our heroes' crime-fighting organization is taken from the British Union of Fascists as a joke, but I don't get it. I can't tell what the author is trying to say with this.
The final villain is disappointingly your standard megalomaniac. I was hoping for something more when it was revealed he , but no development really came from that.
The book makes a few references to the Terry Gilliam film , and I can't tell how many cues the readers are supposed to take from that. This book ends with the MC forgoing any attempt to resist the oppression of the real-world dystopia and choosing to live in the fantasy Heropa because there he can feel like he is making a difference and saving these pixel people. Is that meant to mirror the ending of the final cut of Brazil? Are we supposed to be happy for the MC? Or angry at his renouncing any hope for the real world? No one calls him out for that.
After reading the acknowledgements in the back of the book, it was revealed that this story is set in the same dystopian Melbourne of another book by the author. Perhaps the lack of interaction with the real world is because handling Melbourne is the other character's story.
I can't tell if the story is so simple it's easy to read more into it than is there or if the author intended to subtly seed in deeper meaning.
Some clear things: the author knows how to turn a quip, however, the rest of his prose is lackluster. Descriptions like 'art deco-style' or 'oriental-style' pepper the book, and the rest of the description is name-dropping, especially when it comes to cars. The overuse of epithets makes it surprisingly harder to understand who is talking. I tend to assume epithets are for characters whose name is unknown at the time. This confused me at least once: at the beginning of a chapter and scene change, I assumed the character referred to as 'the woman' was someone other than the woman already introduced. The writing is what drops this rating from 3 to 2.5. Two stars is for books that bore me. Frankly, I don't know if I actually found myself engaged with the story or if I was merely trying to figure out what was going on.
The thrust of the plot itself is quite simple: idealistic new kid brings the idea of heroism back to those too jaded to care anymore. The nitty-gritty is that Heropa is a virtual reality superhero game, somewhat like the Matrix, to use a broad pop culture reference. The 'Reset', that erases the damage done to the city of Heropa every midnight and allows the heroes to start afresh, is no longer working, so the capes have to face the consequences, from maintaining injuries to an anti-cape uprising.
Alas, so much of the story element go uncommented that I'm not sure whether it is meant to be unsettling because it is unspoken or whether the author didn't care. For example, some of the computer code citizens of Heropa develop sapience and no one cares. Our hero, who is revealed to be 15, has a sexual relationship with one of these pixel people - a grown woman who works as a secretary. There is no awkwardness around sex, so is the kid supposed to know the ropes already? From his solitary life in the real world, it doesn't seem like sex was in the picture.
The stakes don't seem to be worth the cost. Before their ability to logout was disabled, there's some mention that the other heroes are staying in Heropa because they want to solve the mystery of the murdered capes. However, killing the player's avatar cape causes the player to become brain-dead in the real world. Is curiosity really enough motivation? Is this supposed to be a commentary on the state of the world outside?
Because the world outside Heropa is a dystopia. The MC's parents were taken by government agent when he was 13 and he lives alone now. This? Has very little effect on the plot.
I was hoping the real world setting would shed some light on the story, but Heropa could very easily be set in a different near-future setting without much changing. In fact, a disappointing amount of the story is apolitical and aracial. We go into the psychology of our MC, who becomes the Australian answer to Captain America, Southern Cross, but are so many other heroes patriots? What would make someone want to play a Nazi villain? Should we assume there are neo-Nazis in the real world who get their kicks out of pretending to be fake Nazis? Australia has its own racial problems, notably the way they treat the indigenous groups, but none of that is here. The races of characters aren't mentioned, beyond mentioning that a character is blond. A few characters are hinted to be Japanese and manga and anime play a good-sized part. But what do the characters think of their team leader being called Great White Hope? Am I to assume that the author didn't realize the term was born of the racism of the US and was a deliberate call for white supremacy? Apparently the term has lost it's racial connotation, but I've never heard it used before and a character refers to him as 'Hitler's pinup boy', presumably in relation to his appearance, but no one in the story comments on it any further. Are there no people of color in the future? The logo of our heroes' crime-fighting organization is taken from the British Union of Fascists as a joke, but I don't get it. I can't tell what the author is trying to say with this.
The final villain is disappointingly your standard megalomaniac. I was hoping for something more when it was revealed he , but no development really came from that.
The book makes a few references to the Terry Gilliam film , and I can't tell how many cues the readers are supposed to take from that. This book ends with the MC forgoing any attempt to resist the oppression of the real-world dystopia and choosing to live in the fantasy Heropa because there he can feel like he is making a difference and saving these pixel people. Is that meant to mirror the ending of the final cut of Brazil? Are we supposed to be happy for the MC? Or angry at his renouncing any hope for the real world? No one calls him out for that.
After reading the acknowledgements in the back of the book, it was revealed that this story is set in the same dystopian Melbourne of another book by the author. Perhaps the lack of interaction with the real world is because handling Melbourne is the other character's story.
February 15, 2013
Wonderful again. An intriguing mish-mash of noir/detective mystery with superhero derring-do and much heart as well. [Manuscript version]
August 31, 2024
This is a cracking superhero murder mystery tale, set in an alternate dystopian Melbourne (Australia) and featuring as bizarre and yet relatable characters as you'll ever find in all of gonzo literature. Reading this novel was an absolute treat.
July 30, 2015
If a genre mashup book is done right, it can be a beautiful thing. When an author can get a bunch of genres that shouldn’t fit together swirling and twirling around together like a Dancing with the Stars champion, the odds are it is going to make for a very unique and interesting book.
Andrez Bergen’s Who is killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is just that. A unique and interesting Frankenstein monster of a book that combines science fiction, noir, and comic book superheroes and actually gets it to work.
The first thing you will probably notice about this book is the cover artwork. It is a stunning piece that somehow manages to capture all of these genres perfectly. The city looks like an old 1940s skyline, the body in the spotlight gives that mystery noir feel to it, and it has the appearance of being a frame straight out of a 1960s comic book. It is a beautiful piece of artwork that really catches your attention, and, fortunately, Bergen was able to back up this art and create a story that is just as good.
But what exactly is the story and how the heck does Bergen get it to work? Well, without giving too much away (haven’t you learned by now that these never include a summary of the plot! The less you know going into a story, the better it is!), think of it as The Matrix as told through the eyes of Stan Lee and then rewritten by Jim Thompson. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.
And while the setting of the city of Heropa is built beautifully and really feels like a city you would find being defended by caped crusaders during the Silver Age of Comic Books, what really makes this book work are the characters and the dialogue.
First, the characters are all interesting. Each one has their own superhero persona and special power and costume. They are all familiar, but with a twist. Kind of like the book itself. They have names such as Southern Cross, Pretty Amazonian, and the Brick. They are all fun, interesting, and surprisingly complex.
Part of what makes these characters so compelling, and quite possibly the best part of the novel, is the dialogue.
This 450-page book is incredibly dialogue heavy, and that isn’t a bad thing. Not when the dialogue is so expertly crafted. Each character has their own voice and the conversations flow so naturally it seems like Bergen was just recording people’s actual conversations and putting them down on paper (The Brick’s dialogue is particularly fun to read. He is like a 1940s wise guy).
During some of the parts that are a little more exposition heavy, you will most likely find yourself very eager to get to the next round of dialogue, not because Bergen is particularly bad at writing straight prose, but because he is so good at writing dialogue.
Adding to the comic book feel of the novel are occasional illustrations throughout the book (done by 35 different artists) that illustrate certain aspects of the story. Typically this is newspaper headlines/covers and character models (what is a good superhero tale without a sketch of the heroes in their costumes?). There aren’t too many illustrations, but the ones that are there add another layer to this book to help make it work.
Is this book fine literature? Nope. But who cares. Not every novel needs the pompous title of “fine literature”. Sometimes a novel can just be a damn good book. And that is exactly what Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is; a damn good book.
The dialogue is as good and as true to life (at least, the life that is portrayed within the book) as you will find and the characters are incredibly interesting. Oh, and the mystery aspect isn’t too shabby either.
So if you aren’t someone who is too interested in reading Faulkner, Hemingway, or Dostoyevsky, or if you just need a break from novels like ones by those authors, Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is as good a book as any to turn to.
It is the type of book that will have you smiling as you read it, it is just that fun. And who among us couldn’t use some more fun in their life? Do yourself a favor and give this book a shot.
Check out more of our book reviews, author interviews, and more at chicagonewstoday.com
Or follow me on twitter at @DAM_malone
Andrez Bergen’s Who is killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is just that. A unique and interesting Frankenstein monster of a book that combines science fiction, noir, and comic book superheroes and actually gets it to work.
The first thing you will probably notice about this book is the cover artwork. It is a stunning piece that somehow manages to capture all of these genres perfectly. The city looks like an old 1940s skyline, the body in the spotlight gives that mystery noir feel to it, and it has the appearance of being a frame straight out of a 1960s comic book. It is a beautiful piece of artwork that really catches your attention, and, fortunately, Bergen was able to back up this art and create a story that is just as good.
But what exactly is the story and how the heck does Bergen get it to work? Well, without giving too much away (haven’t you learned by now that these never include a summary of the plot! The less you know going into a story, the better it is!), think of it as The Matrix as told through the eyes of Stan Lee and then rewritten by Jim Thompson. Yeah, it’s pretty awesome.
And while the setting of the city of Heropa is built beautifully and really feels like a city you would find being defended by caped crusaders during the Silver Age of Comic Books, what really makes this book work are the characters and the dialogue.
First, the characters are all interesting. Each one has their own superhero persona and special power and costume. They are all familiar, but with a twist. Kind of like the book itself. They have names such as Southern Cross, Pretty Amazonian, and the Brick. They are all fun, interesting, and surprisingly complex.
Part of what makes these characters so compelling, and quite possibly the best part of the novel, is the dialogue.
This 450-page book is incredibly dialogue heavy, and that isn’t a bad thing. Not when the dialogue is so expertly crafted. Each character has their own voice and the conversations flow so naturally it seems like Bergen was just recording people’s actual conversations and putting them down on paper (The Brick’s dialogue is particularly fun to read. He is like a 1940s wise guy).
During some of the parts that are a little more exposition heavy, you will most likely find yourself very eager to get to the next round of dialogue, not because Bergen is particularly bad at writing straight prose, but because he is so good at writing dialogue.
Adding to the comic book feel of the novel are occasional illustrations throughout the book (done by 35 different artists) that illustrate certain aspects of the story. Typically this is newspaper headlines/covers and character models (what is a good superhero tale without a sketch of the heroes in their costumes?). There aren’t too many illustrations, but the ones that are there add another layer to this book to help make it work.
Is this book fine literature? Nope. But who cares. Not every novel needs the pompous title of “fine literature”. Sometimes a novel can just be a damn good book. And that is exactly what Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is; a damn good book.
The dialogue is as good and as true to life (at least, the life that is portrayed within the book) as you will find and the characters are incredibly interesting. Oh, and the mystery aspect isn’t too shabby either.
So if you aren’t someone who is too interested in reading Faulkner, Hemingway, or Dostoyevsky, or if you just need a break from novels like ones by those authors, Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? is as good a book as any to turn to.
It is the type of book that will have you smiling as you read it, it is just that fun. And who among us couldn’t use some more fun in their life? Do yourself a favor and give this book a shot.
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November 30, 2013
I recieved a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For those uninitiated few that don’t already know, I am a nerd/geek/etc. So, when the opportunity to read a book styled after the Golden Age of comic presented itself, I jumped on my office chair, yelled “Excelsior!”, pushed off from the wall and smashed into a door frame. Okay, maybe nothing that extreme, but I was giddy with anticipation.
Within a page, I was hooked. (That seems to happen a lot, maybe I’m just really lucky with book choice) Before I knew it, I was immersed in a great murder mystery set in a comic book world that enjoyed the self-awareness of knowing it was a comic book world.
Wait—What? Strangely enough, this world is more like if the Matrix was an MMORPG like City of Heroes. Confused yet? Well, there’s new tech that allows a user a fully immersive real world video gaming experience and while this tech is new really fully explained in the book, I seriously hope someone is working on it right now. (Maybe there’ll be a Kickstarter for it soon?)
Okay, enough fanboy-ing for the moment. There was a confusing element to the book…English. English is a fluid language and changes for every continent and country that speaks it. So Heropa came with a slight learning curve for me. I’m American, but the real-world elements (and therefore the Player Characters) are based in Melbourne, Australia. All that aside, once I got into the swing of the lingo, it was smooth sailing.
Speaking of the lingo, I really have to applaud the author’s style choice for switching up dialogue. There are times when it feels decidedly more comic book and other times where it’s like reading a chat log while playing an MMO. I enjoyed the fluidity this provided because it not only highlighted the various aspects of the book, but injected them into things without coming across forced or clichéd.
Wow, this far in and I haven’t even began to address the plot? The story follows Jack a.k.a. Southern Cross (also one of my favorite constellations) as he first jacks into Heropa. Much like the tutorial level, you’re quickly brought up to speed on the rules of Heropa, which come directly from the Golden Age of Comics. But there’s one rule that has recently been switched off or simply ignored, no killing Capes (Player Characters).
I would introduce Southern Cross’s fellow Capes, but I think to do so would take away from the story. (Mostly because I can’t think of ways to describe them that won’t have a few spoilers accidentally included.) In fact, I would like to get more into the plot as well, but I really don’t want to ruin things. Arrgghh, the difficulties!
Murder on the rise, a populace with growing resentment for the Capes of their city, and a faulty program leaves everything up in the air where nothing is certain except death. Will our heroes prevail or will they be snuffed out like candles in a hurricane? Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion. (Sorry couldn’t help myself)
If you are a fan of comics, video games, murder, and the like, I definitely recommend this one. Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? delivered a great story and then some. I’m a firm believer that a really great book is one that doesn’t answer every question, doesn’t give you every ending, but leaves you to draw your own conclusions. Heropa did this. Of course, besides wanting to know more about the tech (let’s face it, games would be improved to the nth degree), the one burning question I still have is this: What happened to Melbourne?
For those uninitiated few that don’t already know, I am a nerd/geek/etc. So, when the opportunity to read a book styled after the Golden Age of comic presented itself, I jumped on my office chair, yelled “Excelsior!”, pushed off from the wall and smashed into a door frame. Okay, maybe nothing that extreme, but I was giddy with anticipation.
Within a page, I was hooked. (That seems to happen a lot, maybe I’m just really lucky with book choice) Before I knew it, I was immersed in a great murder mystery set in a comic book world that enjoyed the self-awareness of knowing it was a comic book world.
Wait—What? Strangely enough, this world is more like if the Matrix was an MMORPG like City of Heroes. Confused yet? Well, there’s new tech that allows a user a fully immersive real world video gaming experience and while this tech is new really fully explained in the book, I seriously hope someone is working on it right now. (Maybe there’ll be a Kickstarter for it soon?)
Okay, enough fanboy-ing for the moment. There was a confusing element to the book…English. English is a fluid language and changes for every continent and country that speaks it. So Heropa came with a slight learning curve for me. I’m American, but the real-world elements (and therefore the Player Characters) are based in Melbourne, Australia. All that aside, once I got into the swing of the lingo, it was smooth sailing.
Speaking of the lingo, I really have to applaud the author’s style choice for switching up dialogue. There are times when it feels decidedly more comic book and other times where it’s like reading a chat log while playing an MMO. I enjoyed the fluidity this provided because it not only highlighted the various aspects of the book, but injected them into things without coming across forced or clichéd.
Wow, this far in and I haven’t even began to address the plot? The story follows Jack a.k.a. Southern Cross (also one of my favorite constellations) as he first jacks into Heropa. Much like the tutorial level, you’re quickly brought up to speed on the rules of Heropa, which come directly from the Golden Age of Comics. But there’s one rule that has recently been switched off or simply ignored, no killing Capes (Player Characters).
I would introduce Southern Cross’s fellow Capes, but I think to do so would take away from the story. (Mostly because I can’t think of ways to describe them that won’t have a few spoilers accidentally included.) In fact, I would like to get more into the plot as well, but I really don’t want to ruin things. Arrgghh, the difficulties!
Murder on the rise, a populace with growing resentment for the Capes of their city, and a faulty program leaves everything up in the air where nothing is certain except death. Will our heroes prevail or will they be snuffed out like candles in a hurricane? Tune in next week for the exciting conclusion. (Sorry couldn’t help myself)
If you are a fan of comics, video games, murder, and the like, I definitely recommend this one. Who is Killing the Great Capes of Heropa? delivered a great story and then some. I’m a firm believer that a really great book is one that doesn’t answer every question, doesn’t give you every ending, but leaves you to draw your own conclusions. Heropa did this. Of course, besides wanting to know more about the tech (let’s face it, games would be improved to the nth degree), the one burning question I still have is this: What happened to Melbourne?
February 8, 2014
Review originally posted on SFFWorld.com.
Jack, an unassuming kid from the street’s of a post-apocalyptic Melbourne, finds himself dropped in a 1940’s era city steeped in glass, panache, and superheroes. And he’s one of ‘em – Southern Cross.
A bit confused and not quite ready, he’s led up into one of the tallest buildings of the city and shown to the lair of the latest heroes trying to keep things in order on Heropa. But Jack soon finds out that nothing is what it seems and the world he had tried to escape from might be better than this superhero filled one, because someone is killing off the capes (both good and bad).
While the resident capes busy themselves with, well, their vanity, Southern Cross takes it upon himself to figure out who it is. Throughout his investigations, we learn more about how Heropa functions and the capes that cause havoc on the city every day. Southern Cross eventually pursues a potential suspect, a blando (a non-superhero in Heropa, and therefore not a real person but a piece of software code). Along the way, he’s joined by a superhero reporter and falls in love with a bank teller.
A homage to the superhero comic book genre, Who’s Killing The Great Capes of Heropa does its best to engage the reader with a fast-paced plot and interesting superhero antics, but fails on several fronts for me. Primarily because I just didn’t see the point of the story. Because it is all set in a virtual world and doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on the real world of devastated Melbourne, the story just didn’t feel important to me, even when we find out what really happened to the people who couldn’t make it in Heropa. The second reason is all the tangents on comic book lore. While interesting, there were definitely times I started skimming to get back to the story.
Regardless, Mr. Bergen has a penchant for snappy dialogue and the author does have a vivid imagination that he imparts well to the reader. I can easily recall specific images of some of the scenes of the book as well as some of characters. The Brick is a collection of animated bricks and Bergen’s description of him really brought him to life. And Pretty Amazonia was deliciously creepy. Though the superhero characters might be a bit two-dimensional, they are as unique as the real people behind the masks and are completely relatable. The story line is unpredictable, and I rather enjoyed all the comic book references, though I admit much was lost to me since I’m not a comic book aficionado.
If you can’t get enough of superheroes, then Who’s Killing The Great Capes of Heropa may be one to put on your reading list. It has an unlikely hero in a world awash with superheroes.
Jack, an unassuming kid from the street’s of a post-apocalyptic Melbourne, finds himself dropped in a 1940’s era city steeped in glass, panache, and superheroes. And he’s one of ‘em – Southern Cross.
A bit confused and not quite ready, he’s led up into one of the tallest buildings of the city and shown to the lair of the latest heroes trying to keep things in order on Heropa. But Jack soon finds out that nothing is what it seems and the world he had tried to escape from might be better than this superhero filled one, because someone is killing off the capes (both good and bad).
While the resident capes busy themselves with, well, their vanity, Southern Cross takes it upon himself to figure out who it is. Throughout his investigations, we learn more about how Heropa functions and the capes that cause havoc on the city every day. Southern Cross eventually pursues a potential suspect, a blando (a non-superhero in Heropa, and therefore not a real person but a piece of software code). Along the way, he’s joined by a superhero reporter and falls in love with a bank teller.
A homage to the superhero comic book genre, Who’s Killing The Great Capes of Heropa does its best to engage the reader with a fast-paced plot and interesting superhero antics, but fails on several fronts for me. Primarily because I just didn’t see the point of the story. Because it is all set in a virtual world and doesn’t seem to have much of an impact on the real world of devastated Melbourne, the story just didn’t feel important to me, even when we find out what really happened to the people who couldn’t make it in Heropa. The second reason is all the tangents on comic book lore. While interesting, there were definitely times I started skimming to get back to the story.
Regardless, Mr. Bergen has a penchant for snappy dialogue and the author does have a vivid imagination that he imparts well to the reader. I can easily recall specific images of some of the scenes of the book as well as some of characters. The Brick is a collection of animated bricks and Bergen’s description of him really brought him to life. And Pretty Amazonia was deliciously creepy. Though the superhero characters might be a bit two-dimensional, they are as unique as the real people behind the masks and are completely relatable. The story line is unpredictable, and I rather enjoyed all the comic book references, though I admit much was lost to me since I’m not a comic book aficionado.
If you can’t get enough of superheroes, then Who’s Killing The Great Capes of Heropa may be one to put on your reading list. It has an unlikely hero in a world awash with superheroes.
December 21, 2013
WHO IS KILLING THE GREAT CAPES OF HEROPA? is an uppercut of a book, striking in its detail and extraordinarily clever in its character dynamic. The world in which the story takes place, a virtual reality game universe, astutely blends noir ambiance with superhero chic. Andrez Bergen creates a fresh experience for a platform that we've seen many times before, using very specific descriptions of props, vehicles and clothing that leave the reader with no choice but to embrace this online realm and cling to it for safety and sanity. This also happens to be the plight of all the characters in the story, which creates a bonding experience like no other.
The richness of the characters stems from Bergen's love of all things comic books, particularly the silver and bronze age that he so helpfully describes. Accessible to fans and novices alike, this book takes you deep into superhero territory. What really becomes uncomfortable yet fascinating at the same time is the extent to which these characters, all deeply flawed in real life, find solace in this virtual world, much like we all do on social media sites these days. Perhaps prophetic, certainly visionary, HEROPA serves as much as a thrilling piece of entertainment as it warns us of the pitfalls promised on our current path.
With male and female characters matched in wit, strength and resolve, all readers will find in HEROPA someone to identify with, to root for and to suffer and rejoice with. The dialogue, superbly uncompromising to the point of sporadic obscurity, is reminiscent of independent films like BRICK, where characters have a vocabulary of their own that you just have to learn and pick up as you go. This plunges the reader deep in the action from the very first page, a highly effective choice that Bergen pulls off with expert skill.
HEROPA is a novel for the digital age, paying its respects to the comic book era while showing the way forward in the narrative genre. Taking a leaf from Neal Stephenson, Andrez Bergen serves up a magical techno-noir dish of a story. An absolute jewel to be handled with delicate reverence.
The richness of the characters stems from Bergen's love of all things comic books, particularly the silver and bronze age that he so helpfully describes. Accessible to fans and novices alike, this book takes you deep into superhero territory. What really becomes uncomfortable yet fascinating at the same time is the extent to which these characters, all deeply flawed in real life, find solace in this virtual world, much like we all do on social media sites these days. Perhaps prophetic, certainly visionary, HEROPA serves as much as a thrilling piece of entertainment as it warns us of the pitfalls promised on our current path.
With male and female characters matched in wit, strength and resolve, all readers will find in HEROPA someone to identify with, to root for and to suffer and rejoice with. The dialogue, superbly uncompromising to the point of sporadic obscurity, is reminiscent of independent films like BRICK, where characters have a vocabulary of their own that you just have to learn and pick up as you go. This plunges the reader deep in the action from the very first page, a highly effective choice that Bergen pulls off with expert skill.
HEROPA is a novel for the digital age, paying its respects to the comic book era while showing the way forward in the narrative genre. Taking a leaf from Neal Stephenson, Andrez Bergen serves up a magical techno-noir dish of a story. An absolute jewel to be handled with delicate reverence.
May 11, 2015
This was a good book. The characters were well drawn, the story was strong. I'm not a great fan of the noir genre, but here, coupled with the excesses of the comic book world, it worked very well.
In a couple of places the language use caught me unawares; I'm assuming this was a reflection of Australian english as opposed to British english. That certainly wasn't enough to put me off, and I found myself racing through to the end...
....which, if I have a gripe, is where it comes. The end happened very suddenly. As there were still a number of pages left in the book at that point, I found myself leafing back and forwards a few times to see if I'd missed something.
Even with that gripe, this is still a worthwhile read. I recommend particularly for comic book fans, who will recognise all the tropes...
In a couple of places the language use caught me unawares; I'm assuming this was a reflection of Australian english as opposed to British english. That certainly wasn't enough to put me off, and I found myself racing through to the end...
....which, if I have a gripe, is where it comes. The end happened very suddenly. As there were still a number of pages left in the book at that point, I found myself leafing back and forwards a few times to see if I'd missed something.
Even with that gripe, this is still a worthwhile read. I recommend particularly for comic book fans, who will recognise all the tropes...
August 3, 2015
The title is what caught my eye to start. And the title would give you the heart of the story at its most basic. It's a murder mystery. Then, you get sent through the blender of the author's mind. Primarily mixing settings of 30s and 40s noir detective novels and the comic books of the 30s through the early 70s, though with quick nods to other eras and some classic films also, this somehow worked into a coherent story itself. The author created a smooth continuity that had me wanting to find out how it all ended. For me, that was in a very satisfying manner. Not everyone's cup of tea. No way for me to give an accurate description other than, as on Monty Python's Flying Circus, "and now, for something completely different."
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