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Arthur Wallace #2
Yesterday's Hero
Another day, another zombie T-Rex to put down. All part of the routine for Arthur Wallace and MI37—the government department devoted to defending Britain from threats magical, supernatural, extraterrestrial, and generally odd. But a zombie T-Rex is only the first of Arthur’s problems, as Russian cyborg wizards threaten his life, and his coworkers threaten his sanity.
400 pages, Paperback
First published July 31, 2012
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253 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
September 22, 2012
Better than No Hero--all the strengths, but more of everything. The emotional punches are Whedon-esque, genuine, earned and not terribly manipulative. Good, good, good stuff. Sign me up for more.
May 1, 2019
I loved this one! The story was a lot stronger and way, way, WAY more intense. The relationships between the characters, both old and new, were a huge draw, and I was very glad to see Arthur mature from his previous novel. I was rooting for him far more and rolling my eyes at him less. The beginning of the book still confused me but by the end, I was completely hooked.
I honestly have a hard time picking a favourite part. The action scenes were non-stop in the last few chapters, and it was like watching a Hollywood blockbuster. The complicated relationships between Arthur and his friends, particularly Shaw, were fantastic, yet I also loved Clyde's storyline, even if it made my heart ache a little. The new characters were also quite fun and I wouldn't mind seeing them make brief appearances in later books.
The book took many dark and violent turns and had everything from monsters to time travel and super agents. It really was a great, suspenseful read, and you can clearly tell that the author had a lot of fun writing it. Which makes it perfect for anyone who wants a fun, action-filled read!
I honestly have a hard time picking a favourite part. The action scenes were non-stop in the last few chapters, and it was like watching a Hollywood blockbuster. The complicated relationships between Arthur and his friends, particularly Shaw, were fantastic, yet I also loved Clyde's storyline, even if it made my heart ache a little. The new characters were also quite fun and I wouldn't mind seeing them make brief appearances in later books.
The book took many dark and violent turns and had everything from monsters to time travel and super agents. It really was a great, suspenseful read, and you can clearly tell that the author had a lot of fun writing it. Which makes it perfect for anyone who wants a fun, action-filled read!
March 16, 2020
What a story, it was nuts. Lots of time bending and interesting ideas. Love the characters and interested to see what book 3 brings.
January 31, 2019
Before I say anything else, I want to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. That having been said, I didn’t find this entry entry to the series as strong as the first. I had to suspend my disbelief a few times so I didn’t get frustrated but over all it was a lovely read. This is one of my favorite series I’ve read in a while and I recommend it to any modern day sci-fi lovers.
August 9, 2012
You know how thriller movies have "Hollywood physics"?
There's also what I can only call "Hollywood human biology". You know, where people get repeatedly flung through the air by massive explosions and smashed into concrete walls, or beaten up, or dragged along the ground, and each time they're in pain for about 30 seconds and then carry on? Instead of being hospitalized for six weeks with ruptured internal organs and multiple fractures, and then unable to use their limbs properly for a year?
This book has Hollywood human biology. Lots and lots and lots of it.
It's an OK thriller, without a great many copy editing errors, and the plot moves right along. But it's basically an action movie in text form. If that's what you're looking for, it delivers.
There's also what I can only call "Hollywood human biology". You know, where people get repeatedly flung through the air by massive explosions and smashed into concrete walls, or beaten up, or dragged along the ground, and each time they're in pain for about 30 seconds and then carry on? Instead of being hospitalized for six weeks with ruptured internal organs and multiple fractures, and then unable to use their limbs properly for a year?
This book has Hollywood human biology. Lots and lots and lots of it.
It's an OK thriller, without a great many copy editing errors, and the plot moves right along. But it's basically an action movie in text form. If that's what you're looking for, it delivers.
January 15, 2017
I haven't read the first book in the series, and while I was aware once I began reading that this was part of a series it was fine as a stand alone book. The characters were well drawn and interesting, leaving some details for future novels. The antagonists were a fun return to cold war days when bad guys were properly bad. Arthur is a good guy but seems quite Arthur Dent (with weapons) at times, amiable, kind, misunderstood frequently and bumbling around to the right answers. An action packed, fun read.
August 27, 2012
This book made me realize just how much I love sequels. The world-building has already taken place in the first book, all the major characters are generally clear, and the focus shifts to plot and character development. Though I enjoyed No Here, this sequel is even better. I preferred this book's Big Bad, so that helped, but I also liked the trajectory the plot took. Wood isn't afraid of a few casualties, which is another reason I enjoy this series.
February 21, 2016
A bit too much with the "band of misfits" shtick and rather violent, but fast-paced, difficult to put down, and entertaining.
January 14, 2014
I hope there's going to be another book I liked the Dry Humor
October 31, 2021
This was an entertaining sequel in the Arthur Wallace series. This time around Wallace might need to act independently from the rest of MI37 as they are faced with some rather talented Russian magicians that have figured out how to "time travel." With his team doubtful of this "time travel" theory, Wallace must team up with some less than reputable people who are in the know.
I look forward to the third book in the series.
I look forward to the third book in the series.
November 7, 2018
Completely impressed! This was probably even better than No Hero. Yes, I lost more sleep because I couldn't put the book down. Jonathan Wood is my new Hero.
February 9, 2018
I'd like to see this as a movie.
August 25, 2012
Yesterday’s Hero picks up where No Hero has left off. After saving the Earth from the Lovecraftian horrors of the first book, Arthur Wallace & the team from MI37 must now stop time travelers from the Soviet Union who are attempting to change the time stream in order to achieve Soviet supremacy.
If you haven’t yet read No Hero, that would be recommended before trying Yesterday’s Hero. Wood does very little to bring new readers up to speed. I think that you would probably be a bit lost.
It’s impossible to evaluate series titles without reference to the other books in the series. In this case, I have to feel that Yesterday’s Hero comes out rather poorly. While there were some issues with character development in No Hero, I felt that it was rather excusable considering that it was the first book in the series. Unfortunately, rather than delve more deeply into the characters already introduced, Wood introduces more than a few new characters. The effect is that now we have a large number of underdeveloped characters, rather than a deepening relationship with any of the characters in the series.
Additionally, the change in focus on the villains of the piece changed the tone considerably. While the Lovecraftian horrors of the first book provided a nice horror element, the Soviets of Yesterday’s Hero seemed rather toothless in comparison. In fact, the entire premise of the villains struck me as rather hilarious. I found myself wishing that Wood had played up the comical nature of this threat.
Still, many of the strengths of No Hero do carry over into this second title. The pacing was first rate, with action & intrigue propelling the reader through the story. The bureaucratic horrors of government work are further explored, and Wood does still provide the wit that was so charming in the No Hero.
If you haven’t yet read No Hero, that would be recommended before trying Yesterday’s Hero. Wood does very little to bring new readers up to speed. I think that you would probably be a bit lost.
It’s impossible to evaluate series titles without reference to the other books in the series. In this case, I have to feel that Yesterday’s Hero comes out rather poorly. While there were some issues with character development in No Hero, I felt that it was rather excusable considering that it was the first book in the series. Unfortunately, rather than delve more deeply into the characters already introduced, Wood introduces more than a few new characters. The effect is that now we have a large number of underdeveloped characters, rather than a deepening relationship with any of the characters in the series.
Additionally, the change in focus on the villains of the piece changed the tone considerably. While the Lovecraftian horrors of the first book provided a nice horror element, the Soviets of Yesterday’s Hero seemed rather toothless in comparison. In fact, the entire premise of the villains struck me as rather hilarious. I found myself wishing that Wood had played up the comical nature of this threat.
Still, many of the strengths of No Hero do carry over into this second title. The pacing was first rate, with action & intrigue propelling the reader through the story. The bureaucratic horrors of government work are further explored, and Wood does still provide the wit that was so charming in the No Hero.
December 18, 2016
Sarcastic, witty and definitely a laugh-out-loud kindof book. Contains an overdose of similes involving shit and piss, but I can appreciate those well enough. The plot was interesting, the characters were unique and realistic (personality-wise that is).
Favourite character has got to be Winston. Or more specifically, Winston and Ogden together.
Really fun read!
Favourite character has got to be Winston. Or more specifically, Winston and Ogden together.
"I have to be going now," I say.(Chapter 44 is legit the pièce de résistance)
"Oh yeah, course you do," Winston yells at me. "That's it, abandon me. I never helped you out. I never trod on a Russian for you. You ever cleaned a person off your foot, Arthur? You ever had to do that?"
"I cleaned your bloody foot, you whinging bastard!"
The bickering chases me even after I firmly close the door and retreat down the long corridor to the elevators.
Really fun read!
November 24, 2012
I'm in love...alas...Mr. Wood isn't my type, of course, I'm probably not his either. Of course, I only love him for his fiction. It would only be a marriage of convenience. I'm up to my nose in hyperbole, but this is a very good book. I feel for the characters, their frustration, their anger and their sadness. I even feel their hatred for the new boss. It's rare to find a book like that; one that communicates those emotions so well.
It's kind of cool to save the world. Of course, when this happens the team goes out for drinks and maybe some sort of fraternization. Most of the team pairs off and, ahem, fraternizes. But come morning it's back to the office, and a new boss who happens to be a caricature of British middle management. With a bit of panache and a bit of humor from the movie Office Space, we are given a roller coaster ride of a book. How do you convince a room full of experts they're wrong, especially when you're the new guy. Especially when you didn't even know the field of expertise existed last week. Surely your lover should give you a bit of credit. Well if you want to find out read the book, but I hope the answer is obvious.
Really read this novel and the first one No Hero. They are well-written and too much fun to miss out on.
January 5, 2015
This is the second in the series after "No Hero," published earlier in 2014. The third one, "Anti Hero," should be out later in 2015. Arthur Wallace works for a hidden department of the British government fighting supernatural crime and as always, the fate of the world is at stake. His department is a little dysfunctional, his boss is a little crazy even though she might be his new girlfriend. The Russians think it is still 1980 as they are stuck in a time loop and Arthur and his team have to save the day. It is a fast read but you have to pay attention to catch the bits that tie the whole together. I still think the "Rivers of London" series by Ben Aaronovitch is funnier and quirkier as urban fantasy and Wood’s series isn’t as realistically gritty as Paul Cornell’s "London Falling" series.
November 4, 2016
Imagine David Tennant as a police officer with the confused mannerisms of Bilbo Baggins when the dwarves arrive at Bag End in the beginning of the hobbit. Now imagine he works for MI37, the British equivalent of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defence, the Men in Black, and SHIELD. Finally, imagine his tactical experience and decision-making is based on what Kurt Russel would do in one of his 80's action movies.
Now you have a basic idea of who agent Arthur Wallace, the protagonist of this series is.
Jonathan Wood writes a wickedly entertaining series that will most assuredly make you laugh out loud. There a moments of absolute hilarity.
I highly recommend this book, and it's predecessor, "No Hero." I can wait to read the next books.
Now you have a basic idea of who agent Arthur Wallace, the protagonist of this series is.
Jonathan Wood writes a wickedly entertaining series that will most assuredly make you laugh out loud. There a moments of absolute hilarity.
I highly recommend this book, and it's predecessor, "No Hero." I can wait to read the next books.
August 21, 2012
I am deeply surprised and impressed by Wood’s writing. Prequel No Hero was good, very enjoyable and original; but Yesterday’s Hero is a work of near genius. I was consistently knocked on my ass by his use of language, stuff I’d normally expect in a Man Booker winner but find sorely lacking in genre fiction. There are sentences that are still go through my head, and I am richer for them. And the best part was that it’s not a heavy work by any means—it’s an actioner! How great is that? I have the feeling that we’re going to be talking about when we first “discovered” Jonathan Wood someday, and calling his work a canon. It’s that good. I don't hand out five stars lightly.
August 9, 2012
This was an ejoyable follow up to No Hero- Arthur saved the world yesterday but he's about to find out it's not as appreciated as he might have thought. I have to admit there were a few bits to the plot that made me go "that doesn't seem right" but our heros are growing and not staying static and I'll still be picking up the next book in this series when it is out.
February 15, 2015
This book took me six months to read and I'm kind of sorry I bothered. I thought the beginning was boring and I'm surprised I didn't give up multiple times. It did get better near the end though and I might have given it three stars if our protagonist hadn't been written as if he was immortal. No one should be able to take the beatings he took and still make it to the end of the book being able to walk and wield a sword.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2014
Fun, fast-paced, and light-hearted neo-pulp romp in an England with magic.
Think of this as if Helen Mirren's Prime Suspect series got shuffled together with Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and other odder magical touches.
Loads of fun to read and the character growth from the first book (No Hero) is organic and sensible.
Looking forward to Mr. Wood's next novel in this series!
Think of this as if Helen Mirren's Prime Suspect series got shuffled together with Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere and other odder magical touches.
Loads of fun to read and the character growth from the first book (No Hero) is organic and sensible.
Looking forward to Mr. Wood's next novel in this series!
July 30, 2015
No Hero was a fun romp. Yesterdays Hero takes the romp and runs with it. When it starts with a zombie T-Rex and works its way through Chernobyl?
I do feel sorry for poor Arthur. If people listened to the new guy, there could have been so many pains avoided. On the other hand that might not have been as much of a fun story.
Onward to Anti Hero.
I do feel sorry for poor Arthur. If people listened to the new guy, there could have been so many pains avoided. On the other hand that might not have been as much of a fun story.
Onward to Anti Hero.
December 11, 2014
Yesterday's Hero, the second Arthur Wallace novel is a hilarious action romp. It's Big Trouble on Little China mixed with the Dresden Files and British comedies. I just love this series and can't wait for number three.
June 25, 2015
Very fun read. Somehow the evil Russian wizards made for a better plot than the other-reality, world-eating alien invaders of the first book. Great new characters in the Weekenders and loved the new developments in all the old group too. Going to move right onto Anti-Hero.
July 2, 2016
Published 2014. Again I start with #2 in the series. Not bad. Quirky, action packed - and really into Kurt Russell.
December 28, 2016
fun and entertaining read. Read this over about 3 sittings. Action packed of course and a good amount of humor. liking this series and looking forward to the next couple!
December 24, 2019
A bit of a slow start but good ending
March 11, 2014
I love this series. Lots of action, humor and Kurt Russel!
July 11, 2016
Excellent book! A lot of fun!
August 12, 2018
Another teetering 3-star rating for a very average but still mostly enjoyable read. The 2nd half of the book really steals the show (noting during the first half I was leaning very heavily towards placing this book on the DNF shelf).
Jonathan Wood's 2nd book in the 'No Hero' series starts off mere moments after the end of book 1. And sadly, that means that the main protagonist - Arthur Wallace - still has not, quote, 'grown a pair' and is about as useful to everyone as wet tissue paper. I must admit, it is a troubling realization to find that you are hoping that a character gets killed off even though that would kind of require that the story be told from someone else's perspective. He is not, to be clear, hero material, even when placed in a story-line that seems to have much more potential than what is actually achieved.
Still, Arthur (not Dent mind you, though I wouldn't doubt that's where he got his moniker) manages to break free from his total soggy noodle-ness - seriously, is that some kind of stereotypical British character trait that someone has put in a 'How To' book? - and make himself somewhat likeable about the time we find ourselves in a surprisingly non-irradiated Chernobyl. Yes, that's right, part of the book takes place in Chernobyl. And equally shocking is that's where a lot of the plot and action and 'oh now I get it!'-nesses really take hold. By then, thankfully, the plot is also much more multi-dimensional than the chapters before (even the book before) and our brains get to play along a little more in terms of who(m) is doing what and why and all tat rot.
One of my complaints about Book 1 is that no one seemed to evolve much (beside Clyde and his change was obvious) and a lot of Book 2 continues this way. KEY: stoically repetitive displays of the same emotions DOES NOT COUNT as having a character move through the world a little better than they were a few moments ago. Yes, we get it, that's who they are but try some different adverbs and adjectives next time!
Again, to be very clear, this is nothing even close to the kind of action, characterization or sheer elegance of story that you will find in Charles Stross' Laundry Files books. Still, there's enough variety and new characters who possess a bit of personality to make this book work ever so slightly better than it's predecessor. We'll see if it continues.
Jonathan Wood's 2nd book in the 'No Hero' series starts off mere moments after the end of book 1. And sadly, that means that the main protagonist - Arthur Wallace - still has not, quote, 'grown a pair' and is about as useful to everyone as wet tissue paper. I must admit, it is a troubling realization to find that you are hoping that a character gets killed off even though that would kind of require that the story be told from someone else's perspective. He is not, to be clear, hero material, even when placed in a story-line that seems to have much more potential than what is actually achieved.
Still, Arthur (not Dent mind you, though I wouldn't doubt that's where he got his moniker) manages to break free from his total soggy noodle-ness - seriously, is that some kind of stereotypical British character trait that someone has put in a 'How To' book? - and make himself somewhat likeable about the time we find ourselves in a surprisingly non-irradiated Chernobyl. Yes, that's right, part of the book takes place in Chernobyl. And equally shocking is that's where a lot of the plot and action and 'oh now I get it!'-nesses really take hold. By then, thankfully, the plot is also much more multi-dimensional than the chapters before (even the book before) and our brains get to play along a little more in terms of who(m) is doing what and why and all tat rot.
One of my complaints about Book 1 is that no one seemed to evolve much (beside Clyde and his change was obvious) and a lot of Book 2 continues this way. KEY: stoically repetitive displays of the same emotions DOES NOT COUNT as having a character move through the world a little better than they were a few moments ago. Yes, we get it, that's who they are but try some different adverbs and adjectives next time!
Again, to be very clear, this is nothing even close to the kind of action, characterization or sheer elegance of story that you will find in Charles Stross' Laundry Files books. Still, there's enough variety and new characters who possess a bit of personality to make this book work ever so slightly better than it's predecessor. We'll see if it continues.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews