Herokiller

Herokiller #1

by Paul Tassi

In the near future, the line between entertainment and brutality has blurred. Mysterious billionaire Cameron Crayton is a household name from televised spectacles in which prison inmates fight to the death, but his old shows pale in comparison to his new event, The Crucible, a gladiatorial tournament anyone can enter. The winner is promised unimaginable wealth and glory . . . if they’re able to survive a series of globally broadcast fight-to-the-death matches with medieval weaponry against the world’s most fearsome fighters.

Former black-ops operative Mark Wei wants nothing more than to be left alone to drink after sacrificing everything?including his family?in America’s covert Cold War II against China, a war won largely because of him. But there are rumors that Crayton’s background and business dealings involve shady connections to foreign powers, and soon Mark is convinced to reluctantly dust off his training, strap on a sword and armor, and enter the tournament arena as an undercover agent.

It’s the most dangerous assignment he’s ever been given, and Mark quickly finds himself not just fighting for his life in the arena against trained killers, but racing to expose The Crucible’s founder’s secrets while navigating a viral phenomenon in which the stakes are literally life and death. . . .

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Thriller, Fantasy, Fiction, Adult, Action

506 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 7, 2018

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

I’m a sucker for books that revolve around gladiatorial competitions. From "Red Rising" to "The Hunger Games", give me your dystopian fights to the death! So, I didn’t need much encouragement to give Herokiller a try when it came out last month. It hasn’t gotten any buzz at all, which is a shame because it’s one of my favorite books of the year so far.

The year is 2035. The US stands as the world’s sole superpower after a second Cold War, this time with China, threatened to turn hot and left China as a fractured set of warring states. The US is also rotting from the inside; with an apathetic populace looking for increasingly extreme distractions, like billionaire Cameron Crayton’s "The Crucible". One-part sporting tournament, one-part reality TV, The Crucible features 16 volunteers from around the country: ex-soldiers, martial artists, professional athletes, and various killers are selected from qualifying matches to compete in televised fights to the death in Crayton’s Roman-style Colosseum located in the Las Vegas desert.

Mark Wei is an ex-CIA operative, instrumental in the US’ victory in Cold War II, but left a broken wreck by the loss of his family to Chinese retaliation. Content to spend his days drinking himself to death, Mark instead finds himself re-recruited for a mission, unlike anything he’s faced. The CIA believes Crayton's been compromised by one of the Chinese states and sends Mark to infiltrate The Crucible as one of its fighters to discover the truth. There, he must untangle the increasingly mysterious web of Crayton’s past, while simultaneously trying to stay alive against some of the most dangerous people on the planet.

Given its premise, a book like Herokiller lives or dies on the quality of its fight scenes, and they are some of the best I’ve read in a long time. They’re detail heavy, going into each punch, kick, or stab, which might not work for some people but I loved the detail. Combat in the book becomes increasingly elaborate and bloody, starting out with simple MMA style cage matches in the qualifying rounds, before progressing to fights to the death with medieval weaponry in the actual tournament bouts. Tassi is also a video-games journalist and based the fights off his love of fighting games (He’s pitched the book as “Tom Clancy’s Soul Caliber”) and their ability to make larger-than-life characters with combat styles and weapons that show their personalities. The Crucible’s fighters are thankfully a diverse bunch, both in terms of backgrounds and weapons of choice. Making Mark adjust his strategies depending on his opponent keeps the fights from getting stale, which is a good thing because they’re a lot of fight scenes in this book.

While the idea of using gladiatorial contests to show societal decay and comment on Americans love of televised violence isn’t exactly a fresh one, Tassi does manage to throw in some commentary on how we lionize our celebrities and how easy it is to create false narratives around people when they have millions of people watching their every move. That said, the book doesn’t get dragged down in too much philosophizing and holds a blistering pace throughout, with some great twists, especially one towards the end of the book that completely caught me off guard.

Mark is a very archetypical character as the “bitter ex-agent” that often appears in thrillers, although he does get a little more character development through flashbacks that show his mission in China. Tassi does a good job of getting into his head throughout the book to show how being forced to fight and kill the masses is affecting him emotionally, especially as he grows closer to several of his competitors. His alcoholism also remains a problem throughout the book and doesn’t just magically vanish for plot convenience like I’ve seen happen in other books.

The rest of fighters don’t get as much characterization, but it’s quick and effective when it does occur. One of the qualifying fights has Mark facing off against a former police officer desperate to get into the tournament so he can use the money to save his dying son. Mark obviously has to win for plot sakes, but the result is still heartbreaking.

For negatives, the final few fights (especially the last one) are a little anticlimactic. It feels like Tassi ran out of steam or was just in a rush to get to the end of the book. The spying Mark is also forced to do to dig up dirt on Crayton is also a little dull. I mostly spent these sections wondering the next fight was going to happen.

Overall, I highly recommend Herokiller. It’s fast, fun, and does have enough depth that I’ll keep it around for a re-read.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

2023: I re-read the first few chapters, remembered enough to read the last few chapters, and am now ready to see if Herokiller 2 will appeal to me.


2020 review:
I bought the kindle edition when it was on sale for $1.99, and I'm glad I did considering its current price. There is a second book in the works, with a Goodreads entry but nothing on amazon yet. This one ends well, with the setup for book 2 not a huge cliffhanger.

It's very compelling, and only got more intense as I progressed, so that by the time I was tripping over the problems in the next paragraph, I barely slowed down to make notes.

The only real flaw is that the last fight chapters desperately needed a more careful edit: a thing that happens keeps being forgotten. Like... four times. Also, a weapon is there, not there, there. Tsk, editor(s) and author. We are at our most attentive during intense scenes. Edit those carefully.

Anyway, this is really good if you can handle violence and death. Personally, the evil is worse, for me, but YMMV.

[Chip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adrenalinized fight club page-turner; classic airport bookstore purchase (but a good one). A few plot holes and, of course, a Bourne-like unstoppable protagonist, but still a solid fast read.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC REVIEW

Hot Damn this book!!

Every now and then I give my romance brain a rest and enjoy something non-romance, this month it was Herokiller. The blurb compares it to Ready Player One, I don't know why it's not at all like it except for the fact that it's a futuristic world where an eccentric old rich guy has done something that everyone wants to join. This dystopian world I would compare is more Running Man, Death Race 2050, and a little bit Gamer because entertainment is violence based; and then mixed with Mortal Kombat and Gladiator. The villainous eccentric old rich guy, Cameron Crayton, is a mix between Ken Castle from Gamer, the Chairman from Death Race and Commodus from Gladiator. Tie in all that with black-ops and espionage and you have this amazingly intense story.

Mark Wei is a former CIA spy, he's probably one of the only remaining spies still alive from the Second Cold War which he was instrumental in ending. But the cost of doing so lost him everything now he just drinks until he passes out and works out until he's exhausted enough to sleep. Until his former handler calls him back onto duty. Marks job now is to infiltrate Cameron Crayton's newest reality tv show The Crucible and find out who he is where he came from and if he's working with the Chinese. The Crucible is promised to be the most violent shows ever, it's an arena sport pitting person against person. Sixteen cities, one top fighter from each city. All sorts of people from everywhere fighting bare handed in whatever style they want; the top sixteen get the fortune and glory. In the end only one man is left standing because the big event between the last sixteen fighters is gladiator style, to the death. There are three parts to the story part one is intro and start of The Crucible, introduction to the top Sixteen. The second part is the top sixteen training gladiator style where there is bonding between the characters and of course spying. Part three is the intense, emotional, white-knuckling part where The Crucible starts and people you've grown to love die. Yeah it's one of those it's what to the death means people.

I loved Mark's character, there is so much to him. Intermittently throughout the book you see another part of him who he was before the Second Cold War and what happened to him during his time as a spy and what happened after to make him who he is today and you see all this through flashbacks, old recordings and him actually telling part of the story. Crayton was a perfect villain he also reminded me of Killian from Running Man heck Crayton even had dancers like Killian did in Running Man. I would love to see this as a movie or a four part miniseries (because part three is long) I can totally see Malcolm McDowell as Crayton. Overall, I think it's pretty obvious I loved this book. Paul Tassi has a great active setting, a great narrative, and he really pulls you in and emotionally ties you to the characters; and ooh, what a twist. I would definitely read more books if they had Mark Wei in them.

[Nick Spacek · Rating 4 out of 5]

1/3 spy thriller, 1/3 battle-to-the-death extravaganza (the hunger games, battle royale, et al), 1/3 gladiator. it's involving, the characters are developed well, the plot's intriguing, but not too terribly out there, and tassi knows how to script a fight amazingly well.

are there a few too many twists and turns? probably, and the same could be said for the machinations of many of the characters, as they verge on comically broad at times, but the heart of the novel -- a retired agent, back for one last mission (with every possible meaning of "last" there could be), fighting in a grand tournament?

what's not to like? it definitely saw me reading it during breaks at work, staying up too late to get in just one more chapter, and hauling it along to movie screenings to keep finding out what happened next. it's really more 4.5 stars than 4, as well.

this one is FUN ON A BUN, so get on it before the inevitably disappointing film adaptation that streamlines everything that's dark and uncomfortable and amps up the parts which are obviously designed for popular consumption.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure what it says about me that reading the blurb for this gruesomely compelling book made me immediately want to read it (that I'm as bad as the audience baying for blood as they watch The Crucible, perhaps?), but read it I did and it had me absolutely hooked throughout. Mark's journey was gut-wrenching but I was rooting for him to come out on top, the supporting cast were great and the twists came thick and fast and constantly kept me guessing. I also found the commentary on our society, our bloodlust and our ready consumption of carefully crafted media narratives to be well done, even if the future Paul Tassi paints is incredibly bleak. I absolutely want to read the sequel but I need a break with something soft and gentle where nobody gets maimed or publicly executed for public entertainment, please and thank you.

[trix Kelloggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s so many fun elements in this book that are beautifully woven together. Intriguing characters, social commentary, gripping action scenes that kept me on the edge of me seat, and even an exploration of the dynamics of grief, love, friendship & fame. The paving is incredibly gripping my eyes were glued and I was gasping at even the very last words.

[Debumere · Rating 4 out of 5]

After several weeks I have finally finished this. It didn’t take me this long because it was boring but rather life got in the way and has been causing havoc with my reading schedule.

This was great, set in 2035, Family entertainment changed from talentless singers on a Saturday night to brutal fights between competitors, always resulting in death. Bit of a step up from ‘Gladiators’, and foam batons but very entertaining. A little macho in places but just rolled eyes and moved on. It was like ‘The Running Man’ on steroids. I’d definitely watch it if it was made into a film.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story, though I found the story of the characters and battles in (and out) of the Crucible contest much more interesting that the whole spy mission aspect. The fighters and battles were well crafted and exciting, while the rather stagnant undercover infiltrator felts slow and uninspired. Mark makes practically zero progress on his mission throughout most of the story, which in all honesty seemed to be a smaller part of the story anyway. Rarely does he do much investigating (perhaps once or twice in the entire three to four months of the contest), so more time is devoted to the contest and contestants themselves.

I loved the different competitors and thought their characters were all, for the most part, very well crafted. It's truly what kept me hooked into the story. The China connection with Mark and all the backstory felt a little hammered in, the author pounding the China angle in so hard there was absolutely no room for anything else when it came to the mission threat. For a while I thought perhaps the Russians were being sneaky with the Rusakov being a planted agent, or something other than China, yet the story never wavered from that narrow focus on it. So it came as absolutely no surprise to see China had a major hand in things at the end, which I found a bit disappointing. Sure, the Crayton and Ethan aspect was a bit of a twist, but not enough to save from drowning in the China Sea.

The ending was also a little disappointing to me as well. As I said, the China angle is hammered in so hard I felt as if Moses was clubbing me over the head with it. The revelation that China is behind it comes as little shock, making the third act a little underwhelming. How can the reader be shocked by the reveal if you scream it in their ear the entire story? Rusakov was a great villain character, one I was eagerly awaiting to see battle it out with Mark, but instead he was discarded there in the end with a very brief fight recap of his fall to Ethan, not even giving the reader a chance to enjoy seeing this rather ferocious and villainous character face his final end. Mark being turned into the villain of the contest by Crayton was great, and the fight between he and Ethan was also good (though honestly I thought some of the earlier fights were more intense). But then the story descends into madcap lunacy with the China bombing of the stadium and the scooby-doo chase to catch Crayton. All this time there was little to implicate China was even remotely a threat, aside from all the massive speculation hammered throughout by the protagonist, up until the last few chapters. But suddenly China is able to infiltrate a brand new stadium, a structure built by a man who knows China will be after him and targeting his empire, a man who has been increasing security tenfold over the tournament lifetime, who so very recently survived an attack by China's assassins, they are somehow able to sneak through numerous explosives, enough to bring down the entire complex, in what should be a heavily secured facility. It just felt like some sort of frenetic grenade-throwing, where explosions are going off randomly throughout the building instead of what should have been a precisely timed attack given that this is a strike by a country, not some hillbilly second-rate terrorist squad. It just didn't fit the narrative, to me at least.

And to that point, it felt unresolved. We are given no indication as to what happened to Brooke, to Gideon, to Zhou, or really anyone else. You fade to black like a Soprano's finale, leaving so much still on the table, questions without answers. Mark's resolution is alright, I suppose, but completely negates any relationship he built with Brooke, or the bonds between he and Carlo, or the fate of the double agent Gideon. Perhaps you're setting up for a sequel, which seems to be the case with the last chapter, but leaving so much unclear at the end of this one does not entice me into reading more. Instead, it's a frustrating stop to an interesting trip, a melody ended before the final notes are played, and thus Herokiller has killed my appetite for a second serving.

[Nik Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Hero Killer" by @paul.tassi is an exhilarating dive into the world of high-stakes action and intricate character development. From the outset, this novel captivates with its blend of informative depth and adrenaline-pumping sequences that keep readers engaged from page to page.

The narrative centers around Mark, whose psychological complexity adds significant depth to the story. Tassi has crafted a protagonist whose internal struggles and strategic mind make for compelling reading, making Mark not just a hero but a profoundly relatable human figure. His character is well-developed, providing a rich canvas for both action and introspection.

Equally impressive is the character of Brooke, whose unexpected depth and impact on the plot were both surprising and refreshing. She emerges as a standout character, bringing a dynamic element that enhances the overall narrative arc. Her development and the twists associated with her character were among the highlights of the book.

While "Hero Killer" excels in its storytelling and character portrayal, it falls slightly short in the intensity of its violence and gore. Those looking for more graphic depictions might find the action sequences somewhat restrained. However, this critique does not detract significantly from the overall enjoyment of the book, as the plot and character dynamics more than compensate.

As I move on to the sequel, my excitement is palpable, thanks to the solid foundation Tassi has laid with this first installment. "Hero Killer" is a must-read for fans of action-packed novels with a thoughtful edge, earning a well-deserved 4.3 out of 5 stars.

[Els - cygny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I was looking for more books by this narrator, Stephen Bowlby. I don't often read thrillers and am not very much into the whole super spie thing. That said, the main character, Mark Wei, was interesting. He was conflicted but a lot of it happened off page before the book started. The book gave me both Jason Bourne and Battle Royale vibes (although I heard someone say Gladiator in their review and that might be more accurate).

The story did drag on a bit at times, it felt like you had the main plot and a subplot and the latter somewhat distracted from the former. The battles were amazing though. Some of the plot twists were predictable, others had me going WTF! The ending is left absolutely open and since I know there is a sequel, I have a feeling I know where it's going (at least part of it).

The love interest stories were not necessary for me, probably because it had some sort of love triangle thing going and I'm not into those.

All in all, pleasantly surprised and I will most likely read the sequel at some point.

[Scooby Doo · Rating 3 out of 5]

IMO the film Rollerball (1975) is the best ever depiction of America's obsession with violence as entertainment. I've been intrigued by this theme ever since. This novel touches on those issues from time to time but in a fairly superficial manner, in order to set up a super-spy thriller story. The action scenes are detailed, gruesome, and suspenseful. The characters are just human enough to be believable and carry the reader over some implausible scenes. But the plot gets overly muddied towards the end and the climactic scenes of mayhem come across like a superhero finale at odds with the constrained violence leading up to it. Mildly disappointed in the ending. With the exception of the stale weeks of "training" the story moves briskly and kept me pretty glued to the book.

[Shannon Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worthwhile

Dang what a story and I actually enjoyed this one. The energy and idea behind this are wonderfully executed. You probably ask why four stars? While this book may look like a good homerun but something felt odd. To me, the author seems to be focused on streamlining the covert story plot without feeding too much fillers. The drama was more focused on fighting, military covert, little love, and etc. What was missing from this would be the interaction during the summer part. Like contestants' drama, not just violence ones but something more humane…I don’t know if I’m saying it right. In the end with overall is a highly recommended book if you want something fun to read. Then this is for you!

[Michael Cutts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was lovingly created for fans of the futuristic action and satire of films like Robocop and The Running Man. The characters are excellent, and the plot coupled with the excellent action sequences make for a gripping page turner.

However, there are some slow moments around the middle of the book, and the ending doesn’t seem interested in wrapping everything up neatly, but that issue might be solved in the book’s direct sequel. This does not take away from the fact that I could not stop listening to this book.

I hope Part 2 gets an Audiobook soon, but I might cave and buy the physical version.

Overall: Great story, gripping action, mostly excellent pacing, but not a super strong ending

[Jkane · Rating 2 out of 5]

At one point, our hero puts an opponent in a chokehold and compresses the femoral artery until the opponent is choked unconscious. At this point, I had to stop reading. The femoral artery is in the thigh. This small excerpt shows that the author knows nothing about chokeholds and fighting, and even less about anatomy. How one could have a novel about a complete badass fighter, when the author clearly lacks sufficient experience, or even knowledge, to make such a sophomoric mistake? I guess a lack of knowledge about anatomy would not necessarily be critical to the story, but I cannot say the same about the protagonist's experience with fighting. I also question how the editor, the narrator, or anyone else who read the book did not make such an obvious correction.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had so much fun with this book. That's a bit weird to say because it was very dark, and bloody and frankly pretty grim. It gets extremely bleak toward the end . That being said it was a "light" read for me: fast-paced, cool martial arts, likable, though deeply flawed, protagonists, and was borderline Y.A. I've been really enjoying martial arts/gladiator type near future scifi lately and this was an excellent example thereof. I look very much forward to the next volume of this one, if it is to be. I may go read his first series now that I have discovered how much I enjoy his style.

[João Lima · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um ótimo livro, o qual por mais que se passe num futuro e tenha elementos de tecnologia e afins, não explora tanto esse lado sci-fi, e parte muito mais pra suspense e ação. De fato, algo que eu particularmente não sou muito fã mas até acabei aturando foram as partes de luta. Esse livro é cheio de luta, sangue, etc. Apesar disso, a construção dos personagens foi excelente, eu realmente me apeguei a muitos que passaram pela história de Mark. E isso sem falar das reviravoltas e o final que dá as portas para o segundo livro da série (já lançado).

Enfim, eu recomendo muito para as pessoas que gostem dos gêneros abrangidos. Infelizmente não há versão em português, o que impacta um pouco em recomendar para alguns amigos, mas quem sabe um dia alguma editora brasileira não tenta?

[Ryan King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solidly decent story throughout with well-written prose from Tassi. For me the last 50 pages or so really heated up and had great pay-off. The major twist, though not wholly unexpected, cleanly tied together a lot of things I had thought were plot holes. The main character is a tad cliche but I really like his vibe at the very end. Altogether, good enough for me to want to read the 2nd book. Would rate 3.5.

[vidyuth Kini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was skeptical when getting this book. It’s seems like so many similar stories have been written in the last few years. Death matches, spies, intelligence agencies etc... but for what it is, the story writing is amazing, the fight scenes are thrilling, the twists and turns, genuinely surprising and the finish, so totally worth all the effort. A superb book for any fan of the genre. Enjoy it, revel in the world of Herokiller.

[Dane Savoury · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little substance, non existent character development, not particularly hard to see where it's all going. Predictable outcomes. Mildly entertaining but certainly good enough to finish which is more than can be said of other books. Probably geared best towards a teenager who doesn't particularly love books but enjoys a good ole fashioned poorly acted out action movie.

It's a little like the book version of The Expendables actually.

[Robert Newson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rollicking ride, with a few twists

Enjoyable read, set in the near future. I couldn’t put it down and read it in two days I could imagine the gladiatorial combats, which were well described. I was minded it was reminiscent of Enter the Dragon, but with a more complex plot, and I would like to see this made into a movie. A couple of twists, some expected, but others not. Overall an enjoyable and engaging story.

[Abe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing special, but entertaining the whole way through. The author raises a few interesting questions about violence and mass media narratives including an ethno-nationalist angle that echoes our current political moment. However, he doesn’t explore any of these in any depth, and the book ends up as a pretty run-of-the mill YA-but-for-adults sci-fi thriller. Nothing wrong with that I guess.

[Arianna G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had a blast reading this, even if it was derivative of about 3,000 other dystopian future-type books (Escape from NY, Hunger Games, Battle Royale, etc, etc.). I enjoyed the characters, the action was so well-written that I felt involved in the fights (rather than just sort of glossing over them), and the plot was fun. Excellent read if you like slightly sci-fi futuristic stuff like this!

[JoAnn Kouril · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fell flat

Concept was good, but the content fell flat. Too much filler and not enough content to keep me interested in the story line. I kept looking at where I was and finally have up at 48% of the book read. The book started off interesting enough, but became boring and I had to stop reading.

[David Vinther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book that actually had an ending I didn't see coming. This book pulls no punches when it comes to the fights and how everything plays out in the end, though I wish the very end had been a little less vague. You will love who you're supposed to love and hate who you're supposed to hate.

[Kimberly M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story

I loved this story. I wanted to keep reading to find out what happened. There were little clues that made you question what was going on and when you'd find out the truth. It was a little violent, so that may turn some off, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pacing is fast and gripping, and there are some excellent twists and turns but at times the writing can't help but descend into pulp fiction. I would absolutely read a sequel, though it might be a bit of a guilty pleasure for me.

[Jason P · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Heady Look at a Possible Future America

And the lies we tell ourselves about heroes. Replete with lessons about the dangers of blind belief in heroism and media, it's a tale all young people in love with violent heroes and one sided media should read, and learn from.

[Jake Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept of the story was well thought out, kept me intrigued and was hard to put down. I had some issues with the spelling mistakes and that's why I'm giving it 4 out of 5. Overall I would recommend this book to someone else.

[bryce d miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply Amazing

I loved this story. It was so much fun! It had everything! Action, love, heartache, sex, revenge and a great twist that I didn’t see coming! I hope we get a book two!