What do you think?
Rate this book
Hero, Second Class
Have at you!
Cyrus Solburg is a young man who dreams of becoming a Hero in a fantasy world in which Heroes owe monthly dues and Villains are allowed only one eclipse per fiscal quarter.
Cyrus becomes the apprentice to Sir Reginald Ogleby, also known as the Crimson Slash, a towering swordsman with a titanic sword and a penchant for self-narrating his own battles. It's up to Reginald to train Cyrus in the essentials of Heroism so that one day, at the conclusion of his first Quest, Cyrus may become a Hero, Second Class.
More is afoot than the routine of training in the arts of Heroic Derring-Do, however. A bona fide Arch-Villain is on the loose. And this Villain is particularly interested in Cyrus, not least because of how Cyrus seems to have magic coming to him in spite of himself, resulting in tremendous disruption of the magical planes.
Entering into the fray come a wise-cracking Dragon, a petulant gargoyle, the Heroes' Guild, the Army of Darkness, and a horde of cursed invisible Centaurs. Cyrus will have to call on his friends, a beautiful young cat girl, and all the power of the Capital Letters and Arbitrary Numbers if he is to live to become a full-fledged Hero.
ABOUT THE When Mitchell was 10 he and his friends created an adventure game called Quest. Mitchell played all the supporting characters, quest givers, and (his favorite) the villains, while his friends played the brave heroes who thwarted them. That game became the basis for Hero, Second Class. Mitchell is a young man with theatrical inclinations, a wry sense of humor, and storytelling ability well beyond his years.
Cyrus Solburg is a young man who dreams of becoming a Hero in a fantasy world in which Heroes owe monthly dues and Villains are allowed only one eclipse per fiscal quarter.
Cyrus becomes the apprentice to Sir Reginald Ogleby, also known as the Crimson Slash, a towering swordsman with a titanic sword and a penchant for self-narrating his own battles. It's up to Reginald to train Cyrus in the essentials of Heroism so that one day, at the conclusion of his first Quest, Cyrus may become a Hero, Second Class.
More is afoot than the routine of training in the arts of Heroic Derring-Do, however. A bona fide Arch-Villain is on the loose. And this Villain is particularly interested in Cyrus, not least because of how Cyrus seems to have magic coming to him in spite of himself, resulting in tremendous disruption of the magical planes.
Entering into the fray come a wise-cracking Dragon, a petulant gargoyle, the Heroes' Guild, the Army of Darkness, and a horde of cursed invisible Centaurs. Cyrus will have to call on his friends, a beautiful young cat girl, and all the power of the Capital Letters and Arbitrary Numbers if he is to live to become a full-fledged Hero.
ABOUT THE When Mitchell was 10 he and his friends created an adventure game called Quest. Mitchell played all the supporting characters, quest givers, and (his favorite) the villains, while his friends played the brave heroes who thwarted them. That game became the basis for Hero, Second Class. Mitchell is a young man with theatrical inclinations, a wry sense of humor, and storytelling ability well beyond his years.
616 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
12 people are currently reading
170 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 19, 2010
In which the reviewer expounds upon the notion that this is a Whacking Good Story, featuring heroic derring-do and perfidious villainy amid slaughter on a monumental scale, a Touching Love Story, and a good many puns.
Cyrus Solburg is the squire of the noble-hearted though dense hero Sir Reginald Ogleby, known as the Crimson Slash. Endowed with superhuman powers and desire to express them, heroes like the Crimson Slash fight villains with similar inclinations in a medieval world populated with a number of sentient races and various magical creatures. The two groups are regulated by the International Guild of Heroes and it's sinister counterpart, the Brotherhood of the Black Hand.
The two guilds manage an on-going stalemate, hoping to avert a second worldwide war. The first world war was fought by heroes and villains, using the full onslaught of their powers. Known as the Twenty Minute War, this conflict lasting 20 minutes nearly ended all life on the planet.
Enter the arch-villain Voshtyr Demonkin, who is determined not to repeat the mistakes his side made in that disastrous conflict. With the unfolding of Voshtyr's dastardly plot, things do not look good for our heroes.
Hero, Second Class by Mitchell Bonds takes more than a few gentle swipes at the fantasy genre. OK, general head-bashing is more like it. Therein lies the strength and weakness of this very likable tale, which refuses to take itself seriously, yet is part of an underlying heroic epic Mitchel calls The Hero Complex .
I would favorably compare Hero, Second Class to other classic humorous fantasy stories that include L. Sprague De Camp's The Compleat Enchanter, one of my all time favorites.
Christian concepts are integral to the story, yet do not bash the reader with an overt evangelistic pitch. To paraphrase fantasy writer Terry Pratchett, this story is about looking at life in an entirely new way.
Hero, Second Class is a story that I could re-read, especially should the next installment of the Hero Complex be released. I would recommend it to fantasy lovers who love gentle puns, marvelous heroic feats, and do not mind Capital Letters in the least.
Cyrus Solburg is the squire of the noble-hearted though dense hero Sir Reginald Ogleby, known as the Crimson Slash. Endowed with superhuman powers and desire to express them, heroes like the Crimson Slash fight villains with similar inclinations in a medieval world populated with a number of sentient races and various magical creatures. The two groups are regulated by the International Guild of Heroes and it's sinister counterpart, the Brotherhood of the Black Hand.
The two guilds manage an on-going stalemate, hoping to avert a second worldwide war. The first world war was fought by heroes and villains, using the full onslaught of their powers. Known as the Twenty Minute War, this conflict lasting 20 minutes nearly ended all life on the planet.
Enter the arch-villain Voshtyr Demonkin, who is determined not to repeat the mistakes his side made in that disastrous conflict. With the unfolding of Voshtyr's dastardly plot, things do not look good for our heroes.
Hero, Second Class by Mitchell Bonds takes more than a few gentle swipes at the fantasy genre. OK, general head-bashing is more like it. Therein lies the strength and weakness of this very likable tale, which refuses to take itself seriously, yet is part of an underlying heroic epic Mitchel calls The Hero Complex .
I would favorably compare Hero, Second Class to other classic humorous fantasy stories that include L. Sprague De Camp's The Compleat Enchanter, one of my all time favorites.
Christian concepts are integral to the story, yet do not bash the reader with an overt evangelistic pitch. To paraphrase fantasy writer Terry Pratchett, this story is about looking at life in an entirely new way.
Hero, Second Class is a story that I could re-read, especially should the next installment of the Hero Complex be released. I would recommend it to fantasy lovers who love gentle puns, marvelous heroic feats, and do not mind Capital Letters in the least.
September 8, 2012
Have at you read this book set in Mitchell Bonds' wonderful, quirky world yet? No? Well, if you're a fan of fantasy, comedy, and adventure, this should be on your "Must-Read" list.
From the second line, this book had me laughing, and it kept it up throughout. This book makes fun of the fantasy genre, it has a lot of puns, and it's just flat out funny. Some parts of this novel even reminded me of Monty Python, only cleaner, which is fantastic.
While the main goal of Hero, Second Class is to make you laugh realize how much of a fantasy geek you are, it also manages to weave a wonderful story with characters that I genuinely cared about. One of our Heroes narrates all his own battles, which was very entertaining. There's also a surprisingly sweet love story mixed in, which I was not expecting. The Villain was truly villainous, violent, and had a wonderful supporting cast of Minions, Toadies, Henchmen, "fishy" accountants (You'll see what I mean if you read it), etc.
This is also a book by a Christian author, and while it's clean, there's not a whole lot of inspirational moments, if any. It didn't handle the Christian element too badly, though, so I can't complain.
There is, however, two complaints I have. There were a few spelling and grammatical errors that, while not terrible, were a bit distracting and could have been fixed by a more thorough proof read. My second complaint is that it ended! I have hope that reading the second book in this series will fix the latter issue.
January 12, 2009
Review by Jill Williamson
Cyrus Solburg is an apprentice to Sir Reginald Ogleby, otherwise known as the Crimson Slash. It is Crimson’s duty to teach Cyrus in all matters pertaining to becoming a real Hero. As Cyrus and Crimson travel the countryside, they meet up with some new friends: a dragon named, Keeth, and two feline Katheni, brother and sister.
As Cyrus nears Herohood, an Arch-Villain is on the loose, plotting diabolical destruction and revenge. Can Cyrus manage to reach the end of his training, stop the Arch-Villain, and save the girl? Or is becoming a Hero not for him?
What a funny book. I felt as if I was in the midst of a medieval superhero spoof movie. Mitchell Bonds is delightfully creative with his fantasy world. Both Crimson and Cryus are noble and righteous, even if they do have their faults. Crimson, for one, has the bizarre habit of narrating his battles out loud. And Cyrus discovers a talent for magic that is more powerful than anyone has ever had, accidentally destroying things that, well, he shouldn’t. I highly recommend this book for readers who love satire, medieval fantasy, and a good laugh.
Cyrus Solburg is an apprentice to Sir Reginald Ogleby, otherwise known as the Crimson Slash. It is Crimson’s duty to teach Cyrus in all matters pertaining to becoming a real Hero. As Cyrus and Crimson travel the countryside, they meet up with some new friends: a dragon named, Keeth, and two feline Katheni, brother and sister.
As Cyrus nears Herohood, an Arch-Villain is on the loose, plotting diabolical destruction and revenge. Can Cyrus manage to reach the end of his training, stop the Arch-Villain, and save the girl? Or is becoming a Hero not for him?
What a funny book. I felt as if I was in the midst of a medieval superhero spoof movie. Mitchell Bonds is delightfully creative with his fantasy world. Both Crimson and Cryus are noble and righteous, even if they do have their faults. Crimson, for one, has the bizarre habit of narrating his battles out loud. And Cyrus discovers a talent for magic that is more powerful than anyone has ever had, accidentally destroying things that, well, he shouldn’t. I highly recommend this book for readers who love satire, medieval fantasy, and a good laugh.
August 17, 2015
Review to come.
December 23, 2019
Hero unusual
Cyrus was unusual both as a child and a hero to be. But it seems the island had many unusual artifacts....
Cyrus was unusual both as a child and a hero to be. But it seems the island had many unusual artifacts....
October 19, 2018
Bravo! A good fast read! now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 2, 2012
I don't give five stars to an indie book lightly, but this one is worth it. Very meta and fun story about a world where Heroes narrate their own battles and villains buy minions in quantities of 101 to beat those pesky Heroes with the strength of one hundred men.
Cyrus is a squire to one such Hero, Reginald the Crimson Slash. Reginald is the epitome of Heroing virtue: he knows the Hero manual from back to front and always falls for a False Quest. However an Arch-Villain from his past has some serious plans for world domination, and he isn't one exactly to play by the rules.
A brief synopsis can't do the book justice. It's a world where How Many Capitals and Arbitrary Numbers an item has determines how powerful it is, and Villains and Heroes war over a P.L.O.T device. But in the same breath it can be very serious about the fantasy tropes it likes to mock. You can enjoy it for being fun, and realize that the real plot is what happens when someone decides not to play by the rules the world sets up, how arbitrary those rules can be, and what happens when they are kicked out from underneath you. The ending is strong, too.
It also has some great, memorable characters. Like the dragon Keeth, who you should never call Keith. Even if you only say it, he can hear vowels and he will correct you. Cyrus is someone who wants to uphold the rules and winds up breaking them at every turn, and Reginald is at the same time both idiotic and a hero-a Don Quixote who shows real nobility and skill, and isn't a pathetic figure. Even the villains are well developed, and the big bad of the piece is so terrifying simply because he takes things seriously and acts intelligently. It makes the book something more than just a humorous romp.
There's a few minor problems. One is that this is a Christian Fantasy, and the christian aspects feel a little tacked on, as they are played straight and not as meta as the rest of the book. The second is some minor formatting issues with the Kindle version, namely dialogue not indenting properly sometimes after the initial line. I'm not sure if this is a quirk of my Kindle, and generally it doesn't make the book unreadable: just in short sections of back and forth dialogue it fails to indent. If Goodreads supported half-stars I might give it 4.5, but all the plusses tip the book to 5 stars for me.
One "problem" isn't. This book is long! It could have easily been split into two books after part 1 without any real loss, but Mitchell gives you essentially two books in one. The length is not padding, either; I never felt that things were included just to add space.
While it may remind you slightly of Terry Pratchett, it's not quite at his level. But it's a great book which was a lot of fun to read, had a genuinely inventive and enjoyable world while making you care about the characters. Highly recommended.
Cyrus is a squire to one such Hero, Reginald the Crimson Slash. Reginald is the epitome of Heroing virtue: he knows the Hero manual from back to front and always falls for a False Quest. However an Arch-Villain from his past has some serious plans for world domination, and he isn't one exactly to play by the rules.
A brief synopsis can't do the book justice. It's a world where How Many Capitals and Arbitrary Numbers an item has determines how powerful it is, and Villains and Heroes war over a P.L.O.T device. But in the same breath it can be very serious about the fantasy tropes it likes to mock. You can enjoy it for being fun, and realize that the real plot is what happens when someone decides not to play by the rules the world sets up, how arbitrary those rules can be, and what happens when they are kicked out from underneath you. The ending is strong, too.
It also has some great, memorable characters. Like the dragon Keeth, who you should never call Keith. Even if you only say it, he can hear vowels and he will correct you. Cyrus is someone who wants to uphold the rules and winds up breaking them at every turn, and Reginald is at the same time both idiotic and a hero-a Don Quixote who shows real nobility and skill, and isn't a pathetic figure. Even the villains are well developed, and the big bad of the piece is so terrifying simply because he takes things seriously and acts intelligently. It makes the book something more than just a humorous romp.
There's a few minor problems. One is that this is a Christian Fantasy, and the christian aspects feel a little tacked on, as they are played straight and not as meta as the rest of the book. The second is some minor formatting issues with the Kindle version, namely dialogue not indenting properly sometimes after the initial line. I'm not sure if this is a quirk of my Kindle, and generally it doesn't make the book unreadable: just in short sections of back and forth dialogue it fails to indent. If Goodreads supported half-stars I might give it 4.5, but all the plusses tip the book to 5 stars for me.
One "problem" isn't. This book is long! It could have easily been split into two books after part 1 without any real loss, but Mitchell gives you essentially two books in one. The length is not padding, either; I never felt that things were included just to add space.
While it may remind you slightly of Terry Pratchett, it's not quite at his level. But it's a great book which was a lot of fun to read, had a genuinely inventive and enjoyable world while making you care about the characters. Highly recommended.
April 3, 2015
Bonds night be the heir to Pratcett
Imagine a world where Heroes and Villains (always properly capitalized) belong to guilds, complete with rules. A world where magic works and all of the stereotypes of sword and sorcery walk, flap, crawl, or stride. Now put that world in the hands of an author who consistently breaks the fourth wall to mock the conventions of the genre. Sprinkle liberally with snark and puns, pausing here and there for a dragon to observe that no dragon ever gave part of his hoard to another so that he could be ruled by another, or for an aide to tell the Villain to let the market work in newly-conquered territory to avoid shortages. Let the author cheat, but make you laugh with him as he brazenly calls the Bad Thing the Villain is making a "P.L.O.T. Device."
What you get is a book I read instead of sleeping, chuckling maniacally all the way through. It's a great read, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
Imagine a world where Heroes and Villains (always properly capitalized) belong to guilds, complete with rules. A world where magic works and all of the stereotypes of sword and sorcery walk, flap, crawl, or stride. Now put that world in the hands of an author who consistently breaks the fourth wall to mock the conventions of the genre. Sprinkle liberally with snark and puns, pausing here and there for a dragon to observe that no dragon ever gave part of his hoard to another so that he could be ruled by another, or for an aide to tell the Villain to let the market work in newly-conquered territory to avoid shortages. Let the author cheat, but make you laugh with him as he brazenly calls the Bad Thing the Villain is making a "P.L.O.T. Device."
What you get is a book I read instead of sleeping, chuckling maniacally all the way through. It's a great read, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
June 23, 2011
This is a story with several layers. First, a superficial, poking-fun-at-the-clichés-of-fantasy layer, second, a type of coming-of-age story of the main character, Cyrus, and how his dreams of becoming a hero isn't what he thought it was, and third, a deeper spiritual layer that is alluded to and, I assume, continues in the subsequent books. Some parts of the book had me laughing at the parodies, sometimes it took me out of the story. Once I got used to the author's narrative style, the story flowed better. Overall, it was a good read and I'll eventually read the sequel. I would recommend to others who enjoy fantasy and don't mind someone poking fun at the genre.
September 11, 2015
Mitchell Bonds has written a very creative book here. Well, maybe "creative" is not the best word. He seems to have collected every stereotype of the hero-villain genre and worked them into his story-line. That, in itself, is quite a brilliant accomplishment. Parody at it's most complete.
The overall story is, well, stereotypical. I personally found it to be on the corny side, but I don't read that much fiction. I have a feeling people will either love this book or not find it very interesting.
However, if you want a book that actually reveals how such novels are written you can learn a lot from this book.
The overall story is, well, stereotypical. I personally found it to be on the corny side, but I don't read that much fiction. I have a feeling people will either love this book or not find it very interesting.
However, if you want a book that actually reveals how such novels are written you can learn a lot from this book.
December 28, 2015
A bit of a disappointment in that I could not get beyond the overly clever descriptions and plot devices and found my mind wandering and boredom setting in. An interesting premise that took too long to get into the actual plot and action. I love humor. Robert Aspirin and a host of other writers send me into the heavens with cleverness. This tale got too bogged down and it just made the plot meander more than the tiny threads of water during the middle of a drought. May give the author another chance down the road but I hope there is more too the plot! :)
April 15, 2016
Do you love fantasy? Are you tired of all the same old fantasy tropes you find in every other fantasy novel? Well, I don't know if you will like this book. It has pretty much every fantasy trope you could possibly imagine, but it makes fun of it in a new way. Full of puns and satire, you could easily imagine Mel Brooks wrote this story. Similar to Pratchett, but lacking the British humour that draws the laughs out of you.
May 15, 2021
This book is full of every sort of fantasy and adventure novel trope that you can think of, but done extraordinarily well. Full of puns (both suitably terrible and actually pretty good), and very self aware jokes that will have you giggling, and a very fragile fourth wall, but also with genuine deep and touching moments.
It's one of a few books that I find myself coming back to every couple years, and enjoying just as much, or potentially more, every time.
It's one of a few books that I find myself coming back to every couple years, and enjoying just as much, or potentially more, every time.
July 8, 2011
I borrowed this book from a friend a while back after we both heard about it at a local writer's conference. I found it interesting; the characters were original and each had their own unique way of endearing themselves to the reader. I'm still tracking down the second book and expect it to be as good a read as the first :]
July 18, 2015
Reminded me a bit of Terry Pratchett
This was a great, silly read, and it was very enjoyable. It was interesting learning about all the rules in this fantasy world and how it allowed the characters to move around it. At times the tone was a bit heavy handed when making fun of the normal fantasy/chivalry tropes, but overall it was well done.
This was a great, silly read, and it was very enjoyable. It was interesting learning about all the rules in this fantasy world and how it allowed the characters to move around it. At times the tone was a bit heavy handed when making fun of the normal fantasy/chivalry tropes, but overall it was well done.
December 13, 2011
It's overly whimsical and sometimes fails in its humor, but it an insightful satire of fantasy, deliberately taking many fantasy stereotypes into account in ways that prove that the author must have been highly conscious and analytical of the epic fantasy genre in order to write this book.
September 7, 2013
This was a satirical take on superhero tales. Ranen read this book as well. I think he would have rated it a bit higher. I enjoyed the story, but he said there was a lot of superhero or video game references I wouldn't get.
April 27, 2015
This book was pretty dang slow.
I could hardly wait for the book to be over. I kept asking myself, why finish it it is that bad? I stayed with it until the end though, but it kinda felt like I was punishing myself.ok
I could hardly wait for the book to be over. I kept asking myself, why finish it it is that bad? I stayed with it until the end though, but it kinda felt like I was punishing myself.ok
August 4, 2015
This book had me laughing from page one, though it dragged a little in the middle. I would recommend it to anyone who likes a dose of humor and some good fantasy action. (Read more at my blog, thebookhoundchristianspecfic.blogspot.com)
October 12, 2015
In the style of Piers Anthony and Terry Prachette this new raising star
Well written characterization and story in the style of Piers Anthony and Terry Prachette. Very interesting world that is very worth investigating. Adult readers only
Well written characterization and story in the style of Piers Anthony and Terry Prachette. Very interesting world that is very worth investigating. Adult readers only
April 8, 2012
A funny irreverent parody of all things fantasy. If you don't read fantasy you won't get this book. If you read and love fantasy, this book will make you laugh out loud.
December 7, 2015
Hilarious! I was laughing so hard that I finally realized I had only made it to page 10 in 30 minutes! Definitely a good book.
October 20, 2012
This book is fine, and has a funny/quirky take on the hero/villain dynamic, but the author tries too hard -- the language is often laborious when it's trying to be clever.
April 21, 2013
I actually know the author. ^_^ Good book, great guy!
April 14, 2016
I didn't know that Christian Speculative writing was a thing. This book is a great fantasy book for this genre. Enjoyable for anyone that enjoys fantasy, puns, and a hopeful story.
December 11, 2012
Very funny and exciting
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews