WHAT MAKES A HERO? WHO BETTER TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION THAN LEE CHILD… the endurance of heroes from Achilles to Bond, showing us how this age-old myth is a fundamental part of what makes us human. He demonstrates how hero stories continue to shape our world – arguing that we need them now more than ever.
From the Stone Age to the Greek Tragedies, from Shakespeare to Robin Hood, we have always had our heroes. The hero is at the centre of formative myths in every culture and persists to this day in world-conquering books, films and TV shows. But why do these characters continue to inspire us, and why are they so central to storytelling?
Scalpel-sharp on the roots of storytelling and enlightening on the history and science of myth, The Hero is essential reading for anyone trying to write or understand fiction. Child teaches us how these stories still shape our minds and behaviour in an increasingly confusing modern world, and with his trademark concision and wit, demonstrates that however civilised we get, we’ll always need heroes.
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I picked up this book for two reasons. First, it’s by Lee Child and I’ll read anything he wrote. Second, I thought it was a book on craft, by the master of thrillers himself. I thought it would be about the anatomy of a hero as a literary character, and how to craft a compelling one in your own writing. I thought we’d gain some insight into the creation and enduring potency of that foremost contemporary literary hero, Mr. Child’s own Jack Reacher. I thought it would be a bullet list of points to follow, a recipe for cooking up the perfect hero in your own story.
It wasn’t that. But it was so much more. The Hero is an essay on the history of heroes in stories, going back to the earliest cavemen, and Lee Child’s astute guesstimations about how those first fictional stories came about, and then evolved down through the ages. The book is part historical fact, part supposition, part connecting the dots with logic. But nobody connects those dots with the skill and elegance that Lee Child has. Throughout, he uses a metaphor of ancestors stretching back from his own mother, back through the ages to the earliest times, counting not in years but in each mother/grandmother/great-grandmother’s place in that long line back through history. Its a clever metaphor that lends a folksy rhythm to the history lesson that a mere recital of dates and places can’t match.
Like I said, I bought the book hoping for a Cliff’s Notes on creating the next Jack Reacher character. I didn’t get that, but what I got was so much more. More informational, more entertaining, more instructive. I highly recommend this book.
If you are expecting the same page -turning experience you’ve had with Lee Child’s other books, you will be disappointed. It seems to have been written in a hurry with little regard for the suspense and and action of his other novels. Lee Child is chocolate for the brain but Blue Moon was more like a firecracker bomb. The body count and gruesome details piled up in the same way throughout the book. Indeed, the violence and gore became mundane. I have never struggled like I did with Blue Moon to finish a Lee Child book. Let’s hope he takes more time with his next effort.
Thought provoking.
I like the jack reacher character and while the story changes the character is solid. Great read
Not up to Reacher quality.
He writes like an angel, and that short terse approach works well in a non-fiction essay. Highly recommended. Don’t look for plot here, this is an essay. Good words to you!
Don’t waste your time reading this book.
Not a typical Lee Child read and I got bored very soon after starting this book.
Disappointing read and sorry that I paid anything for this book!!
Lee Child is a true intellectual and this book provides much insight into his Reacher storytelling.