Hero

By: Perry Moore

Narrated by: Michael Urie

Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

In the story comic book legend Stan Lee calls "spellbinding" and "totally original," Thom Creed has secrets. For one, like his father, he has super powers. Also, he's been asked to join the League—the very organization of superheroes that spurned his dad. Then there s the secret Thom can barely face himself: he's gay.

But becoming a member of the League opens up a new world to Thom. There, he connects with a misfit group of aspiring heroes, including Scarlett, who can control fire but not her anger; Typhoid Larry, who can make anyone sick with his touch; and Ruth, a wise old broad who can see the future. Like Thom, these heroes have things to hide; but they will have to learn to trust one another when they uncover a deadly conspiracy within the League.

To survive, Thom will face challenges he never imagined. To find happiness, he'll have to come to terms with his father's past, and discover the kind of hero he really wants to be.

Timely and inspiring, Hero tackles love, friendship, and the struggle to come to terms with who we really are in a sincere and suspenseful way.

This audiobook includes an exclusive introduction written and read by Stan Lee himself.

©2007 Perry Moore (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Moore's casting of a gay teen hero in a high-concept fantasy marks an significant expansion of GLBTQ literature into genres that reflect teens' diverse reading interests; given the mainstream popularity of comics-inspired tales, the average, ordinary, gay teen superhero who comes out and saves the world will raise cheers from within the GLBTQ community and beyond." (Booklist)

Interesting take on super-hero genre

I really like this book. It is an interesting story with a great (though not-always-original) mythology. The voices the narrator chose for some of the characters, particularly female characters, was just a bit off, though. It seemed like nearly ever female character sounded like a weird caricature. Almost like really campy drag queens. It was noticeable enough and happened often enough that it distracted from the story for me. Other than that, the narration was great.

Again, the story itself is really good and I look forward to reading more of this series.

Charming Story Lacking Substance

This book had a lot of potential. In fact, it was a pretty good story (although the middle was hard to get through because the plot was unclear) but it didn't quite live up. The author touches on a lot of deep and hard issues but that's all he does. He skirts around them and never really delves into anything below the surface. I wish he had. This book would have been a force to be reckoned with.
The narrator does a wonderful job, you feel as if he is totally caught up in the story! He made the dragging middle bit a lot more fun.
Overall a nice casual listen.

highly recommend this story

good narration. awesome coming of age story of a young gay superhero that anyone can connect to.

Not The Average Comic Bok

I was pleasantly surprised with this book and really enjoyed the performance and characters. A much more interesting tale that the average superhero yarn, the characters were three dimensional and 'real' despite superpowers, powers that are sometimes more pain and strife than useful.

A cheesy love story with a twist and a turn

The story was touching all be it a little predictable and Urie did a good job with differentiating characters voices

I adore this book!

I wasn't sure what to expect but I'm glad I gave it a try because I love it! I laughed, I gasped, I teared up, and I was hooked. Tom is a wonderful protagonist. I loved how normal they made powers and heroes and the League tryouts. There are so many gems in this book like when Ruth blew her rape whistle!!! I hope everyone enjoys this book like I do and did.

Unforgettable

Just finished the book! A definite must-have! Moore does a beautiful job telling the story of Thom Creed as he discovers who he is and what choices he must make in this unforgettable tale of self-acceptance, secrecy, and rebirth.
The narrator also does a great job giving each character his or her own distinct voice.

My Hero

loved this book when I read it 10years ago . . still as fresh and new.

Sort of X-Men meets Fantastic 4 with a gay twist

First off, I am not really a very big sci-fi/super hero reader. I listened to this book because a friend recommended it. BUT I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. At times the story line was a little hard to follow and it was a bit hard to figure out which character was talking but overall it was very enjoyable. It is one of those books where you are sad when it ends, because you want to hear more.

Fantastic!

I'm not a superhero or comics fan, but I loved this story. Tom is a great hero. It was interesting watching his powers evolve.
Though I had correctly guessed the identity of Darkman, it didn't take away my enjoyment of the book.
I am thrilled this will be a series as I certainly haven't had enough of Tom.
This was the first time I'd heard a book narrated by Michael Urie. He is a fantastic narrator. The voices he chose to represent each character really made them all come to life. I hope he will be narrating the whole series.