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)

You’ll LOVE everything about this book

For me, it was “love at first listen.” The narrator masterfully tells the story, and he brings each character to life expertly (and with ease).
it really is an incredible book. So give it a go. You won’t be disappointed.

"Yay" for the message, "Meh" for the story

This is what you call a superhero novel with a message, that message being "Gay is okay." So, wonderful, it's a message I can support, but a redeeming message is not enough to make me love a book, and this book, while not bad, and certainly not disrespectful to the superhero genre, didn't really do anything original except make the hero gay. In fact, it was overall a pretty derivative story and I doubt it would have gotten much attention at all (or even published) if not for the central theme, that Thom Creed, the title hero, has two "secret identities," one as a superhuman, the other as a gay teenager whose famous ex-hero father is also a bit of a homophobe.

I say "a bit" because of course this is a father-son novel and so by the end of the book, heartwarming acceptance amidst heroic self-sacrifice occurs, and Thom Creed is happily paired up with his handsome boyfriend (also a closeted superhero) in the brave new world they have just saved.

For a gay teenager struggling with identity and acceptance and wanting to see someone like himself represented as a protagonist, this is probably a wonderful book. Me being old and cranky and cheerfully supportive of the whole Gay Agenda and anything else that makes bigots cry, I am glad books like this exist, but since I was mostly interested in the superhero story, I found it mediocre. Perry Moore makes no attempt to do anything original with superheroes, and even the satire is very familiar territory.

Not a bad read, but unless you're trying to earn a few diversity points on your reading list, I can't really recommend it as anything special.

Wonderful!

This is an absolutely fabulous book. This author is fearless. It is truly amazing the number of issues he decided to pack into this book. Not just gay teen issues (angst and very light romance), racial injustice, bigotry, heroes not acting heroic, alien invasions and a murder mystery for good measure. If you were a child of comic heroes as I was (I am a Marvel girl, but never missed an episode of Justice League), you will enjoy this universe, however dark it might be. This is not a light comic romp, there are some truly dark stuff. The “big battle” is truly epic and has a twist ending. I think the author does a great job of creating the universe and delivering a exciting and compelling story; even though some of it drags a little. The narrator in the audio version is also fabulous. He has a great diversity of voices, his pacing is spot on and he injects a lot of emotion into the characters. I’ve seen some reviewer compare it to The Watchman meets the Justice League. I agree with that but would add, The Watchman meets the Justice League meets Something Like Summer. For fans of the young gay romance genre, you know what I mean.

Great Download

There really isn't anything that I can say that hasn't been more eloquently put in the reviews already. I really enjoyed this book, both the writing and the reader are excellent. It's certainly one I'd recommend to anyone!

One of My Favorites

I was really taken by this wonderfully unique story of a superhero amongst ubiquitous superheroes. This was so well told going deeper into the character without any of the common superficial traits.
Combine this real person with the fun stuff of superhero-isms and I was enthralled.
Loved Michael Urie's narration.
I long for a sequel.

Liked it!

I really enjoyed this book. A few key things were predictable but overall a fun read (listen).

brutal truth about peoples reaction

The story was really good. The mom pisses me off. The only knock I could give is that the author basically used superman and wonder woman. Most of the other characters were thought through with good creativity though.

How do you know a true hero?

Not by what they say.

Not by what others give them credit for doing.

It is the amazing ability to do the right thing at the right time for others. Things that most people don't even notice unless it is done for them. The things that really matter.

It does not take super powers, although that can be helpful until overcome by evil ego and self-worship.

It does not take luck or great knowledge. Quick thinking does not hurt, but careful analysis is probably more important.

Friends and family reinforce any abilities. The ability to recognize needs is very important.

But the most important thing is that you must be able to love others and fulfill their needs with love more than you love yourself.

We all have limitations and handicaps, but to be able to see beyond them to the skills and abilities we all have so that they can be woven into a network to help everyone as friends, family, and lovers is the most difficult mission to perform as a team.

Without the love, leadership fails. Without the loving vision, purpose fails. Without the shared love, love falters. Love is the solution to being a hero and not a zero. A hero fixes the problem. A zero does not even know there is a problem.

Contribute to solutions to problems for everyone.

Just a Fun Read!

If you could sum up Hero in three words, what would they be?

Adventure, emotion, and unique

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hero?

It's not a scene, but more a series of scenes, regarding the death of a character. It's hard to say more without spoilers, but it was pretty emotional. Actually, this kind of applies to more than one situation in the novel. Essentially, each of these moments made me think about life and the cost of being a "hero."

Which scene was your favorite?

I love a good kissing scene, especially when there's a good emotional buildup. This book delivered on that, that's all I'm going to say!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, but it was definitely one I looked forward to listening to each day. By the last 75%, I was unable to turn it off.

Any additional comments?

I liked that this story has a little bit of everything: action, romance, emotion, self-discovery, sports, etc. I also liked that it was a novel that rang true to the LGBT experience, in that the protagonist's sexual identity was an important part of the novel, but not the MOST important part.

One of my absolute favorite books!

I love this book. I've read it and listened to it several times. I loved the characters, I loved the story, I loved the, well, love story. There are so many crappy LGBT books out there and this is not one of them.

I was heartbroken when I heard that Perry Moore had died. I really wanted to read more about Thom and his friends. Unfortunately, that will never happen. However, this book stands as s a testament to a great author's imagination and passion.