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)

Exceptional Characters

Every character in this story is written like an actual person. The teenage main character is a kind and hard working person, but also quick to judge others and very sure they know more than everyone else. Beyond that, everyone has a complex combination of positive and flawed traits which affect their thoughts and actions.

The story itself is phenomenal, it has ups and downs, grit and realism, but also some over the top optimistic parts.

Great theory.. Bad Narration

I loved the idea of this book and it was pretty well executed for the first half of the novel. However the use of many female characters were marred by narrator's inflections. I found it too distracting and at times nauseating. I really liked that there could be a gay hero, and I really liked that there was a book without all the gay sex that's used in some many other "gay" novels. Yet there were many plot holes in this book especially toward the end. Not worth the credit unless you found it on sale.

Super Heros w/ weaknesses, flaws, vulnerabilities

While I don't entirely agree with the many rave reviews of "Hero," I don't regret having bought it; and I did -- mostly -- enjoy it. It takes place in an alternate reality where super-heros intervene in everyday life pretty commonly. Apparently, in this alternate reality, homosexual people are rejected and scorned. I could have done without all the homosexual whining; but I guess that the author, Perry Moore, had a message to convey. In a more innovative vein, Mr. Moore creates super-heros who age and die, and who have all kinds of flaws and vulnerabilities. But, really: A super-hero with a colostomy bag? I think that I could have done without that, too. I wondered why Mr. Moore incorporated Superman into his pantheon of super-heros -- complete with kryptonite -- but named him "Justice." Maybe copyright issues had to be considered. Think of "Hero" as a supernatural fantasy novel, à la Jim Butcher. If you like that genre, then you will probably enjoy "Hero." For me, Michael Urie's excellent narration saved this audiobook, rendering it above average, and worth the Audible credit that I spent on it. However, I probably won't listen to it again.

A funny and charming coming-of-age story

Any additional comments?

I loved this story about Thom, a 17-year-old boy who has two big secrets. The first: he's the son of a disgraced superhero, growing up in a household where the topic of superheroes is absolutely verboten...and, so of course, he starts developing superpowers.

And the second secret, that he's absolutely terrified of his factory-worker father (or anyone, actually) discovering, is that he's also gay.

I love the main character--he's a really nice kid despite his insecurities, and he's got a very interesting and authentic-feeling relationship with his Dad, who's also basically a decent and loving man, despite his homophobia. The tensions in his home are nicely described--Thom's desire to be a hero and help people, and his terror of having his secrets discovered...and thereby disappointing the father he loves and worships.

The reader for this book is really good, and I'm finding the story very engaging. (I'm at the halfway point, and I'm finding that I really want to keep listening after I finish my daily commute. That's usually the mark of a excellent book for me.)

Had me at Spike Lee's forward

Would you listen to Hero again? Why?

Yes beacause the main character reminds us that despite the consequences you should do the right thing, be true to yourself which are nice ideas that often need reinforcing.

What other book might you compare Hero to and why?

Can think of another book I have read where the main character was not living up to their potential because of parental discrimination, but landed a traineeship based on their natural abilities and ended up in a team of unusual individuals who fit together professionaly, but who really needed each other out side of the job.

Which character – as performed by Michael Urie – was your favorite?

I liked the accent given to Warrior Woman, have no clue where it came from. Thom was the favourite for me.

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

No it didn't have that must finish it now element, I listened to it over a weekend.

Any additional comments?

Some Goodreads reviews sight sloppy writing but this must be more apparent in print because to book seemed smooth when narrated. A sequel might be interesting to see how blossoming relationships develop and where the League went after the final confrontation.

Engaging until the end

What did you like best about Hero? What did you like least?

I felt as though the story was engaging and the characters was interesting. The voice over talent was top notch. What I didn't like was the way the story came together at the end, it all felt rushed and obvious.

Which character – as performed by Michael Urie – was your favorite?

Unsure

Did Hero inspire you to do anything?

Not really

Any additional comments?

It was sooo close to being great, that's what was frustrating.

Recommended with some provisos

I want to recommend this book highly. There are a lot of great things about it. The story is strong. The subject matter is important. It could be an amazing book. My only real problem with the book is that it rips off the justice league and replaces them with slightly genericized cutouts. That would be ok, if a bit boring, even to the point of warrior woman having a lariat/lasso. That having been said, one of the main heroes being from a dying planet where his parents sent him away on a ship at the last minute where he crash landed in Kansas to be raised by an old couple and then grew up to have super strength, invulnerability, super speed, laser vision and super breath is unforgivable, and likely criminal. If the book were not very good and the subject matter important and really insightful, I would rate this as a one star and be done with it. If you can overlook blatant copyright infringement that the author is clearly clever enough to have avoided with five minutes of thought, I'd say give it a read.

Neat Superhero Mechanics

If you've ever played a Superhero tabletop RPG and enjoyed using your XP to upgrade or augment your powers, read this book. Without spoilers, all I can say is that the author took great care to make sure "leveling up" made sense within the narrative. I really enjoyed it.

We all have a hero inside us.

I didn’t really know what to expect. But from the first chapter I knew I was going to love this book. A true inspiration and a reminder that we all have a hero inside.

pisses me off

look, this is a novel about a gay teenager and his former, crippled superhero dad. okay, i get that, its young adult too, so not many difficult words, fine, whatever, still looks like it has potential. but i loathe it when the author doesn't have the story telling grace to not go with the miracle ending. i'm trying not to spoil it, in case you like that kind of thing, but i actually liked the book until the last 5 pages, where this crud was pulled out and killed the story.

young adult has its own issues of simplification through vocabulary and dealing with teen angst, but i thought it was well done, even if the main character is a bit emo.

but i cannot overlook poor storytelling. a better ending would have been death than a miracle save in my opinion.

he does do a interesting parallel between the alien superhero and the main character that was thought provoking about who has responsibility for your outlook on whatever situation you are dealt with.