• Heroes Die

  • The First of the Acts of Caine
  • By: Matthew Stover
  • Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
  • Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (1,534 ratings)

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Heroes Die  By  cover art

Heroes Die

By: Matthew Stover
Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
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Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Fantasy, 2013

Renowned throughout the land of Ankhana as the Blade of Tyshalle, Caine has killed his share of monarchs and commoners, villains and heroes. He is relentless, unstoppable, simply the best there is at what he does.

At home on Earth, Caine is Hari Michaelson, a superstar whose adventures in Ankhana command an audience of billions. Yet he is shackled by a rigid caste society, bound to ignore the grim fact that he kills men on a far-off world for the entertainment of his own planet - and bound to keep his rage in check.

But now Michaelson has crossed the line. His estranged wife, Pallas Rill, has mysteriously disappeared in the slums of Ankhana. To save her, he must confront the greatest challenge of his life: a lethal game of cat and mouse with the most treacherous rulers of two worlds.

©1998 Matthew Woodring Stover (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Stover's fans and those who like their fantasy/SF tinged red should enjoy this energetic tale." ( Publishers Weekly)
" Day of the Jackal meets Lord of the Rings.... A marvelous conspiracy thriller of worlds within worlds, where no one is necessarily who or what they seem." (Simon R. Green)
"Stefan Rudnicki performs with the skill of a master swordsman as he slices through the action scenes. His gravelly tone is perfect for the story as he portrays Caine's controlled wrath and tightly leashed passion." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Heroes Die

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Don't Let the Cover Turn You Off

I'll be honest, I am swayed a bit by cover art and nearly didn't read this book because I find the cover art cliche, contrived, etc. Based on the other good reviews I went ahead, and I'm glad I did! The development of this world/environment is second to none, bordering on genius. There is really nothing that couldn't be done with the mix of worlds and technology. It has all the fantasy standards, but that's only because the sci-fi setting allows you to dive into that world at will. Rarely have I read a book that succeeds so well at blending sci-fi and fantasy.

So, "awesome environment", check. Now, how about the characters and storyline? I've also never seen such a wide variety of characters in one book (and I've been reading books for a little while now). I won't elaborate here to spoil it, but there is one character (who gets narrated with a very deep voice) that never ceased to amaze and surprise me. Actually, most of the characters were multi-dimensional, gods be praised :)

The storyline has plenty of twists and intrigue without being obtuse. As with all good books nobody is ever who they appear to be a first glance, but that is true in life isn't it? The storyline is probably the weakest part of the whole package, but it is supported so well by everything else that it still works very well.

I've never listened to this narrator before, and each new narrator always takes an hour or so to "get to know". I've never heard a voice with so much timber as Stefan Rudnicki's and found it difficult at first, but it matches very well with most of the characters. One of the characters absolutely required his voice and I actually felt the warm vibrations of this character's voice coming through my speaker!

If you like Jim Butcher, Brandon Sanderson, Joe Ambercrombie, Brent Weeks, and Robert Jordann, (and who doesn't) you will like Matthew Stover.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Finally, an epic worthy of Stefan Rudnicki

Ever since the Prince Roger series, I have wondered why Stefan Rudnicki could not be engaged to read another great story. Finally, I think this is one. The story itself is immensely clever and innovative. Stover creatively weaves two worlds and multiple plots together with skill. His prose is excellent, and I particularly admired his ability to place me in the scene with his descriptions and metaphors. The story has twists and turns, with plots, sub-plots, and intrigue layered on intrigue. We get to know Hari Michaelson/Caine very well. If there is a weakness, it's that the other character development suffers a little. Rudnicki is a brilliant reader and wrings everything out the story that there is to be squeezed out. This one is a keeper that I will listen too again. Thanks Mr. Rudnicki and Mr. Stover for a job well done.

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16 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Too gruesome for me

The graphic language used alone is enough to put you on edge, but I was able to tough that one out for the sake of the story. However, the level of detail used when describing the sadistic methods of the story's seedy characters was enough to have me turn this book off. Wish I had known prior to purchasing, so hopefully this warning helps someone out.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • K
  • 04-22-14

Takes a while to understand but worth it

Okay, first you have to ignore the cover on the book. Not sure if the author lost a bet or something but it's best to just push play.

It took me FOREVER to understand what was happening in this story. Several times I thought there was no way this was the first book in the series because I couldn't grasp any context. Once I accepted it I just moved on and the story got better. It does keep you guessing and the characters are great. I'll give the next one a shot and see what happens.

Enjoyed the narration as well. Not sure if I've listened to Rudnicki before but he really helped make the difference at the beginning when I was trying to decide if I should keep going.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best series ever.

Equal parts Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, Robert Jordan, and Geroge R.R. Martin, this is one of the best series of books I've ever listened to. Stephan Rudniki was masterful.

These books have it all. Powerfully written and narrated action sequences, deep philosophical questions, poetic prose, heroes, villains, you name it.

I highly recommend them as credit worthy. I could not stop listnening.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable, but not outstanding.

Although it was an interesting idea for a setting, at first I couldn't quite get into the genre mixing, as the SciFi story/element wasn't catching my interest. But a few chapters it hooked me. When I was done with the book I was satisfied by the story, but I'm waffling on going on to the sequel.

What I liked:
The characters were written well enough to make you care about them.
Story was fairly fast paced and kept you entertained.
The conflict in both worlds was engaging and interesting.

What I disliked:
The "fantasy" side of the story was violent, but not truly dark or gritty.
There wasn't much development of the mythology or magical system.
Some of the dialog was nearing childish and caused me to loose my suspension of disbelief.

I'd put this in my "pass the time" category. Not sure if I'm going on the sequel yet.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A rather dark and violent fantasy

The book has an interesting concept. The 'realities' are not really spelled out until quite a ways in, though, so you have to just go with the flow until, all of a sudden, the setting makes sense. Of course, the book doesn't present a "future" that could be possible - like some types of sci-fi where you can see how technology could advance to the point that humankind could reach the described future - the fantasy component is too much for that, but as long as you can suspend disbelief, the story's setting/reality makes enough sense.

It is pretty violent and quite mature (language and actions, no sex though). It is kinda like a dark noir fantasy vigilante story. You might like this book if you like the kind of "human darkness" found in Joe Abercrombie's books: where men are very very bad, and nobody really calls them on their very bad behavior until the HERO steps in. My only problem with the book, actually, is that I think it went on a bit too long, and there was just a smidge too much political commentary on the state of the world (with the suggestion that the path it's following will result (socially) in where this book takes us). Maybe the moral in this story is "true", but I still prefer my butt-kicking to come without lectures.

It has a tone very similar to Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon series - and a kinda similar setting... but Morgan's is less "fantasy" based and quite a bit more sexually graphic. I'm going to read the rest of the series. The narration is very good.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

The Opposite of what people say in reivew

Based on the reviews I expected a masterpiece.

What I got was an average story with a interesting plot. Buy this if you want to pass the time.

However the story moves at a good pace and there was hardly a dull moment.

But all these "best book i've ever read" and "epic story" you have to wonder how low these other readers standards are.

Some things to keep in mind about the Main Character

Caine being described as a complete badass is very overrated, all his actions scenes were terrible. He was honestly not that impressive. So if you read the description and are hoping for him to kick some ass you will be disappointed. He rarely had any action scenes. And the ones he was in he just got beat up and outclassed.

He's also described as being a jerk and heartless killer, in a way he was but at the same time he just a nice guy who was trying to save his wife.

^^these were just minor gimps is his character that really bothered me when reading this book, i was expecting him to be a lot cooler.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing...

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

Perfection, Mind-Blowing

What did you like best about this story?

What's not to like? This series and this book is just fantastic, Stover builds a world unlike any other then throws you head first into hell and takes you on a journey you can't even begin to imagine at the beginning. This series, especially the second book Blade of Tyshalle, is frankly a masterpiece. He manages to make everything feel real by having real characters and a story that makes you feel every hit, every blade and every piece of magic.

Have you listened to any of Stefan Rudnicki’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, he does a great job every time.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I have had to many reactions to this book, from pain for the characters, sadness at death and joy for Caines success. This book will grab you and demand you attention.

Any additional comments?

Buy it.... NOW.... DO IT!

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good Book

Would you listen to Heroes Die again? Why?

Book was good. Interesting concept of futuristic and fantasy genres.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Heroes Die?

The book was very interesting and kept moving, I enjoy books where the plot moves.

What about Stefan Rudnicki’s performance did you like?

Stefan did a fantastic job.

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

Was a good book. But was able to put it down.

Any additional comments?

The book was interesting enough for me to finish, and order the 2nd book in the series.
The second book meandered and needed a tremendous amount of editing that was not done. The first book was good, the second not so great, and I did not purchase the third book in the series (as the publisher got greedy and split the book into two twelve hour books).

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3 people found this helpful