Once A Hero: A Novel

By Michael A. Stackpole

Book Overview

A rousing adventure of mystery and magic, in the best tradition of Robert Jordan and David Eddings, by one of the most exciting and imaginative voices in fantasy A LEGEND COME TO LIFE Half a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 055356112X
• ISBN13: 9780553561128
• Release Date: April 1994
• Publisher: Bantam Spectra
• Length: 513 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.3" x 4.3"

Customer Reviews

An outstanding fantasy epic

I am and always have been a big sci-fi buff. I was introduced to Stackpole while making my way through the Battletech universe. I picked up "Bred for War" before spending the summer in Germany back in 1997 and have since added almost all of his books to my collection. "Once a Hero" was the first fantasy novel I had ever read and now split my reading time almost evenly between the two genres. His control of the english language still leaves me captivated, even after all these years, and has inspired me to write short stories of my own. Granted this book contains a lost of stereotypical fantasy aspects (elves, magic, swordfighting, etc), but that is what people expect from this kind of story and this book does not disappoint. This book is, however, extremely dense and it took me a lot longer to read than most novels. I found every aspect of this story intriquing, from its general layout and plot development, to the smallest details and sarcastic remarks. Even though this one is out of print and is, more often than not, expensive, I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels.

A stunningly good read!!

I started reading this book very critically because I feel that a lot of the Star Wars / Star Trek / Dragonlance / Forgotten Realms / RPG novels are extremely poorly written. Michael Stackpole has a background writing RPG games (very good ones, I might add), Star Wars and Battletech books. Despite myself, I wasn't expecting much, but what I got was one of the very **best** books I've ever read. Michael Stackpole writes rings around all but the best and the greatest of writers, with whom he stands proudly shoulder to shoulder. "Once A Hero" has started me on an addiction for Michael Stackpole's **stunning** fantasy. I've torn through "Talion: Revenant" and "A Hero Born" as quickly as I could get my hands on them and was not disappointed. Sadly, this book, "Once A Hero" is out of print, although it's readily available online used. Michael Stackpole has other fantasy books in print and if you're a lover of quality, engaging, high-spirited fantasy then you'd be mad not to seek them out. I will read his books over and over again as the years go by. They're that good...

A Treasure

Too bad this is Out of Print. This is possibly one of the best fantasy stand alone novels i have read in years. Combines all the elements: comedy, drama, high action, with a splash of intrigue and romance. BEWARE: ONCE BEGUN IT'S HARD TO PUT DOWN!!!

Magnificent fantasy epic

Every now and again, a book comes along which raises the bar for its genre. "Once A Hero" blows the bar to the stratosphere. Stackpole's epic tale, stretching across two interweaving storylines 500 years apart, contains enough action, character, humor, romance, intrigue, and betrayal to satisfy anyone. Don't even read the plot summary on the back: start at page one, and I dare you to put the book down for any length of time before you get to the end. Stackpole's command of language is fantastic, and he uses it to great end in creating the different cultures of his world. In compact style, he defines Elven, Reithrese, and Human characters, makes them real, makes you care about them, and goes wild. From the enigmatic title character, Neal of the Roclawzi, to the evil Takrakor to the mysterious Dreel sidekick Shijef, Stackpole guides the reader through swordfights, mass battle, cruel cultures, hopeless love, and everything else needed to make a satisfying fantasy work.To try to summarize this work is to cheapen it. I am not excessively familiar with Stackpole's other work, but this is magnificent.

Great Book! Incredibly Imaginative!!

This is one of the best books that I have ever read and by, in my opinion, one of the greatest authors out there. Stackpole doesn't get as much credit as he should for all his books. He's mainly known for his X-Wing books, which are good. But this book and Talion:Revenant are, in my opinion, a whole lot better. In this and Talion, he doesn't switch between the viewpoints of many different characters. Similar to Talion, it switches between time periods, but in the case of this book, it is a 500 year span. But you get the swing of it pretty quickly.