Review: Perry Moore's Hero
One of the nice things about living on the road is that, when we're traveling between cities, we get a reasonable amount of downtime that is often filled via books and/or movies. OK, that's an utter and complete lie, but it's a dream that one of our days will actually allow us to kick back and relax. However, over the past week, I've been reading myself to sleep with Perry Moore's superhero novel, Hero. Ever since I discovered Moore's recent interview regarding his creation, I felt obligated to devour its contents; so, naturally, when I put together my most recent order via Amazon, Hero was gleefully added to my online shopping cart. Despite my love for everything comic-oriented, I was good about leaving the book on my pillow and only gazing upon its pages late at night until I finally passed out in my bunk (there may be a few telltale drool marks on the book, now, but that's our little secret OK?).
Within the first few pages, I was hooked. Moore's tale about the teenaged Thom Creed -and how he works to fit into a world that includes both his mundane and heroic identities- is pretty much mesmerizing from the getgo. You see, Thom's father is a disgraced superhero who was, at one point, celebrated but is now despised by most of the world because of his involvement in a national disaster. As a result, the man seems to hate superheroes (particularly those with powers). This personality quirk, combined with his distaste for gay men and women, makes it difficult for Thom to be open about his preferences and budding super powers. But, somehow, Thom manages to juggle both going to high school and joining a D-list team of heroes, and he also manages to grow as both a person and a hero as the novel progresses.
Of course, there is a plotline on a grand scale that seems like it's straight out of the pages of The Avengers or Justice League of America, but Moore's writing style manages to keep that in the background when it needs to be. Naturally, I'm not going to spoil it for you, but I will say that the novel's climax is suitably over-the-top and exciting. While the action sequences are great, I really enjoyed the little details Moore provides about his world's super-community: combined with the rich dialogue, it's easy to forget that this setting hasn't had anyone else building it up as an established comic continuity.
Hero is one of those books which is hard to review, mainly because it contains so many things I liked and so few that I didn't; even after sitting here for a few hours, if I were to list only my favorite aspects of the novel this review would be three times as long. So, in the interest of keeping things short and sweet, I'll close with these remarks: Perry Moore's novel is fast, funny, moving, and a must-read for anyone who considers them to be a comic book fan. So why aren't you buying it yet?
Boy of Tomorrow
Posted to Comics on 26 September 2007
· Comments (6)
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I also just finished the novel. I personally couldn't put it down. I liked the way in which he captured most teenage life with a superheroic twist.
I found the climax to be shocking and the ending was sweet. I hope that Moore writes more books like this in the future.
It was a very compelling read. But I must say, I would have liked some more development where Thom's romantical interests were concerned. I know that whole aspect of his life was supposed to be just another obstacle to overcome and not the main area of exploration, but it's certainly an area I'd like to navigate. But yea, very good read. I'm totally hot for Moore.
Just finished it myself. I felt there were some promising elements in it, but it felt to me like an early draft of what could have been a better book. Plotting was a bit sloppy and too obvious - there is a mysterious hero and a mysterious villain, but their identities are immediately obvious, and there are too many little side-stories that don't really add much to the book or are under-developed (the main character's mother, his team-mates' problems). The gay identity stuff was generally nicely handled overall but sometimes a bit over the top - the main character's ultimate outing is a little bit contrived. The main romantic relationship is also really underdeveloped. I just kept feeling as I was reading that the book lacked focus. Still, the main character was sympathetic and well-voiced, as are some of the supporting cast (particularly the sassy geriatric clairvoyant Ruth), and the general good nature and humour of the book are ultimately charming despite its flaws. Its a quick read too, so its easy to sort of zoom through the parts that are less satisfying. Its probably the best gay teen superhero novel you will read all year :) But I hope his next novel goes through a few more drafts and gets some better editing than this one did.
I remember after reading it I was very charmed by it overall story but after a digesting it for a while now there are a some pretty big issues and plot holes. The press conference I thought was so contrived the way things were played out, and seemingly random development of abilities towards the end came out of no where. I won't go into more cause it'd involve spoilers. While appreciate the overall feel good msg about being yourself etc, there were too many issues plot wise that took away from it all.
I picked it up after the little blub about it here a while back, read it in a day, and i thought it was fantastic.
Yes there are some plot holes you can drive a truck through, but you have to remember that the copy released was not the origional final, the interview said that parts of it were cut out to make it a more teen friendly piece. That is not an excuse, because for all we know the holes may have been shurnk with the book length.
That being said, i still thought it was a great book and a wonderful diversion. Expecially the ending (while overly contrived) still made me smile and give one of those "aww how sweet" sighs.
I haven't read this yet, and I'm entirely sure that I want to. His recent article about the status of GLBT characters in comics is much like what I'm hearing about this book: has a few nice parts but with glaring plot holes and a "rough draft" feeling. If this is how he writes as a whole, then I think I'll wait until he (hopefully) improves.