Fans pick 100 books like The Heroes

By Joe Abercrombie,

Here are 100 books that The Heroes fans have personally recommended if you like The Heroes. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of The Blade Itself

Mike Shevdon Author Of Sixty-One Nails

From my list on characters that shine through.

Why am I passionate about this?

Weā€™ve all read them: the girl who is unknowingly of royal blood but was sequestered to an ordinary family to protect her identity. The detective with the broken home and a drink problem is driven to solve the crime. The action hero who can shoot their way out of any encounter. While these tropes are the bread and butter of genre fiction, they get overused. I found that my favorite and most engaging characters were those with complicated lives whose pasts might catch up with them at an inconvenient moment. Here are some of my favorite stories with unconventional characters that shine through the narrative.

Mike's book list on characters that shine through

Mike Shevdon Why did Mike love this book?

I came to this book by accident. I had overindulged in fantasy and was tired of recycled plots and worn tropes. I picked it up on holiday as a last resort and found a very different sort of fantasy, which rekindled my enthusiasm for the genre.

Inquisitor Glokta is a character I wanted to hate. He is a torturer, and a cripple, having been tortured himself. Heā€™s ruthless and focused and possibly the meanest of anti-heroes. But I think I came to imagine what it was like to be the dashing hero, loved by everyone, feted by royalty, and then ruined by malice and torture, and yes, as this tale unfolded, I began to like him and the rest of the misfits that populate Joe Abercombieā€™s world very much indeed.

By Joe Abercrombie,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked The Blade Itself as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Inquisitor Glokta, a crippled and increasingly bitter relic of the last war, former fencing champion turned torturer extraordinaire, is trapped in a twisted and broken body - not that he allows it to distract him from his daily routine of torturing smugglers.

Nobleman, dashing officer and would-be fencing champion Captain Jezal dan Luthar is living a life of ease by cheating his friends at cards. Vain, shallow, selfish and self-obsessed, the biggest blot on his horizon is having to get out of bed in the morning to train with obsessive and boring old men.

And Logen Ninefingers, an infamous warriorā€¦


Book cover of Leviathan Wakes

Matt Shindell Author Of For the Love of Mars: A Human History of the Red Planet

From my list on human connection to space.

Why am I passionate about this?

One of the reasons I love my job as a Space History Curator at the Smithsonianā€™s National Air and Space Museum is that I am fascinated to learn how people think about space, the cosmos, and their human connection with the universe. I am always eager to get beyond questions of what we know and how we know it and ask: Why do we ask the questions we ask in the first place? The books Iā€™ve listed here all explore our relationship with space and how we engage personally or collectively with space exploration.

Matt's book list on human connection to space

Matt Shindell Why did Matt love this book?

This science fiction novel, written by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name James S. A. Corey, was the beginning of the Expanse series (now totaling 9 novels and additional stories). It is one of the best space science fiction novels of the 21st century and became the basis for one of my favorite TV/streaming series, The Expanse.

The books dive deep into the political, social, and cultural complexities of sending humans to live on the Moon, Mars, and the asteroid belt, and itā€™s a nuanced reflection of our current ideas and ambitions when it comes to spaceflight. I am particularly drawn to the depiction of humans who, after multiple generations off Earth, consider their primary identity to be Martian.

By James S. A. Corey,

Why should I read it?

23 authors picked Leviathan Wakes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Humanity has colonized the planets - interstellar travel is still beyond our reach, but the solar system has become a dense network of colonies. But there are tensions - the mineral-rich outer planets resent their dependence on Earth and Mars and the political and military clout they wield over the Belt and beyond. Now, when Captain Jim Holden's ice miner stumbles across a derelict, abandoned ship, he uncovers a secret that threatens to throw the entire system into war. Attacked by a stealth ship belonging to the Mars fleet, Holden must find a way to uncover the motives behind theā€¦


Book cover of The Maltese Falcon

Michael Amedeo Author Of Past Tense: A Matt Moulton Mystery

From my list on American novels centering on private detectives.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been a journalist whoā€™s focused on culture, particularly film, and especially classic film and film noir. That sparked me to write two crime novels, with a third on the way, for Level Best Books. The first came out in February. The next will reach the market in May 2025. The third will come out in 2026. For more information, please go to my website.

Michael's book list on American novels centering on private detectives

Michael Amedeo Why did Michael love this book?

Did this book give birth to hardboiled literature? No, but I feel it mothered and fathered it. 

Did this bookā€”when filmed in 1941ā€”give rise to film noir? I would say yes or ā€œoui.ā€

This book lives on in libraries and bookstores, in minds and memories, on screens big and small, as a cultural masterpiece. But please donā€™t get me wrong about masterpiece. Hammettā€™s existential story of antiheroic private detective Sam Spade wriggling out of death as he fends off the cagey but crazed pursuers of a worthless ā€œjeweledā€ bird breathes more deeply, more compellingly every time I re-read it. Through the book, I face the darkā€”and find the gloom almost charming. 

By Dashiell Hammett,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked The Maltese Falcon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the greatest crime novels of the 20th century.

'His name remains one of the most important and recognisable in the crime fiction genre. Hammett set the standard for much of the work that would follow' Independent

Sam Spade is hired by the fragrant Miss Wonderley to track down her sister, who has eloped with a louse called Floyd Thursby. But Miss Wonderley is in fact the beautiful and treacherous Brigid O'Shaughnessy, and when Spade's partner Miles Archer is shot while on Thursby's trail, Spade finds himself both hunter and hunted: can he track down the jewel-encrusted bird, aā€¦


If you love The Heroes...

Ad

Book cover of The Blade in the Angel's Shadow

The Blade in the Angel's Shadow by Andy Darby,

Dr Dee has designs for a British Empire that will dominate the world for ages to come ushering in Revelation, and with the aegis of the Angels, he has the power to make it a reality.

But, two elements are missing, and through blackmail and occult ritual, infamous swordswoman Captainā€¦

Book cover of House of Dragons

Lee Hunt Author Of Last Worst Hopes

From my list on fantasy with unlikely heroes.

Why am I passionate about this?

Sometimes I donā€™t feel very heroic. Octogenarian old women have been known to pass me going upstairs because I have only one working lung (I was born without a right pulmonary artery). Iā€™m also skinny and a touch under-tall. I work in a profession (geophysicist) few understand, and there just donā€™t seem to be a lot of tv shows aboutā€”unlike all the doctors, lawyers, and police dramas. I think it resonates with a great many people when an unlikely person makes a difference. Each and every one of us can make the world a little bit better. Sometimes, we need to believe in ourselvesā€¦and try. Besides, who doesnā€™t like an underdog? Or stories about them.

Lee's book list on fantasy with unlikely heroes

Lee Hunt Why did Lee love this book?

Jessica Cluess surprises not just the readers, but also each of the characters in her novel with her choices for protagonists. Every new emperor in her world is chosen from a contest amongst the eldest heirs of each of the five major houses of the land. But this time, the eldest of each family is spurned and the younger, apparently weaker child is picked to compete. House of Dragons is a lot of fun, and the story has a clever construction, for this strange choice of hero is no accident. There is a powerful reason and lesson in House of Dragons. Read it and find out why we sometimes want the second pick for the team.

By Jessica Cluess,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked House of Dragons as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Five royal houses will hear the call to compete in the Trial for the dragon throne. A liar, a soldier, a servant, a thief, and a murderer will answer it. Who will win? Three Dark Crowns meets The Breakfast Club with DRAGONS.

When the Emperor dies, the five royal houses of Etrusia attend the Call, where one of their own will be selected to compete for the throne. It is always the oldest child, the one who has been preparing for years to compete in the Trial. But this year is different. This year these five outcasts will answer theā€¦


Book cover of The Pariah

Lee Hunt Author Of Last Worst Hopes

From my list on fantasy with unlikely heroes.

Why am I passionate about this?

Sometimes I donā€™t feel very heroic. Octogenarian old women have been known to pass me going upstairs because I have only one working lung (I was born without a right pulmonary artery). Iā€™m also skinny and a touch under-tall. I work in a profession (geophysicist) few understand, and there just donā€™t seem to be a lot of tv shows aboutā€”unlike all the doctors, lawyers, and police dramas. I think it resonates with a great many people when an unlikely person makes a difference. Each and every one of us can make the world a little bit better. Sometimes, we need to believe in ourselvesā€¦and try. Besides, who doesnā€™t like an underdog? Or stories about them.

Lee's book list on fantasy with unlikely heroes

Lee Hunt Why did Lee love this book?

The old story of the child who was secretly the son or daughter of royalty is a solid fantasy trope. And for good reasonā€”it resonates. Almost all children secretly imagine they are a prince or princess, that they are special. The Pariah has none of that. Young Alwynā€™s mother was a prostitute, and he never knew his father. Be certain that his dad was no one special, for this is not one of those kinds of stories. Alwyn is a thief, grubbing out an existence in the forest with a band of robbers. As far as personal virtues go, Alwyn is a liar and murderer. Anthony Ryan redeems Alwyn, though, digging into the good that exists even in those that have acted so heinously. And I may have described Alwyn uncharitablyā€”the thief is a product of tough times, neglect, and hard realities. When he somehow ends up in service toā€¦

By Anthony Ryan,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Pariah as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A gritty, heart-pounding tale of betrayal and bloody vengeance' John Gwynne

When the task is a killing, be quick and make sure of it.

Torment is an indulgence.

Save it for only the most deserving.

Born in the troubled kingdom of Albermaine, Alwyn Scribe is raised as an outlaw. Quick of wit and deft with a blade, Alwyn is content with the comradeship of his fellow thieves. Yet an act of betrayal sets him on a new path of blood and vengeance, which leads him to a soldier's life in the king's army.

Fighting under the command of Lady Evadineā€¦


Book cover of Prince of Fools

Lee Hunt Author Of Last Worst Hopes

From my list on fantasy with unlikely heroes.

Why am I passionate about this?

Sometimes I donā€™t feel very heroic. Octogenarian old women have been known to pass me going upstairs because I have only one working lung (I was born without a right pulmonary artery). Iā€™m also skinny and a touch under-tall. I work in a profession (geophysicist) few understand, and there just donā€™t seem to be a lot of tv shows aboutā€”unlike all the doctors, lawyers, and police dramas. I think it resonates with a great many people when an unlikely person makes a difference. Each and every one of us can make the world a little bit better. Sometimes, we need to believe in ourselvesā€¦and try. Besides, who doesnā€™t like an underdog? Or stories about them.

Lee's book list on fantasy with unlikely heroes

Lee Hunt Why did Lee love this book?

Was there ever a less heroic leading character than Prince Jalan? Apparently a vain, selfish coward, he would not even be likable if he was not also funny and honest. Well, he is honest some of the time, in his inside voice, even while being a liar to almost everyone else. So, when Jalan gets unwillingly and unwittingly caught up with an enormous Viking to go on a quest to save the world, I had to wonder how this one was going to work out. But it turns out that Jalan may have been lying to himself more than the reader, or himself, even realized, and he may not be quite the coward that he says he is.

By Mark Lawrence,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Prince of Fools as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the critically acclaimed author of THE BROKEN EMPIRE series comes a brilliant new epic fantasy series, THE RED QUEEN'S WAR.

I'm a liar and a cheat and a coward, but I will never, ever, let a friend down. Unless of course not letting them down requires honesty, fair play or bravery.

The Red Queen is dreaded by the kings of the Broken Empire as they dread no other.

Her grandson Jalan Kendeth - womaniser, gambler and all-out cad - is tenth in line to the throne. While his grandmother shapes the destiny of millions, Prince Jalan pursues his debauchedā€¦


If you love Joe Abercrombie...

Ad

Book cover of The Last Ranger: Ranger of the Titan Wilds

The Last Ranger by J.D.L. Rosell,

Betrayed. Hunted. Left for dead. 

But not even death itself can keep the last ranger from vengeance...

Embark on a new epic fantasy tale full of magic, revenge, and rampaging titans in the latest series written by bestselling author J.D.L. Rosell.

Book cover of Altered Carbon

Stu Jones Author Of The Zone

From my list on cyberpunk that revolutionized the genre.

Why am I passionate about this?

From early on, I found myself captivated by the concept of a dystopic future for humanity. Years later, a 20+ year police career cemented the notion that people are not inherently good and that if a dystopic future is at all possibleā€“we as a species will make it a reality. My love of science fiction, especially all forms of dystopia, combined with a hard-earned street-level grit and a love of action. Whether writing solo or with my amazing co-author, Dr. Gareth Worthington, I often inject these elements into my stories. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I did!

Stu's book list on cyberpunk that revolutionized the genre

Stu Jones Why did Stu love this book?

From the first moment, I felt inextricably drawn to Takeshi Kovacs, the main protagonist of Altered Carbon. Iā€™m more of a true-blue Captain America sort of guy myself. Kovacs is not.

Desperate, brutal, vengeful, and broken, Altered Carbonā€™s MC carries the weight of the story with incredible power. Plus, I really enjoyed the blend of dystopia and detective Noir found in this story. Required reading for any cyberpunk fan.

By Richard K. Morgan,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Altered Carbon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

MAJOR NEW NETFLIX SERIES

This must-read story is a confident, action-and-violence packed thriller, and future classic noir SF novel from a multi-award-winning author.

Four hundred years from now mankind is strung out across a region of interstellar space inherited from an ancient civilization discovered on Mars. The colonies are linked together by the occasional sublight colony ship voyages and hyperspatial data-casting. Human consciousness is digitally freighted between the stars and downloaded into bodies as a matter of course.

But some things never change. So when ex-envoy, now-convict Takeshi Kovacs has his consciousness and skills downloaded into the body of aā€¦


Book cover of Queenpin

Halley Sutton Author Of The Lady Upstairs

From my list on female-driven noir novels.

Why am I passionate about this?

My first clue that I was a crime writer in the making was that on nights I couldnā€™t sleep growing up, I would Wikipedia serial killers. (I promise Iā€™m nice and normal!) When I discovered crime novelsā€”specifically, those with a strong noir influenceā€”I was hooked. My favorite definition of noir, which comes from the author Laura Lippman, is ā€œDreamers become schemers,ā€ and to me, thatā€™s the story of America. Itā€™s what Iā€™ve been interested in exploring in my own books, The Lady Upstairs and The Hurricane Blonde. I hope you enjoy the women who are dreamer-schemers in these books as much as I do!

Halley's book list on female-driven noir novels

Halley Sutton Why did Halley love this book?

One of Megan Abbottā€™s early gems, this book dragged me down into the muck of midcentury noir, and I LOVED IT. When I was first diving into the genre of noir, I was aching for more female representation (besides the evil femme fatale or the Girl Friday you see pop up in so much of the classic noir literature).

This book feels both modern and like a throwback, with women in the driverā€™s seat for once. This is a book I reread when I need a boost as a writer to remember why I love writing and why I love noir specificallyā€”itā€™s short, but it packs a mighty punch. 

By Megan E. Abbott,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Queenpin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

By the author of Dare Me and The End of Everything

A young woman hired to keep the books at a down-at-the-heels nightclub is taken under the wing of the infamous Gloria Denton, a mob luminary who reigned during the Golden Era of Bugsy Siegel and Lucky Luciano. Notoriously cunning and ruthless, Gloria shows her eager young protĆ©gĆ©e the ropes, ushering her into a glittering demimonde of late-night casinos, racetracks, betting parlors, inside heists, and big, big money. Suddenly, the world is at her feetā€”as long as she doesn't take any chances, like falling for the wrong guy. As theā€¦


Book cover of The Thousand Names

Ross Hightower and Deb Heim Author Of Desulti: An Epic Fantasy

From my list on complex storylines and bad-ass female characters.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ross and I have backgrounds in academia, in the finest liberal arts tradition. Although we are currently in the fields of Information technology and public health, between us we have read extensively in military history, sociology, economics, feminist theory, Buddhist philosophy, mythology and all manner of fantasy fiction. This list of books reflects our favorites, in large part because of their focus on character and historical world-building. We are always eager to share our favorite fantasy fiction with other readers who love deeply complicated stories with unforgettable characters.

Ross' book list on complex storylines and bad-ass female characters

Ross Hightower and Deb Heim Why did Ross love this book?

Iā€™m a complete sucker for fantasy built around a seemingly unremarkable protagonist who responds to extraordinary circumstances with remarkable strength and courage. Add in a cross-dressing bad-ass heroine, and Iā€™m hooked. This book is, in part, the story of Winter Ihernglass, a young woman who escapes her past by dressing as a man and enlisting in the Vordanai Colonials.

This is a complex novel reminiscent of the Napoleonic wars. The world-building was wonderful, the writing gritty, the military action realistic, but it was the way Winter earned the respect of her fellow soldiers that wouldnā€™t let go of me.

By Django Wexler,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Thousand Names as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Set in an alternate nineteenth century, muskets and magic are weapons to be feared in the first "spectacular epic" (Fantasy Book Critic) in Django Wexler's Shadow Campaigns series.

Captain Marcus d'Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire's colonial garrisons, was serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost-until a rebellion left him in charge of a demoralized force clinging to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.

To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance seesā€¦


Book cover of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Chris Kempshall Author Of Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire

From my list on fictional non-fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a historian, and while I have a great deal of experience producing straight ā€˜nonfictionā€™ work, the idea of reading something ā€˜non-fictional;ā€™ within a fictional world has always excited me because it allows many opportunities to talk about us while framing it as them. They also play into what I call the ā€˜Rutger Hauer Effect,ā€™ where his character in Blade Runner mentions the wonderous things heā€™s seen in passing. I want to see those things too! Fictional nonfiction books provide a fantastic opportunity to tease the readers with things that their author knows and has seen but exist just beyond the reach of our own imaginations.

Chris' book list on fictional non-fiction

Chris Kempshall Why did Chris love this book?

This is an absolute classic of the genre. Brooks draws in various ā€˜accountsā€™ of a recent zombie outbreak and structures them as if the broad details are common knowledge to his in-universe audience.

This approach means the real-world reader is always discovering new details and nuggets of information in a way that really whets the appetite while increasing the sense of horror at the way events unfolded in a world that isnā€™t quite our own.

By Max Brooks,

Why should I read it?

25 authors picked World War Z as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It began with rumours from China about another pandemic. Then the cases started to multiply and what had looked like the stirrings of a criminal underclass, even the beginning of a revolution, soon revealed itself to be much, much worse.

Faced with a future of mindless man-eating horror, humanity was forced to accept the logic of world government and face events that tested our sanity and our sense of reality. Based on extensive interviews with survivors and key players in the ten-year fight against the horde, World War Z brings the finest traditions of journalism to bear on what isā€¦


Book cover of The Blade Itself
Book cover of Leviathan Wakes
Book cover of The Maltese Falcon

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,737

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in war, alchemy, and grimdark?

War 2,090 books
Alchemy 77 books
Grimdark 22 books