Heroes Adrift
a fantasy book by Moira J. Moore
Author’s Site | Amazon
Overall Rating: 8/10
Meets Expectations: +0
Apparent Rating: 8/10
Books seem to be much more about personal preference, I have higher expectations from the authors than I have been trained to expect from popular films. Heroes Adrift is the third in the series, and I liked it better than the second one. I liked it a little better than the first one just because it’s here now.
One of the things I really like is how bumbling the main characters are. Unlike a lot of fantasy series, especially the paranormal/urban kinds, the main characters do not get new god-like skills in every volume. They struggle through new situations and they learn from those things. But it’s not that they can solve the problem on their own, it’s more that they’ve learned who to contact in law enforcement when they have an important clue. Sure they have a few extra quirks so we know why the books are about them instead of other people they meet, but they don’t seem like things other people couldn’t have because the gods have a limited number of blessings to hand out.
What interested me about the books is the way the characters are paired up permanently but it’s not about sex, it’s about magic. I really liked that after a long batch of romances. That means there absolutely has to be a story and the plot and characters cannot just be glossed over. What was unfortunate here was that they decided to have a sexual relationship during this third book and it didn’t work for me. Not that they’re having a relationship at all, despite the conflict, but because it’s not written into the pages. It wasn’t hot, it didn’t seem sexy, and it really didn’t seem like they liked it all that much.
Some of the problems were in how there is a lot of detail about the world, but not enough of it was reiterated here. A lot of it was, parts where they summed up the plots, but not the parts where it’s explained how the main character doesn’t need to worry about contraception even though women around her do. So there were a lot of details that just didn’t track for me. I remember that being an issue with the previous books. So I have it in my head that the author isn’t very good at world building.
I liked the magic system in these books. Because it was clear why this magic was essential and important, but the effects were limited and far-reaching. I liked the economics described in the series and how they were differentiated when the main characters went away to another country.
There is a lot to like in this series, and not much to dislike seriously. Sure I think they could be better books, but this is not the heyday of fantasy fiction publishing when there are a thousand new titles per year. There really isn’t a lot out there that’s better than these are.
