Aside from an irritating repetition of characters telling the POV character to "grow a pair," I really enjoyed this urban fantasy with a cast of characters even more misfit than usual (especially by the end of the tale).

No spoilers in saying this has Lovecraftian touches as well as some good wry British humor to alleviate pressure.

In all, a good solid read that improves from a slightly slow start (at least the POV character took more warming than usual for me). ( )

3.5/5
Received through NetGalley from Night Shade Books

This was an awkward book.
On one side there is humour, there are distinct British accents and swear words, crazy dialogues, bunch of ditzy characters who look amazingly comical thrown together as a team of super agents: indecisive Arthur, nerdy magician Clyde, who pops AA batteries like there is no tomorrow, gothic and tattoed Tabitha, the researcher, Kayla, - manic depressive super Scottswoman with a sword...

Some of the descriptions also made me laugh out loud...

"Eventually we make it to the garage where it turns out Clyde drives a Mini that neither of us really fit in. Still, it's a classic vehicle and seems to accommodate Clyde's personality if not his form. We fold into it as best we can and he dials us into classical music, which also seems fitting until "Ride of the Valkyries" begins to accompany our inching crawl down St.George's Street."

"Alright then, gents," Winston says, stepping back, "what can I do you for, then?"
"A book," I say.
"A book he says," Winston barks, his rough voice sharp and loud in the quiet space, "of course a fucking book. I'm made of fucking books. I'm in a fucking library. You're hardly going to be here to ask me about the pleasant summer weather, is you?" (cockney accent)

Also there are prophetic twins in the water with lots of friendly squid :) Kind of reminded me The Minority Report. And there are magic mashrooms-induced aliens like Progeny, Feeders, Dreamers or Runners. The plot is wicked and feels very original.

Now I know you are waiting to hear BUT.

But I didn't like that everything was written from Arthur's point of view in Present Tense. I think it limits what the writer can do when there is only one POV. Also I didn't like Arthur himself. Sure he's got his moments and catch phrases like "What would Kurt Russell do?" but usually he does more harm than help people. I couldn't see why people thought he was a great detective. He is very unsure of things and charges ahead without thinking things through like a bloody teenager. Also I didn't like that his grief after a dear friend dies kind of disappears after a couple of mentions.

So, for me the book wasn't well done. I loved certain aspects of it but not the whole structure. However, I think fans of Men in Black and Gini Coch will like this book. Despite its flaws I certainly enjoyed it! ( )

Great story of a typical Joe doing his job as a police detective til one day he gets a sword through his torso after seeing a woman lop off a man's head and a squid like creature coming out of it! Holy cow, what a start! There is a newness to the story that makes it fresh and different in the genre. I can visualize Bruce Campbell playing Agent Arthur! Loved it, and am already buying the second book "Yesterday's Hero"! What would Kurt Russell do?? Run out and buy this book! ( )

This serio-comic take on cosmic horror exists somewhere in a triangulation between "The Laundry" stories of Charles Stross, the magical police procedurals of Dan Aaronovitch and the collected works of Douglas Adams. Is Wood quite as good as any of those other authors? Probably not; none of the other characters are quite as well done as Wood's put-upon Detective Arthur Wallace. I still look forward to reading more books in the series though. ( )

No Hero is a fairly slapdash riff on the paranormal govt agency setting. Wood's heart is in the right place, but the weak characterisation and narrative contrivance, and lack of originality let the book down - especially compared to similar-but-superior books like The Rook.

Arthur Wallace's life as a detective is turned upside when he gets involved in a supernatural case, and is recruited into the shadowy MI36, dedicated to preventing eldritch horrors from crossing over into our world.

This book, the first in a series, deals with a particular threat, kickstarted by the prophecy that one of the team members will die. In many ways, the "prophecy" is representative of the broader problems of the book. The only reason it exists is to kickstart the story - as does the only other prophecy featured. There's no reference to previous predictions, no rhyme or reason to the nature of them; they exist in perfect narrative isolation.

This applies to almost every aspect of the helter-skelter plot you care to name. Things only happen when and because they need to, anything eyebrow-raisy can be explained away 'because MAGIC' - but the magic is so damned convenient. No Hero doesn't just have a Chekhov's gun, it has a Chekhov's Red Army, and watching the barrage is tiring as it rids the book of any sense of danger, and often surprise. It's hard to invest in a narrative where you know the author will do whatever is required to move the story where he wants it to go.

Unfortunately these errors are compounded by the characterisation, which is built on wafer-thin types that never grow into real people.

The whole thing just has a real thrown-together quality, as if Wood thought potential readers wouldn't care. I was mystified by the usually-reliable endorsement from Publishers' Weekly, as this is not a strong novel. Worse, for a book set in Oxford and populated by Brits, the actual locations are both super-anonymous, but the language and idioms are almost comically American. A British man calling for his "mommy" is just ridiculous.

No Hero isn't terrible, but it's very, very weak. The kind of book that would make a publisher keep an eye on the writer, but not lose money on. ( )