Book - Broken Hero
If the author, Jonathan Wood, is to be believed then Broken Hero is to be the fourth and final instalment of the Arthur Wallace series and this makes me sad. Lots of people can write funny, lots can write various genres, lots attempt the two things, hardly anyone gets it right but, with Wood, here is an author in charge who is totally convinced he can tie it all together and not harm any storytelling in the process and by Jove he does!
By the time you get to Broken Hero the team at MI37 have been through quite a lot and are by now, well, still dysfunctional but tight knit. When Nazi Robots start appearing though the team are going to be tested more than before! The robots are the invention of a Nazi scientist and have stayed hidden since the war but now are dying out, think old age ailments and dementia in humans but on a huge mechanical scale, and have split into two factions with differing views on how to save their race.
Some want MI37 to find them a cure and a chance to live in peace, the other faction want to build a huge reality bomb and end the human race on every plain of reality. Reluctantly having barely survived a fight with the robots already Arthur, Felicity, Kayla, Clyde, and Tabitha agree to help but they have their own problems as MI6 have sent Hannah, an experienced agent, to serve with MI37 and report back. Throughout the story Arthur is questioning his own mortality, doesn't get along with Hannah at all, puts his future with Felicity in jeopardy and could be responsible for MI37 being destroyed all whilst knowing the only way to win in the end is to die in a particular way.
Some want MI37 to find them a cure and a chance to live in peace, the other faction want to build a huge reality bomb and end the human race on every plain of reality. Reluctantly having barely survived a fight with the robots already Arthur, Felicity, Kayla, Clyde, and Tabitha agree to help but they have their own problems as MI6 have sent Hannah, an experienced agent, to serve with MI37 and report back. Throughout the story Arthur is questioning his own mortality, doesn't get along with Hannah at all, puts his future with Felicity in jeopardy and could be responsible for MI37 being destroyed all whilst knowing the only way to win in the end is to die in a particular way.
The characteristics from the previous books are all here in abundance. Clyde's ability to use 100 words when 1 will do, Tabitha and her love/hate relationship with everyone but Clyde in particular, Kayla's hatred of everyone and Arthur and Felicity still feeling their way through their own love life. Wood adds in some real human elements though. How a new face at work can affect your role and your reaction to that, Kayla wanting to try again as a parent after failing so dramatically with Effie, and Arthur having to somehow get through all this still knowing his fate is not a good one all mix with usual humour, elaborate plot points, and inventive villains to round off the best of the series so far.
I'm going to keep pleading with Jonathan Wood to abandon his dreams of writing more literary works to cement his future as a genius author to keep churning out the Hero books for me, but it might help if you jump on the bandwagon and start buying them too.
Image - Titan.
Image - Titan.
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