Book Review: Hero by Perry Moore

Hero, by Perry Moore, tells the story of a young man discovering who he is while unlocking the key to who others are. Thom Creed might know not all answers, but it is only because he has yet to figure out what questions to ask.

Unfortunately, the matter is complicated by having to live in the shdow of a mother who abandoned her family years ago and a father whose reputation is legendary. While there are some people around who recall the good, everybody could reveal Hal's moment of infamy if asked.

The members of the League, a group of superheroes entrusted to keep citizens safe, are also aware of the black mark on his record. After all, it involved them too. Fighting off an alien meant the Wilton Towers collapsed down to its halfway point. Does this ring a bell for history buffs? It should.

Moore takes an event forever seared into consciousness and makes it into a comic book satire, complete with thinly drawn characters made to represent Saturday morning cartoon staples. Even though it's been a while since I sat down in front of the television set for my weekly animation fix, I had no trouble figuring out who was who.

For example, Captain Victory showed himself as Moore's version of Captain America. A clever parallel to real life arose as the League held a memorial service for the hero who lived to the glorious age of 97 before passing away. Do you know who the Wondertwins are? Near the end of this book is a reference to them. Wonder Woman is here, too, right down to her invisible jet and magic lariat.

After a bus wreck, the League gets a chance to see Thom in action. He is quickly invited to tryouts, but there is one small snafu. Thom's father, Hal, was disowned by the League when lives were lost in the Tower disaster. On both sides, the feelings are bitter. Thom realizes he is going to have to keep a whopper of a secret from the only family member he has.

This, however, is not his only secret. The biggest one is badly kept and impossible to share fully with his father. Thom will soon discover everyone has secrets, including others who are trying out for the League.

As a debut novel, this wasn't too bad. Moore described his characters in a way so they can easily be seen in the mind's eye. The story flowed nicely from one chapter to the next. It would be interesting to see if Moore comes out with a sequel.

Article Author: NancyGail

NancyGail writes from her home in Georgia.

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