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  • Heroes Die

  • The First of the Acts of Caine
  • Written by: Matthew Stover
  • Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
  • Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (43 ratings)

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Heroes Die cover art

Heroes Die

Written by: Matthew Stover
Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
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Publisher's Summary

Audie Award Nominee, Fantasy, 2013

Renowned throughout the land of Ankhana as the Blade of Tyshalle, Caine has killed his share of monarchs and commoners, villains and heroes. He is relentless, unstoppable, simply the best there is at what he does.

At home on Earth, Caine is Hari Michaelson, a superstar whose adventures in Ankhana command an audience of billions. Yet he is shackled by a rigid caste society, bound to ignore the grim fact that he kills men on a far-off world for the entertainment of his own planet - and bound to keep his rage in check.

But now Michaelson has crossed the line. His estranged wife, Pallas Rill, has mysteriously disappeared in the slums of Ankhana. To save her, he must confront the greatest challenge of his life: a lethal game of cat and mouse with the most treacherous rulers of two worlds.

©1998 Matthew Woodring Stover (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What the critics say

"Stover's fans and those who like their fantasy/SF tinged red should enjoy this energetic tale." ( Publishers Weekly)
" Day of the Jackal meets Lord of the Rings.... A marvelous conspiracy thriller of worlds within worlds, where no one is necessarily who or what they seem." (Simon R. Green)
"Stefan Rudnicki performs with the skill of a master swordsman as he slices through the action scenes. His gravelly tone is perfect for the story as he portrays Caine's controlled wrath and tightly leashed passion." ( AudioFile)

What listeners say about Heroes Die

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best book I’ve ever read

Best book I’ve ever read. Nothing else quite like this novel. Give it a read, you won’t be disappointed.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of the most remarkable characters in fiction.

This will not be for everybody. It's extremely violent. It can be crude. But it's a well thought out fantasy world with a fascinating -- well calling Caine an anti-hero is being too kind to him. (Think a guy whom the Punisher thinks goes too far) The action scenes are gripping. The opposition is thoughtful and motivated. And the narration is first rate.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Start of One of the Best Series Out There!

Everything Matthew Stover wrote from this point in his career onward is top notch. This is book one in the 'Acts of Caine' series and if you like this book you'll want the rest of the series, be warned ha!

To add to this; Matthew Stovers Starwars content (namely 'Shatterpoint' w/ Mace Windu and 'Shadows of Mindor' w/ Luke Skywalker) is also crazy good if you want to get a deeper view into both of those characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Favourite Book

Great flawed characters. An excellent combo of sci fi and fantasy. The series is so good!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Nic
  • 2021-07-10

Completely amazing

Amazing book. Action packed, held my interest throughout. a great mixture of fantasy and sci-fi.

The narrator is perfect. He seems to be enjoying himself while reading. 10/10.

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Non stop action, great characters. Performance A+

highly recommended, for story and characters. Not heavy on the science fiction. Could have (perhaps at times did) learned toward the fantasy genre but glad it didn't.

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great

quite an excellently written fiction. There is a line at the end that I think is absolutely brilliant and I love. brilliant!

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

I’m surprise anyone would like or recommend this.


This appears to be an attempt at a simple minded juvenile ass-kicking adventure story reminiscent of a 4th rare Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but the writing is so terrible and the plot so weak and far fetched that no amount of effort could help suspend my disbelief. I found the narrator pretty damn awful too. Pre-teen boys might like it?

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