Book Review: No Land for Heroes

Mildred Berry is down to her last four bullets…

In a wild west where the only things more dangerous than outlaws are dragons, Deputy Berry is struggling to protect her town and keep her family fed. As a last resort, she robs a train for ammunition only to find that the cargo she needs so badly was owned by war hero Frederic Rousseau.

The same Frederic Rousseau whom she served during the Amelior Civil War. The same Frederic Rousseau she’s been hiding from for the last five years.

Millie knows a secret that could ruin Rousseau’s life, and he’ll stop at nothing to keep her from telling the truth. With her violent past bearing down on the life she’s built for herself, Millie has to decide how far she’ll be willing to go to keep her town safe.

-Goodreads

Book Information

• Title: No Land for Heroes
• Series: Legends and Legacies #1
• Author: Cal Black
• Page Count: 376
• Genre: Western / Fantasy
• Rating: 4.75/5.0
• Date Read: August 16th, 2024

Opening Thoughts

The journey to get to No Land for Heroes by Cal Black has been a long and winding road. I remember when this one had some hype around it back in SPFBO-8. It hit my radar but I never got it on my immediate TBR list until this past winter. I recall reading Cal’s short story included in the Advent of Winter anthology leading up to the holidays last year. I really enjoyed it and wanted to get to this read in 2024. I ended up slotting it into August as my selection for the Domains Reading Challenge representing a desert theme realm.

Pacing

The pacing of No Land for Heroes worked really well for me. There is plenty of excitement to be had throughout this tale. It isn’t exactly non-stop action, though I would see there also wasn’t really any moments I felt things slowed down to the point of disinterest. Even during scenes where there was wall to wall action, there is always something going on to build us up for what’s to come or to fill us in further of what has happened in the past. I also didn’t find any issues with names of characters or locations which always helps the flow of a read for my own personal enjoyment.

World Building

The worldbuilding was very strong in No Land for Heroes. I’ll be honest and mention I didn’t have any idea what I was coming into with this one. I knew from the cover it looked like some type of fantasy western themed story. I was not prepared for the amount of fantasy races and creatures that were brought into this story and I am here for it! Several types of fantasy races have been included into what I would consider a western frontier type of story. Cal did a great job in plugging these in and make them right at home in this world.

We also have a good mix of magic now included into this story as well. This wasn’t a long read but there seemed to be a really good foundation laid before us with a history of the world as well which is always a huge plus for me. I mean I was immediately brought back to my childhood with the opening scene being a train robbery on said frontier and things just take off from there.

Character Development

Then we have the characters, again simply awesome! I wasn’t sure how to take the fantasy races at first but so many of them were just done so well that I quickly became enamored with them. Many of the characters had a good level of complexity to them. At first they may seem on the shallow side. However, it doesn’t take long for a reader to see the depth hiding just below that surface. Then to see how so many of them interacted with each other was so much fun to watch. There is some serious character growth to be found in No Land for Heroes.

Mildred was such an amazing character. Definitely my favorite. From her initial grumpy appearance to where she ends up by the end. She may not be fully understood by those around her when we first started reading but I personally felt a connection right away. As we find out more about her history and how they have shaped who she is, that fondness only grew. The great characters don’t stop there though. From the three small children to our villains, there are so many to choose from.

Roundup & Recommendation

To wrap this review up, I’ll say I can’t wait to see where this story goes from here and what more we may learn from the characters introduced in book one. I’m certain we have yet to meet some other great characters still to come as well.

If you are a fan of both western fiction and fantasy stories, you must give No Land for Heroes a try! Even if not and you might only be familiar with one side of that and are just looking for something different to mix it and go a bit wild, pick this one up!

Scoring

World Building 5/5
Pacing 4.5/5
Character Development 5/5