Jonathan Wood "Yesterday's Hero" (2012)

Yesterday’s Hero picks up where No Hero has left off.  After saving the Earth from the Lovecraftian horrors of the first book, Arthur Wallace & the team from MI37 must now stop time travelers from the Soviet Union who are attempting to change the time stream in order to achieve Soviet supremacy.

If you haven’t yet read No Hero, that would be recommended before trying Yesterday’s Hero.  Wood does very little to bring new readers up to speed.  I think that you would probably be a bit lost.

It’s impossible to evaluate series titles without reference to the other books in the series.  In this case, I have to feel that Yesterday’s Hero comes out rather poorly.  While there were some issues with character development in No Hero, I felt that it was rather excusable considering that it was the first book in the series.  Unfortunately, rather than delve more deeply into the characters already introduced, Wood introduces more than a few new characters.  The effect is that now we have a large number of underdeveloped characters, rather than a deepening relationship with any of the characters in the series.

Additionally, the change in focus on the villains of the piece changed the tone considerably.  While the Lovecraftian horrors of the first book provided a nice horror element, the Soviets of Yesterday’s Hero seemed rather toothless in comparison.  In fact, the entire premise of the villains struck me as rather hilarious.  I found myself wishing that Wood had played up the comical nature of this threat.

Still, many of the strengths of No Hero do carry over into this second title.  The pacing was first rate, with action & intrigue propelling the reader through the story.  The bureaucratic horrors of government work are further explored, and Wood does still provide the wit that was so charming in the No Hero.

Jonathan Wood "No Hero" (Night Shade Books, 2011)

This is a fun romp through standard, if well used urban fantasy tropes.  Police detective Arthur Wallace stumbles into a secret world of magic & Lovecraftian horror.  He’s enlisted in the super-secret MI37, whose mission is to protect our reality.  While all his fellow agents have special abilities or skills, he’s just a copper with a job to do.

The pacing is excellent, with intrigue and action propelling you along.  There’s a generous dose of humor used to cut the action and horror.

While utterly entertaining, I found myself wishing that there was something a bit more original here.  Tropes can be great fun, but when the roadmap is followed so closely, it is a bit disappointing.