The Heroes
Chapters - Joe Abercrombie
Part 1: Before the Battle
Chapter 1: The Times
Craw leads his dozen up to the standing stones called the Heroes, where they find Hardbread and his men camped for the Dogman's side. Rather than risk bloodshed, Craw talks Hardbread into leaving peacefully, leveraging the presence of Whirrun of Bligh and his fearsome reputation. With the hill secured for Black Dow, Craw sends young Drofd to report back while the crew settles in for a cold, uneasy night among the ancient stones.
POV: Curnden Craw·Mentioned: Black Dow, The Dogman
Chapter 2: The Peacemaker
Calder is interrupted in Carleon with his pregnant wife Seff when Shivers arrives to summon him to Black Dow. Seff must remain as hostage to ensure Calder's good behaviour. Calder attempts to plant seeds of disloyalty in Shivers on the way out, probing for cracks in Dow's hold over the scarred killer, but Shivers gives nothing away.
POV: Calder·On page: Caul Shivers·Mentioned: Black Dow
Chapter 3: The Best of Us
Gorst writes optimistic reports to the king while the campaign flounders in mud and chaos. At Marshal Kroy's headquarters, Bayaz arrives unannounced to demand a swift conclusion to the war, shocking the assembled officers. The Closed Council's patience is exhausted and the army must seek battle immediately. Gorst volunteers to carry orders to Jalenhorm, then encounters Finree outside - only to discover she has married Harod dan Brock, shattering his secret hopes.
POV: Bremer dan Gorst·On page: Bayaz, General Kroy, The Dogman, Finree dan Brock, Yoru Sulfur·Mentioned: Lieutenant Jalenhorm, General Poulder
Chapter 4: Black Dow
Calder attends a war council in a stable where Black Dow holds court alongside War Chiefs Ironhead, Golden, and Tenways. Dow outlines the Union's three-division disposition and assigns marching orders, then seals an alliance with Stranger-Come-Knocking, a giant from beyond the Crinna who claims to be the greatest warrior alive. Dow warns Calder plainly that any scheming will bring ugly consequences for him and his wife.
POV: Calder·On page: Black Dow, Caul Shivers·Mentioned: Curnden Craw, Scale Ironhand, The Dogman
Chapter 5: What War?
Craw keeps watch from the Heroes with his crew, scanning the peaceful valley for any sign of the Union while musing on why they are fighting at all. The tranquil scene is broken when Shivers rides up with Drofd, sent by Black Dow to make sure Craw holds the hill. Despite the lack of any enemy movement, Craw's gut tells him trouble is coming.
POV: Curnden Craw·On page: Caul Shivers·Mentioned: Black Dow
Chapter 6: Old Hands
Corporal Tunny, a veteran standard-bearer of the King's First Regiment, is saddled with four hapless new recruits in Jalenhorm's division. He begins teaching them the realities of soldiering - the importance of proper latrine usage, the chain of command, and his personal services as a black-market supplier. Gorst arrives at the camp bearing orders, and Jalenhorm's division is suddenly ordered to march, disrupting Tunny's attempts to fleece his charges at cards.
POV: Bremer dan Gorst, Corporal Tunny·Mentioned: Lieutenant Jalenhorm
Chapter 7: New Hands
Beck, a seventeen-year-old farm boy and son of the legendary Shama Heartless, seizes his chance when Reachey's Carls hold a weapontake in his valley. He takes his father's gold-hilted sword and joins up alongside a ragtag crew of boys and old men. At the muster, Calder rides through on his way to visit Reachey, and Beck clashes with a knowing lad called Reft before their new chief Flood breaks it up.
Chapter 8: Reachey
Calder visits his father-in-law Reachey at his camp, hoping for allies against Black Dow. The old man warns that Dow has openly spoken of wanting Calder dead but advises patience rather than action, pledging only that he will not move against his own son-in-law. Afterwards, assassins sent by Brodd Tenways chase Calder through the dark, but Deep and Shallow intervene in time to kill the attackers and their horse-minder.
POV: Calder·Mentioned: Black Dow, Scale Ironhand
Chapter 9: The Right Thing
Craw and his crew spot Hardbread returning to the Heroes with twenty-two men. Despite being outnumbered nearly three to one, Craw decides to hold the hill as ordered. After a tense parley fails, Hardbread's force attacks uphill. Shivers fights alongside Craw's dozen as they charge downhill to meet the enemy, and Whirrun of Bligh's devastating swordwork breaks Hardbread's line, though the victory costs Craw the life of Athroc.
POV: Curnden Craw·On page: Caul Shivers
Part 2: Day One
The first day's fighting ends. The Heroes, the standing stones on the hill at the centre of the field, have changed hands once and cost more than either side expected.
Chapter 10: Silence
Gorst rises before dawn for his punishing daily training routine in full armour, driven by the disgrace of Sipani and a desperate need to prove himself. He writes another optimistic letter to the king while privately seething with self-loathing and a craving for battle. As Jalenhorm's division marches towards Osrung, Gorst savours the pre-dawn silence - the only time the world does not remind him how far he has fallen.
POV: Bremer dan Gorst·Mentioned: Lieutenant Jalenhorm, General Kroy
Chapter 11: Ambition
Finree dan Brock rides with Lord Governor Meed's division, privately cataloguing the man's incompetence while cultivating useful friendships. When she confronts Meed about feeding Northern refugees, he dismisses her, and her husband Hal warns her that antagonising their commanding officer helps nobody. Finree resolves that the only real solution is to destroy Meed and advance her husband into his position.
POV: Finree dan Brock·Mentioned: Bremer dan Gorst, General Kroy, Lieutenant Jalenhorm
Chapter 12: Give and Take
Craw buries Athroc with scant ceremony before spotting the Union army pouring into the valley in force - horsemen seizing the crossings and a massive column of infantry on the southern road. He orders his depleted dozen to abandon the Heroes and retreat north, overruling Agrick's grief-stricken protests. In the woods, Craw encounters Calder lounging on a stone and then faces Black Dow, dreading the report of a lost hill.
POV: Curnden Craw·On page: Caul Shivers, Calder·Mentioned: Black Dow
Chapter 13: The Very Model
Gorst rides up to the Heroes with Jalenhorm and his staff, finding the Union already in possession of the hill. Jalenhorm issues a flurry of confused orders while Gorst speaks with Hardbread, who warns that Black Dow's men are likely nearby, having fought hard to hold this ground. When a young lieutenant reveals a fourth crossing through the bogs, Jalenhorm sends Gorst to redirect Vallimir's cavalry battalion to cover it.
POV: Bremer dan Gorst·On page: Lieutenant Jalenhorm·Mentioned: Black Dow, Curnden Craw
Chapter 14: Scale
Calder reunites with his bull-headed brother Scale in the woods west of the valley, finding him battered but eager. Scale urges Calder to earn the men's respect by sharing in the danger of battle rather than just scheming. With Dow's battle plan assigning Scale to seize the Old Bridge, Calder reluctantly accepts a shield and prepares to fight alongside his brother for the first time.
POV: Calder·On page: Scale Ironhand·Mentioned: Black Dow
Chapter 15: Ours Not to Reason Why
Corporal Tunny and his recruits have barely settled in when Gorst arrives bearing Jalenhorm's orders to send the First Battalion across the bog to cover a hidden crossing. The cavalry regiment must leave their newly reunited horses behind and slog through the mire on foot. Tunny delivers a withering speech about the stupidity of war to his horrified recruits before reluctantly bidding farewell to his beloved horse.
POV: Corporal Tunny·On page: Bremer dan Gorst·Mentioned: Lieutenant Jalenhorm
Chapter 16: Cry Havoc and …
Craw returns to his dozen in the woods north of the Heroes and lays out Black Dow's battle plan - Reachey will feint at Osrung, Golden's cavalry will hit any Union troops drawn downhill, and Dow himself will lead the main assault straight at the Heroes. Calder and Scale are tasked with seizing the Old Bridge. As Reachey's horns sound and the battle begins, Craw draws his sword alongside Dow, Shivers, and thousands of Northmen.
POV: Curnden Craw·On page: Black Dow, Caul Shivers·Mentioned: Calder, Scale Ironhand
Chapter 17: Devoutly to be Wished
Gorst sits behind the river writing another report to the king while Jalenhorm's confused orders leave Colonel Vallimir's regiment idling on the wrong side of the water. When Gorst catches the first distant shouts of battle and spots men moving on the Heroes, a fierce joy overtakes him. He orders Vallimir to ready his men and strides towards his horse, ready at last for the fight he has been craving.
POV: Bremer dan Gorst·Mentioned: Lieutenant Jalenhorm
Chapter 18: Casualties
The battle for the Heroes erupts as Gorst leads a desperate cavalry charge into the shallows to halt the Northern advance. The chapter follows the fighting from multiple perspectives - Union soldiers overwhelmed on the hill, Northmen storming the drystone wall, and Shivers cutting through the Union defenders with terrifying efficiency. Jalenhorm's flatbowmen arrive just in time to save Gorst from being cut down in the river.
POV: Bremer dan Gorst·On page: Caul Shivers, Lieutenant Jalenhorm, Black Dow