If you’re into science-fictional fantasy books, then this book is for you! The character and world descriptions are fantastic and the themes are captivating and intricately woven into the storyline.
The story starts out with Yuriko, the main character, being told that her brother has run away. She ventures into her brother’s room after hearing someone (or something) speak to her, and finds a magical book called Aju. Aju goes on to tell Yuriko that Hiroki, her brother, has been taken by the Hero. This is the start of Yuriko’s journey into the magical world. She learns of the many different aspects of this magical realm, including the nameless land and the Haetlands. I won’t go into detail on these things, since I want to entice you to read the novel.
The main themes that are evident throughout this novel are bullying, suicide, and the line between good and evil. Miyabe takes a critical side to bullying by showing the bad aspects of it and what can happen to the people who are bullied. Hiroki stands up against the bullies for Michiru, and while this helps her, it causes him to then be bullied by not only other classmates, but also his teacher. Hiroki then proceeds to take action against the bullies, but since he was influenced by an outside factor, his actions are skewed and he ends up killing one child and brutally injuring the other. Michiru is found by Yuriko trying to commit suicide and Yuriko has to bring Michiru down from a state of panic. Michiru felt responsible for Hiroki running away, since him saving her had caused his life to spiral downward. These two themes then play into the line between good and evil, not only by having readers reflect on whether Hiroki’s actions were justified, but also by having Yuriko discover what was going on behind the scenes throughout the story. Also, Yuriko reflects on the differences between the Hero and the King in Yellow, whom Miyabe refers to as two sides of the same coin, since they are actually the same person.
Overall, The Book of Heroes by Miyuki Miyabe never has a dull moment, always keeping the reader interested in the plot line and the actual lives of the characters.