Happy Trope Tuesday Link-Up! Today’s topic is unlikely heroes. As a reminder each week there will be a trope for you to use as inspiration, find the trope list here. All post types are welcome: lists, book reviews, anything really, feel free to make it your own. Please link back to All the Books and Chocolate in your own post so that others know where to find more information. You can find the link-up link at the bottom of the page.
Unlikely Heroes
Unlikely Heroes is one of my favorite tropes! I like it because it can be used in a lot of different ways. The bumbling fool who raises up to become a hero, think Neville Longbottom. Or it could be the self-interested morally grey character who does the right thing when it really counts. The latter is my personal favorite, and that is what I am going to talk about in today’s post. I am specifically going to talk about the Age of X series by Richelle Mead.
I love Richelle Mead’s books and she certainly knows how to write a charming, self-interested morally grey unlikely hero, and the Age of X series is no exception to that. The first book Gameboard of the Gods introduces us to Justin March. He is charming, manipulative, and very morally grey and I loved him instantly. It has been a while since I read this book but it has stuck with me for years.
I have included the synopsis for the first book below. As a warning, this series is not finished. Only the first two books have been released and the third is probably not coming soon.
Gameboard of the Gods Synopsis:
In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.
When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.
Goodreads
