Rise of a Hero is the 2005 fantasy novel which comprises the second book in the Farsala Trilogy

Farsala Trilogy

The Farsala Trilogy is a series of three fantasy novels, written by Hilari Bell.-Main characters:These are the main characters that appear in all of the three books:...

 by Hilari Bell

Hilari Bell

Hilari Bell is an American fantasy author. She is the author of several science-fiction and fantasy novels including the critically acclaimed Farsala Trilogy.Bell worked as a reference librarian, but quit in 2005 to write full time...

.

Plot summary

Legend has it that when Farsala most needs a warrior to lead it, Sorahb son of Rostam will be restored by the god

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

Azura. That time has come. After a devastating loss to the army of the Hrum, Farsala has all but fallen. Only the walled city of Mazad and a few of the more uninhabitable regions remain free of Hrum rule, and they seem destined to fall as well. Farsala needs a champion now. Soraya risks being a slave herself to save her little brother and her mother, who are currently in the Hrum slave pens. Kavi has second thoughts about helping the Hrum and switches sides. But Jiaan and Soraya still hate Kavi for his betrayal of Farsala and are furious when the three are re-united.

Literary significance & criticism

A number of reviews for this second novel have praised the work:

"The tangible, if not excessively gritty, realness of the world and its conflicts denies any simple good vs. evil binary"

"Rise of a Hero is an ambitious, tightly written and highly intelligent fantasy"