Hiero's Journey [Hardcover]

I can't believe this book doesn't have a review! Damn!

Any of you like the "Fallout" computer games? You'll almost certainly love this novel :)
Pulp-esque of the highest quality, it's got real charm and fantastic ideas that's reminiscent of a touch of "John Carter of mars" with a touch of say "Planet of the Apes" and "The Omega Man"

5000 years after a total Nuclear bacterial and chemical war wiped out civilization, Heiro is a priest of the Metiz people who survived because they were, in the time of the War, backwoodsmen, native folk etc and thus far from the population centres that got hit by cobalt bombs and plague weapons.

The priests are more "guardians" of both spirit AND body, soldier-philosophers, who practice weapon use and psionics, and this book really opened up the concept of psionics to later generations of writers and readers.
The priests use their minds for divination and other practices, but of a low-powered, useful nature.
As the story progresses, Heiro discovers by accident, psionic abilities others haven't tapped into, which becomes an important aspect of the tale

the future world is rife with mutations, some benign, others vicious or even truly evil, and the writer makes good use of the concepts and degrees of "evil" and why they can be frightening and dangerous.
Heiro encouters some catastrophically dangerous mutations but these are dangers of mere animals grown huge etc
which is totally different from men who wish to rediscover the power of the ancient nuclear weapons, who worship twisted extremes of science and are far more deadly and horrific than any mere beast.

In a world where billions died and their ruins lie all about, to wish to "unlock the secrets of the atom" is a truly awful crime and the writer shows the dark and awfulness of that very well, as it goes far beyond scientific curiosity into rejection of any sense of concern for others.
To want to understand the past and learn useful technology and information? certianly wise and useful, but to recreate the horrors that burned and poisoned almost all life? that is almost satanic, an utter anathema to the descendants of those who survived what has bcoem a cultural nightmare, a legacy of the mushroom clouds that's an almost palpable terror to any sane creatue, Human or not, even after all this time.

Heiro is asked to investigate some dark and worrying things by his church.
interestingly, the church does not reject science, but is strictly ethical, to the point of violence if need be, for they know only too well the price of Human hubris.

the journey Heiro takes is truly epic and awesome, one of the best I have ever had the utter pleasure to read :)
the writer's imagination is beautiful and terrifying in it's highs and lows of what is encountered.
the scenes in the drowned city of what was once the Great Lakes of America are some of the most memorable I have ever read!
the "fin" and the "thing in the fog"...yes, I think you'll remember those if you read this book ;)
you can actually see many books, TV and even films borrow or have been influenced by this novel

not a "High brow" book, thank goodness: old fashioned, but damn good scifi, both entertaining, and thoughtful.
One of the few scifi writers who can actually pull off and use "eerie" stuff in his book to give you chills, as too many especially today, are boring, highbrow and just do not "grab you", like this novel does.

The companionship between Heiro, his stubborn moose, and...a new comer... is a treat, hehe. His "moose" is a mutant slightly telepathic and a deadly fighter, you wouldn't deign to call it a "beast of burden nor would it let you, lol!

the telepathic interactions, insights into other life forms' thoughts etc is part of the richness of the tale, indeed, make it so damn interesting, it's about CHARACTERS, people, even if they have fur
I tend not to like a lot of recent scifi for the damned "inhumaness" of the characters: too bland, meaningless, lack of humour etc, sigh!
"Heiro's Journey" has richness of character.

IMHO, this is truly one of the top ten scifi books of all times :)

OK, I should firstly state that I'm reviewing this having read the original paperback. I just checked my bookcase where I still keep this and The Unforsaken Hiero and my copy was published in 1976. There isn't much in my bookcase from that long ago, and what is there is only there because it is not just good, but very very good.

I am a huge fan of 'The Lord of the Rings', which I first read in about 1970. I've since read that 12 times, and I've only read one other book more than once. That book is 'Hiero's Journey'.

The other reviewer has already summarised the story, so I'll just write why I love it so much. The reason LOTR is my favourite book is because it's incredibly well written, the characters are believable, and it's totally original (or at least was when it was written). Hiero's Journey also fits that bill, with another hugely original storyline, although the modern reader may well find many aspects have since been used in newer tales.

In other words, although I'm mentioning LOTR, it's only being mentioned because I love this book with a similar intensity. The stories are hugely different with the exception that both are 'quest' driven. But then what is a novel of this sort without a quest? Sitting at home cooking the dinner doesn't make a good storyline (IMO).

To summarise, if you're a lover of fantasy and/or science fantasy novels, and you haven't read this yet, do so. I've read most of the 'famous' fantasy writers, Eddings, Moorcock, Norton, McCaffrey, Donaldson ..., and while I've thoroughly enjoyed much of it, Hiero's Journey stands very tall in this company.