Herokiller: A Novel

The Crucible is set to be the next big thing in reality TV — a gladiatorial contest pitting volunteers against each other in a single-elimination tournament. To the death. Creator Cameron Crayton is throwing a lot of money around to make this happen, and the US government is suspicious of the man. So they recruit Mark Wei — a former black ops agent and unsung hero turned self-destructive alcoholic — to infiltrate the tournament and uncover Crayton’s secrets. But can a broken man even survive this gauntlet?

Herokiller is a brutal skewering of combat sports, reality TV, and American culture, masquerading as an action-packed near-future sci-fi thriller. Tassi’s version of America is unpleasant in how believable it is, a country where bloodlust and suspicion of the Other runs rampant. He populates this world with equally believable characters, both sympathetic and villainous.

Herokiller has its fair share of twists and turns, and although one of the eleventh-hour twists poses a lot of unanswered questions, the novel remains an engaging page-turner until the end. With several characters for the reader to get behind — most of all, the damaged and pitiable badass Mark — Tassi has crafted a reality TV take on Battle Royale for the next generation.