Others say...

"Great Archetype Reference Guide"
If you are looking for a book that will help you to outline your story, move your main player out of your mind and onto your paper and then journey your main character from point A to point B by using the right formulaic sidekicks and secondary players, this guide is written just for you. It may help you avoid the typical and strive for something a little more nuanced -- outside the usual box.

The authors mix and match 8 hero archetypes (the chief, the bad boy, the best friend, the charmer, the lost soul, the professor, the swashbuckler and the warrior) with 8 heroine archetypes (the boss, the seductress, the spunky kid, the free spirit, the waif, the librarian, the crusader and the nurturer) and come up with all the mathematically possible permutations along with hints about how to evolve characters with one main archetypal trait or characters with less definable layered archetypes. The authors freely use many familiar examples (not just tedious classic literary examples) to illustrate how such interactions successfully play off one another in today's popular films, books and television shows. (Ex: In the movie Blade Runner, Harrison Ford is the Warrior while Darryl Hannah is the Waif.)
Indeed, many of the examples are stereotypical and when you read them your reaction will most likely be, "Okay, this is a no brainer -- I am well aware of this archetype and can recognize it easily in film and books." While this may be true, it is wonderful to have this book where all the archetypes are already laid out for you in a marvelously straightfoward format -- as a reference guide so that time spent pondering over the myriad of personality related intereactions can now be spent on crafting a story with great dialogue, settings, tone and plot instead of worrying wheither or not the characters mesh or not. With this guide, that portion of the thinking is done for you -- you need only see what works for you by looking through the examples or by tweaking your characters after learning about certain reactions in order to facilitate outcomes primary to your plot.
On a purely fun level, this book gets 5 stars. I enjoyed categorizing the characters in the book and then applying the criteria to some of my own personal favorites.

"Great Book! Minor Quibbles about gender."
This was an excellent writer's reference, which explores gender and roles in writing. Is your character a Charmer? Bad Boy? or Free spirit? Each section defines the Character's basic traits, likely occupation, and gives examples of character's which fall into each from television in film. Further, each section goes on to describe how characters interact with each other.

My only quibble with this book, is the manner in which it is divided by gender. Some of the archetypes could easily be either male or female: such as Crusader, Nurturer, Free Spirit, Charmer, Warrior etc. But these were carefully slanted towards either feminine or masculine. For instance, I can easily see a male "Crusader" a female "Lost Soul" or a Female "Warrior" and yet this cross-gender archetypes were not explored. Perhaps in a later edition?

Overall, an excellent reference, sure to delight!!

"Just What I Needed. . ."
HEROES & HEROINES makes the process of getting to know my characters much faster, and also makes it easier to stay true to their character once I begin writing. I've used H&H twice now when I don't really have much of an idea for the story, maybe only a scene and I'm not sure of the characters. The keywords, descriptions, and examples always help shape both the character and the scenes to come by providing character templates to build upon. An excellent reference for any popular fiction writer.

"An Indispensable Tool for the Fiction Writer!"
I recently purchased a copy of this book for a writing class I'm taking. Little did I know what a little goldmine I'd found! The book is superbly laid out, easy to use and contains information that could fill a much larger volume (but doesn't -- that's the beauty of it and what makes it so handy!)

The book is loaded with examples of the character types, from classic literature through familiar roles in current movies. These samplings allow for quick recognition and complete understanding. The book is a marvelous research tool that should help any author overcome writer's block or who is just trying to get a story going.

I know I'll be using this little book for years to come. The authors better come out with a second edition before this one starts falling apart at the seams.

"Good characterizations"
Extremely useful, helpful thumbnail sketches of how certain "stock" characters might react to certain situations or in relationships with other "stock" characters. I think the value comes from layering the characteristics--otherwise, you might rely too heavily on a single portrayal and your writing would become stiff and unimaginitive. This does give you a place to start, and that is its best feature. It also sparks ideas for characters you might not otherwise have thought to write about.

But it is sort of like baking from a cake mix--you have to add your own ingrediants to really make it work. I would definitely recommend it to a writer who finds that all of his or her characters tend to think or act alike.