“ The Time of the Hero” has been acclaimed by critics around the world as one of the outstanding Spanish novels of recent decades. In the author`s native Peru, this powerful social satire so outraged the authorities that a thousand copies were publicly burned. & that’s before you appreciate that it’s been written by an author as lyrically impressive as Mario Vargas Llosa. The novel is set in Leoncio Prado Military Academy in Lima, where a group of cadets attempt to break out of the vicious round of sadistic ragging, military discipline, confinement & boredom. But their pranks set off a cycle of betrayal, murder & revenge which jeopardizes the entire military hierarchy._`A work of undeniable power & skill.`_ * Sunday Telegraph*