As a literature & classics student I read a lot of mythical retelling & unfortunately Herc didn’t quite hit the spot for me. It was a fun read but I found it rather disjointed with the numerous points of view. Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the arc.

I really tried to love this one but unfortunately I couldn’t finish it. I found the characters to be quite flat.
I love Greek mythology and was interested in seeing different perspectives with this one.
There were some characters that I got annoyed seeing.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and HQ for approving me for an ARC of this book. I was very intrigued by this story and read it with my friend Wendy.

😆What I found pleasantly surprising about this story was how funny it was at times. Don’t get me wrong; it was filled with the usual death and destruction that you’d expect with Greek mythology, but I did enjoy the scattered sarcasm, particularly the letter writing.

💪🏻Hercules was a very complex and misunderstood character. I hadn’t realised how many stories were woven around him until this book. My opinion of him changed at several points, depending on whose story we were receiving.

🔈The multiple POV was another aspect that made this story stand out. Throughout the story, we hear from many different characters, who were affected by Hercules. At times this was a little confusing so I decided to treat each chapter as a short story, which helped me to process it better.

🌟If you’re looking for a mythology retelling with a twist then this would be right up your street.

This was a really interesting take on a Greek Mythology retelling.

I really liked how it was spread out across many different characters, and not at all sugar coated to make any of it sound a little sweeter like we're typically used to in retellings.

I enjoyed the different takes but also how fluidly the book transitions between each character, it made it a really pleasant read which was easy to get through.

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC of this book!

3.5 stars
A different take on a mythological tale. I enjoyed the different views of Herc shown, it was interesting to see the different opinions and perspectives on what is essentially a well known character. It felt more like a series of little novellas to me rather than an overall story and therefore a lot of characters became a little lost to me.

I’ve always enjoyed reading Greek Myths, and after reading ‘Stone Blind’ by Natalie Haynes have rediscovered my love for them!
I especially enjoy them when they are super descriptive and full of wit. This book was both and an absolute delight.
Cannot wait to read what Phoenicia Rogerson does next!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for my eARC

Herc is unlike any other retelling I've read so far. It breathes new life into an old hero by telling his story from those who knew him best.

While I found the format fresh and new it was sometimes a little jarring. Constantly jumping between characters was a little taxing on the brain and at times confusing. Especially once you get to Megara's chapter and it jumps into second person narration.

That said I still thoroughly enjoyed the book. It's fast paced and refreshing. It's not overly complicated and it lays bare the story of Herc for everyone to see.

While I have been enjoying the majority of the current trend in retelling of Greek myths, I did not find this up to the usual standard. Maybe more for a YA audience! Thanks to Netgalley.

Herc is a queer retelling of the Greek myth of Hercules. Phoenicia provides a fresh insight into this myth, and she stands apart as a fantastic writer in this Greek retelling space that’s normally quite saturated. I love the cover design for the book as well, and was lucky enough to see the author at an event at Harper Collins and it was fantastic to hear her talk about the book with such passion.

Huge thank you to HQ for the copy, it’s a gem

Herc is both a staggering piece of scholarship and an extremely silly book. You don't have to dip deep into the many legends of Hercules / Heracles to come across things that seem contradictory or even outright horrific (the bit where his kills his wife and five children is often skated over). And you don't need to be a ex-fan of right-wing nutjob Kevin Sorbo to note that within the character of Hercules the Hero multitudes are hidden. So this is that book. Basically an oral history of the life of Hercules told by the supporting characters: his family, his employers, his enemies and - quite often - the dead. Including that wife and those children.

This is a fun project, but the humour arises solely from how Rogerson juggles these viewpoints. Imagine growing up with Hercules, already prenaturally strong as a baby. Imagine being his human father, being told about how Zeus tricked Alcmene by pretending to be you (as noted, its at least gives plausible deniability as opposed to pretending to be a swan). The book is written snappily, with care in particular for the voices of the women in his life who understandably tend to find Hercules rather boorish. This is pretty much the case with everyone and it doesn't take long into his labours to find people genuinely afraid when a sniff of Hercules turns up (and he is also a very smelly man). Wherever Herc goes, so does trouble and tragedy.

What is clever here is not just repackaging a whole tranche of Greek myth into a consistent(ish) narrative, It is instead the lively readability she imbues her characters with, a freshness that does repeat the problem with living in interesting times. In taking the myths as her source material, and rarely stepping outside them except for the obvious unspoken consequences (many a livelihood is ruined by his instinctual go-getting). It wears its scholarship lightly, and rather is happy being a smart bit of entertainment - that also will cover an entire classics topic.

A retelling of the myths of Hercules from numerous view points - relatives, friends and lovers and foes. For me there were just to many narrators and skipping around the time line that the novel became a little disjointed. The language used throughout was very modern and for me just felt out of kilter with the subject matter. Maybe I’ve just read too many myth retellings and I’m becoming jaded but this wasn’t one of my favourites. I think it’s a bit of a marmite which some readers perhaps younger than me will love and find entertaining but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

Strangely, I've never given Hercules much time. He is the least interesting of all the heroes (except for maybe Theseus. Not a fan of his either) even with his habit of killing those close to him. His 12 labours I know, but much of his story is a mystery to me beyond that. Strong, he may be, but always viewed as a bit of a dullard, his is a tragic tale but maybe not tragic enough?

Herc gives a number of fresh perspectives on the life of Hercules as it is narrated by those who knew him best. What a great way to breathe fresh life into Herc's existence! Fun and fully enjoyable, unless you are one of the many who died by his hand, this was a treat. I did learn quite a lot about him and could see the good and bad of the man. Whether he was as dull a dunce as I always suspected, I couldn't say, but this story of his life was such a fun outing, it didn't matter.

This should be the story of Hercules…but it’s not… This is the story of everyone else…

One of the most original retellings of Greek mythology, Herc is told in a mockumentary-style format with plenty of humour and sarcasm. Herc explores the people behind the legend; his family, lovers, friends and his enemies. It’s a refreshing take on Hercules’ story told from the perspective of those around him.

The author doesn’t shy away from exploring Hercules’ romantic relationships with other men and it broadens the reader’s understanding of who Hercules really was.

The language used by the author is modern and colloquial and at times, it jars with the classic elements of the original story. I can see what the author is doing though as it works to make this Greek mythological figure more relevant (and maybe more accessible?) to a contemporary audience.

I love Phoenicia’s use of dry humour and sarcasm – there are so many interactions between the characters that made me laugh out loud. The pacing is perfect with plenty of brutal scenes and raw elements in keeping with the original story.

It’s hard to feel any sort of empathy for a person who caused so much chaos and pain for those around him and the author captures this in her retelling. And don’t worry if you struggle with all the characters – Phoenicia includes a glossary so you can get your head around who is who!

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ publishing for the arc. Herc is out now. 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unfortunately, the writing style and narrative format of this book was not for me. I struggled to connect with any of the characters since the chapters were so short and the perspective changed so often. I think it would be better suited to someone who enjoys non-fiction or maybe has more knowledge of Greek mythology, as the format was almost interview in style, and there were a lot of names and references. I do love to see queer rep in Greek stories though, so seeing Herc's sexuality explored was a positive point.

Firstly, I'd like to thank Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC of this title. I actually really did not get along with the ebook formatting and I was finding it difficult to read, which may have just been an issue with the ARC and how it looked on my Kindle. Regardless, I decided to wait until release date and then I listened to the audiobook on Scribd.

Herc is a Greek mythological retelling centring (obviously) on Hercules. As the author notes at the end, Hercules is in a LOT of stories, so the book is made up of chapters from the points of view of the many people he comes into contact with, friends and family and enemies and everything in between. I've studied Classics and read a lot of the myths, so I knew a lot about Hercules' life, although there were definitely episodes and details that I had forgotten. I especially liked Meg's POV near the beginning, as well as some of Hercules' family members.

I have to be honest, though - I did not really enjoy this book. From the very beginning, the narration irritated me. At first I thought it was the audiobook, but there are so many narrators so I don't think it was that one issue. It was more to do with the fact that the writing style didn't really gel with me. It felt a bit too modern and the humour didn't work for me, although it might for some people.

I felt that the writing kept me at a distance from the characters, and while I did prefer some of the POVs over others, I still had the general feeling of disconnect. Part of this may stem from the fact that Hercules is not a hero I love to read about, but I also just didn't connect with the way he was portrayed. I felt almost no sympathy for him, but I also didn't find that he was portrayed in a complex, satisfying way like some reimagined mythological characters are (like Medea etc). As this is an extremely character driven book, enjoyment will definitely hinge on a connection to the characters, so that's why it didn't work for me.

This is a minor thing, but I did find the decision to call Heracles 'Hercules' a little strange considering Hercules is the Romanised version and all the other names in the book seemed to be Greek. I supposed this might be because Hercules is easier to shorten for the title, and much more recognisable. Still, this did puzzle me a bit, especially as someone who has studied classics and Ancient Greek. But most people wouldn't think about this!

I didn't hate this book by any means, or I would have just stopped reading, but when I finished I just felt nothing. I will say that I enjoyed it more as it progressed, but it still wasn't for me. I know some people will probably enjoy this, but I found it to be a disappointment, especially because I usually enjoy Greek myth retellings.

2.5 stars

Riotous fun and tragedy
Review written for NetGalley.
Quite a change from the solemn and sententious tales of Greek heroes that I've read in the past! Told from the points of view of almost all the other people Hercules may ever have met, this is a funny, fast and wild retelling of Hercules' life and deeds. It's a kind of comic tragedy (not surprising given the basic premis that Hercules was born of some kind of god/human mating and that he committed terrible deeds almost from the beginning). It's very clever. For me, like all greek myths, it went on a bit long but that's sort of inevitable as he appears to have done an awful lot of stuff! Married twice (I think), had lots of children (at least 50+) slept with loads of heroines and other kinds of women and also quite a few men. He also killed a lot of people all against a convincing background of rural poverty and ancient (rather worn) glory. Nearly all of these people had something to say about him - obviously many of them uncomplimentary!
The only problem I had was that several chapters appeared not to have been edited for kindle at all - the line breaks were completely off so that nearly all the sentences were broken into different lines. This made it very hard to read. I did wonder if it was supposed to imitate poetry in some way but couldn't see any reason for these chapters to have been treated differently. One star down for that. Otherwise, I recommend it.

This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless adventures…everyone’s favourite hero, right?
Well, it’s not.
This is the story of everyone else:
Alcmene: Herc’s mother (She has knives everywhere)
Hylas: Herc’s first friend (They were more than friends)
Megara: Herc’s wife (She’ll tell you about their marriage)
Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc’s labours (He never asked for the job)
His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims.
It’s time to hear their stories.

This one fairly rattles along at a pace, funny, fierce and refreshing. It’s a retelling unlike any I’ve read before which was unexpected but I enjoyed it. What I loved is that it’s not really Hercules story, well it is, but because it’s told through the eyes of others, we get their point of view and it feels broader somehow.

‘What? …. I speak of a man who served on a ship to get out of the rest of the trouble he was in and that, my friend, is a tradition older than time itself.’

The humour was fab, it is dry and made me laugh. Although I did feel sorry for pretty much everyone who comes into contact with Herc as they mainly end up dead and often by mistake!

‘He might have chosen to carry a club – if there ever was a better picture of what men are overcompensating for, I don’t know what it is’

With way more versions than you can count telling us the story of Hercules, this one brings laughs, tears and a fresh perspective- joyous!

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

3.5 stars

I really liked the way this book was written from everyone elses' perspective than Hercules--the lovers, family, friends and wives. It's a brutal retelling that doesn't gloss over the brutality and despair that follows Hercules' life.

Unfortunately, I just couldn't get on with the tone it was written in; it was very colloquial and modern which I just didn't find inkeeping with the theme. It was quite jarring to read the word 'eejit' in an ancient Greek tale.

It was a really interesting read but for me, it didn't quite hit the spot. I probably wouldn't reach for it it again but enjoyed reading about Hercules' adventures.

Herc might be a read that sits outside of what you expect. Herc 'the hero' is not a hero in any shape or form and this story tells of his true envisioned characteristics through others' eyes. Suffice it to say he was an increcibly unlikeable characters with very little in terms of redeeming attributes.

I always appreciate the rawness and sometimes brutality in a good greek mythology retelling. Herc is incredibly brutal in the narration of his senseless murdering proclivities and family were not safe from his acts.

His brother and mother seemed to have a belief in an underlying goodness; I didn't see it.

This was a reasonably engaging story. I appreciated that we don't see that many reimaginings of Heracles and this was that view point. However, the story lacked hope for many of the pages and it was senselessly grim in parts. Overall, not my favourite.

Thank you to the publisher through netgalley for the review copy.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Herc explores the years of Heracles’ life from birth to death through the people he loved, hurt and involved himself with. This multi pov book, while showing the greats he achieved, shows the much darker side to his trials and the lack of true care and compassion he showed for those around him. It also explores the tragedies that followed Herc and the lengths to which he was able to get away with despicable actions due to his heritage as Zeus’s son.

The raw disgust and honestly bewilderment that Heracles managed to get away with continued to baffle me throughout the entire time I read this book. The short chapters and the perspectives of so many individuals creates a reliable and extensive view to the classic tale of Hercules.

Things I particularly enjoyed about this book
- the short chapters made for an accessible and easy reading experience that allowed me to fly through the book.
- The humour in this book is raw and unfiltered and at times it had me giggling out loud.

Things I think could’ve been done better
- while there’s a guide and the multiple pov’s help direct the storyline, I felt that with such an expansive list of characters I really didn’t know who was speaking half of the time and I found it hard to empathise with most of the characters as many I just didn’t get to know in this narrative, leaving the story feeling quite empty at times and falling short.