An intricate examination of Hercules and all his quests and heroics as well as his less savoury exploits, this is a thorough and interesting collection of stories across his life, from his conception to his death. I enjoyed learning more about the God-born mortal who I’ve only ever seen in the watered-down Disney version or as a side character in other Greek myth retellings. There’s a lot more to him that I knew and a lot of it isn’t pretty. He’s surrounded by death and destruction, a good few accidental murders but also a lot of sadness to lose those people he loves and to fear his own strengths (and his beef with Hera). I did find it confusing trying to keep track of all of the characters, more so because there are so many narrators and the story dips in and out of different people’s narratives but I did like that there were letters and announcements mixed in with the stories. It made for a vast exploration of the mighty Hercules from those that knew him best.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for proving an ARC for review purposes.

I might have a new favourite Greek Mythology retelling. Hercules/Heracles is a complicated character who is told in so many different ways. It is easy to paint him as a hero or a villain, but this book does both. We see his good and his bad and balances both for the reader to decide.

What I absolutely loved was that the story was told through the voices of so many different people. I’ve read retelling told by an alternate voice, and one’s where three people tell the story, but this had multiple that changed with each stage of his life, whether they knew him for decades or one brief encounter, we heard their stories. This reflects on the ways our stories would be told, it is never just one person but many.

I haven’t cried at a retelling I think since the obvious one about Achilles, but I cried three times at this towards the end. A beautifully written book, I look forward to reading more from this author.

-Summary-
Herc is a standalone novel about the life of Heracles/Hercules, told by his family, friends, and enemies. The story begins with his conception and ends with his apotheosis and details countless labours, monsters, battles, lovers, and tragedies in between.

-Mythic Context-
I’ve always found it surprising that a hero as iconic and well-known to non-Classicists as Heracles leaves such a small footprint in extant Greek and Roman texts. We have a book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and a couple of tragedies (notably Euripides’ Heracles and Sophocles’ Women of Trachis) but otherwise Heracles mostly seems to be a side character in other heroes’ stories (e.g., Apollonius’s Argonautica).

And what a side character! Heracles appears in so many myths and so many exploits of so many other heroes - he’s left behind a patchwork of stories that I imagine must be quite daunting for any modern author to try to make sense of.

-Review-
Herc is written from multiple points of view, none of which are Heracles’. It’s an interesting choice that, for the most part, I really like: we get to see different people’s reactions to Heracles’ character and actions that I think gives a really rounded portrait of the sort of man he might have been. We hear from his parents, his siblings, his lovers - and those who are less fond of him. I love an unreliable narrator (hello, Odysseus my beloved!) and I was really spoilt for choice here with so many characters bringing their own biases and agendas to their narratives.

But I did find myself wishing to hear from Heracles himself. We’re given tantalising glimpses into his inner thoughts, his true personality, his hopes and dreams and desires, but it wasn’t enough for me. I missed Heracles. I feel like his death scene in particular, something filled with heartbreaking pathos and unimaginable pain, lacked impact because we were only told about it by a character who couldn’t witness what was happening.

The tone of all the characters’ points of view is broadly humorous, which makes for a very readable book. I thought the humour was especially effective towards the beginning: it almost lulls you into a false sense of security, even if you know Heracles’ story! It feels like an easy, lighthearted read with quippy narrators and then hits you hard with a tragic event - I found this juxtaposition particularly powerful and impactful when it came to young Heracles murdering his music teacher Linus.

But the colloquial language and constant use of nicknames (a particular pet peeve of mine I have to admit, especially the use of ‘bro’ and ‘cuz’ in this context) wore thin with me as the book progressed and the characters aged up.

As with any book with multiple points of view characters, there were some that I enjoyed more than others. I loved Megara: I thought Rogerson gave her a particularly strong voice and found her a really compelling character; I could feel the tragic ending lurking beneath the surface of her words. I wish we could have been treated to more of her!

Eurystheus was delightful in an entirely different way: he was such a treat in his utter loathing of Heracles and his irritation at having anything to do with him at all, let alone conjure up this seemingly endless list of ‘impossible’ feats for him to accomplish.

Many of the other characters unfortunately seemed to blend into one another for me. This is partly because many of them have very similar names which obviously cannot be helped, but also because their equally similar quippy tones of voice make it difficult to differentiate them.

There was one scene in particular that’s really stuck with me: Iphicles’ death. Strangely, I found this a much more powerful moment than Heracles’ own death - maybe it’s because I felt like I got to know Iphicles and his son Iolaus a lot better than I did Heracles, or maybe it’s because it felt like we, as readers, were right there with the characters as it happens. Losing his father finally seems to make Iolaus grow up, and to see him begging Heracles to summon Apollo, to heal his father, just as he’s done for other people in the past, and to have Heracles quietly tell him that it’s not possible, was heartbreaking and definitely the emotional high point in the book for me.

I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to the fantasy and mythology genre, but, I am widening my perspectives and so far loving it. The author has done this brilliantly. The story is beautifully written, the characters come alive on the page, the settings pop and all characters have believable voices. One of the key elements of this book is world-building, the author has created an intricate and detailed world, complete with its own histories, cultures, and languages.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson is a fictional retelling of the life of infamous Greek hero and son of Zeus, Hercules. It's told through a number of perspectives including his lovers, wives, enemies, family and many, many victims. I really enjoyed this unique way of storytelling for the first part of the book; however, I too began to feel like an outsider.

There are so many events, characters and legends intertwined with the pages that I found my attention often drifting. Also, I found the modern colloquialisms interjected throughout like, "What's up?", "Cuz" and "f*ck that" pretty jarring.

Herc was a very entertaining read with an original writing style, however, there was a huge amount of 'information dumping' with very little depth. Characters became instantly disposable and events brushed under the rug with very little consequence.

Whatever I was expecting, that wasn't it... and I'm so glad!

I was super intimidated about launching into a retelling of one of the Greek myths. I haven't quite launched myself into the plethora of books that have come available in recent years (despite haven't a few on my TBR).

I'm so glad that HERC was my first one.

This book is so different to what anyone may expect - it's written with humour, told from various POV's at almost every stage of Hercules' life. An almost documentary style that just enhanced the story telling without taking away from origins.

I can't wait to see how this book is received - I have a feeling it's going to a hit.

Thank you to the author Phoenicia Rogerson, to the publisher HQ and to Netgalley for allowing me to read this early in exchange for this honest review.

This book is about Heracles/Hercules but told through the experiences of other people such as; his parents, his friends, his wife and his enemies. Each story is told within a chapter and is prefaced with who is sharing their tale. They show his good side, his bad side and his drunk side and how his choices formed him into the man he was and the power his decisions had on the world around him.

There are a lot of POVs and so there is a character list in the back of the book (although I didn't realise this until the end of the story). Each character is given a different voice and their stories are told in a variety of ways so it keeps the reader interested and connected.

All the tales of Hercules highlight love and loss and with each memory, the readers are shown a new side to the son of Zeus. This is an absolute must read for those who are a fan of Greek mythology and want to be taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

This is my first book by Phoenicia Rogerson and I will be on the lookout for more of their works. I would recommend this book to anyone, even those who may not know too much about Hercules. This book will soon get you hooked into exploring the trials of someone who is named a hero as a baby, and who at times, feels the weight of the world on his shoulders, sometimes literally.

Full review on my Goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5560838360

Hercules and his adventures, his story and life. I never imagined it could be this way.

I really enjoyed how author retells his story through everyone else’s perspective. Telling how he was as a dad, friend, husband and lover or even an enemy.

We always see in the movies Hercules as an hero, hero who saves and protects people, who goes to missions and always wins, that wears his lion skin as a pride. But we never thought of deeper, how he was as a person, and someone close and a half god with such a strength.

I really liked the truths and the realistic feelings author told through her stories. Definitely recommend reading if you like mythology retellings.

Thank you NetGalley for an opportunity to read this book. Its my honest personal opinion on the book.

A greek myth re-telling that definitely got me out of my re-telling slump. I felt that Rogerson took everything I didn't like about re-tellings and subverted it.

I didn't like the constant one person removed from the hero telling the same story word for word but here we have a whole cast of people telling Hercules' story which actually made me enjoy it so much more. To be able to write a variety of characters so differently and with different motivations and thoughts about the hero was really interesting.

The writing at times was incredibly funny and witty but that doesn't mean Rogerson couldn't balance the more somber, dark moments, and let me tell you there are some dark moments in here. I also didn't realize how many stories and myths Hercules' life weaved into which made it super interesting to read once the labours were over.

I will say that the ending felt very underwhelming, I know that's kind of the point, and also the author doesn't have control of how an age-old legend ends, but I felt it ended so abruptly I was shocked. I also found at times it was hard to keep up with all the names.

Sort of about Hercules, but mostly about everything and everyone else, this outrageously funny reimagining captures a feminist, queer and comedic representation of all the bits you missed whilst Hercules was stealing the show!

It’s brilliantly written - truly, it is. The humour, whilst sometimes very heavy handed and deliberate (similar to the blurb, to give you a flavour of it) also has a lot of heart. The relationships portrayed between characters are really fun to read and feel very well imagined - you’re championing their stories without really realising.

But for some reason, it just felt way too deliberate and contrived to me. I felt like I could see the authors perspective, their thought process, behind crafting this book so much so that it didn’t feel like a relaxed, enjoyable story; it felt like an academic exercise in how to be funny and flip stories on their heads (both things I enjoy, but it was just too obtuse and intentional).

A great book, I enjoyed it a lot, it just wasn’t totally to my taste in terms of delivery.

ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

I was really impressed by this one. It might be one of the best retellings of the ancient greek myths (and actually any myths) that i've come across.
I love that you got the point of view of so many characters, how they felt about Hercules and their relationship with him. It shows all the different opinions, some who loved him, some who hated him and everything in between. Each has a very unique voice, so you never feel like you're reading the same thing (i've read books from different POV's before, but often the characters all sound basically the same, or some have really over the top differences, both of which are annoying. this book doesn't seem to do that, it hits a perfect middle ground).
I also really appreciated that the language used was modern, despite the mythological setting. I often find the language in some myth retelling to be a bit too old fashioned, or terse and it can make it hard and boring to read. But because the author has used modern language in this book, it makes it much easier to read, and in my opinion, more fun.
Overall, this was a really excellent book. I was already recommending to people before I'd finished it.

Herc is a work of mythological fiction surrounding the life of the great hero Heracles/Hercules. I liked that the novel went deep into his backstory, as most retellings involving Hercules only focus on him being a hero, whereas Herc explored his early life leading up to him becoming a hero. I really enjoyed the multiple POV chapters throughout, as they allowed other characters to get their thoughts and feelings across, and it added a sense of depth to the story which worked very well. I especially loved how different characters’ personalities came out in the writing styles for each chapter, for example, a younger character would speak in a casual and less formal way. This really allowed me to feel like I was meeting these characters and not just reading about them so this was one of my favourite features about the book. I love Greek mythology but had not previously read a lot about Hercules so this book gave me a much needed refresher and was very entertaining along the way. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in Greek mythology or ancient history, or anyone looking into mythological fiction, as I believe this book is accessible to a wider audience due to its use of modern language throughout, which fits the beautiful writing style. I’m very grateful I got the chance to read this book!

Herc is the debut novel from Phoenicia (love her name!) a retelling of the story of Hercules. Although told with a twist through everyone else rather than himself, his mother, friends, wife, siblings and enemies.

This book is funny, no like really funny throughout. I loved how we got to see the realities of Hercules and not just him as a hero. He appears in lots of the Greek myths and this author has done an absolutely fantastic job of including so many of them - his 12 labours, punishments and the slayings of monsters (and his family oops) b

I liked how the author made it so everyone looked up to him but still treated him down to earth, like a normal person such as calling him by his nicknames H or Herc.

I really enjoyed the different relationships woven throughout and this book was so well put together - great, clear flowing writing.
I will be recommending this book to others and looking out for more from this author.

The strength of this book is that it uses Hercules as a thread to tie in lots of the famous mythology stories. Hercules is involved in most and if you know your mythology, it's quite nice seeing everything link. At first I really liked this. The different POVs enrich the tale of Heracules/Hercules. However, around 18% in Hercules started using street slang like 'cuz' for cousin. The POV from his young nephew was really cringy. You can tell it was written by someone attempting to write as a child and it just fell flat. Similarly, his sister's POV is awful. It one of the few female POVs and it makes women of Ancient Greece come across as air heads. "My brother's are like 14 years older...like, he's not hideous or anything... I'm a freaking dream." Awful. The language occasionally slipped back into things like 'S'up', 'Innit' and 'Bro' which really detracted from the story. If you are a teenager who wants to learn about Ancient Greece, this book could be for you. If you're already familiar with mythology and are an adult then I think you'll be disappointed with the language as it's as if it's written by a 16 year old.

herc by phoenicia rogerson || 🌟🌟🌟🌟

thank you to netgalley for an arc of this book, due to be published on the 31st of august

a feminist & queer retelling of hercules written from perspective of people around him: his wives, his lovers, his companions, his family, greek kings & others he meets on his travels. it weaves hercules' adventures with humour, terror & tenderness. I was pulled in from the first page and really enjoyed reading this✨

A VERY STRONG novel about a VERY STRONG guy! 💪✨

🦁 'Herc' by Phoenicia Rogerson is a retelling of the myth of Hercules / Heracles, as told by his family, friends, lovers, and enemies. It spans his entire life, from birth to death, with all the highs and lows in between!

💙 I thoroughly enjoyed this. It canters through a MILLION interwoven myths at break-neck pace. I loved how fast-paced it was, the story was constantly in motion and never felt slow. SO MUCH research must have gone into this.

✍️ Thought the 'gossipy' style worked really well. We never hear Heracles' point of view, only everyone else talking about him - they all have different perspectives on him as a human and as a hero.

⚔️ Heracles' violence towards his family and others was never excused, rather it was explored and examined. A question hangs over the whole story - how much should we glorify so-called 'heroes?'

🌈 Heracles apparently had a lot of lovers and wives (the ultimate chaotic bisexual) which meant a LOT of narrators. I have no idea how Phoenicia Rogerson kept track of all the different points of view. I'm guessing a very intricate spreadsheet?!!

✨ Overall, this was an exciting and emotional novel which I'll be recommending to everyone.

🗓️ 'Herc' will be out on 31st August 2023

🎁 Thank you to Netgalley & HarperCollins for my advance readers' copy!

- Katie

[Review already posted to Instagram at @katiespencebooks, tweet to be posted to @katiespencey on Friday]

I am a massive fan of mythological retellings, there is something about the way we tend to interpret myth using modern sensibilities that I find fascinating (though I am also a fan of the original stories, you just have to ignore the very masculine slant the majority have in order not to find them hugely frustrating).

This story was very different, in that instead of projecting the tales of Hercules’ heroic acts and making them even greater, it presents you with a new perspective, that of the people who love him and are the unfortunate victims of his attention (be that in positive or negative ways).

This book takes a look at what it’s like to be the person in the know, the one who knows what someone is truly like behind the glitz and glamour of a famous persona. Obviously, we get the story told from multiple perspectives, his wife, his lovers, his siblings, his mother, his cousins and many more. And while it feels as though sometimes they might be holding back, they aren’t shy about acknowledging that Hercules isn’t this ‘great guy’...

Like The Shadow of Perseus, this book is highlighting that just because someone is a hero doesn’t make them a great person. Like Perseus, Hercules was a victim of his own fame. He believed he was above the rules, and this is only too evident in the way that he treats the people who care about him, while blaming the punishment of his evil ‘step-mother’ Hera for the crimes he commits.

Rogerson is clever in the way that she frames each event, whether it’s any of Herc’s 12 labours or the awful end of his marriage to Megara and their unfortunate children. There are moments of sadness and horror interjected with pure humour when you can’t help but see that Herc is viewed, by many, as a petulant child who both doesn’t know his own strength, or understand that he must take at least a modicum of responsibility for his actions. He is viewed by them as neither wanted nor tolerated, but they humour him.

A very interesting book that gives you a very different perspective of this mythological demi-god’s life and the lives of those he was linked to.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for sharing an advanced copy of Herc with me.

I was really excited to get into this book and I was certainly not disappointed. I found the way the book was written through the eyes of the women in Hercules' life really interesting. We've known of the man as a hero and a legend.

However, through the women in his life and other's around him it's clear that he is simply just a brute,

Absolutely loved this book! I loved how many different perspectives there were. Beautiful storytelling as well. Will 100% be recommending this!

3.5* star - I feel like I have been spoiled by a lot of Mythology retellings recently, but they did impact my enjoyment on Herc. I place that fault on myself more than the book as I can see why others would love it, it is interesting to see the retelling from what is essentially the depositions of others.