Description:
Hercules' life, told through the eyes of a bunch of different folks who knew him.

Liked:
I liked the premise: it's clever to tie up a whole lot of (often contradictory) stories and spotlight the contradictions by showing that different people had different views on him. Some of the stories themselves are very interesting, and I assume the author has made quite an effort to provide context and justifiction for some of the weirder bits of this mythology.

Disliked:
Found the tone really irritating. It's very jokey and self-consciously, colloquially modern in its vocabulary. Every time an ancient Greek said 'eejit' or 'fuck that', it rubbed me up the wrong way. There's a feeling that this vocabulary, and the tendency of some characters to behave like teenage twitch streamers, is clever or subversive. It made what could have been a really interesting experience into a painful one.

Wouldn’t recommend, unfortunately.

A unique retelling of the mythology of Hercules/Heracles and the experience of those characters overshadowed by the infamous story. Though this follows Hercules, none of the chapters are written from his perspective. It is a fascinating way of developing a vast plot and multiple relationships through a cast of characters. This is a darker retelling and lacks some emotional impact. Still, it is such an exciting approach that this book is worth reading.

this is so raw, funny and absurd. no spoilies! but if you love mythical retelling but told in a Family Modern mockumentary style, this is for u.

Hercules/Herakles is a mystifying and emotionally/physically/mentally complicated character - which is essentially what has made him such an enduring and fascinating protagonist since his debut in the ancient world. Hercules straddles mortal and immortal realms. He is neither one nor the other, and he himself has to struggle with this limbo which no one, not any characters in his world(s), nor any readers (ancient or modern) can fully understand.

This makes Hercules an incredibly challenging character to write about, especially with our modern world being (in some ways) so removed from the ancient one within which we know him best. Many contemporary authors, directors, artists, skip over the nuances of Hercules’ character and focus too heavily on a black-or-white situation. He is either very very good, or very very bad. He can’t possibly be a bit of both. That would be too much.

In ‘skimming’ Hercules’ character, we lose the essence of what has made him endure the two millennia between us and the ancients. In many modern adaptations, he has been reduced.

Phoenicia Rogerson has found perhaps an ingenious solution to the Hercules problem - by writing about him from the perspective of others, the lives he touched, rather than from Hercules’ own (potentially impossible) perspective. To a degree, this works very well. The relationship between Hercules and Hylas is crucial, and poignantly written. Xenoclea and Omphale make great characters. A sense of Hercules’ true nature does evade the reader somewhat, which is the point, and that does work well.

However. I’d say that the vast majority of the characters had incredibly similar voices. There was a strong sense of sarcastic/modern/American humour throughout that worked for a couple of characters (Amphitryon, for example) but grew to be repetitive and felt ill-fitting for many of the others. There is a skill to writing about the ancient world and making it relatable for modern readers, but there are too many ‘modernities’ (for lack of a better phrase) which distanced me further from the narrative rather than drawing me closer. The repeated nicknames for a whole host of characters, for example, and the strange explanation as to why a character might use the phrase ‘holy cow,’ which felt like a slightly lacking cover-up for an Americanism. At times I felt like I was reading some kind of quasi-Disney narrative.

Overall, I’d say the author has come up with a brilliant solution for writing about an incredibly tricky character. It’s a great read, and it’s certainly more balanced than other contemporary novels involving Hercules. But it’s still not quite right.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HQ for the privilege.

Plot
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 (Definitely did not hide in a jar)

His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims.

It’s time to hear their stories.

Review
If you’ve seen the Disney masterpiece or the one that has The Rock in that we don’t really talk about, then forget everything you know. Hercules wasn’t all that and then some according to those who knew him and that’s what I loved about this book.

Told in an interview style with all those he wronged, this gives an insight into the personality of the most famous son of Zeus and he’s a right…. Person shall we say.

I love the use of modern language and attitudes of the characters, eve the dead ones - yes we get a trip to Hades - it makes the prose so much easier to read. The humour and sarcasm drips in every page and I foible myself giggling more than a few times.

There are of course some seriously dark moments which are very triggering, especially what happens to poor Meg and her kids and if you know the myth then approach with caution.

All in all this is one of the best myth retelling I’ve read and I utterly adore it.

Rating
5/5

Recommend
Hades to the yeah! Beware triggering themes.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to Net Galley, the author and the publisher for allowing this.

Herc tells the story of Hercules (Heracles) from birth to death. It stretches over many years and is told from the perspectives of many different characters. It is largely a collection of different people recalling specific moments of their interactions with Hercules. There are also some moments that are told in letters between characters.

There was a lot covered in this book and I did find parts of it really interesting. There was some content in the Hercules lore I was familiar with but others that was completely new to me. So although some of it was recognisable, there was still content that was fresh.

Due to the volume of different narrators and the time jumps, I found I struggled to really engage with this book or any of the narrators. Some of the narrators you don’t know if you will come back to as they only have very small amounts of content, and it never circles back to them. Others have multiple chapters written from their perspective. I didn’t connect emotionally with any of the characters. I also found some of the voices didn’t feel particularly distinct. The name of the narrator does form the chapter title but they did feel a bit similar sometimes.

This was interesting and I did find it a bit different to some other Greek mythology retellings which I really liked as some of them can be a bit too similar sometimes. I liked the variety that came with covering a wide time period and there were sections, such as when Herc was a baby that I enjoyed.

I found this interesting but not enthralling. I was happy to read it but it didn’t grab me in the way some other recent reads have.

I didn't enjoy the casual, modern way the characters spoke to one another. It didn't just modernise the story, it made it seem informal and a bit daft. I did enjoy the story itself, however. Three stars

Thank you to both NetGalley and HQ/ HarperCollins for an early EPUB in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Herc is an amazing take on the man, the myths, and the legend that is Hercules - don’t let him catch you calling him Heracles! - It’ll sit in the pantheon with the great Greek retellings that have come out in the last few years. Rogerson pivots between a light hearted comedic approach that will turn and skewer you in the next sentence; consider yourself warned, some stories aren’t known as tragedies for nothing. After all, how do you overcome a spited goddess's wrath? To quote Madeline Miller “Name one hero who was happy?”

What I love that Rogerson has done to separate Herc from the pack is that we never hear from the hero himself. Herc is an exploratory novel of the demi-God told by those who knew and loved (or loathed) the man best, each narrator has their own distinctive voice and take on the main man. We hear from the living and the dead, minor characters are given their own chapters - which keeps the novel rolling with every fresh new view - and the little titbits from the original stories make for a very accessible novel for newcomers and old hats alike.

You won’t necessarily like Hercules, but you will love Herc. Like Narcissus looking in a mirror, I couldn’t put it down. It was an easy five stars and I’m very much looking forward to picking up a physical copy on its publication day (August 31st, 2023, in the UK). So put it in your diaries, it's going to be legendary.

*I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for honest feedback. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I’ve read a lot of mythology retellings but this one is definitely a favourite. From the enticing mix of different voices to the humour present throughout, this is such an amazing book. It seamlessly links many tales of Hercules, creating an engaging and well-rounded depiction of his life. The horrible things he does aren’t shied away from, with emotional scenes throughout, but the tone is kept light through the strong and distinct voices providing humorous commentary.

Iolaus is absolutely hilarious, and I love how Rogerson takes a character who’s often overlooked and makes him so memorable and iconic. I highlighted so many lines in this and most of them were from Iolaus’ perspective! Also, the glossary at the end was laugh-out-loud funny and made something I’d usually skip over into something I adored every line of.

This is such an accessible retelling, but one that also has lots of amusing references for mythology lovers. I’d definitely recommend this for people wanting to get into mythology retellings, as well as those who’ve always loved the genre. There’s love, there’s humour and there’s tragedy, all wrapped up in a tale that twists the source material to create a fresh and engaging look at Hercules. I’ll 100% be getting a physical copy of this to add to my mythology collection when it comes out. A five-star read and a new favourite book!

I am really enjoying the recent spate of mythology retellings so I was immediately intrigued when I saw this. The cover is gorgeous and really eye catching. A retelling of the Hercules story which may change your view of him compared to what you already know!

Recently I have been obsessed with mythology and this is a fresh and interesting take. I was hooked from the get go and loved having the different perceptions and views of such an iconic figure!

An interesting retelling of the legend of Hercules and the myths he intersects with, told through the voices of those around him.

The narration uses a mix of different styles, some epistolary sections, some parts written to the reader, and others directed to Hercules. The voices all use a very modern tone, speaking in a casual way which lets the reader feel like a contemporary to these ancient sorties. I really liked the style, but it might be a little off putting if you're hoping for something more akin to The Song of Achilles.

The story is hilarious in some places and deeply tragic in others. I never knew much about Hercules' story before (except for knowing that the Disney film is great, but entirely inaccurate) and it's shocking to read just how tragic parts of his life were.

The story jumps around a little as it's split between so many different POVs, but that makes it easy to dip in and out of, and it's interesting to see how everyone's opinion of Hercules differs.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this to anyone who loves Greek mythology.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Herc is a pretty fun retelling of the Hercules/Heracles myth, all told. Presented from the point of view of everyone except Hercules, it’s an interesting look at how myths are formed. Depending on whose POV you’re reading, Hercules is alternatively a true hero plagued by a goddess’s curse of madness or a conniving murdering liar (or something a little in between).

And it’s an interesting take on the myth, that’s for definite. I enjoyed reading it, not knowing much of Hercules’ myth beyond the twelve labours. For the most part, it keeps you engaged, although because of its focus on retelling from other perspectives, there’s no real drive to the plot it feels at times. Of course, that might be right up your alley and, mostly, it didn’t bother me.

Really, the main issue I had was that all of the perspectives sounded very similar. The only two that really stuck out in terms of tone were Megara (and she only got one chapter) and Iolaus. Eurystheus was amusing, but he sounded exactly the same as half of the other POVs. It was handy that each chapter heading told you whose POV it was because, that aside, I’m not sure I’d have been able to tell. I get it, it’s hard to make quite so many POVs sound all distinct, but I think there could have been perhaps a little creativity in formatting or style in that case. As it was, tonally they all blurred into one. But at the very least, it was a tone I didn’t mind, leaning into humour as it was. Eurystheus’ POV was probably the most amusing of them all, and his was the one I most enjoyed reading.

Another issue I had with the sheer number of POVs is that the story came to feel quite bitty, jumping around as it was between characters who were there at particular times, sometimes having to skip back a few months to someone else’s POV to get the full story. It was almost (although not explicitly) framed as a series of interviews, in that sense.

Despite having only mentioned things that didn’t work for me about this book, I did enjoy it overall. I think, though, this illustrates the sticking point: for all that I did like it, what stuck out most for me were the things that didn’t quite land. Perhaps that’s the usual way, but on the whole, it meant I ended up just a little disappointed.

This was such a glorious, eye-opening read! I’ve always loved mythology, but haven’t read much about Hercules past his heroic endeavors and of course, the much-loved Disney film. This book has such a fresh, modern voice which in turn makes these tales so much more accessible without resorting to moving us into a modern setting to make it relatable. I laughed, I cringed; and loved when familiar faces came into the picture. There were so many times when I went ‘wait, what??’ And moved to our good friend google for verification, only to go ‘oh no’ when I realised YEP, that’s how that tale actually goes. I only knocked off a star because the book became repetitive and predictable (even as someone who hasn’t read the fables it’s based on) and I think I would have liked maybe one story at least where he wasn’t a total arse, or an idiot, or just irresponsible. However from reading this…perhaps there wasn’t one. Overall, this was an absolutely amazingly written account of greek mythology perfect for fans of Lore, Song of Achilles or Circe.

Absolutely loved this telling of the life of Hercules. I expected all the delicious Greek mythology and folklore, but what I didn't expect was how contemporary this book felt. The characters are so relatable and downright quirky that I found myself genuinely laughing out loud. To the point that my dog thought there was something wrong with me and started bringing me his toys, out of concern for my mental wellbeing.
The only criticism I would give is that it would have been more user friendly to have the list of characters at the beginning rather than the end. As it was I jotted down names and connections as I read, as a lot of the Greek names were unfamiliar to me so it didn't affect my enjoyment in any way.

4/5 stars! I have never liked Hercules. With the exception of singing along to the Disney songs when I was kid, I've always thought he was kind of a jerk that got painted in a sunny light due to having Zeus be his father. So when I learned that a book existed around everyone BUT Hercules, I was excited to read it. This was a really well-done take on Greek mythology. I did occasionally struggle with how many different POVs took place, but overall a really enjoyable mythology read.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This was such a fun, modern and hilarious take on the Greek tale. I’d never heard Herc’s family’s perspective before., it was a nonstop conversation of home truths and absolutely on the comedic money, Huge thank you to the publisher for the ARC, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book deals with the Greek myth of Hercules and is told through the eyes of all those that knew him. His parents, his brother, his teacher, his wife, his nephew, etc.

At the beginning of the book, I thought the tone was a bit too flippant (think more immature Disney Hercules than Greek mythology Hercules), but was hooked by the time Hercules' wife told the story of - spoiler alert - how he killed their children and her.

I was delighted by all the things I learnt from reading this book. I didn't know for example that Orpheus had a brother named Linus and that Hercules was a student of his.

To summarise, this is definitely a book for mythology lovers. It is a bit of a split from this to say Madeline Miller's Achilles, but I managed to put my reservations to rest and enjoyed the read thoroughly.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the advance copy.

Herc is a brilliant retelling of the story of Hercules, but with a unique twist - it's told through the eyes of the people around him. Each chapter features a different person - from his parents and siblings to lovers, wives, kings, and queens - adding depth and complexity to the story. What makes this book truly enthralling is the fact that you never know whose point of view you'll get next and whether they love or hate Hercules. This dynamic makes the book incredibly engaging and a real page-turner.

The author's writing style is both witty and captivating, holding the reader's attention throughout the story, and keeping you on the edge of your seat as you follow Hercules' journey. The way the book is formatted is very new to me, but I found it to be quite cool. It added a fresh perspective to the story and made it all the more enjoyable to read.

This book is the perfect introduction to Greek mythology for those who are new to it, as I was. It provides a unique take on a classic story and leaves you wanting to read more. Each chapter adds a new layer to the story, making it more intriguing with every page turn.

Overall, "Herc" is a captivating, well-written book that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a fresh take on Greek mythology. Phoenicia Rogerson has done an excellent job in bringing Hercules and his world to life, and I look forward to reading more from this talented author.

I can see why this would be an appealing book but it just didn’t work for me.

The casual style and POV of Heracles family and friends starting from his conception onwards seems like a fresh idea but this is just too casual in my opinion.

Not for me.