What do you think?
Rate this book
Herc
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.
Told with humour and heart, Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking) retelling of classic Hercules myth.
Perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and Joanne M. Harris.
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.
Told with humour and heart, Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking) retelling of classic Hercules myth.
Perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and Joanne M. Harris.
416 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2023
About the author
Phoenicia Rogerson
5 books305 followersPhoenicia Rogerson is altogether mortal with a rather less chequered past than Hercules. After a decade of not being able to find his complete story on bookshelves, she decided to pull her socks up and write it herself. She lives and works in London.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,374 reviews
March 29, 2023
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.
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.
September 26, 2023
This is the Herc I know.
Read
July 24, 2023DNF - i could not get into this one. It was slowly killing me. So for my own mental health, i had to put this one down and attempt not to throw it into the nearest body of water.
June 29, 2023
Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson
Greek Mythology | Retelling
•This novel was a queer retelling of the classic, Hercules. You hear the voices of Herc’s mother, siblings, lovers, and wives.
• I went into this knowing nothing about Hercules or Greek Mythology. I believe this novel would appeal to you more if you already had some background knowledge. I still had a great time reading about the life of Hercules, as all of this was so new to me. As more characters came along I did get more and more confused. I was really enjoying the first 100 pages however. I would recommend this for any friend who loves Greek Mythology.
Feels: ‘Why Choose’ x50 (if you know, you know)
★★★★ 4/5
Greek Mythology | Retelling
•This novel was a queer retelling of the classic, Hercules. You hear the voices of Herc’s mother, siblings, lovers, and wives.
• I went into this knowing nothing about Hercules or Greek Mythology. I believe this novel would appeal to you more if you already had some background knowledge. I still had a great time reading about the life of Hercules, as all of this was so new to me. As more characters came along I did get more and more confused. I was really enjoying the first 100 pages however. I would recommend this for any friend who loves Greek Mythology.
Feels: ‘Why Choose’ x50 (if you know, you know)
★★★★ 4/5
September 4, 2023
It’s a no for me dawg. This was my first DNF of 2023, left off at 199 pages in which is about half.
I loved the premise of this book. It reminded me so much of Stone Blind with chapters from different people who were important in Hercules life. It started off strong but not even 25% of the way through, it stopped holding my attention. I appreciate the author trying to change the tone of each perspective and showing the characters age through the writing but I didn’t like the way she wrote from the younger perspective. The use of modern terms and ways of talking was a real big turn off for me with this book and distracted me so much. It got to the point where I’d skip entire chapters because I knew which characters irritated me so much.
I tried I really did, but I was getting annoyed with how much more I had left to read and that was when I knew it was best if I put this book down. I don’t want to hate read a book. I would like to think I’ll come back to this one, but I skimmed the end of the book and nothing seemed of interest to me.
I loved the premise of this book. It reminded me so much of Stone Blind with chapters from different people who were important in Hercules life. It started off strong but not even 25% of the way through, it stopped holding my attention. I appreciate the author trying to change the tone of each perspective and showing the characters age through the writing but I didn’t like the way she wrote from the younger perspective. The use of modern terms and ways of talking was a real big turn off for me with this book and distracted me so much. It got to the point where I’d skip entire chapters because I knew which characters irritated me so much.
I tried I really did, but I was getting annoyed with how much more I had left to read and that was when I knew it was best if I put this book down. I don’t want to hate read a book. I would like to think I’ll come back to this one, but I skimmed the end of the book and nothing seemed of interest to me.
February 10, 2024
loving the canon of letting the gods say “bro” and heroes say “fuck” i also think the amazons should be able to say “yes girl slay”
September 15, 2023
DNF after 15%.
Personally I think you should either do a classic retelling like Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint do, or make it a modern day retelling like Lore Olympus. This is a classic retailing with modern language and it just doesn’t read right for me, it kept pulling me out of the story. The moment Herc used the word “cuz” I was out.
Personally I think you should either do a classic retelling like Madeline Miller and Jennifer Saint do, or make it a modern day retelling like Lore Olympus. This is a classic retailing with modern language and it just doesn’t read right for me, it kept pulling me out of the story. The moment Herc used the word “cuz” I was out.
March 2, 2023
This book might be my favourite Greek mythology retelling yet. This book focuses on the women, the lovers, the family and those few friends of Heracles, the hero of the Ancient Greek world. Heracles has always been a polarising character for me, as I have always loved the twelve labours stories, but the death and destruction that follows him, especially of those closest to him, always made me wary of Heracles retellings. Phoenicia Rogerson has written the perfect book about Heracles, but also not about him. If that makes sense?
Herc is about all the people in Heracles’ life that meant something to him. They show his good side and his bad side, his loving side and his hateful side. He is shown as the complex and thoroughly misunderstood character that he has been for centuries: a hero and a monster wrapped up into one man. A man who loves fearsomely but whose love leads many to their deaths. The book doesn’t shy away from Herc’s romantic relationships with men and women, a side often dismissed and his male lovers reduced to the roles of ‘companions’.
This book has made me cry more than any book has in recent years. It is an immaculate story love, lose and the pain that comes with both. Without revealing too much, Megara’s final chapter in the first part of the book broke my heart and I experienced a rage that I have not felt from myself over a book (in a positive way) in a long time. I felt her pain, I felt her emotions and wanted to rip Heracles apart myself.
Due to the amazing Disney movie (which despite it mythology inaccuracies I still love to this day), most people associate Hercules with the Greek pantheon, despite it being his Roman name. Phoenicia gets around this fantastically by using both – Heracles being the name he is given from birth, and Heracles being the name he chose as he hated the association to Hera.
This is an absolute must read for any Greek Mythology fan who needs a healthy dose of feminine rage in this soul.
Herc is about all the people in Heracles’ life that meant something to him. They show his good side and his bad side, his loving side and his hateful side. He is shown as the complex and thoroughly misunderstood character that he has been for centuries: a hero and a monster wrapped up into one man. A man who loves fearsomely but whose love leads many to their deaths. The book doesn’t shy away from Herc’s romantic relationships with men and women, a side often dismissed and his male lovers reduced to the roles of ‘companions’.
This book has made me cry more than any book has in recent years. It is an immaculate story love, lose and the pain that comes with both. Without revealing too much, Megara’s final chapter in the first part of the book broke my heart and I experienced a rage that I have not felt from myself over a book (in a positive way) in a long time. I felt her pain, I felt her emotions and wanted to rip Heracles apart myself.
Due to the amazing Disney movie (which despite it mythology inaccuracies I still love to this day), most people associate Hercules with the Greek pantheon, despite it being his Roman name. Phoenicia gets around this fantastically by using both – Heracles being the name he is given from birth, and Heracles being the name he chose as he hated the association to Hera.
This is an absolute must read for any Greek Mythology fan who needs a healthy dose of feminine rage in this soul.
April 15, 2024
I admire how Rogerson's varied character voices are cleverly woven together.
This book features in my Spring TBR video on BookTube.🌷
"It's impossible to explain to anyone who hasn't loved him what it's like to be there in the eye of the storm."
Herc is Rogerson's debut novel, and it scratched the itch I've had for a well-written Greek myth retelling ever since finishing Stone Blind last year.
The story gives account of Hercules' life from birth to death, as told through the eyes of the people who knew him—his family, lovers, rivals, and so forth.
Myriad characters weigh in on the infamous Herc and don't hold back in sharing how they feel about him. This is not the much-loved, glittering golden boy from the Disney cartoon; rather, this is the Hercules from the myths, the one who is deeply flawed and commits heinous acts.
Characters either love him ardently or despise him with every fiber of their being. Each of their voices leap from the page, as Rogerson has crafted myriad first-person POVs that feel unique to each character (undoubtedly, this is one of the book's greatest strengths).
Herc reads like a novel in stories, but while the chapters are interconnected and contain an overarching story, it doesn't really build to anything. In terms of tone, mood, and stakes, the book is very even throughout (though the introductory chapters are laced with sorrow and weigh heavily on one's heart).
A helpful list of characters is provided in the back of the book, making it easier to keep track of the myriad narrators.
Overall, an impressive debut. I'm keen to see what Phoenicia Rogerson will publish next.
This book features in my Spring TBR video on BookTube.🌷
"It's impossible to explain to anyone who hasn't loved him what it's like to be there in the eye of the storm."
Herc is Rogerson's debut novel, and it scratched the itch I've had for a well-written Greek myth retelling ever since finishing Stone Blind last year.
The story gives account of Hercules' life from birth to death, as told through the eyes of the people who knew him—his family, lovers, rivals, and so forth.
Myriad characters weigh in on the infamous Herc and don't hold back in sharing how they feel about him. This is not the much-loved, glittering golden boy from the Disney cartoon; rather, this is the Hercules from the myths, the one who is deeply flawed and commits heinous acts.
Characters either love him ardently or despise him with every fiber of their being. Each of their voices leap from the page, as Rogerson has crafted myriad first-person POVs that feel unique to each character (undoubtedly, this is one of the book's greatest strengths).
Herc reads like a novel in stories, but while the chapters are interconnected and contain an overarching story, it doesn't really build to anything. In terms of tone, mood, and stakes, the book is very even throughout (though the introductory chapters are laced with sorrow and weigh heavily on one's heart).
A helpful list of characters is provided in the back of the book, making it easier to keep track of the myriad narrators.
Overall, an impressive debut. I'm keen to see what Phoenicia Rogerson will publish next.
June 12, 2024
a novel that boldly dares to ask: what if hercules talked like a british twitch streamer?
July 5, 2025
this was given to me by a friend. DNF, i did not like it, this is why i read reviews!
October 8, 2023
This book is unfortunate in that it is very well-written but overwrought with too much information. The confusing storylines start to blur together, and the pace stays tepid, and slow, with no end in sight.
The mythology of Heracles/Hercules is vast, and I really enjoyed the POV that he isn't the great, handsome, and adorned hero but a very violent, murderous, cheating, and drunken man who can't seem to string a coherent sentence together. That all the heroes we know of in Greek mythology are very flawed and we should listen to the stories of those they oppressed and wronged.
But, it was just too much. Maybe if it was a two-parter? But this book just couldn't keep up with the momentum from the beginning and just dragged. The characters were great, but with a large cast, especially with many sharing lots of the same experiences with their encounters with Herc, they start to blend and not be as distinct or impactful as the story continues.
There are stronger mythology re-tellings that I have read this year that are a lot more solid and cohesive with the POV of the women in these stories brought to the forefront and have a powerful delivery of pace, characters and the overall story that this book is weaker in. I would still recommend it to people if they enjoy mythology and a re-telling as they might find something enjoyable about it. I just couldn't bear the continuous sameness that was being delivered in each chapter.
The mythology of Heracles/Hercules is vast, and I really enjoyed the POV that he isn't the great, handsome, and adorned hero but a very violent, murderous, cheating, and drunken man who can't seem to string a coherent sentence together. That all the heroes we know of in Greek mythology are very flawed and we should listen to the stories of those they oppressed and wronged.
But, it was just too much. Maybe if it was a two-parter? But this book just couldn't keep up with the momentum from the beginning and just dragged. The characters were great, but with a large cast, especially with many sharing lots of the same experiences with their encounters with Herc, they start to blend and not be as distinct or impactful as the story continues.
There are stronger mythology re-tellings that I have read this year that are a lot more solid and cohesive with the POV of the women in these stories brought to the forefront and have a powerful delivery of pace, characters and the overall story that this book is weaker in. I would still recommend it to people if they enjoy mythology and a re-telling as they might find something enjoyable about it. I just couldn't bear the continuous sameness that was being delivered in each chapter.
March 7, 2023
I finished this gem and how can I even express how amazing it was beginning to end?
Engaging and fun, but also brutal in its sincerity, Herc is a masterful rendition of the the lives of the many who crossed paths with one of the best-known heroes in ancient mythology.
If you, like me, aren't very familiarised with the Hercules myth, get ready for some jaw-dropping moments!
I never wanted it to end.
Engaging and fun, but also brutal in its sincerity, Herc is a masterful rendition of the the lives of the many who crossed paths with one of the best-known heroes in ancient mythology.
If you, like me, aren't very familiarised with the Hercules myth, get ready for some jaw-dropping moments!
I never wanted it to end.
July 15, 2023
Second reread with audiobook: if you have the ability to, 10/10 recommend doing the audiobook! The full cast brings so much life and emotion to the story it was amazing.
I am in love with this book. I genuinely never wanted it to end, was always excited for the next chapter, and wanted to gatekeep the hellll out of this book to have it be my own personal gem. But everyone deserves to read this; so September 5th everybody better show up and hop on this train because it’s a messy, sad, and crazy ride. This is not Hercules’ biography, rather the bridge of narrations of those around him who loved him or those who got caught and burned in the fire surrounding him. And I found every moment of it to be brilliant. This book felt like a giant gossip session and I loved it. It was like each character was brought into a confessional to just relish in all their honest opinions of Hercules, good or bad, and none of them held back that’s for sure.
I laughed more times than can be expected and loved the new perspectives and ways of narrations that the story was told as. Rogerson introduced such unique formats of storytelling it was so much fun. There’s a 50 point bullet point list for all 50 sisters who Herc slept with and their perspectives; it was absolutely perfect and hilarious. However the letter correspondences between characters were truly the shining stars for me. So unique and perfect for building relationships and showing personalties to people who in the original texts may not have had a lot of lines to shine.
I will say, this is a more modern retelling of classic tales. You will find more casual language in dialogue (calling prisoners “chickadees” stood out most) and insults (calling people “little shits”) that what you could assume to be found around Greece during the time of Hercules, but I found it to be an immersive, quick, and very enjoyable read. I cannot wait to see what this author decides to do next however I will pay big money to see another character focused novel come from them. It will be hard for me to find another mythology book that can top this one unless it comes from Rogerson herself.
I am in love with this book. I genuinely never wanted it to end, was always excited for the next chapter, and wanted to gatekeep the hellll out of this book to have it be my own personal gem. But everyone deserves to read this; so September 5th everybody better show up and hop on this train because it’s a messy, sad, and crazy ride. This is not Hercules’ biography, rather the bridge of narrations of those around him who loved him or those who got caught and burned in the fire surrounding him. And I found every moment of it to be brilliant. This book felt like a giant gossip session and I loved it. It was like each character was brought into a confessional to just relish in all their honest opinions of Hercules, good or bad, and none of them held back that’s for sure.
I laughed more times than can be expected and loved the new perspectives and ways of narrations that the story was told as. Rogerson introduced such unique formats of storytelling it was so much fun. There’s a 50 point bullet point list for all 50 sisters who Herc slept with and their perspectives; it was absolutely perfect and hilarious. However the letter correspondences between characters were truly the shining stars for me. So unique and perfect for building relationships and showing personalties to people who in the original texts may not have had a lot of lines to shine.
I will say, this is a more modern retelling of classic tales. You will find more casual language in dialogue (calling prisoners “chickadees” stood out most) and insults (calling people “little shits”) that what you could assume to be found around Greece during the time of Hercules, but I found it to be an immersive, quick, and very enjoyable read. I cannot wait to see what this author decides to do next however I will pay big money to see another character focused novel come from them. It will be hard for me to find another mythology book that can top this one unless it comes from Rogerson herself.
December 15, 2023
Oh boy was this a disappointment! I think it's one of the worst retellings of Greek mythology I've ever read, like just No.
November 29, 2023
A riveting compilation of first-hand accounts that expose the truth behind one Greek mythology’s most iconic figures. From family, friends, lovers, and adversaries, we see Hercules, part god, part man, part hero, and, truthfully, part monster. We see the many contradictory and complicated aspects of Hercules’ life, the ways in which his conquests were painted with the best of brushes, his flaws and the terrors he inflicted settled safely under the mantle of demigod, hero. Herc gives fascinating and candid depth into how personas are made, asking: who decides the villain of the story? Who gets to have their names emblazoned in time, and whose names do we erase for it to happen? What acts are we forgiving for the sake of a good story? A daring and personality filled novel that expertly examines how, especially in classical myths, the ways in which we choose to use our strength is what determines whether we are weak.
December 7, 2023
1/5
As someone who is Jewish I find it ironic that I'm finishing this during Chanukah and it turns out to be the worst Greek retelling I've ever read. My Jewish ancestors are probably laughing in their graves right now being like "See? Nothing good can come from those foul Hellenistic Greeks and their Seleucid Empire!" (Just jokes. Haha.)
I hate leaving bad reviews. I hate being mean about books I don't like. I hate being overly critical of someone's art. I do my best to try and find some positive in everything I read even though I might not like it or even hate it. That's why this book is only the third 1 star review I've ever given. I just can't find a single enjoyable thing about Herc. I tried. I really, really tried but Phoenicia Rogerson calling this a Hercules retelling when she can't even get her myth facts straight is just laughable. Adding on the extra insult of it being a "feminist and queer" retelling when I can absolutely assure you it's neither of those things. If Rogerson did think that then I assume she and I have two entirely different ideas of what those two words mean. Along with her far too modern dialect for a Greek retelling this book was just a disaster for me. So before I even start I want to apologise for the harshness of my review. This is not intended as any sort of hateful jab at the author or anyone else who has or might in the future enjoy this book. I'm just one random person on the internet with an opinion that's no more or less valuable that any one else. With that I'll just get to the point.
Firstly I'll start with that fact that Rogerson seems to not be a classics expert in any stretch of the word. So, she seems to take great liberties in her retelling. Which, is not a sin obviously as that's what retellings are for. However, normally they hold some symbols of truth and sticking with the basic story outline. She however did not do this. Anyone who comes into "Herc" with the idea that this is the actual story of Hercules in all its form just with a modern twist is sorely misinformed. Most hero's in Greek myth are a mix of a hero and a villain but she makes out Hercules to probably be the biggest buffoon I've ever had the displeasure of reading on page. She absolutely makes him a villain in every sense of the word and that would be a interesting concept if she actually stuck with that through her whole story. She seems to indicate that Hercules's madness that was brought about by Hera (which normally makes him a sympathetic character in normal myth) may or may not have actually been Hera at all. It's never fully stated. So, she jumps back and forth between how awful he is to "oh it wasn't his fault" to "actually he is bad" again and again and again depending on who's perspective we are getting. Realistically I see that's how people work but in the context of a novel and a retelling of a popular myth this is a disaster zone of confusion of the authors intentions. This along with making him heroic in one sentence and an absolute murderer with zero brain cells in the very next paragraph gave me whiplash as a reading experience.
She left me scratching my head multiple times at her timeline of Herc, the way she was attributing Hercules to certain stories that are normally attributed to someone else. She also seemed to not be able to get a minor few myth details right either. Here are a few examples:
* Hercs twins brother, Iphicles, has a son in this book named Pyrrhus. However, the only Pyrrhus (also called Neoptolemus) really well known in Greek myth was son of Achilles. Iphicles children with other wife (he had a few) were unknown and were later killed by herc at the same time he killed his wife. Couldn't come up with original names then? I guess?
* Rogerson also mentioned Apollo pulled the sun across the sky...it's not Apollo it's actually Helios that does that. I've only found a couple of sources that say Apollo did this. It's almost always credited to Helios. I think it was because Apollo was referenced as the sun g-d which is why a few sources say this. Maybe? However, as I said, Helios is almost always said to have done this. Maybe they were the same person at one point? I can't say. I still just think this was an odd choice to make. Why not go with the more popular option so people new to myths won't get confused if they look all this up themselves?
*Hercules is his Roman name. Heracles is is Greek name. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue. I can see this making sense as due to the Disney adaptation the name Hercules is way more popular and more people are likely to recognise it. However, in the book, he hates being called Heracles but Hercules is fine? All because of what Hera did? One is just his Greek name and the other his Roman name. It's not that deep. In my opinion, this is stupid to make an issue of his. Or some sort of character flaw. I get what she was trying to go for (Hera icky) but this just seems...silly.
These are just a few but I digress. There are many, many, weird inaccuracies or things she tried to shove in to fit some sort of agenda or word count. I don't really understand it. I'm assuming due to the absolutely insane amount of POV's we get in this book (if you hate multiple POVs this book is your worst nightmare) it's just hard to keep a story straight.
Now to the part that is what made me really dislike this book. False advertisement. Rogerson advertises this as some sort of "queer and feminist" retelling when it is very much the opposite. I admit, I did not get the book for this reason. Even though I am LGBT and a woman I absolutely do not care if a book has either of these things in them. I just like mythology. That's it. So, this isnt some sort of crusade I'm taking because I feel misrepresented. I just feel like the people who do care about these things should know a few things before jumping in.
The "queer" bit I can get out of the way really quickly. It's barely there at all and when it is it's always extremely toxic and someone dies. I'm trying to not get into spoilers here but he either gets all his male lovers killed or actually kills them. It's absolutely awful. These are just brief little flicks of his life and he just moves on to the next lover or adventure almost like nothing happened. He will feel guilty sure...but not for long. Also his first male lover is just...awful as well? Yeah I know he literally slaughtered and burned his whole family alive but I love him anyway. Oh well! That's how that character basically was. Absolutely awful.
The "feminist" bit is actually way worse and disgusting. Once again, I think Rogerson and I have different ideas of what feminism is. So, maybe that's why I didn't grasp what she was going for. All the women in this book are completely unlikeable other than Megara who was Hercules's first wife. They are all catty, bitchy, they dislike each other, they shame each other, they let the men walk all over them, and some of them actually like their abuse. The only women who don't act like this in the book are more stone cold or act like men. It's...weird. The men are actually portrayed a bit better but not by much. They come in two forms; the "I'm such a nice guy who's smart and not a macho hero" or "I'm a big dumb man hero with stupid big man muscles oogah boogah women are inferior." Like...okay? Feminism is supposed to be about equality between the sexes and showing the persecution that women have been plagued with for centuries. Not playing into toxic female stereotypes or man-hating. If you want a good example of an absolutely FANTASTIC feminist retelling please check out Madeline Miller's "Circe". It's brilliant. It shows the character flaws of both sexes (mortal and immortal), the struggles of women that are still relatable to women today, and a female characters journey of overcoming her station and situation. That's a feminist retelling. Not this. I'll leave you with a few examples before I move on:
*When we get to the perspective of Ariadne, who's mother notoriously was cursed by Poseidon to have physical relations with a bull and gave birth to the minotaur, she says and I quote "She said Poseidon made her do it. Fuck, even Dad said Poseidon made her do it, but it doesn't matter. She shouldn't have done it. She should have resisted, stayed my mum as well as my mother." Resisted? RESISTED?? Really??? From Poseidon? Who notoriously definitely never, ever does any sort of crimes against women ever? If she were real I'd ask Medusa how she felt about that sentence. Not only is it victim blaming it's also pitting women against women.
*The fifty and graffiti chapters were just disturbing and really wasn't necessary to add. Especially in the context of a retelling. I feel sick just remembering it. Sexual assault of fifty women and young girls and the author makes it into an absolute joke in the very next section after describing it. It's really disgraceful. Normally, it wouldn't bother me. This stuff happens in myth. However, once again, if you are advertising your book as a feminist retelling this isn't the way to do it. Are you joking about sexual assault? Trying to empower the fact that fifty women and young girls were forced to sleep with Hercules against their will? I'm so confused. Maybe I missed the point. I don't know.
*In a chapter with Hercs sister Laonome she mentions "You know nothing about politics until you organise tea for a crowd of women who can barely pretend they don't hate each other..." No other context about why these women might not like each other. Zero reasons. So, plays into the stereotype of women being catty toward each other that I mentioned earlier.
The last thing I'll mention is Rogersons choice of using exceptionally modern language and humour for the retelling. It was juvenile at best and flat out eye rolling at worst. This may be my personal bias as this is just not my taste in story telling but it was just bad. Below I'm going to list many phrases and words that were used in this story that made me sigh, eye roll, or just get frustrated with:
*Confusing bullshit
*Coolest
*Old shit hooves (referring to Chiron)
*Fingering (very immature tee hee funny word joke like we are all twelve)
*I'd fucked it
*Eejit (really? Ancient Greeks saying this?)
*Running a kingdom becomes irksome without snacks.
*Cuz (really? Couldn't just say cousin?)
*Fee fie foe fum
*Cheaty
*Manliest man to ever be a man
*A fuck-off (lion, boar, etc. I don't get it either.)
*Dear Augeaus, of the shittiest horses. (This whole section of letters back and forth had the humour of the lowest rated marvel film Disney loves to shove down our throats five times a year)
*Chickadees
*Fucked-up drunk
*Innit (I repeat...really? Ancient Greeks saying this?)
*S'up
*Bro
*Apollo (a literal ancient Greek g-d) says and I quote "Fucked if I know, gimme a sec."
*Xeny (a absolutely stupid nickname for the Oracle of Delphi Xenoclea by Hercules)
*The fucking bees knees
*Dude
*Hippy bullshit
*Out-fart
So yeah, needless to say I don't recommend this book at all. I almost DNF'd it so many times I can't even count but I just wanted to see if it got better and it didn't. I hope you all enjoy this much more than I did. Maybe I'm just a prude that doesn't know how to have fun. Who knows?
As someone who is Jewish I find it ironic that I'm finishing this during Chanukah and it turns out to be the worst Greek retelling I've ever read. My Jewish ancestors are probably laughing in their graves right now being like "See? Nothing good can come from those foul Hellenistic Greeks and their Seleucid Empire!" (Just jokes. Haha.)
I hate leaving bad reviews. I hate being mean about books I don't like. I hate being overly critical of someone's art. I do my best to try and find some positive in everything I read even though I might not like it or even hate it. That's why this book is only the third 1 star review I've ever given. I just can't find a single enjoyable thing about Herc. I tried. I really, really tried but Phoenicia Rogerson calling this a Hercules retelling when she can't even get her myth facts straight is just laughable. Adding on the extra insult of it being a "feminist and queer" retelling when I can absolutely assure you it's neither of those things. If Rogerson did think that then I assume she and I have two entirely different ideas of what those two words mean. Along with her far too modern dialect for a Greek retelling this book was just a disaster for me. So before I even start I want to apologise for the harshness of my review. This is not intended as any sort of hateful jab at the author or anyone else who has or might in the future enjoy this book. I'm just one random person on the internet with an opinion that's no more or less valuable that any one else. With that I'll just get to the point.
Firstly I'll start with that fact that Rogerson seems to not be a classics expert in any stretch of the word. So, she seems to take great liberties in her retelling. Which, is not a sin obviously as that's what retellings are for. However, normally they hold some symbols of truth and sticking with the basic story outline. She however did not do this. Anyone who comes into "Herc" with the idea that this is the actual story of Hercules in all its form just with a modern twist is sorely misinformed. Most hero's in Greek myth are a mix of a hero and a villain but she makes out Hercules to probably be the biggest buffoon I've ever had the displeasure of reading on page. She absolutely makes him a villain in every sense of the word and that would be a interesting concept if she actually stuck with that through her whole story. She seems to indicate that Hercules's madness that was brought about by Hera (which normally makes him a sympathetic character in normal myth) may or may not have actually been Hera at all. It's never fully stated. So, she jumps back and forth between how awful he is to "oh it wasn't his fault" to "actually he is bad" again and again and again depending on who's perspective we are getting. Realistically I see that's how people work but in the context of a novel and a retelling of a popular myth this is a disaster zone of confusion of the authors intentions. This along with making him heroic in one sentence and an absolute murderer with zero brain cells in the very next paragraph gave me whiplash as a reading experience.
She left me scratching my head multiple times at her timeline of Herc, the way she was attributing Hercules to certain stories that are normally attributed to someone else. She also seemed to not be able to get a minor few myth details right either. Here are a few examples:
* Hercs twins brother, Iphicles, has a son in this book named Pyrrhus. However, the only Pyrrhus (also called Neoptolemus) really well known in Greek myth was son of Achilles. Iphicles children with other wife (he had a few) were unknown and were later killed by herc at the same time he killed his wife. Couldn't come up with original names then? I guess?
* Rogerson also mentioned Apollo pulled the sun across the sky...it's not Apollo it's actually Helios that does that. I've only found a couple of sources that say Apollo did this. It's almost always credited to Helios. I think it was because Apollo was referenced as the sun g-d which is why a few sources say this. Maybe? However, as I said, Helios is almost always said to have done this. Maybe they were the same person at one point? I can't say. I still just think this was an odd choice to make. Why not go with the more popular option so people new to myths won't get confused if they look all this up themselves?
*Hercules is his Roman name. Heracles is is Greek name. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue. I can see this making sense as due to the Disney adaptation the name Hercules is way more popular and more people are likely to recognise it. However, in the book, he hates being called Heracles but Hercules is fine? All because of what Hera did? One is just his Greek name and the other his Roman name. It's not that deep. In my opinion, this is stupid to make an issue of his. Or some sort of character flaw. I get what she was trying to go for (Hera icky) but this just seems...silly.
These are just a few but I digress. There are many, many, weird inaccuracies or things she tried to shove in to fit some sort of agenda or word count. I don't really understand it. I'm assuming due to the absolutely insane amount of POV's we get in this book (if you hate multiple POVs this book is your worst nightmare) it's just hard to keep a story straight.
Now to the part that is what made me really dislike this book. False advertisement. Rogerson advertises this as some sort of "queer and feminist" retelling when it is very much the opposite. I admit, I did not get the book for this reason. Even though I am LGBT and a woman I absolutely do not care if a book has either of these things in them. I just like mythology. That's it. So, this isnt some sort of crusade I'm taking because I feel misrepresented. I just feel like the people who do care about these things should know a few things before jumping in.
The "queer" bit I can get out of the way really quickly. It's barely there at all and when it is it's always extremely toxic and someone dies. I'm trying to not get into spoilers here but he either gets all his male lovers killed or actually kills them. It's absolutely awful. These are just brief little flicks of his life and he just moves on to the next lover or adventure almost like nothing happened. He will feel guilty sure...but not for long. Also his first male lover is just...awful as well? Yeah I know he literally slaughtered and burned his whole family alive but I love him anyway. Oh well! That's how that character basically was. Absolutely awful.
The "feminist" bit is actually way worse and disgusting. Once again, I think Rogerson and I have different ideas of what feminism is. So, maybe that's why I didn't grasp what she was going for. All the women in this book are completely unlikeable other than Megara who was Hercules's first wife. They are all catty, bitchy, they dislike each other, they shame each other, they let the men walk all over them, and some of them actually like their abuse. The only women who don't act like this in the book are more stone cold or act like men. It's...weird. The men are actually portrayed a bit better but not by much. They come in two forms; the "I'm such a nice guy who's smart and not a macho hero" or "I'm a big dumb man hero with stupid big man muscles oogah boogah women are inferior." Like...okay? Feminism is supposed to be about equality between the sexes and showing the persecution that women have been plagued with for centuries. Not playing into toxic female stereotypes or man-hating. If you want a good example of an absolutely FANTASTIC feminist retelling please check out Madeline Miller's "Circe". It's brilliant. It shows the character flaws of both sexes (mortal and immortal), the struggles of women that are still relatable to women today, and a female characters journey of overcoming her station and situation. That's a feminist retelling. Not this. I'll leave you with a few examples before I move on:
*When we get to the perspective of Ariadne, who's mother notoriously was cursed by Poseidon to have physical relations with a bull and gave birth to the minotaur, she says and I quote "She said Poseidon made her do it. Fuck, even Dad said Poseidon made her do it, but it doesn't matter. She shouldn't have done it. She should have resisted, stayed my mum as well as my mother." Resisted? RESISTED?? Really??? From Poseidon? Who notoriously definitely never, ever does any sort of crimes against women ever? If she were real I'd ask Medusa how she felt about that sentence. Not only is it victim blaming it's also pitting women against women.
*The fifty and graffiti chapters were just disturbing and really wasn't necessary to add. Especially in the context of a retelling. I feel sick just remembering it. Sexual assault of fifty women and young girls and the author makes it into an absolute joke in the very next section after describing it. It's really disgraceful. Normally, it wouldn't bother me. This stuff happens in myth. However, once again, if you are advertising your book as a feminist retelling this isn't the way to do it. Are you joking about sexual assault? Trying to empower the fact that fifty women and young girls were forced to sleep with Hercules against their will? I'm so confused. Maybe I missed the point. I don't know.
*In a chapter with Hercs sister Laonome she mentions "You know nothing about politics until you organise tea for a crowd of women who can barely pretend they don't hate each other..." No other context about why these women might not like each other. Zero reasons. So, plays into the stereotype of women being catty toward each other that I mentioned earlier.
The last thing I'll mention is Rogersons choice of using exceptionally modern language and humour for the retelling. It was juvenile at best and flat out eye rolling at worst. This may be my personal bias as this is just not my taste in story telling but it was just bad. Below I'm going to list many phrases and words that were used in this story that made me sigh, eye roll, or just get frustrated with:
*Confusing bullshit
*Coolest
*Old shit hooves (referring to Chiron)
*Fingering (very immature tee hee funny word joke like we are all twelve)
*I'd fucked it
*Eejit (really? Ancient Greeks saying this?)
*Running a kingdom becomes irksome without snacks.
*Cuz (really? Couldn't just say cousin?)
*Fee fie foe fum
*Cheaty
*Manliest man to ever be a man
*A fuck-off (lion, boar, etc. I don't get it either.)
*Dear Augeaus, of the shittiest horses. (This whole section of letters back and forth had the humour of the lowest rated marvel film Disney loves to shove down our throats five times a year)
*Chickadees
*Fucked-up drunk
*Innit (I repeat...really? Ancient Greeks saying this?)
*S'up
*Bro
*Apollo (a literal ancient Greek g-d) says and I quote "Fucked if I know, gimme a sec."
*Xeny (a absolutely stupid nickname for the Oracle of Delphi Xenoclea by Hercules)
*The fucking bees knees
*Dude
*Hippy bullshit
*Out-fart
So yeah, needless to say I don't recommend this book at all. I almost DNF'd it so many times I can't even count but I just wanted to see if it got better and it didn't. I hope you all enjoy this much more than I did. Maybe I'm just a prude that doesn't know how to have fun. Who knows?
September 30, 2023
DNF at 25% 💔
The idea of the book is good but the choice to use modern language while doing a classic retelling was awful - and the fact that the whole appeal of the book is shifting PoVs while all the PoVs sound the same makes the whole PoV shifting pointless. I could see myself returning to the book one day but right now I just couldn't get through it. Cover looks cute though.
The idea of the book is good but the choice to use modern language while doing a classic retelling was awful - and the fact that the whole appeal of the book is shifting PoVs while all the PoVs sound the same makes the whole PoV shifting pointless. I could see myself returning to the book one day but right now I just couldn't get through it. Cover looks cute though.
March 1, 2023
On my blog.
Rep: bi mc, achillean mc, gay mc
CWs: child death, animal death
Galley provided by publisher
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.
Rep: bi mc, achillean mc, gay mc
CWs: child death, animal death
Galley provided by publisher
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.
July 4, 2026
‘It hurts,’ Hercules said finally, like the words had to be drawn from the stone beneath his feet, through his bones and his sinew until finally it crawled without energy from his mouth. ‘To keep grieving, one right after the other. I hope you can be free of it.’
June 21, 2023
Hercules is roman. Heracles is greek.
September 9, 2023
I adored this. I don’t think it will be for everyone- it’s told through a very modern lens with modern language, but I think that’s what makes it so special.
This is the story of Heracles (Hercules) told in a mosaic of stories and view points, without ever giving Herc his own chapter. He’s portrayed as a sort of tragic figure, which I’m not really sure I agree with overall, but I enjoyed the book as a whole enough that I am willing to overlook it.
Rogerson does character work so very well. Each character feels unique and gives their own perspective and outlook on things. We have mighty huntresses alongside bitter witches (I’m looking at you Ariadne, not a condemnation, I loved every chapter she was in) alongside strong wives and mothers all. We had heroes and a reflection on heroism and it’s portrayal in stories. We had good honest men and fathers along side kings with petty rivalries…
I had a tough time keeping a lot of those “I-“ names straight but really, it’s impressive to include so many characters and make them all feel unique.
It reminded me a lot of The Mere Wife in some ways (though I’d rank the commentary in The Mere Wife above what we get here).
There is a part early on that’s pretty disturbing. It’s in one of Meg’s chapters. I was not prepared, and I had to put the book down for a few days after that, but I think it was handled fairly well. (This is where I’m conflicted about the “tragic” portrayal. Meg’s assessment is damning, and I wish it had maintained a little more consistency through to the end in that portrayal of Herc.)
I also enjoyed that the author was able to tie in so much mythology. I’m sure I didn’t recognize all of it, but there’s a chapter from Priam’s point of view, Jason and the Argonauts, Atalanta, Theseus and the Minotaur, Ariadne and Dionysus… it was overall just really fun.
Oh! Almost forgot to add, there’s almost a mixed media element to this. One chapter is titled Wall Graffiti or something similar, and it’s from the 50 sisters writing back and forth to each other like you might find on a bathroom stall, there are notes and wedding invitations- I just thought it was a fun way to tell a classic.
I can’t wait to see what the author does next.
This is the story of Heracles (Hercules) told in a mosaic of stories and view points, without ever giving Herc his own chapter. He’s portrayed as a sort of tragic figure, which I’m not really sure I agree with overall, but I enjoyed the book as a whole enough that I am willing to overlook it.
Rogerson does character work so very well. Each character feels unique and gives their own perspective and outlook on things. We have mighty huntresses alongside bitter witches (I’m looking at you Ariadne, not a condemnation, I loved every chapter she was in) alongside strong wives and mothers all. We had heroes and a reflection on heroism and it’s portrayal in stories. We had good honest men and fathers along side kings with petty rivalries…
I had a tough time keeping a lot of those “I-“ names straight but really, it’s impressive to include so many characters and make them all feel unique.
It reminded me a lot of The Mere Wife in some ways (though I’d rank the commentary in The Mere Wife above what we get here).
There is a part early on that’s pretty disturbing. It’s in one of Meg’s chapters. I was not prepared, and I had to put the book down for a few days after that, but I think it was handled fairly well. (This is where I’m conflicted about the “tragic” portrayal. Meg’s assessment is damning, and I wish it had maintained a little more consistency through to the end in that portrayal of Herc.)
I also enjoyed that the author was able to tie in so much mythology. I’m sure I didn’t recognize all of it, but there’s a chapter from Priam’s point of view, Jason and the Argonauts, Atalanta, Theseus and the Minotaur, Ariadne and Dionysus… it was overall just really fun.
Oh! Almost forgot to add, there’s almost a mixed media element to this. One chapter is titled Wall Graffiti or something similar, and it’s from the 50 sisters writing back and forth to each other like you might find on a bathroom stall, there are notes and wedding invitations- I just thought it was a fun way to tell a classic.
I can’t wait to see what the author does next.
September 16, 2023
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.
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.
Read
February 16, 2023I recieved an arc for this and I'm very excited! No review until August 2023.
November 1, 2026
The epitaph: "Here Lies Heracles, Son of Zeus"
This was a fascinating tale of the Greek demi-God, Hercules, for those of us who somewhat know about the 12 Labors, somewhat of his origin, somewhat of his first family. This was a great way to bring history to glorious life...by telling it from those in his life, from his birth to his sad death. I enjoyed this so so much!
IMMORTALS: Zeus (King of the Gods), Heracles/H/Hercules/Herc (Zeus's son), Io (Zeus' lover), MUSES (Zeus' daughters, in charge of music & the arts), Apollo (God of the Sun and Music, Patron of Oracle of Delphi), Hera (Zeus' wife; Goddess of Marriage), Hyacinth (one of his lovers; he died from horrible horseshoe incident), Pythia (Oracle at Delphi, uncoordinated fortune teller), Deiphobus (doctor), Artemis (Apollo's older twin; Goddess of the Moon, the Hunt, and Childbirth), The Fates (goddesses who weave the future together), Chiron (centaur, teacher of many heroes; half-brother of Zeus), Hermes (God of Messengers and Thieves, makes many trips to Hades), Aphrodite (goddess of Love, married to Hephaestus, sleeping with Ares), Hephaestus (Aphrodite's husband), Ares (God of War), Helios (titan of the Sun), Thanatos (God of Death), Hades (god of the Underworld), Cerebus (Hades' dog, has 3 heads), Persephone (Goddess of Springtime; daughter to Demeter, married to Hades), Charon (gets you into Hades for coin), Poseidon (god of the Sea and Earthquakes), Atlas (titan who holds up the sky), Hestia (goddess of Hearth and Home), Asclepius (son of Apollo and god of Medicine), Athena (goddess of Wisdom), Hephaestus (god of the forge; deity of fire, metalworking, volcanoes), Demeter (goddess of the harvest, nice until you kidnap her daughter), Pan (god of the Wild, half goat, claimed to be dead), Dionysus (god of Wine, Ecstasy, and Madness; he will party until you are dead from it), The Maenads (followers of Dionysus, all female), Ariadne (former princess of Crete, immortal wife of Dionysus, trust issues), Prometheus (titan of forethought; he gave man fire, then he had his liver eaten by eagles).
THE FAMILY - some
Alcmene - Heracles' mother, had knives everywhere
Amphitryon - Heracle's stepfather, a military man, King of Thebes
Iphicles - Herc's twin and half-brother, the responsible brother
Automedusa - Iphicles' wife
Iolaus - son of Iphicles & Automedusa; a charioteer & drinking buddy of Herc
Hylas -
Laonome - Herc's HALF-sister
Megara - Heracles's first wife
This was a fascinating tale of the Greek demi-God, Hercules, for those of us who somewhat know about the 12 Labors, somewhat of his origin, somewhat of his first family. This was a great way to bring history to glorious life...by telling it from those in his life, from his birth to his sad death. I enjoyed this so so much!
IMMORTALS: Zeus (King of the Gods), Heracles/H/Hercules/Herc (Zeus's son), Io (Zeus' lover), MUSES (Zeus' daughters, in charge of music & the arts), Apollo (God of the Sun and Music, Patron of Oracle of Delphi), Hera (Zeus' wife; Goddess of Marriage), Hyacinth (one of his lovers; he died from horrible horseshoe incident), Pythia (Oracle at Delphi, uncoordinated fortune teller), Deiphobus (doctor), Artemis (Apollo's older twin; Goddess of the Moon, the Hunt, and Childbirth), The Fates (goddesses who weave the future together), Chiron (centaur, teacher of many heroes; half-brother of Zeus), Hermes (God of Messengers and Thieves, makes many trips to Hades), Aphrodite (goddess of Love, married to Hephaestus, sleeping with Ares), Hephaestus (Aphrodite's husband), Ares (God of War), Helios (titan of the Sun), Thanatos (God of Death), Hades (god of the Underworld), Cerebus (Hades' dog, has 3 heads), Persephone (Goddess of Springtime; daughter to Demeter, married to Hades), Charon (gets you into Hades for coin), Poseidon (god of the Sea and Earthquakes), Atlas (titan who holds up the sky), Hestia (goddess of Hearth and Home), Asclepius (son of Apollo and god of Medicine), Athena (goddess of Wisdom), Hephaestus (god of the forge; deity of fire, metalworking, volcanoes), Demeter (goddess of the harvest, nice until you kidnap her daughter), Pan (god of the Wild, half goat, claimed to be dead), Dionysus (god of Wine, Ecstasy, and Madness; he will party until you are dead from it), The Maenads (followers of Dionysus, all female), Ariadne (former princess of Crete, immortal wife of Dionysus, trust issues), Prometheus (titan of forethought; he gave man fire, then he had his liver eaten by eagles).
THE FAMILY - some
Alcmene - Heracles' mother, had knives everywhere
Amphitryon - Heracle's stepfather, a military man, King of Thebes
Iphicles - Herc's twin and half-brother, the responsible brother
Automedusa - Iphicles' wife
Iolaus - son of Iphicles & Automedusa; a charioteer & drinking buddy of Herc
Hylas -
Laonome - Herc's HALF-sister
Megara - Heracles's first wife
May 14, 2024
Ok. A few thoughts. First 100 or so pages was unconvinced. And then. Not what I expected, at all. This book had me laughing like a mad woman in public. Did not expect it to be this funny. Eurystheus was my favourite (did not see that one coming at all), Hylas, Hades, Apollo were all class. However just felt there were too many perspectives throughout and it was hard to keep up or connect with anyone properly? Also expected a lot more feminine input and rage. Still an interesting read overall though and honestly worth it just for the letters between Eurystheus and Augeas ✨
August 29, 2023
Herc is a unique retelling of Hercules told through the people around him. It’s not a story of his twelve labors or his endless adventures but is instead a story of how Hercules’s actions impacted those around him. Told from a multitude of perspectives, but never from his own, Herc reveals the man behind the heroic reputation. His parents, friends, wife, lovers, kings, and more have stories to tell and many are irrevocably changed by Hercules influence. It was interesting to have so many different points of view, each with a distinct voice and perspective.
Rogerson creates a layered and complicated, whole protagonist through other people’s anecdotes, which I found fascinating. Never do we get his perspective, and he is not always shed in the best light. This is no watered-down Disney version. Instead, it’s a much darker story of the hero, and he doesn’t seem like a hero at all. I like that the story doesn’t shy away from some of the more brutal and horrific actions of Hercules. Instead, we read of the good and bad of Hercules from reliable and biased sources and see a flawed, complex, and layered man who is quite different from the hero often depicted in literature and film.
I was a bit surprised by the more modern language used. It was different and unexpected, and though it sometimes took me out of the story a bit, I generally liked it. There is some wit and humor as well, which I enjoyed. I also liked the pacing. The chapters aren’t overly long, and the constant switch in perspectives made it flow well. However, I could see some readers struggle with so many perspectives. Luckily, the book includes a glossary at the end for reference.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
Rogerson creates a layered and complicated, whole protagonist through other people’s anecdotes, which I found fascinating. Never do we get his perspective, and he is not always shed in the best light. This is no watered-down Disney version. Instead, it’s a much darker story of the hero, and he doesn’t seem like a hero at all. I like that the story doesn’t shy away from some of the more brutal and horrific actions of Hercules. Instead, we read of the good and bad of Hercules from reliable and biased sources and see a flawed, complex, and layered man who is quite different from the hero often depicted in literature and film.
I was a bit surprised by the more modern language used. It was different and unexpected, and though it sometimes took me out of the story a bit, I generally liked it. There is some wit and humor as well, which I enjoyed. I also liked the pacing. The chapters aren’t overly long, and the constant switch in perspectives made it flow well. However, I could see some readers struggle with so many perspectives. Luckily, the book includes a glossary at the end for reference.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
January 14, 2025
4.5 Stars
January 27, 2024
"𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐜'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨. 𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭."
A greek mythology retelling that needs to be on everyone's TBR! Herc is inspired by the famous Hercules and is a raw retelling detailing his life.
How did people describe Hercules? "𝐌𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦." "𝐅𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬." "𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲."
How will I describe him? He was a flawed character but one who still had his moments of glory. I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did! At first, I thought the story would be told from Herc's POV, but then I was surprised by a multiple POV. Sometimes multiple POVs can be confusing, but Rogerson wrote it so well that the reader is well aware and can keep track.
We see Herc through other's eyes, how he impacted their lives, how they fell in and out of love with him. I have never read a retelling of Hercules and never thought that his story could be so interesting, but I was proven wrong. A list of characters is included at the back, and greek mythology lovers will spot some familiar names who make an appearance in this story.
I highly recommend reading this book! It would be the perfect book to sit alongside The Song of Achilles and Circe.
Many thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
"𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧."
"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐭."
A greek mythology retelling that needs to be on everyone's TBR! Herc is inspired by the famous Hercules and is a raw retelling detailing his life.
How did people describe Hercules? "𝐌𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦." "𝐅𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬." "𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞, 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲."
How will I describe him? He was a flawed character but one who still had his moments of glory. I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did! At first, I thought the story would be told from Herc's POV, but then I was surprised by a multiple POV. Sometimes multiple POVs can be confusing, but Rogerson wrote it so well that the reader is well aware and can keep track.
We see Herc through other's eyes, how he impacted their lives, how they fell in and out of love with him. I have never read a retelling of Hercules and never thought that his story could be so interesting, but I was proven wrong. A list of characters is included at the back, and greek mythology lovers will spot some familiar names who make an appearance in this story.
I highly recommend reading this book! It would be the perfect book to sit alongside The Song of Achilles and Circe.
Many thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
"𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧."
"𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐢𝐭."
October 9, 2023
3.5 (rtc)
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.
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.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,374 reviews