Volume 4 of Lore Olympus is fantastic. I have been reading the series on Webtoons and it’s nice to go back and revisit these early episodes. It puts a lot of the story into perspective. You can see the foreshadowing and the attention to detail Smythe puts into her story line. We get a few more hints that something bad has happened in Persephone’s past but we don’t yet know what it is. We see more of the history between Hades and Hera. The flashbacks are solid storytelling that shows more about who the characters are and why they act the way they do. I love the unique way Smythe blends current issues and the modern world with the myths of long ago. Persephone deals with a lot from the fallout of what happened with Apollo. The abusive relationship between Minthe and Hades is awful as well. The trigger warnings at the beginning are very important because these are very real problems and trauma. The details Smythe gives her characters - whether physical attributes, personality traits, or symbolic details - are beautifully rendered and make her characters more layered. The backstories are interesting. These episodes certainly make a reader want to know more about Persephone, the Six Traitors, Ares, Eros, Ampelus, Metis, Nyx, and so many more. She could easily give it all away but she does a slow reveal, which keeps a reader hooked. I love the playful sense of humor that balances the mysterious undertones and difficult subject matter. There are a few panels that always make me smile or even burst out laughing.
I do wonder about some parts of the overall story. The gossip is pretty strong on Mt. Olympus and at least a couple people know what Persephone really is (besides the goddess of spring). However, no one gossips about that. I suppose because those who know want to use it for their own designs. Semele was not how I imagined her. Her story is rather sad since she was tricked into asking to see Zeus in his godly form. She always seemed a tragic figure. Here, she’s a little kooky. I still have so many questions about how the Six Traitors took out Kronos because it’s important for later story lines.
I do love these books and I am excited to see volume five come out in a few months.