Heracles may be the son of Zeus, but he does all his deeds in the name of Hera, the goddess of families. When he is struck with madness by a mysterious god and kills his children, he’s sure Hera will return that devotion and help him gain revenge on whoever it was that did it – not realizing that she has hated him all along.
Greek mythology retellings have been in vogue in the last few years, following heroes and villains alike and reinterpreting their stories. What sets this book apart from the crowd and caught my attention is that Wiswell deviates from the myths in that Heracles chooses to befriend the monsters he is meant to capture or slay.
I expected humor from the premise, and there’s plenty of that in this book. But there’s a heartfelt exploration of grief too, and what it means to be mortal and carry mortal burdens. I loved how Wiswell interpreted the 12 Labors of Heracles in the light of processing guilt and grief, as well as the meta twist on how those stories might have come down transformed through the ages. As such this kinder, quieter retelling has more emotional heft than if the story had just been told straight.
However, I did think the pacing was slow in the middle, as Heracles wanders the land and Hera wrestles with the new concept of accountability. After the first few tasks, you begin to anticipate the pattern and then it just wears on you. That both Hera and Heracles makes for such unreliable narrators means that the story becomes disjointed at times, their interpretation of other characters’ decisions so off-base I found myself getting confused too.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.