Reviews

Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson

Only show reviews with written explanations

erikariehigano22's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a retelling! I salute Rogerson in their attempt to collate and portray the various branches of Greek Mythology stories where Heracles was the centre of it. Just as their author's notes said, Heracles is "right there in the middle of it." This is an exemplary exhibit of exploring the development of a protagonist through the perspective of another character. And unlike other retellings, it involved various characters my fingers and toes could not count. Not even once did Heracles had his own chapter in his own point of view and this was the charm of this book that was unique and extraordinary despite how simple it sounded.

I also cannot believe this was my first exposure into Heracles' death LOL. Like I didn't think his death would be so.... anti-climatic? For all his glory and ambitious feats of victory, as well as the wrath and violence he had displayed, it was a curse no less casted by a centaur and administered by his own wife that finally cut the threads of his mortal life.

I had not expected for his twin brother Iphicles to pass away in battle. But I think that was the foreshadowing in Laonome's last chapter. Anyhow, I liked how this became the catalyst of their conclusion, the beginning of the end.

~~I would have finished this sooner if only life and adulting issues had not happen, as well as falling down from grace in uni coursework lol....~~

I highly recommend this book. Thank you to my friend Nathan for giving this to me on my birthday earlier this year. Although the language had some modern slang that took me off sometimes in the immersion, it was not worse and Rogerson's prose still captivated me and brought me back to the ancient world where Heracles was the centre of everyone's stories throughout ancient Greece.

Content Warnings