Scan barcode
clovetra's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ok i think i can say i am a self-proclaimed greek mythology retelling lover. do they probably water down & bastardise the original myths? probably! do i care? nope!
look i’ve tried to read the actual works (looks at the odyssey with a glare) and i fucking hated it the whole time. but when they’re rewritten in the 21st century??? ohhhh ill never get enough of them.
this book was so quippy. bro there were so many fire one-liners. the story was incredibly lighthearted (which i needed!) yet entertaining. every character’s personality oozes through the pages, and you are sitting there rooting for everyone (except hercules he can get fucked).
i liked how this explained everything for my goo goo ga ga brain. i don’t know shit about greek mythology but boy did i love this! i loved how a big focus was on the women in his life, but also largely focused on what a dick hercules was. yeah he did some good things but bro if this story doesn’t have fictionalised aspects…… yeah he deserved what he got in the end.
i’ll be real i didn’t know shit about hercules except he’s strong before this. i’m so happy this book simultaneously educated and entertained me, which honestly i find it hard to find a book able to do this.
i’ll be real tho and say that keeping track of everyone’s names is so hard. yeah that’s the point & the author literally references how everyone has the same name (iole, iolanus, and the other one who i forget). but i can’t say it didn’t confuse the shit out of me. i think my baby brain needed a biiiiiit more context going in to make this a 5-star ranking. but honestly for me i think that is all that is holding the book back, and it isn’t even the book’s fault!!!! it’s just cuz im uneducated regarding greek mythology!!!!!!!
anyways i fuck with meg from disney’s hercules even more now. SHE DESERVED BETTER!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Infidelity, War, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Violence, and Slavery
Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, Cursing, Animal death, and Death of parent
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.
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 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
Graphic: Addiction, Cannibalism, Death, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Sexism, Slavery, Alcoholism, Grief, Infidelity, Alcohol, Abandonment, Cursing, Misogyny, Child death, and War
danny_fox's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Honestly... this book can just be described as a rollercoaster.
It was crazy funny at times when you would have characters talk in more modern ways than they are supposed to.
It would be absolutely shocking when you would have some dark scenes be described in such a way that left me actually, properly speechless.
And Herc or Herakles/Hercules as a character is just... a rollercoaster. And yet he is so amazingly written, and the fact that you never see his perspective makes the book all the more better.
Instead, you get to see how all other characters saw him, and how their perspectives are different from one another, where some see him in a more positive light and some see him as a monster. And hence there are times when you hate him, and yet when you also feel bad for him.
This book is a perfect mix of depression and happiness and joy and sadness and characters who you will love one moment and then hate (in a good way) next.
It's one of the most unique books I read about Greek mythology, and definitely one of my favorites. I had way too much reading it.
And goddamn it, it almost actually made me cry on a couple of occasions.
I'm looking forward to reading more stuff from the author, as their writing style is so unique and genuinely so nice.
I highly recommend it, but do be aware of trigger warnings, as there are some rather uncomfortable scenes.
Also, I wished there was more Hylas content (especially at the end) cause he was my favorite character, but that's just personal opinion. :(
It was crazy funny at times when you would have characters talk in more modern ways than they are supposed to.
It would be absolutely shocking when you would have some dark scenes be described in such a way that left me actually, properly speechless.
And Herc or Herakles/Hercules as a character is just... a rollercoaster. And yet he is so amazingly written, and the fact that you never see his perspective makes the book all the more better.
Instead, you get to see how all other characters saw him, and how their perspectives are different from one another, where some see him in a more positive light and some see him as a monster. And hence there are times when you hate him, and yet when you also feel bad for him.
This book is a perfect mix of depression and happiness and joy and sadness and characters who you will love one moment and then hate (in a good way) next.
It's one of the most unique books I read about Greek mythology, and definitely one of my favorites. I had way too much reading it.
And goddamn it, it almost actually made me cry on a couple of occasions.
I'm looking forward to reading more stuff from the author, as their writing style is so unique and genuinely so nice.
I highly recommend it, but do be aware of trigger warnings, as there are some rather uncomfortable scenes.
Also, I wished there was more Hylas content (especially at the end) cause he was my favorite character, but that's just personal opinion. :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Alcohol, Grief, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing and War
llyrian's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
What a wild ride.
I have a lot of feelings after reading this, and although it's in a very unique form for a greek mythology retelling it was one of the best ones I've read so far!
The main way of storytelling in this book, which is the shades of Herc's family, friends and lovers remembering him in a wild mix of ancient and modern language, was fascinating, and after about the halfway point the subtitle on the title page kept running in my mind because it's the entire point of the book:
Hero.
Husband.
Father.
Villain.
Monster.
Highly recommend this book!
Can't wait for Phoenicia's future work, too!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Alcoholism, Violence, Grief, Child abuse, Cursing, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Addiction, Abandonment, Bullying, and Death of parent
gondorgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Violence, War, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Death of parent, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
More...