This book retells the life of Hercules through some of the people he most affects, from his parents, to his siblings, to his wives, and lovers. The reader is presented with all these different perspectives on Hercules, all people with their own motivations and feelings. There's no definitive Hercules and it's left to the reader to decide whether he's a hero, villain, or something in between.

You're either going to love this or hate it due to the writing style. It's informal and irreverent, almost like a conversation between friends, spilling all the gossip. Personally, I loved it and it kept me turning the pages. I think this is a unique addition to the recent spate of Greek mythology retellings and I look forward to seeing what the author does next.

I really enjoyed this - was sceptical at first of another greek retelling - especially hercules a story we know so well... buttl this one focuses on the women in Herc's life and is such a fresh and original take on the story.

Bit of a slow burn but eventually I was invested - I would say persevere through the first few chapters - especially if youre a fan of greek legends

Thanks to HQ Stories for my copy of HERC.I loved how we have the preselected of the 4 .Being a fan of Greek mythology, the thought of Hercules' story being recounted from the viewpoint of others around him rather than from his seemed like a fresh take on an old tale. The story demonstrates how his decisions affected individuals around him throughout his life and how he handled the fallout. I liked the novel because it focused on the people Hercules affected through his travels rather than his fame and demise. Herc was told from a variety of perspectives, some of which were funnier than others but all of them were entertaining in some way.

Due to his pure sass and absolute contempt for others, Eurystheus was my favourite point of view. When the author penned those chapters from this POV, it added a much-appreciated air of superiority and lightheartedness to a novel that was rife with murder.

The humorous points of view are all told in a casual, colloquial style, which felt out of place in the time and place of the novel but also made it easier to follow the plot rather than utilising a more formal, flowery style.

I must admit that my knowledge of Greek myths, particularly Hercules peaked in primary school and was only really strengthened later in life by the Disney movie. When I read the blurb for Herc – a retelling of Hercules’ story from the perspective of the friends, family and enemies in his life, I was instantly intrigued.

What a story it is – and much less PG than Disney would have you believe! There was a lot about the crazy story of Herc that had been left out of my primary school education and perhaps for good reason. I think going into this mostly without context is a great way to read it as I honestly didn’t know where the story was going to go or what madcap adventure would be next. I’d heard of Theseus and the Minotaur, the Hydra and Jason and the Argonauts who turn up in the book but I had no idea of his Godly curse, what actually happened to his wife Megara or the cross-dressing Queen Omphale.

The chapters alternate between a wide range of characters who interacted with Hercules throughout his life, some just as a one-off to further the story, some as reoccurring characters who usually come back a few times before encountering their deaths. This was a really refreshing narrative device and really kept the pace high and was in part sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking. Occasionally these narratives would sound a little samey - they didn’t all have a distinctive voice and some of the expressions they used were quite modern, but to be honest, I didn’t really mind. Keeping them all in your head got quite difficult as you got further into the book (something the author agrees with in her notes!). There’s a bias on the queer side of Hercules’ relationships although it is said that he had ‘male lovers beyond counting’. These characters in particular all meet quite a sad end, and it was so fascinating to paint Hercules, not as a hero, but a man who just ran through life, went on adventures and had multiple relationships, not really caring who was destroyed in the process.

Overall, Hercules is a crazy myth and this is a great way to introduce that story to a modern audience in a way that is engaging and fun, but also heartbreaking and sad all at the same time! Thank you to NetGalley & HQ Stories for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book as an arc from Netgalley.

As a lover of Greek Mythology, the concept drew me in immediately, the idea of the story of Hercules being told not from his perspective but those around him seemed like a new twist on an old story. The plot shows how his actions impacted those around him throughout his life and how he dealt with the consequences.

The book took me a while to get into at first but once I did I enjoyed being swept along with the story. A downside for me was that it felt like there were almost too many different points if view which made me feel like I was getting bounced around a bit making it a bit hard to keep up at some points. Overall I probably would read it again and would recommend it for those who love mythology retellings or those who are fans of Madeline Miller.

I always enjoy reading mythological retellings about Gods/Goddesses that are rarely written about. And while Hercules is someone we are familiar with from TV and Film, I believe this is the first book I have read based around him. Told from the POV of the women in his life, this is a rollercoaster of a story full of all kinds of emotions. A wonderful read!

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Herc
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Phoenicia Rogerson
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Mythology
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 31st August 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 3.5/5

”He’s half mortal, half god, and he never worked out how to be either.”

This was a fresh and original take on the story of Hercules. I’m familiar with the Hercules from other myth interpretations who seems to consistently come across as unlikable, distasteful, and not very bright.

Well, the author doesn’t change much there.

But I did learn so much more about Hercules than I thought I would! And I enjoyed that the story wasn’t about the glory and downfall of Hercules, but rather the people he impacted on his adventures. Herc was told through multiple points of view, some more scathing than others, but all of them amusing in some way.

I think that Eurystheus was my favourite perspective due to his pure sassy attitude and utter disdain towards others, when the author wrote those chapters from this POV it provided a very welcomed lighthearted and superior tone to a book that was full of killing.

Not only are all the point of views amusing, they’re all told through an informal colloquial tone, which felt incongruent with the time period and setting, but also made the story easier to follow rather than utilising a more formal and flowery sort of language.

I did think it was a bit repetitive due to the many POVs. Sometimes matters were dragged up again and again and again because somebody in Herc’s orbit interpreted it differently.

The feminism is quite subtle. There are strong female characters with feminist ideologies, but for every strong female character, there’s two male characters with inflated egos. So I think it’s quite easy for the feminism to get lost when much of the novel focuses on the men and male heroism in general.

Overall, Rogerson takes the myth of Hercules and shines a light on his character to reveal the shadows, the flaws, and the undeniable inconvenience of being loved and hated by gods in equal measure. On the cover of Herc it states, ’hero, husband, father, villian’ and this story isn’t about a progression from glory to evil, but how one man can be all things at once. With its easy tone and introductions to many Greek mythological characters and places, I think this is a fabulous book for those just starting to dip a toe into the deep waters of Greek mythology.

—Kayleigh🤍

Another mythical retelling, this time about Hercules and is narrated by the women in his life. They portray as a very unlikable character. More like a bully and used his strength to get what he wanted. It was an interesting read but the thing that spoilt it for me was that there were too many pov's and it did get confusing at times. All in all a good read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Arc in return for an honest review.

A very different imagining of a Greek myth and I really enjoyed this. This is the story of Heracles/Hercules but it is not told in a linear fashion, not told through his eyes. There is a sort of chronological thread running through the book with the odd deviation backwards which does not detract from the story of the man/hero. But this is not a biography. What we have here are narrations from people who knew him - his family, his lovers, his wives and those who come up against him and each person dishes the dirt. We have their opinions of Hercules - good and bad. Some of these perspectives are humourous and some - especially towards the end are really sad. I loved the correspondence between Eurystheus and Augeas when the former was trying to arrange yet another labour for Hercules to perform. The language is more modern than ancient Greek but that does not spoil anything. What we get is a portrait of a complex character, one surrounded by death and destruction, one who loves deeply but whose love is not a safe haven for those in his heart, one who feels guilt and desires to atone. A character who has a good and a bad side. A character who is fearless. His is a story of love, loss, and pain. I loved it.

Oh this book. I love a good retelling, espically if it is from the greek or roman side of mythology. This is the tale of Hercules, the one with the 12 labours as well as many other myths. However, its not told from his side of the story. It is told from the point of views of his wives, his lovers, his cousins, his companions, others that came into contact with Hercules. This is a breath of fresh air in this genre. I love retellings that take the point of views of the forgotten, overlooked or not the heroes of the myths that we know and love.

This definitely paints Hercules in a different light from the brave and heroic side that we know to the more boarish, brutish, rough sides that we get to see him in, because of the different views of the people, he comes across on his travels / labours.

Massive thanks for Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to have access to the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own

An interesting retelling of the Hercules myths.
I think a lot of people will get a lot out of reading this.

I love multiple points of view, unfortunately this was way too many for me. I can see what the author was trying to do and it’s a great idea to look at who Hercules from the perspective of those around him. It was just really hard to connect with the story and felt quite bitty to me. Which I guess reflects the Greek myths, I just prefer more flow in my fiction reads.

An intricate examination of Hercules and all his quests and heroics as well as his less savoury exploits, this is a thorough and interesting collection of stories across his life, from his conception to his death. I enjoyed learning more about the God-born mortal who I’ve only ever seen in the watered-down Disney version or as a side character in other Greek myth retellings. There’s a lot more to him that I knew and a lot of it isn’t pretty. He’s surrounded by death and destruction, a good few accidental murders but also a lot of sadness to lose those people he loves and to fear his own strengths (and his beef with Hera). I did find it confusing trying to keep track of all of the characters, more so because there are so many narrators and the story dips in and out of different people’s narratives but I did like that there were letters and announcements mixed in with the stories. It made for a vast exploration of the mighty Hercules from those that knew him best.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for proving an ARC for review purposes.

I might have a new favourite Greek Mythology retelling. Hercules/Heracles is a complicated character who is told in so many different ways. It is easy to paint him as a hero or a villain, but this book does both. We see his good and his bad and balances both for the reader to decide.

What I absolutely loved was that the story was told through the voices of so many different people. I’ve read retelling told by an alternate voice, and one’s where three people tell the story, but this had multiple that changed with each stage of his life, whether they knew him for decades or one brief encounter, we heard their stories. This reflects on the ways our stories would be told, it is never just one person but many.

I haven’t cried at a retelling I think since the obvious one about Achilles, but I cried three times at this towards the end. A beautifully written book, I look forward to reading more from this author.

-Summary-
Herc is a standalone novel about the life of Heracles/Hercules, told by his family, friends, and enemies. The story begins with his conception and ends with his apotheosis and details countless labours, monsters, battles, lovers, and tragedies in between.

-Mythic Context-
I’ve always found it surprising that a hero as iconic and well-known to non-Classicists as Heracles leaves such a small footprint in extant Greek and Roman texts. We have a book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and a couple of tragedies (notably Euripides’ Heracles and Sophocles’ Women of Trachis) but otherwise Heracles mostly seems to be a side character in other heroes’ stories (e.g., Apollonius’s Argonautica).

And what a side character! Heracles appears in so many myths and so many exploits of so many other heroes - he’s left behind a patchwork of stories that I imagine must be quite daunting for any modern author to try to make sense of.

-Review-
Herc is written from multiple points of view, none of which are Heracles’. It’s an interesting choice that, for the most part, I really like: we get to see different people’s reactions to Heracles’ character and actions that I think gives a really rounded portrait of the sort of man he might have been. We hear from his parents, his siblings, his lovers - and those who are less fond of him. I love an unreliable narrator (hello, Odysseus my beloved!) and I was really spoilt for choice here with so many characters bringing their own biases and agendas to their narratives.

But I did find myself wishing to hear from Heracles himself. We’re given tantalising glimpses into his inner thoughts, his true personality, his hopes and dreams and desires, but it wasn’t enough for me. I missed Heracles. I feel like his death scene in particular, something filled with heartbreaking pathos and unimaginable pain, lacked impact because we were only told about it by a character who couldn’t witness what was happening.

The tone of all the characters’ points of view is broadly humorous, which makes for a very readable book. I thought the humour was especially effective towards the beginning: it almost lulls you into a false sense of security, even if you know Heracles’ story! It feels like an easy, lighthearted read with quippy narrators and then hits you hard with a tragic event - I found this juxtaposition particularly powerful and impactful when it came to young Heracles murdering his music teacher Linus.

But the colloquial language and constant use of nicknames (a particular pet peeve of mine I have to admit, especially the use of ‘bro’ and ‘cuz’ in this context) wore thin with me as the book progressed and the characters aged up.

As with any book with multiple points of view characters, there were some that I enjoyed more than others. I loved Megara: I thought Rogerson gave her a particularly strong voice and found her a really compelling character; I could feel the tragic ending lurking beneath the surface of her words. I wish we could have been treated to more of her!

Eurystheus was delightful in an entirely different way: he was such a treat in his utter loathing of Heracles and his irritation at having anything to do with him at all, let alone conjure up this seemingly endless list of ‘impossible’ feats for him to accomplish.

Many of the other characters unfortunately seemed to blend into one another for me. This is partly because many of them have very similar names which obviously cannot be helped, but also because their equally similar quippy tones of voice make it difficult to differentiate them.

There was one scene in particular that’s really stuck with me: Iphicles’ death. Strangely, I found this a much more powerful moment than Heracles’ own death - maybe it’s because I felt like I got to know Iphicles and his son Iolaus a lot better than I did Heracles, or maybe it’s because it felt like we, as readers, were right there with the characters as it happens. Losing his father finally seems to make Iolaus grow up, and to see him begging Heracles to summon Apollo, to heal his father, just as he’s done for other people in the past, and to have Heracles quietly tell him that it’s not possible, was heartbreaking and definitely the emotional high point in the book for me.

I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to the fantasy and mythology genre, but, I am widening my perspectives and so far loving it. The author has done this brilliantly. The story is beautifully written, the characters come alive on the page, the settings pop and all characters have believable voices. One of the key elements of this book is world-building, the author has created an intricate and detailed world, complete with its own histories, cultures, and languages.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson is a fictional retelling of the life of infamous Greek hero and son of Zeus, Hercules. It's told through a number of perspectives including his lovers, wives, enemies, family and many, many victims. I really enjoyed this unique way of storytelling for the first part of the book; however, I too began to feel like an outsider.

There are so many events, characters and legends intertwined with the pages that I found my attention often drifting. Also, I found the modern colloquialisms interjected throughout like, "What's up?", "Cuz" and "f*ck that" pretty jarring.

Herc was a very entertaining read with an original writing style, however, there was a huge amount of 'information dumping' with very little depth. Characters became instantly disposable and events brushed under the rug with very little consequence.

Whatever I was expecting, that wasn't it... and I'm so glad!

I was super intimidated about launching into a retelling of one of the Greek myths. I haven't quite launched myself into the plethora of books that have come available in recent years (despite haven't a few on my TBR).

I'm so glad that HERC was my first one.

This book is so different to what anyone may expect - it's written with humour, told from various POV's at almost every stage of Hercules' life. An almost documentary style that just enhanced the story telling without taking away from origins.

I can't wait to see how this book is received - I have a feeling it's going to a hit.

Thank you to the author Phoenicia Rogerson, to the publisher HQ and to Netgalley for allowing me to read this early in exchange for this honest review.

This book is about Heracles/Hercules but told through the experiences of other people such as; his parents, his friends, his wife and his enemies. Each story is told within a chapter and is prefaced with who is sharing their tale. They show his good side, his bad side and his drunk side and how his choices formed him into the man he was and the power his decisions had on the world around him.

There are a lot of POVs and so there is a character list in the back of the book (although I didn't realise this until the end of the story). Each character is given a different voice and their stories are told in a variety of ways so it keeps the reader interested and connected.

All the tales of Hercules highlight love and loss and with each memory, the readers are shown a new side to the son of Zeus. This is an absolute must read for those who are a fan of Greek mythology and want to be taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

This is my first book by Phoenicia Rogerson and I will be on the lookout for more of their works. I would recommend this book to anyone, even those who may not know too much about Hercules. This book will soon get you hooked into exploring the trials of someone who is named a hero as a baby, and who at times, feels the weight of the world on his shoulders, sometimes literally.

Full review on my Goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5560838360

Hercules and his adventures, his story and life. I never imagined it could be this way.

I really enjoyed how author retells his story through everyone else’s perspective. Telling how he was as a dad, friend, husband and lover or even an enemy.

We always see in the movies Hercules as an hero, hero who saves and protects people, who goes to missions and always wins, that wears his lion skin as a pride. But we never thought of deeper, how he was as a person, and someone close and a half god with such a strength.

I really liked the truths and the realistic feelings author told through her stories. Definitely recommend reading if you like mythology retellings.

Thank you NetGalley for an opportunity to read this book. Its my honest personal opinion on the book.

A greek myth re-telling that definitely got me out of my re-telling slump. I felt that Rogerson took everything I didn't like about re-tellings and subverted it.

I didn't like the constant one person removed from the hero telling the same story word for word but here we have a whole cast of people telling Hercules' story which actually made me enjoy it so much more. To be able to write a variety of characters so differently and with different motivations and thoughts about the hero was really interesting.

The writing at times was incredibly funny and witty but that doesn't mean Rogerson couldn't balance the more somber, dark moments, and let me tell you there are some dark moments in here. I also didn't realize how many stories and myths Hercules' life weaved into which made it super interesting to read once the labours were over.

I will say that the ending felt very underwhelming, I know that's kind of the point, and also the author doesn't have control of how an age-old legend ends, but I felt it ended so abruptly I was shocked. I also found at times it was hard to keep up with all the names.