Wearing The Lion
The Story of Hercules as You've Never Read It Before, by the Nebula Award-Winning Author
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- 10,99 €
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- 10,99 €
Publisher Description
God. Hero. Idol. Monster. Murderer. The story of Hercules is one of the most famous ever told. But what if it's wrong? Locus and Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings his gentle, human storytelling to the most infamous of stories and discovers the heart inside us all.
Furious with Zeus for once again siring a child with a mortal woman, Hera finds herself redirecting all her fury at the baby himself, Heracles, an innocent named in her honour. As Heracles grows into a man - an unfathomably strong, loving man - he thanks Hera for all the blessings he feels she's seen fit to bestow upon him.
In a moment of misdirected rage, however, Hera sends a fury to kill Heracles' family. Heracles sets out on an epic quest to discover the name of the god who set their murders in motion. Desperate to keep him busy until she can come up with a solution, Hera sets Heracles a series of tests, as impossible as they are deadly: the Nemean lion, the hydra, the Stymphalian birds, the Aegean stables . . .
But Heracles' innate kindness, along with his determination to discover the identity of the god who cost him everything he loves, carries him through each task. As his legend grows, so does Hera's desperation.
A novel of friendship, of found family, of kindness and of legend, this is the story of Hercules as it has never been told before.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nebula Award winner Wiswell (Someone You Can Build a Nest In) puts a fresh spin on the labors of Hercules in this inventive and irreverent novel. Hera is fed up with her husband Zeus's infidelity, the latest reminder of which is his new half-mortal son, Heracles. Down in the mortal realm, however, Heracles grows up worshipping Hera, affectionately referring to her as Auntie. There comes a day when Hera just can't take "hear that little shit praying" anymore and, in a fit of rage, she accidentally causes the deaths of Heracles's children. Bereft and traumatized, Heracles begs Hera to tell him which god is responsible for the tragedy. Desperate to escape the consequences of her actions, Hera promises to reveal the culprit only after Heracles has bested a series of monsters. In no mood for more violence, however, Heracles ends up befriending the hydra, the Nemean lion, and others, amassing enough monstrous allies that, when the truth inevitably comes to light, he may have the force to take on Olympus itself. Wiswell alternates between Hera's and Heracles's perspectives, painting distinctly modern portraits of both. The result is a Greek mythology retelling that stands out from the crowd through its sheer sense of fun.
