Herc
A Queer Greek Mythology Retelling
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4.3 • 4 Ratings
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
A queer revisionist retelling of the story of Hercules, for fans of The Song of Achilles, A Thousand Ships and Ariadne.
This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless adventures… everyone’s favorite hero, right?
Well, it’s not.
This is the story of everyone else:
Alcmene: Herc’s mother (She has knives everywhere) Hylas: Herc’s first friend (They were more than friends) Megara: Herc’s wife (She’ll tell you about their marriage) Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc’s labours (He never asked for the job) His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims
It’s time to hear their stories.
Told with humour and heart, Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking) retelling of classic Hercules myth.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rogerson's underwhelming debut retells the story of Hercules, the illegitimate son of Zeus, from the perspectives of his family, friends, and rivals. Hercules's stepfather, Amphitryon, notes that seers prophesied Hercules would be a monster-slaying hero but would also have a painful life. Hercules fulfills that prophecy as a boy, dealing a death blow to his music teacher, Linus, out of frustration during a lesson. The account of that shocking murder is followed by Linus's brother, Orpheus, composing letters to his dead sibling, writing that he uses Linus's lyre—a family heirloom—to "play lullabies to his son." Hercules later seizes his own infant son by the foot and dashes the boy's head against the wall out of jealousy (a prelude to massacring his entire family) when his mother comments on her grandson's fast development ("He doesn't seem so strong," Hercules remarks after the killing). Hercules's punishment for his murders is to carry out the labors (including slaying the Hydra, a beast that grows new heads when one is cut off) assigned to him by his cousin, King Eurystheus. Though the concept intrigues, the tragic material doesn't fit Rogerson's breezy approach. This disappoints.
