I’m not normally a fan of Hercules stories, but for John Wiswell I had to make an exception. Wearing the Lion is a story that merges modern dialogue style with the story of Heracles. You have to be in for this more modern dialogue, but if you like that, then this is for you! Keep reading this book review of Wearing the Lion for my full thoughts.
Summary
Heracles, hero of Greece, dedicates all his feats to Hera, goddess of family. Heracles’ mother raised him to revere Hera, as her attempt to avoid the goddess’ wrath. Unbeknownst to Heracles, he is yet another child Hera’s husband, Zeus, had out of wedlock.
Hera loathes every minute of Heracles’ devotion. She finally snaps and sends the Furies to make Heracles kill himself. But the moment Heracles goes mad, his children playfully ambush him, and he slays them instead. When the madness fades, Heracles’s wife, Megara, convinces him to seek revenge. Together they’ll hunt the Furies and learn which god did this.
Believing Hera is the only god he can still trust, Heracles prays to Hera, who is wracked with guilt over killing his children. To mislead Heracles, Hera sends him on monster-slaying quests, but he is too traumatized to enact more violence. Instead, Heracles cares for the Nemean lion, cures the illness of the Lernaean hydra, and bonds with Crete’s giant bull.
Hera struggles with her role in Heracles life as Heracles begins to heal psychologically by connecting with the monsters—while also amassing an army that could lay siege to Olympos.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Not going to lie, the modern slag and dialogue threw me for a loop. I wasn’t expecting it and it gives Wearing the Lion a different vibe. So just know that before going in so that you aren’t caught off guard. This multiple POV story tells the story of Heracles, but begins with Hera. I enjoyed the emphasis on Hera’s story since we hear so much about the ‘hero’, but Hera is not treated well by Zeus at all, in my opinion. We can immediately see the temperament and childishness of Zeus. In Wearing the Lion there’s a lack of severity in some aspects. The pacing is relatively fast and some more drastic actions don’t have a lot of time to resonate.
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Wearing the Lion explores the intentions we have which always play out differently. Seeing Heracles as a child, especially with a POV chapter, was particularly interesting for me. Wearing the Lion predictably discusses what makes a hero. There’s the meddling of gods, their own (in)humanity, and glimpses of regret. In many ways, it’s a story about revenge, but also the hurts we enact on each other. I liked seeing the other gods, but Heracles doesn’t surprise me that much in this one. Wearing the Lion is fast paced, and shifts POVs so quickly that it feels a bit shallow in places. Ultimately, if you’ve been interested in a Greek mythology retelling with more POVs, this is for you.
Find Wearing the Lion on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.