Wearing the Lion

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[ing] 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. (June)