Review – Son of Zeus by Glyn Iliffe

I’ve been a big fan of mythology my whole reading life. Didn’t matter what culture it came from, it was all good. This year, I’ve got to read some versions of my old favourites like the Norse Eschaton Cycle and Robin Hood, except they’ve had a dark twist that the legends deserve. Now, it’s the turn of Heracles (that’s right, the Greek version), and this take borders on Grimdark (yay!).

Okay, on to Son of Zeus. The story begins right after Heracles’ murder of his sons (as I said, Grimdark). Despite having no recollection of the events, Heracles is still racked with guilt and despair at his actions, and rightly so. He is shunned by his beloved wife and the people of his hometown of Thebes where he was much loved. Heracles is exiled by his father-in-law Creon, and he embarks on a journey to the oracle of Delphi, where he is sent to Tiryns to perform ten labours for his cousin Eurystheus. The rest, as they say, is mythology.

This is an excellent retelling of the Twelve Labours of Heracles (I am aware I said ten earlier), and a fitting portrayal of a demigod who was a plaything of the gods, and a pawn of jealous mortal kings. One thing I noticed early on was the lack of humour. There is little joy here, although to be fair,  there is little on offer for humour. Heracles is constantly at war with himself, pondering whether his death would be the better course of action, often doing so at the worst times. Often, only the possibility of finding out what happened that dreadful night, or not giving Hera what she wants, keeps our hero going. Finally, when his deeds start to win over people, we also feel okay with getting behind him.

Also in the tale, as minor characters, are his wife Megara, nephew Iolaus and priestess of Hera Charis. Megara struggles to reconcile her love for her husband with his foul deeds. She embarks on her own journey to try and put together the pieces of the puzzle. Iolaus too, wants to hate his uncle, who has been more of a father to him than the loathsome Iphicles ever was. He finds that instead of never wanting to see him again, he wishes to seek out his beloved uncle to try and help him. Charis has been a devotee of Hera since she was a child, and is tasked with delivering the labours to Euystheus. But even she struggles with serving her goddess and buying into the myth of Heracles.

Look, you know this story (I assume). You know about the Labours and you know big H survives, so why should you read this? Well, same reason you’ve read them a million times before, except this time, the author has done a terrific job of writing a grown up version of the tale. The characters are deep and believable, and I genuinely felt for their respective plights, which is pretty impressive as I’m usually a cold fish. The action scenes are so well written, even though we know the outcome, we still feel that air of trepidation with each blow. This is the 151st book I’ve read this year, and it is absolutely one of my favourites.

A glowing 5/5 stars.