Wearing the Lion is a re-imagining of the Twelve Labors of Hercules with some found-family focused family drama mixed in. In this, Hercules (also known as Alcides) is a cheerful, surprisingly gentle guy who considers Hera his “aunty” and prays to her and gives her offerings. Our Cinnamon Roll is completely unaware that Hera hates his guts, despite her various attempts to kill him. (He does not realize they are murder attempts–he is just utterly clueless about it. He is just a strong, sweet guy who has nothing but good thoughts for his “Papa Zeus” and “Aunty Hera.”)
The situation comes to a head when Hera forces a “retired” (and full of trauma) fury to attack Hercules. This results in the tragic death of his sons. (Which manages to horrify Hera.) When he comes out of the fog of fury-inspired madness he is driven to find answers. In the course of his search for the god who sent the fury, he’s manipulated to go after the Nemean Lion. Things do not go as planned. Instead, Hercules makes friends with the Lion.
The pattern of making friends with monsters, (or mentally ill dudes who think they’re monsters) continues, while he continues his search for answers. Hercules travels are broken up by encounters and references to Imposter-Hercs who are all attempting to accomplish the Labors. (He manages to befriend and rescue the Hind of Cyreneia from one of them.) His path to finding out the truth is convoluted and sprinkled with misdirection and and confusion. (And no one knowing he’s Hercules because he is the Tony Hawk of the sons of Zeus.)
I really enjoyed this book, though it was in places a tough read. The lead up to the revelation was agonizing, even though I knew who it was. The author does a great job of making you sympathize with both Hera and Hercules. Hera is under a lot of stress in that her husband does not respect her (or anyone really), and Hercules is just a guy who wants to defend his home and his family. (Albeit a guy with super-strength.)
John Wiswell delves a bit into the underlying dysfunctions of the Olympians as “family,” to great effect. He uses a combination of humor and sympathy, from gently mocking Apollo for stealing “domains,” to sympathizing with a fury with PTSD from millennia of war and destroying lives and minds at the behest of the titans and the gods. This is a warm but also tragic novel about found family and finally getting away from a toxic situation that you know won’t get better.
This book review was based on a galley received from NetGalley.
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