Wearing the lion

"Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings a humanizing and humorous touch to the Hercules story, forever changing the way we understand the man behind the myth-and the goddess reluctantly bound to him"--

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wiswell, John, 1981- (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York : DAW Books, 2025.
Edition:First edition.
Series:DAW Book Collectors ; no. 1983.
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Description
Summary:"Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings a humanizing and humorous touch to the Hercules story, forever changing the way we understand the man behind the myth-and the goddess reluctantly bound to him"--
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.
Physical Description:376 pages ; 22 cm.
ISBN:9780756420741
0756420741
9780756419547
0756419549
Author Notes:John Wiswell is a disabled writer who lives where New York keeps all its trees. He won the 2021 Nebula Award for Short Fiction for his story, "Open House on Haunted Hill," and the 2022 Locus Award for Best Novelette for "That Story Isn't The Story." He has also been a finalist for the Hugo Award, British Fantasy Award, and World Fantasy Award. He is the author of Someone You Can Build a Nest In, a Nebula nominee and Year's Best pick by NPR and The Washington Post, and Wearing the Lion. He can be found making too many puns and discussing craft on his Substack, johnwiswell.substack.com.