Book Review: ‘Herc’ by Phoenicia Rogerson

Author: Phoenicia Rogerson
Title: Herc
Release Date: 31st August 2023
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Summary

Herc is a standalone novel about the life of Heracles/Hercules, told by his family, friends, and enemies. The story begins with his conception and ends with his apotheosis and details countless labours, monsters, battles, lovers, and tragedies in between.

Mythic Context

I’ve always found it surprising that a hero as iconic and well-known to non-Classicists as Heracles leaves such a small footprint in extant Greek and Roman texts. We have a book of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and a couple of tragedies (notably Euripides’ Heracles and Sophocles’ Women of Trachis) but otherwise Heracles mostly seems to be a side character in other heroes’ stories (e.g., Apollonius’s Argonautica).

And what a side character! Heracles appears in so many myths and so many exploits of so many other heroes - he’s left behind a patchwork of stories that I imagine must be quite daunting for any modern author to try to make sense of.

Review

Herc is written from multiple points of view, none of which are Heracles’. It’s an interesting choice that, for the most part, I really like: we get to see different people’s reactions to Heracles’ character and actions that I think gives a really rounded portrait of the sort of man he might have been. We hear from his parents, his siblings, his lovers - and those who are less fond of him. I love an unreliable narrator (hello, Odysseus my beloved!) and I was really spoilt for choice here with so many characters bringing their own biases and agendas to their narratives.

But I did find myself wishing to hear from Heracles himself. We’re given tantalising glimpses into his inner thoughts, his true personality, his hopes and dreams and desires, but it wasn’t enough for me. I missed Heracles. I feel like his death scene in particular, something filled with heartbreaking pathos and unimaginable pain, lacked impact because we were only told about it by a character who couldn’t witness what was happening.

The tone of all the characters’ points of view is broadly humorous, which makes for a very readable book. I thought the humour was especially effective towards the beginning: it almost lulls you into a false sense of security, even if you know Heracles’ story! It feels like an easy, lighthearted read with quippy narrators and then hits you hard with a tragic event - I found this juxtaposition particularly powerful and impactful when it came to young Heracles murdering his music teacher Linus.

But the colloquial language and constant use of nicknames (a particular pet peeve of mine I have to admit, especially the use of ‘bro’ and ‘cuz’ in this context) wore thin with me as the book progressed and the characters aged up.

As with any book with multiple points of view characters, there were some that I enjoyed more than others. I loved Megara: I thought Rogerson gave her a particularly strong voice and found her a really compelling character; I could feel the tragic ending lurking beneath the surface of her words. I wish we could have been treated to more of her!

Eurystheus was delightful in an entirely different way: he was such a treat in his utter loathing of Heracles and his irritation at having anything to do with him at all, let alone conjure up this seemingly endless list of ‘impossible’ feats for him to accomplish.

Many of the other characters unfortunately seemed to blend into one another for me. This is partly because many of them have very similar names which obviously cannot be helped, but also because their equally similar quippy tones of voice make it difficult to differentiate them.

There was one scene in particular that’s really stuck with me: Iphicles’ death. Strangely, I found this a much more powerful moment than Heracles’ own death - maybe it’s because I felt like I got to know Iphicles and his son Iolaus a lot better than I did Heracles, or maybe it’s because it felt like we, as readers, were right there with the characters as it happens. Losing his father finally seems to make Iolaus grow up, and to see him begging Heracles to summon Apollo, to heal his father, just as he’s done for other people in the past, and to have Heracles quietly tell him that it’s not possible, was heartbreaking and definitely the emotional high point in the book for me.

A digital copy of this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.