Review: Herakles Book 1

Title: Herakles Book 1
Author: Edouard Cour
Genre: Graphic Novel
Publisher: Lion Forge
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Author Edouard Cour revisits one of the greatest Greek myths by painting the often-heroic Herakles as, well . . . somewhat of a jerk. Crude and stubborn at times, in little glimpses we meet a man—half-human, after all—with a psychology more complex than he appears, entangled in guilt over the ghosts who have haunted him since childhood. A mournful sadness seizes him as he crosses the fleeting silhouettes of a woman and her three children. “Friends or foe, all those who cross his path end up stiff and worm food,” comments Linos, the ghost of his childhood music teacher.

Brimming with pathos and dark humor, this portrait of Herakles is a graphic whirlwind leaving little respite and often revealing beautiful surprises.

Review:

I love Greek mythology, but the story of Heracles is one that I never read.

I think this book is meant for fans of the story, rather than new readers. I know the general story, that he had to do tasks, but not specifics. I was confused through most of the story, especially by all of the different characters. There was a glossary of characters at the end of the book, but it would have been much more helpful at the beginning.

Herakles wasn’t a likeable character at all. He was a jerk most of the time, and pretty gross. He also passed most of his tests by fluke, and without using much skill.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me.

Author: jilljemmett

Jill lives in Toronto, Canada. She has studied English, Creative Writing, and Publishing. Jill is the creator and content producer of Jill’s Book Blog, where she has published a blog post every day for the last four years, including 5-7 book reviews a week. She can usually be found with her nose in a book. View all posts by jilljemmett

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