Herc Audiobook By Phoenicia Rogerson cover art

Herc

A Novel

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Herc

By: Phoenicia Rogerson
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton, Marlowe Chan-Reeves, Loreece Harrison, Maryam Grace, Sebastian Humphreys, Jay Lafayette Valentine, Theo Solomon, Gary Turner, full cast
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A queer revisionist retelling of the story of Hercules, for fans of The Song of Achilles, A Thousand Ships and Ariadne.

This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless adventures… everyone’s favorite hero, right?

Well, it’s not.

This is the story of everyone else:

  • Alcmene: Herc’s mother (She has knives everywhere)
  • Hylas: Herc’s first friend (They were more than friends)
  • Megara: Herc’s wife (She’ll tell you about their marriage)
  • Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc’s labours (He never asked for the job)
  • His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims

It’s time to hear their stories.

Told with humour and heart, Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking) retelling of classic Hercules myth.

©2023 Phoenicia Rogerson (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers Fairy Tales Fantasy Literature & Fiction Heartfelt

Critic reviews

"Everyone thinks they know the story of Hercules, but this retelling changes everything. A talented ensemble brings to life those who surround the famed hero.... Each narrator represents a different person connected to Herc; the story unearths secret lovers, violent interactions, buried crimes, and more. This format presents an engaging tapestry of time periods and relationships that are surprisingly funny and frequently heartbreaking. With contemporary language and emotional deliveries, the personal narratives are interspersed with letters and speeches that paint a full picture of the time and lives of all of those involved. Listeners will find themselves immersed." (AudioFile)
Unique Retelling • Compelling Characters • Fantastic Voice Actors • Multiple Perspectives • Emotional Depth
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Interesting how it's from everybody else's perspective, thought I wouldn't like that but I loved it. Great writing, great characters, great voice actors. I've listened to it twice already within a few months, definitely recommend if you enjoy Greek Mythology.

Fantastic book

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Listening to this as an audiobook with all of the different narrators instead of reading it in book form is a must! The narrators make an already fantastic story even better. This book is up there with Circe, Song of Achilles, and Ariadne as my top fave Greek mythology stories.

A new favorite!

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This was an absolute thrill to listen to! At the time of this review, mine is only the second and it surprises me greatly, as this will be an audiobook I'll return to again and again. Seeing the Greek stories of Hercules from the perspective of the other people involved was something I did not know I needed. There was not a single time that I disliked the performance of the voice actors. I hope this book skyrockets into the popularity it deserves!

More than I expected!

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I love Greek Mythology- and this unique take on the story of Hercules was even better than I thought it would be. I loved hearing the story through the people who knew and interacted with him. I loved getting to know new characters and hearing from ones I’ve already known and loved.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys stories from Greek mythology and craves more.

The voice actors were fantastic and made the story even more compelling.

Truly one of my most favorite books in a long time.

An interesting & wonderful take on Hercules

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This is a really fun book to listen to. A great take on Hercules' life. We can't be heroes all the time. Sadly, this applies to demigods, too. Performances were amazing. The story was witty and poignant and moved along very well. I simply loved this book and will be looking through the author's catalog for more great stories.

LOVE LOVE LOVE

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The story of Hercules, or Heracles, is so versatile. He was there for so much in Greek mythology and all the stories seem to have just a bit of Hercules in them. I have been told only a few of the legends that involve him. This is fantastic and I highly suggest to read this if you would like to know more of him.

So many stories!

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This book captured my attention immediately. The myths are given the authors unique voice colors characters I had boxed into limiting archetypes and gives them depth and nuance that made them so much more interesting. The voice actors are fabulous and everyone of them is the perfect fit. I highly recommend this book- I will definitely come back to it again and again!!!

Wonderful from start to finish!!!

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The story and the tone really come to life through the brilliant cast. It was such an enjoyable listening experience, one of my favorite audiobooks ever!

Perfect Cast of Characters

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I love mythology and especially retellings of those stories. This book was written so well and gave new perspectives on a classic hero. I picked up the book because of it’s queer moments and end up falling in love with the whole book.

Great story a must read

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The voices on this audiobook are wonderful book overall was a fresh took though sometimes was confused at as there a ton of characters and some of names sounds similar but still a nice read !

I love Herc as somewhat likable Villain

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