Wearing The Lion

The Story of Hercules as You've Never Read It Before, by the Nebula Award-Winning Author

By: John Wiswell

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Paperback | 24 June 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Paperback
384 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.4 x 2.9

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God. Hero. Idol. Monster. Murderer. The story of Hercules is one of the most famous ever told. But what if it's wrong? Locus and Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings his gentle, human storytelling to the most infamous of stories and discovers the heart inside us all.

Furious with Zeus for once again siring a child with a mortal woman, Hera finds herself redirecting all her fury at the baby himself, Heracles, an innocent named in her honour. As Heracles grows into a man - an unfathomably strong, loving man - he thanks Hera for all the blessings he feels she's seen fit to bestow upon him.

In a moment of misdirected rage, however, Hera sends a fury to kill Heracles' family. Heracles sets out on an epic quest to discover the name of the god who set their murders in motion. Desperate to keep him busy until she can come up with a solution, Hera sets Heracles a series of tests, as impossible as they are deadly: the Nemean lion, the hydra, the Stymphalian birds, the Aegean stables . . .

But Heracles' innate kindness, along with his determination to discover the identity of the god who cost him everything he loves, carries him through each task. As his legend grows, so does Hera's desperation.

A novel of friendship, of found family, of kindness and of legend, this is the story of Hercules as it has never been told before.

Industry Reviews

A stealthily funny, slyly smart, and remarkably touching story. Its wisdom will creep up on you as surely as your affection for its monstrous main character - Veronica Roth, bestselling author of When Among Crows

This unusual queer romance is a heartfelt fable about disability and the possibility of reconciling conflicting needs through love and understanding - The Guardian

Imagine Grendel and Beowulf setting aside their differences and deciding to shack up together and you'll have some idea of the flavour of this novel, which balances a sweet, sly sense of humour with some lovingly rendered scenes of gore - Financial Times

Deeply funny and weird . . . a surprisingly sweet - and very gory - love story - SFX

Nothing [can] prepare you for the gentle silliness of Wiswell's wonderful science fiction debut (one draped in the aesthetics of fantasy) - Charlie Jane Anders, The Washington Post

This is a fast-paced and gloriously weird novel, full of explosive shenanigans and touching sentiment. It also manages to be an exploration of the queerness and the surprising fragility of monstrous bodies, as well as their resilience . . . a remarkably accomplished debut - Liz Bourke, Locus Magazine

Inventive enough to push the boundaries of romance and dark fantasy . . . A wonderfully weird horror romance - Kirkus Reviews

Wriggly, heartfelt, and carnivorous - Max Gladstone, co-author of This is How You Lose the Time War

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