The Muses tell nine tales about Apollo. The tales cover his birth to his loves. From these tales, one can get the sense that his life is one of opposites, but he also doesn't come across as happy or patient. Apollo's stories, as led by the Muses is a cleaver element and does this bright God justice. Another strong entry in the Olympians series.

The eighth volume of the Olympians series shines its light on the god of prophecy, music, and healing, who turns out to be impulsive, prideful, and vindictive. His stories are told by the Muses, the goddesses of inspiration who find their inspiration in Apollo.

There are seven stories told by the nine muses, with a few of them doubling up. Each muse tells their story in the art form they inspire. Polyhymnia, the muse of religious hymns, uses a hymn to Apollo to tell of his birth and arrival on Olympus. The other muses tell of Apollo getting vengeance on the snake Python for hounding his mother Leto while she was pregnant with him and his sister, his dealing with a satyr who dared compare his musical talents to Apollo’s, two stories of Apollo’s failed relationships, and the story of his son Asklepios.

What really comes out in this volume is what a complicated individual Apollo was. He could be petty and spiteful, as the tale of the satyr Marsyas shows, but in the tale of Python and Asklepios, it’s his strong feelings for his family, his mother and son, that drive him to the acts he commits. It shouldn’t be too surprising that a god whose relationships always end in tragedy would act out violently in defense of the few people he still has in his life. He was firm in his convictions and paid the consequences, often in servitude, for them. But he never regretted them.

The volume ends on a clever twist that plays into Apollo’s gifts and ties the stories all together. O’Connor’s choice of stories does a good job of showing all the sides of Apollo, both good and bad. The different forms of storytelling used by each muse enhance the stories’ impact, even if the style isn’t readily noticeable at first. While all the Greek gods are made more relatable by their human characteristics, none seem more human than Apollo.

"This is another solid entry in O'Connor's Olympians series, this time covering the legends of Apollo who is best known as the sun god (but also holds healing and prophecy, among others, under his purview).
As usual, the artwork is very well-done, in the same unique style as O'Connor's other books. And following previous formats, in this book readers can find extras such as Character profiles, as well as interesting facts and notes that O'Connor collected while researching the myths themselves. Personally I always find these notes really interesting, with all the little details he discovers and discussions on how the stories varied from place to place and time to time.

As usual, while O'Connor covers some of the better-known stories (such as Letos' journey throughout her pregnancy, and the birth of the twins), he also breaks new ground for readers by telling some of the stories that aren't as well-known. Here, these stories include a 'morality tale' of sorts, warning against hubris that is shown through a musical competition between Apollo and a prideful Satyr... which, as isn't unusual for Greek mythology, ends quite badly for the satyr.

I was a little surprised, however, in how many stories were included in this volume that I wasn't familiar with - The contest with the satyr, or Apollo fighting the python, and founding the temples, for example. It made for a nice change, as opposed to going over the same stories as many other books of mythology. It also opens readers' eyes to another side of the mythology, as some of the darker myths often get bypassed in the focus on Apollo's roles in music and medicine.

I received an ARC/pre-view of this graphic novel from First Second books through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review."

I know this book finds an audience in Percy Jackson readers and those who like mythology in general, but I found it dull and clunky.The story of Apollo is an interesting one, but the execution of it in this book was in no way compelling. The expository sections were overly wordy for a book that seems intended for younger audiences. The illustrations were too plain and not particularly well-done. I would give this to a young patron who has an interest in mythology, but I would not do so with any sort of enthusiasm.