Wearing the Lion is a masterfully written and deeply introspective retelling that not only captures the essence of Greek mythology but also adds new layers of meaning to the characters we thought we knew. Wiswell’s work is a must-read for anyone who loves mythology and enjoys a beautifully crafted story with heart.

Absolutely incredible. This retelling of the myth of Hercules is an emotional rollercoaster that broke me into pieces and then slowly put me back together. I love reading retellings of Greek mythology and Wearing the Lion is the best one I’ve read since Circe - and that’s saying something. John Wiswell explores the grief and guilt entrenched in the story of Heracles in such a unique way that wrecked my feelings in the best possible way.
In an absolute masterclass of writing, the book starts off funny and raunchy before becoming heartbreakingly tragic, exploring the psyche of Hera and Heracles after the death of Heracles’ children, and ends with a heartwarming discovery of a new family for Heracles to help him move past his trauma. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book this short that takes you through such an intense gauntlet of emotion with such beauty. Wiswell’s writing is filled with subtle choices that blow me away with their elegance and convey emotion that I’d never expect. The prose as a whole is gorgeous, and Wiswell has an amazing ability to put you in the shoes of his characters and to make you feel their pain, love, and grief.
The character development of both protagonists is beautiful and seeing them change and grow throughout the novel was both heartbreaking and inspiring. Seeing Hera transform from the cruelhearted mythological figure she tends to be portrayed as into someone willing to take accountability for her actions and try to make up for her mistakes was inspiring and a refreshingly unique take.
The inversion of each of the labours of Heracles from acts of violence to those of love and acceptance were heartwarming and were such a unique way of bringing Heracles a new family to help him heal from the trauma of losing his first one.
Wearing the Lion is an incredible book from an incredible author and I can’t wait to read more from Wiswell in the near future.

Greek mythology was not what I expected coming up next from John Wiswell after "Someone You Can Build a Nest In" but I am 100% here for it. "Wearing the Lion" is unlike other current Greek mythology novels, for it is less of a retelling and more of a reimagining of known myths. Still, if mythology retellings (think Madeline Miller or Jennifer Saint) are not your thing, I wouldn't recommend this one either, because all these books do have the same basis after all. So do expect a lot of Greek Gods and Goddesses and their schemes, mythical monsters and the heroes that are sent to slay them, and mortals with big families whose stories span many, many years.

This story follows Hera and Heracles as equal protagonists in alternating chapters. Hera, Queen of Olympos and Goddess of Family, is sick of her ever cheating and child-siring husband, so she decides to focus all her anger on Zeus' latest insult to her: the demigod Heracles. Heracles, however, is completely unaware of his aunt's hate towards him and is even a devout follower of hers. Honestly, that made for one of the most interesting dynamics I've ever read about, and I think that both characters were very well developed. Heracles starts out as a bright-eyed himbo of sorts but is soon changed by tragedy. Hera, who is supposed to watch over mothers and families and children, is hate-filled towards Heracles since the day he was born and wants to cause him harm. But when she ultimately goes too far in her actions, she is feeling guilty and doesn't really know how to act upon it. Instead of answering Heracles' prayers she sets up the 12 labors, so he might never learn the truth. I really liked how both characters changed but still stayed true to themselves in some way. Although he has every reason to, Heracles is not looking for revenge but for answers. He doesn't turn violent, and so he doesn't fight the monsters he's supposed to but helps and befriends them instead. The result is a strange but very lovely found family of misunderstood creatures. Hera's family (aka the Gods of Olympos) was very interesting as well. While she is Queen of the Gods and commands many of them, she is also mostly frustrated by them and has only few confidants. I wasn't the biggest fan of Hera's crude language that's a result of her constant annoyance, but I think I prefer it to the Gods speaking super posh or all lyrical or something. (But for real: According to my kindle the phrase "my dipshit husband" was used 41 times, and that's at least 40 too often if you ask me.) The portrayal of Godhood itself was great as well, with the fast passage of time, the shapeshifting into basically everything, and the overseeing of the mortal realm. And I loved the way how the Gods worked their domains and how they could switch from watching from above to walking among the humans in an instant. With things like these, the book really held my attention throughout the entire story. And even though the story didn't span Heracles' entire life, everything wrapped up nicely and provided closure in the end. Truly a great read for me.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and DAW for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Taking a story everyone thinks they already know and re-interpreting it in a way that feels both fresh and familiar is an impossibly difficult task. One might even call it Herculean. Puns aside though, I loved this story and the amount of heart Wiswell brought to his motley crew of found family made their adventures endlessly charming and joyful to read.

Like all great stories, this one touches on incredible tragedy and the CWs should be taken to heart; but as a person who is usually extremely sensitive to CWs such as these, I thought the care and attention given to the nuances of this particular grief made its depiction exceptionally well done.

The various characters were developed well and while mythology itself often casts them as two dimensional, Wiswell does so much to flesh them out and make them much more nuanced. I loved the interactions between these various figureheads of mythology and loved especially seeing their characters develop and change throughout the story.

Wiswell seems to deeply understand the role mythology plays in people not just being entertained, but also learning about their own humanity through the lens of gods and monsters. This story had me cackling with its irreverence and crying with its raw depictions of grief and just about everything in between. I loved John Wiswell’s first book and loved this one at least as much, if not more. I can’t wait to see what he comes out with next!

Thank you to John Wiswell and DAW for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Wiswell demonstrates absolute mastery of the literary smash cut a number of times, always to great effect. This is a kind, hopeful retelling of the story of Heracles, diverging from the classic myths in ways that don't change the overall arc but do impact the emotional core and give the characters more depth, complexity, and growth than mythology allows

John Wiswell is such a master at balancing humor with pathos. When I started "Wearing the Lion," I was most impressed with how funny it was. Then it sucker punched me with feelings. It's an unusual book, in its structure and especially in its male protagonist. Wiswell's previous book played with gender, but Wearing the Lion presents a kind of tender masculinity in its iconic lead that I kept thinking about. Heracles is dedicated to "Auntie Hera," in how he cares about others. He, in a way, shows the goddess of mothers a way to care again. I'm going to be thinking about and recommending this book a lot.

This retelling of the myth of Heracles/Hercules as a found family tale was delightful. The way the labors/hero's journey becomes a way of finding the weirdest family ever is a fresh take on this. And the characterization of the Greek gods as fallible, but still able to learn and improve was delightful, as too many myths have them with all the human flaws, but none of the good parts of being human, like growth and change.

This was great, flipping back and forth between viewpoints and with a very satisfying and diverse vision of the ancient Greek Gods. Excellent prose like in John Wiswell's first novel, and there are some monsters in the book too. His version of the labours of Herakles is unique and while it's often sad, it also has some epic mythical battles and adventure. I can't wait to see what he comes out with next.

This has got to be one of my favorite mythology remixes that I've read to date. I have never been more glad to read something that uses Greek mythology as another retelling.

Wiswell's writing is comedic to contemporary audiences without sacrificing mythic reference and nods to Greek history at its expense.

Reading the blurb makes you believe that a certain plot point happens much sooner than it does, Wiswell is a great writer and yet so emotionally cruel for the build-up to the turn in the narrative.

When readers' say that they want found family THIS is what they want. The patience put into developing each character, the comedic moments, and a strong emotional core that snowballs in size through the narrative.

This book was so compassionate, funny, heartbreaking, kind, and creative. It's not easy to incorporate all of those elements, but the author managed to. I truly enjoyed this! It won't be for everyone - if you aren't familiar with the story of Heracles, or a fan of Greek mythology, you likely will not enjoy this.

Somewhat a retelling of the 12 labours of Hercules (Heracles), but instead of slaying all of the monsters, he ends up befriending them and creating a found family.

This book alternates viewpoints from Hera and Heracles. Hera resents Heracles - him being the result of her "dipshit" husband's infidelity, Hera sees Heracles as the embodiment of Zeus's unfaithfulness and disrespect. She is actively rooting against him, wishing to see him fail and suffer. Heracles (meaning "Hera's Glory"), worships his namesake. His chapters are told as prayers to Hera, thanking her for his beautiful life. I found myself feeling sympathy for and rooting for both of them. The character development in this was we well written - both characters are deeply flawed and emotional beings. They both struggle through their own grief, feeling lost and searching for their purpose. Their individual journeys were so well written. The side characters of Granny, Ate, and Athena were wonderful - the humour brought to the story by Logy, Purrseus, and Boar was amazing. I laughed so hard at some of the dialogue. The humour was well placed and well timed - it didn't interfere with the heavier parts of the story.

I loved this book, the story it paints and the characters introduced. I will absolutely read this again, and keep an eye out for other works by this author!

Wearing the Lion is the second novel by award winning SF/F author John Wiswell. The novel is Wiswell's take on the story of Heracles - better known by his roman name Hercules - told from dual perspectives: the perspective of Heracles himself and the perspective of Hera, queen of the Olympian Gods, who in most stories is Heracles' antagonist who hates him for being born from Zeus' infidelity.

But Wiswell takes the story in a very different way than I've ever seen before. Here, Heracles is an extremely well meaning Himbo (super strong and pretty, but not the brightest) and Hera is a very sympathetic goddess who finds that her anger at his existence is going horribly wrong and finds herself desperate to find someway to undo her mistakes. The story take the established myths of Heracles and reframes and re-adapts them into a story with multiple found family arcs as well as themes of justice, vengeance, forgiveness, and accountability. And it works really really well. Oh and the story retains Wiswell's amazing gift for dialogue, naming, and character beats (some of the reframed Olympic Gods are just....perfect). You'll want to read this one for sure.

More specifics after the jump:

Plot Summary:
When Zeus came back to Mount Olympus and declared that he's made a new "king of the mortals", Hera just knew her disphit husband had fathered yet another illegitimate child. And she fumed about it, especially after her husband exiled her close friend Até (Goddess of Ruin) for messing with Zeus' plan to make that child's twin brother the King of all of he surveys. And so she decides she will destroy that child.

But to her surprise and frustration, that child, Alcides, is devoted to her above all - his Auntie Hera - and even is given the name "Heracles" (Hera's Glory). And he keeps misinterpreting all of her attempts to get him killed as fun challenges. Until in a moment of full on rage she goes on step too far and takes out her rage accidentally on both Heracles' family....and her own.

Now, Heracles is desperate to find the god or goddess who caused his pain....to find out why and to get some form of justice. In doing so, he will be forced to perform some spectacular labors...but will do so in unexpected ways, for Heracles is loathe to cause more harm upon anyone after the pains he himself as suffered. And Hera is desperate to reverse her mistake: to make amends to her own family...and to figure out some way to help heal the person she soon realizes might not be the insult he first appeared. But both Hera and Heracles will soon find themselves running out of time before their inevitable confrontation, which might break them both...

Wearing the Lion has its story told in chapters that alternate between Hera's Point of View and that of Alcides/Heracles, whose chapter title names change depending upon basically what is going on with him in the story. The story essentially takes us from Heracles' birth up through the end of his labors and a little bit beyond, as both Hera and Heracles deal with what's happening at roughly the same time - although time moves a bit faster on Olympus, so there are some kind of amusing time jumps at the beginning. It's a story that begins on a really light note and will make you smile immensely....up until Hera takes an action that drives Heracles to do his most famous tragic act from the ancient myth and causes the death of Heracles' family. And then we wind up with both characters trying to figure out what to do after everything has gone wrong.

And I mean both characters, for Hera isn't here as an antagonist but really as a sympathetic protagonist in a way you usually don't see in most stories dealing with Greek myths. Hera is the goddess of mothers and families, but she herself deals with an extremely disrespectful family situation: Zeus is incredibly unfaithful and often shoves the children of his affairs in Hera's face and not even in a deliberately cruel way: Zeus is just a clueless fool about Hera, his family, and the humans, and constantly stops paying attention to his works within just a short time. And so when he shoves Heracles in Hera's face, Hera can't help but despise Heracles...even if Zeus himself couldn't care less. It's not made any better by Heracles' clueless prayers to her. But Hera is still the goddess of family and genuinely does care about mortals...so when her desperate acts of hatred don't kill Heracles but do kill his family, well it devastates her... And this becomes even more so when the act of doing so causes Hera's closest companions, the goddess of ruin Até and the fury Goddess, to be hurt themselves and unable to be with her. And so we have this character here whose wrongs were done out of a very understandable rage and who finds herself desperate to find some way to make amends: to her own family and to Heracles...but also so desperately scared of having to face Heracles for what she's done.

And then we have Heracles, our adorable himbo. Heracles is probably the most likable Greek Hero you've ever seen: sure he's super strong and able to do miraculous feats, but he attributes all of his success to Hera (like a modern day athlete does to "God") and means it, only wants to do good, and never wants to believe the worst of anyone. And that even means monsters - whether they be Lions, Hydras, or whatever - or even men who come at him with intent to kill him. So he mistakes the snakes Hera puts in his crib as friends she provides for him and refuses to believe that a god could be responsible for actually causing the death of his family. And he loves so much his wife Megara (herself a fun character we don't see enough of) and his children, which makes that betrayal all the more painful. I'm trying not to spoil things here because so much of what happens is so delightful, but along the way in this story Heracles grows up a bit to learn how to deal with the pain with the help of a second found family he forms of the most spectacular form. You'll care so much for this character in the end, such that the final act can be quite a bit painful, but it's all worth it.

I should mention as well that this book does a great job with its other characters as well, not just the two main characters. The found family Heracles builds in the second act is wonderful, with a character named Logi proving a fun highlight, but really the big plus here is Wiswell's take on the Olympic Gods. Other than Zeus - who is the classic philandering asshole who can't keep his focus on things and doesn't understand why others don't respect him - they're all really different takes than what I've seen before. For example, Apollo is an utter asshole super eager to add new things to his godly domains (hence why he's the god of so much) above all else. Moreover, there's Ares, usually the dumb antagonistic god of war, but is instead an utter highlight, as he genuinely acts here not just to cause conflict but in ways he hopes will help his mother Hera ("all veterans love their mothers") and which sometimes are a bit more clever than you'd expect. He grows too throughout the book, and I loved him so much.

The result is a story of not just found family and of performing tasks without violence, but also one of accountability and responsibility. Hera herself declares that by the book's middle point, but even there so much of the journey is her learning to figure out a way to be accountable for her mistakes and to make up for them: at first she's afraid to be seen as the one who committed these horrible acts; then she accepts that she should admit fault but wants to take the easy way out; and finally she learns that the only way to truly be accountable is to try to take action to repair the damages she's caused as much as possible. It's really well done for the most part, although I think Heracles' story arc ends with him changing his mind about Hera a bit too easily. But overall it works out really well and is charming at times, devastating at times, and immensely satisfying and relieving by the end.

Just a terrific book and another tour de force from John Wiswell.

Ancient Greek mythology gets the Wiswell treatment, making this book an absolutely amazing read! Even if you're not current with which Greek gods are which, you'll love meeting them here and discovering their quirky, all-to-humanly-relatable personalities as you follow the half-mortal, half-divine protagonist, the hero Heracles. Wiswell sticks to the lore surrounding Hera's hatred of Heracles--proof of her husband Zeus's infidelity--but there the likeness ends. Yes, there are the monsters, and the quests to overcome and presumably slay them, but in Wiswell's hands that becomes something quite a bit delightfully different. Hera sets the impossible quests, and Heracles neatly avoids death by accomplishing each in his own unique and "ungodlike" way--with empathy. In the end, it's hard to say who changes more--the hero, or the god who provoked and plagued him. This is definitely a book where you'll guffaw aloud at the puns, and then run to tell all your friends to read so you can laugh together over the best parts. And it will make you think, too--long after the book is over, your outlook will be slightly altered for the better. It's the Wiswell way.

CW: It should be noted that there is a rather gruesome scene, told mostly in passing but the memory of which troubles Heracles throughout the book--the deaths of his children by fire.

I received a free copy from DAW Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Publish date June 17th, 2025.

I'm moderately skeptical about Greek myth retellings, but Wiswell blew me away with his Someone You Can Build a Nest In last year, so I was on board with this retelling of the Labors of Hercules. In Wearing the Lion, queen of the gods Hera fiercely resents humble young Heracles as an insult to her marriage. When Heracles sends yet another prayer to her, in a fit of rage, she sends a Fury to destroy his children, an act which will undo both Heracles and Hera...

In my experience, most Greek myth retellings aren't doing anything particularly innovative or compelling with the subject material (except for, of course, Le Guin's Lavinia). But I trust Wiswell, and that trust was rewarded tenfold. Wearing the Lion was an absolute blast, from the very first scene with Hera threatening to stab Zeus with a javelin through both of his testicles and at least one of his eyes. He takes familiar story elements, like the twelve labors, the Fury-enabled murder of Heracles' family, and Hera's conflicts with her spouse, and twists them into his own original and compelling version. Here, Heracles is a kind and maybe not too bright man who's spent his whole life in sincere devotion to Hera, and the goddess is a furious yet sympathetic woman who's been irrevocably shaped by centuries of hating the god she once truly loved. (Also, she's really funny.)

Wiswell's mastery of original character voice is on full display here. As in Someone You Can Build a Nest In, this is a book about humanizing the monstrous. All of the characters, from Heracles' wife Megara to the Fury who cursed Heracles to the monsters of the labors, are drawn with a clear and sympathetic eye. There's no cackling villain, only complex characters. This is also a very funny book, but mostly from the sheer effervescence of the character voice. The characters' struggles aren't treated flippantly, and nor are they caricatures for the bit. (Except for poor Apollo, where the running joke is that he's always avariciously out to poach other gods' domains).

An absolute blast of a myth retelling about impossible grief, being doomed to repeat the sins of your parents, and seeing humanity in the monstrous. Highly recommended. I'm excited to see what Wiswell writes next.

Holy crap. So, I am a big John Wiswell fan who will read literally anything he writes and did the happiest of happy dances when I was approved for the ARC of Wearing the Lion, but I promise to write a fair and balanced review. Mostly. Okay, I will try.

I liked the structure of the book, with a chapter split in two: one half from Herecles’ point of view and the other from Hera’s. It was interesting to see things from both perspectives, but it also made it so easy to see how similar they truly are as two lost souls having major identity crises and yearning for somewhere they belong.

I love how beautifully every character evolves throughout the story. Hera and Heracles obviously show a lot of growth as strong main characters but even secondary characters like Boar and Granny were out there learning and growing. Heracles is such a sweet, naive man I couldn’t help but root for throughout his years-long journey. And Hera! She’s such a deep and well-written character. I felt her pain, her struggles, her turmoil. Her constant scheming and interference are so much fun (no matter her motivation) and being inside her head was always a good time, though I have to admit she lost me a few times during her scheming. It could get pretty complicated!

Heracles’ found family was incredible and so unique. He finds acceptance with a ragtag pack of monsters (like, actual monsters, okay?), proving that home really is where the heart is. The LGBTQIA+ rep was an extremely welcome surprise as well.

Wearing the Lion has so much heart and a lot of humor to lighten the mood when things get serious. It’s similar to John Wiswell’s debut novel, Someone You Can Build a Nest In in a lot of ways, and though I’d say it’s not cozy in the way that one has been described, I think if you enjoyed one, you’ll likely enjoy the other just as much as I did.


***I will update this review with links to Instagram and blog posts closer to the book’s release date.***

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC for early review.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

What if Hercules never killed the Nemean Lion, but instead adopted it as his best friend? What if he helped monsters in their labours instead of killing them for his? What if... Instead of Zeus's son, Heracles dedicated himself to Hera's Glory?

What an incredible take on the legendary tale of Hercules, the greatest son of Zeus to ever live, the strongest hero of Greece, the toughest demigod to date--- but what if all of that was just exaggeration? What if Hercules was actually just a rather down-to-earth, kind fellow who loves his children, his wife, worships the gods and prays each day, and desires nothing more than peace?

I can't go too much into a synopsis for this book or I'll ruin the whole thing for you--- just go pick it up. Wiswell has this extraordinary talent for irreverent humour mixed perfectly with heartfelt coziness. It's an unbeatable combo that makes you laugh and cry in quick succession, especially when it comes to Heracles, also known as Alcides, and his gaggle of adopted monster family members.

While this is certainly a tragic story, I laughed very hard sometimes, and cried with happiness at others, and felt upset occasionally. Grief, depression, suicide ideation, apathy, and self-harm are very present in this story, please be careful while picking it up, but I promise there is such a kind heart at the middle of this book.

Can I please just say. That I have not laughed so hard. Ever before. As when some of the quotes from Hera in this book hit?

"What the hell, Athena? You fucked a snake?” “They are not a snake.”

“Because if you go to its home region, and you examine the creature very closely, you will find it is a big fucking lion that kills everything.”

"Is Oedipus still alive? He’s easy enough to fuck with . Just tell him he’s related to Heracles and that’ll do it.”

Genuinely some top tier comedy becomes available when you're really not expected Hera, Queen of Olympos, to swear like a sailor.

Overall, I was so pleased and honored to get to review something as unique and cozy as Wearing the Lion early. John, you've earned yourself a dedicated fan.