The Trials of Hercules is the first installment in a six-part series. The book begins with Hercules waking, having seemingly murdered his family. For this crime, he will need to suffer at the enjoyment of his stepmother Hera and cousin Eury, the ruler of the city-state Portaceae.
What follows are a series of unconquerable tasks which Herc must overcome, or death will come to him and those aiding him. If he can accomplish all ten tasks set to him, he will win his freedom. Along the way, Herc will fight and talk his way through challenges, fall in love, be hurt and have his eyes opened to the trickery of those in whom he put his trust.
With a little sex, romance, brutal fighting, monsters, deception, lies, politics and the exuberance of Greek mythology spun into a new tale, The Trials of Hercules looks to keep the reader turning pages in carnal delight.
In The Trials of Hercules, Herc is the perfect good guy hero, the kind you can depend on to always do the right thing. But at times I wasn’t so sure whether he was such a good guy because he was naive or just born with an amazing set of morals. He does seem to be smart at times in the book, but I had a hard time not picturing him as a goofy brute, and a goody two-shoes.
Overall I found The Trials of Hercules to be fun and enjoyable. I won’t say I was asked to think too deeply or question life in any way, but this book kept me turning pages the whole way thorough like any guilty pleasure. In truth, I usually go for more literary works and less genre fiction, but this was a fun break from the serious.
The book is written entirely in the first person present perspective, but from different characters’ viewpoints. Each character uniquely develops their own voice. This style of narration is a little different, but works well. Guessing who will narrate the next chapter became a fun part of the reading.
As for this book’s audience, I’m not sure exactly who it’s directed at. The writing seems to me to be simple and lacking in surprises and twists. I would say it is a young adult novel, but Painter drops a few F-bombs and talks about sex quite often. This did not hurt my enjoyment of the book, but it did make me take it less seriously.
As for the book being predictable, it is to be expected when taking an old story and redoing it. Painter’s voice is definitely unique when compared to other versions of the tale, and she did begin to put a major twist on it with the time period, which I will not spoil with my own guesses, but this was only touched upon. I assume it will become more of a focus in the later books. There could be much more about the world of Osteria yet to be told. The little bit of technology present seemed to be only poking above the surface, waiting to bloom later.
I recommend this book if you have a love for Greek mythology, or could develop one, and want to toy with a new spin on it—or if you are looking for some light reading to pass the time. The The Trials of Hercules was relaxing and fun.
The Trials of Hercules: Book One of The Osteria Chronicles will be released on October 18. You can order it through Amazon.com or from tammiepainter.com.
C+
