Wearing the Lion - by John Wiswell (Paperback)

About the Book

"Nebula Award-winning author John Wiswell brings a humanizing and humorous touch to the Hercules story, forever changing the way we understand the man behind the myth-and the goddess reluctantly bound to him"--

Book Synopsis

"This novel effortlessly ascends to the heights of Mount Olympus. Tough and tender and bittersweet. Wearing the Lion establishes Wiswell firmly on the new fantasy landscape." --T. Kingfisher, Hugo Award-winning author of Nettle & Bone

"Wiswell makes something new and thrilling--and funny and wrenching and tender--out of a very old myth." --Kelly Link, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Book of Love

Nebula Award-winning author of Someone You Can Build a Nest In John Wiswell brings a humanizing and humorous touch to the Hercules story, forever changing the way we understand the man behind the myth--and the goddess reluctantly bound to him

Sometimes a goddess's worst enemy is her biggest fan.

Heracles, hero of Greece, dedicates all his feats to the goddess Hera. If only he knew that his very face is an insult to her...as he is yet another child that Hera's dipshit husband, Zeus, had out of wedlock.

"Auntie Hera" loathes every minute of Heracles' devotion, until she snaps and causes an unspeakably tragic accident: the death of Heracles' children. Plunged into grief and desperate for revenge, Heracles is determined to find the god that did this.

Wracked with guilt and desperate to save face, Hera distracts Heracles with monster-slaying quests, only to find that he is too traumatized to enact more violence. Instead, Heracles cares for the Nemean lion, bonds with the Lernaean hydra, and heeds the Ceryneian hind.

Each challenge adds a new monster to Heracles' newfound family. A family that just might lay siege to Mount Olympos.

Review Quotes

A LitHub and BookPage Most Anticipated Book of 2025

"Subversive, playful and full of heart, compassion and humanity." --Claire North, author of Ithaca

"Wearing the Lion's hilarious opening lures you in so it can bloodily rip your heart out, suture the wound you didn't know you had, and gently place it back in your chest. Wiswell's mythological take on found family reminds us that we are all monsters and we are all worthy of love." --Caitlin Rozakis, author of New York Times bestseller Dreadful

"Wise, weird, and wonderful--in short, Wiswellian. Wearing the Lion is the story of Hera and Heracles as it's never before been told. An effortless blend of wicked humor, raw pathos, and monsters who aren't at all what they seem; I was utterly engrossed from start to end." --Julie Leong, author of USA Today-bestselling The Teller of Small Fortunes

"John Wiswell has taken Greek mythology and, like Hephaestus, crafted an original, fantastic, and beautiful bit of work--giving us a tale of an indomitable hero, sympathetic monsters, flawed gods, and--quite unexpectedly--found family. I absolutely adored this book. And so will you." --P. Djèlí Clark, award-winning author of A Master of Djinn

"Wiswell skillfully shows readers a different facet of the legend of mighty Heracles--his trauma and grief. With a deft hand and tender emotion, Wearing the Lion shows how pain can be alchemized into empathy, and how found family can be formed among the most unlikely groups of individuals. A beautiful reimagining, and a wonderful addition to the modern pantheon of myth retellings." --Luna McNamara, author of Psyche and Eros

"Wiswell alternates between Hera's and Heracles's perspectives, painting distinctly modern portraits of both. The result is a Greek mythology retelling that stands out from the crowd through its sheer sense of fun." --Publishers Weekly

"A deeply original retelling of the Labors of Hercules that should appeal to anyone who has been craving more re-examinations of Greek mythology. I particularly enjoyed the chatty Hydra." --Naomi Kritzer, Hugo-winning author of Liberty's Daughter

"Wearing the Lion explains human relationships in the only way that makes sense: by suspending them between the dipshit gods we created and the loyal pets we don't deserve. I laughed, I cried, I burned incense at an ancient altar." --Meg Elison, author of Big Girl

"John Wiswell brings a humanizing level of redemption to the myths of both Heracles and Hera. Like his debut, Someone You Can Build a Nest In, Wearing the Novel is somehow both dark and endearingly sweet." --Geek Girl Authority

About the Author

John Wiswell is a disabled writer who lives where New York keeps all its trees. He won the 2021 Nebula Award for Short Fiction for his story, "Open House on Haunted Hill," and the 2022 Locus Award for Best Novelette for "That Story Isn't The Story." He has also been a finalist for the Hugo Award, British Fantasy Award, and World Fantasy Award. He is the author of Someone You Can Build a Nest In, a Nebula nominee and Year's Best pick by NPR and The Washington Post, and Wearing the Lion. He can be found making too many puns and discussing craft on his Substack, johnwiswell.substack.com.