Books like 'Herc'
Readers who enjoyed Herc by Phoenicia Rogerson also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy myths historical-fiction retellings literary-fiction lgbtq classics
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The Conspiracy at Meru by Shatrujeet Nath
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsVICTORY IS TEMPORARY. THE BATTLE IS ETERNAL.Vikramaditya and his Council of Nine have fought valiantly to repel the rampaging hordes from Devaloka and Patala – but Avanti has been brought to its knees. Ujjayini lies battered its citizens are scared and morale is badly shaken... -
രണ്ടാമൂഴം | Randamoozham by M.T. Vasudevan Nair
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsRandamoozham is the masterpiece of Jnanpith winning writer M. T. Vasudevan Nair. It was translated into English as Second Turn in 1997. M. T. Vasudevan Nair won Vayalar Award, given for the best literary work in Malayalam, for the novel in 1985. Later, in the year 1995, Mr. Nair was awarded the highest literary award in India, Jnanpith Award, for his overall contribution to Malayalam literature...Categorized as:
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The Wrath of an Emperor by K.M. Munshi
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi's versatility and achievements were in a way unique. He was an eminent lawyer, one of the framers of India's Constitution and a seasoned statesman... -
The House of Asterion by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne of Borges's shortest stories, The House of Asterion was written over a period of two days. The story explores themes of death, redemption, and the nature of monstrosity. Its narrative style has been referred to as a "literary puzzle", with the narrator's identity not fully revealed until the end of the story...Categorized as:
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The Complete Plays by Sophocles
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsHere in one volume are the full texts of the seven extant plays of the Greek playwright Sophocles, regarded by the Greeks of his time as a kind of "tragic Homer". This collection includes the revised and updated translations by Paul Roche of the Oedipus cycle, Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone, as well as all-new translations of Ajax, The Women of Trachis, Electra, and Philocetes... -
The Fall of the Phoenix by Daniel Kelly
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe long siege of Troy, the battles fought over it, and the city's eventual capitulation and incineration are events which have often been retold since their first recitation by Homer. Seldom, however, will they have been narrated with such close attention to the minute particulars of battle, to its reek and terror and pain, as in this startling account by Daniel Kelly... -
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFor fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, a stunning debut following Clytemnestra, the most notorious villainess of the ancient world and the events that forged her into the legendary queen.As for queens, they are either hated or forgotten. She already knows which option suits her best...You were born to a king, but you marry a tyrant...Categorized as:
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Aeneid Book VI by Virgil
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA masterpiece from one of the greatest poets of the centuryIn a momentous publication, Seamus Heaney's translation of Book VI of the Aeneid, Virgil's epic poem composed sometime between 29 and 19 BC, follows the hero, Aeneas, on his descent into the underworld...Categorized as:
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The Garden of the Departed Cats by Bilge Karasu
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn an ancient Mediterranean city, a tradition is maintained: every ten years an archaic game of human chess is staged, the players (visitors versus locals) bearing weapons. This archaic game, the central event of The Garden of the Departed Cats, may prove as fatal as the deadly attraction our narrator feels for the local man who is the Vizier, or Captain, of the home team...Categorized as:
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Tarikshir: The Awakening by Khayaal Patel
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA small princely state in Rajasthan is the last bastion of resistance against the might of the British Empire. While unrest surrounding the sudden death of the king of Devangarh grows, young prince Rudra Pratap Chauhan prepares to ascend the throne.But the kingdom is in turmoil. The Devangarh army is outnumbered and the British forces are closing in... -
Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsTo Rilke himself the Sonnets to Orpheus were "perhaps the most mysterious in the way they came up and entrusted themselves to me, the most enigmatic dictation I have ever held through and achieved; the whole first part was written down in a single breathless act of obedience, between the 2nd and 5th of February, without one word being doubtful or having to be changed." With facing-page German... -
Greek Tragedies, Volume 1: Aeschylus: Agamemnon, Prometheus Bound; Sophocles: Oedipus the King, Antigone; Euripides: Hippolytus by David Grene, Aeschylus
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn three paperback volumes, the Grene and Lattimore editions offer a selection of the most important and characteristic plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides from the nine-volume anthology of The Complete Greek Tragedies... -
Raj Kahini by Abanindranath Tagore
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings<span><span>An unforgettable historical novella that leads you to the flowing sand dunes of Rajasthan, the clash of swords, to the courtyard of kings and queens. The book captures the spirit of a heroic past that never fails to move readers even today...Categorized as:
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Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida by Robert Chandler, Various
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the reign of the Tsars in the early 19th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond, the short story has long occupied a central place in Russian culture... -
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House of Odysseus by Claire North
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis "powerful, fresh, and unflinching" reimagining from the award-winning author of the Penelope trilogy breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men (Jennifer Saint). On the isle of Ithaca, queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago, her husband Odysseus sailed to war with Troy and never came home...Categorized as:
myths historical-fiction retellings classics literary-fiction fantasy fiction historical -
Here, The World Entire by Anwen Kya Hayward, Anwen Hayward
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAfter being accused of desecrating Athena's temple and subsequently cursed with monstrousness, Medusa lives alone on the outskirts of the world, secluding herself from everyone so as to keep both herself and the rest of the world safe. When Perseus comes to ask for her help, Medusa tries desperately to make him leave, but no matter what she does, Perseus stays... -
Vimuktha by Volga
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsValmiki’s Ramayana is the story of Rama’s exile and return to Ayodhya, a triumphant king who will always do right by his subjects. In Volga’s retelling, it is Sita who, after being abandoned by Purushottam Rama, embarks on an arduous journey to self-realization...Categorized as:
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Karna: The Great Warrior by रणजित देसाई
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratings'Who am I?' It was a question that had troubled him all his life. His whole life had seemed entangled in the answer. His dignity, his destination, his ambitions - they all seemed linked to that entanglement. The irony was that the truth, instead of liberating him, had made him rudderless. In the Mahabharata, Karna is known to be the only warrior who could match Arjuna... -
Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHans Christian Andersen's fairy tales are like exquisite jewels, drawing from us gasps of recognition and delight. Writing in the midst of a Europe-wide rebirth of national literature, Anderson broke new ground with his fairy tales in two important ways. First, he composed them in the vernacular, mimicking the language he used in telling them to children aloud...Categorized as:
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Nottingham: The True Story of Robyn Hood by Anna Burke
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRobyn Hood didn’t set out to rob the rich, but in Nottingham, nothing ever goes according to plan....After a fateful hunting accident sends her on the run from the law, Robyn finds herself deep in the heart of Sherwood Forest... -
The Bacchae and Other Plays by Euripides
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsEuripides (c.484-406 B.C.) was the most controversial of the three great Greek tragedians and the most modern. His major themes- religious scepticism, the injustices suffered by women and the destructive folly of war-are issues still vitally important today...Categorized as:
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A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFirst published in 1932, here is John Cowper Powys's masterwork, an epic novel of terrific cumulative force and lyrical intensity...Categorized as:
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Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov by Robert Chandler, Aleksandr Afanasyev
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor fans of fairy tales and the literary supernatural: a unique collection of Russian short stories from the last 200 years In these folk tales, young women go on long and perilous quests, wicked stepmothers turn children into geese, and tsars ask dangerous riddles, with help or hindrance from magical dolls, cannibal witches, talking skulls, stolen wives, and brothers disguised as wise birds...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction myths retellings 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies -
The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights, Volume 2 of 3 by Anonymous
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEvery night for three years the vengeful King Shahriyar sleeps with a different virgin, executing her next morning...Categorized as:
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Sita's Sister by Kavita Kané
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of Karna's Wife, comes this book about Urmila, Sita's sister and the neglected wife of Lakshman, and one of the most overlooked characters in the Ramayana. As Sita prepares to go into exile, her younger sisters stay back at the doomed palace of Ayodhya, their smiles, hope and joy wiped away in a single stroke... -
Rojo y oro by Iria G. Parente, Selene M. Pascual
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEscuchad mortales,la historia de un dios que no quería vivir,de una amazona obligada a matary de su libertad para siempre robada.Aguardad y temed el despertar del caos:cuando Eris abra los ojos, la venganza al fin llegará.Orión está cansado de ser el esclavo de Hera desde que su madre, la diosa del Caos, fue condenada por su ambición... -
Krishnavatara 111 - The Five Brothers by K.M. Munshi
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWho has not heard of Sri Krishna who delivered the message of the Bhagavadgita and whom Bhagavat calls "God himself"? K.M.Mushi,the author has done a splendid job in exploring and explaining the various "Avatars" the Lord had donned. Thus the book comes in seven parts and this part is part 1 and named The Magic Flute... -
Euripides IV: Rhesus / The Suppliant Women / Orestes / Iphigenia in Aulis by Euripides
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIn nine paperback volumes, the Grene and Lattimore editions offer the most comprehensive selection of the Greek tragedies available in English. Over the years these authoritative, critically acclaimed editions have been the preferred choice of over three million readers for personal libraries and individual study as well as for classroom use...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction myths retellings adult ancient-civilization anthologies drama -
The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn this sequel to The King Must Die Theseus defies the Gods’ and claims the throne of Athens a move that culminates in the terrible, fateful destruction of the house of Minos -- the Minotaur...Categorized as:
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Soldier of Arete by Gene Wolfe
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsOf all mortals, Latro was the least favoured - or the most.The wound that had destroyed his memory had given him the ability to see the unseen: the world of the gods, the demi-gods and the fabulous.Each day events were entered on a scroll so that the next morning he could know his friends, his rivals and have some understanding of what had gone before... -
The Cure at Troy by Seamus Heaney, Sophocles
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsSeamus Heaney's version of Sophocles' Philoctetes is responsive to the Greek playwright's understanding of the relations between public and private morality...Categorized as:
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The Thousand and One Nights by N.J. Dawood
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOffering unexpurgated translations of the best-loved tales, including such classics as 'Sindbad the Sailor', Tales from the Thousand and One Nights - sometimes known as the Arabian Nights - is translated with an introduction by N.J. Dawood in Penguin Classics...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction myths retellings action-adventure anthologies children -
The Complete Poetry by John Milton
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe first complete annotated edition of Milton's poetry available in a one-volume paperback. The text is established from original sources, with collations of all known manuscripts, chronology and verbal variants recorded. Works in Latin, Greek and Italian are included with new literal translations... -
Robin Hood by Paul Creswick, Timothy Meis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsBased on the Paul Creswick telling of Robin Hood, and drawing from the rich and varied lore surrounding the beloved outlaw, this spirited reworking of Robin Hood's many adventures is a vibrant introduction to Friar Tuck, Little John, Maid Marian, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and, of course, Robin Hood, the hero whose generosity and sense of justice continue to intrigue readers today as much as...Categorized as:
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An Arrow's Flight by Mark Merlis
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe award-winning An Arrow's Flight tells the story of the Trojan War and Pyrrhus, the son of the fallen Achilles, now working as a go-go boy and hustler in the big city. Magically blending ancient headlines and modern myth, Merlis creates a fabulous new world where legendary heroes declare their endowments in personal ads and any panhandler may be a divinity in disguise... -
The Secret Book of Kings by Yochi Brandes, Yardenne Greenspan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsStories are deadlier than swords. Swords kill only those who stand before them, stories decide who will live and die in generations to come.Shlom'am, a young man from the tribe of Ephraim, has grown up in the shadow of several secrets. He wonders why his father is deathly afraid of the King's soldiers, and why his mother has lied to him about the identities of those closest to him...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction myths retellings adult ancient-civilization book christian -
A Spartan's Sorrow by Hannah M. Lynn
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAll murders must be avenged. While the rest of Greece mourns for the war that has taken their husbands away, Clytemnestra fears the day it will bring hers back. When her husband willingly sacrifices their eldest daughter to appease the Gods, Clytemnestra vows to do whatever it takes to protect her remaining children. But in doing so she faces losing them altogether...Categorized as:
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Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa by Kenji Miyazawa
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe magic of Miyazawa's tales reaches out to people of all ages and lands. The sophisticated reader can savor them consciously as literature, while the younger reader can delight in them as imaginative stories that comment on and deepen his own experience. The underlying themes are universal, but the forms and treatment can be appreciated at many levels and vary subtly from piece to piece...Categorized as:
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Dark Empress by S.J.A. Turney
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe nomads of the southern deserts have a saying: “When something is broken it should never be discarded. So long as the pieces remains, the whole can be remade.”A time of trials, war and terror is coming to the desert city of M’Dahz, the Empire’s southernmost outpost. As Imperial power falters, then withdraws, the population lives in constant fear of invasion by vicious Pelasian satraps... -
The Well At The World's End: Volume I by William Morris, Lin Carter
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsIn the land of the Upmeads, King Peter's sons thirst for adventure and the King agrees that all except Ralph, the youngest, may go forth. But Ralph secretly makes his way to Wulstead, and here learns about the Well at the World's End, beginning a journey which will eventually lead him there...Categorized as:
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The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night: 16 Volumes, Including The Supplemental Nights to the Thousand Nights and a Night by Anonymous
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings*This Book is annotated (it contains a detailed biography of the author). *An active Table of Contents has been added by the publisher for a better customer experience. *This book has been checked and corrected for spelling errors... -
The Brothers Grimm Volume II: 110 Grimmer Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWe all know the stories — or do we? We know who Snow White is, but what about Rose Red? And what happens to an all-too willful child? Learn more intriguing stories about "Wise Folks," "The King's Son Who Feared Nothing," and . . . well . . . "Donkey Cabbages"--to name a few...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction myths retellings anthologies children children-books fiction -
The Victorian Fairy Tale Book by Michael Patrick Hearn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFrom Robert Browning’s Pied Piper of Hamelin and William Makepeace Thackeray’s Rose and the Ring to Kenneth Grahame’s Reluctant Dragon and J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, here are seventeen classic stories and poems from the golden age of the English fairy tale...Categorized as:
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The Selfish Giant and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen the Selfish Giant decides to build a wall around his garden to prevent the children from playing in it, it becomes barren and stuck in perpetual winter. It takes a wonderful event and the heart of a young boy for him to realize the error of his ways... -
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The Ballad of Mulan by Song Nan Zhang
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA folk song dating from the Northern Wei dynasty (A.D. 386-534) tells about Mulan disguising herself as a man and taking her father's place in battle...Categorized as:
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Strandloper by Alan Garner
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsI sing the eagle."Bone of the Cloud. The Clashing Rock.The Hard Darkness."It hangs above the grave mound.I sing, dreaming...William Buckley was transported to Australia in 1801. He escaped and lived as an Aborigine for thirty-one years. In this visionary novel, Alan Garner is true to William the Cheshire bricklayer and William the Aboriginal spiritual leader, as William is true to his fate...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction myths retellings action-adventure adult book children -
Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative by Herbert Mason
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHerbert Mason's best-selling Gilgamesh is the most widely read and enduring interpretation of this ancient Babylonian epic. One of the oldest and most universal stories known in literature, the epic of Gilgamesh presents the grand, timeless themes of love and death, loss and reparations within the stirring tale of a hero-king and his doomed friend... -
Medea by Eilish Quin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDiscover the full story of the sorceress Medea, one of the most reviled and maligned women of Greek antiquity, in this propulsive and evocative debut in the tradition of Circe , Elektra , and Stone Blind .Among the women of Greek mythology, the witch Medea may be the most despised...Categorized as:
myths retellings historical-fiction classics literary-fiction fantasy fiction historical -
Russian Tales: Traditional Stories of Quests and Enchantments by Dinara Mirtalipova
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRediscover the magic of Russian folktales in a breathtaking illustrated edition.This collection of traditional stories will sweep you away to the birch forests and ornate palaces of Russia. You'll meet a mysterious girl born from the snow, a terrifying Baba Yaga, and a series of dauntless heroines and heroes willing to fight dragons and cross fiery rivers... -
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA fresh take on the story of Medusa, the original monstered woman.They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster. The only mortal in a family of gods, Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings, Medusa grows older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know...Categorized as:
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