God of Fire: Greek Myths A New Retelling: Ancient Greek Myths Retold by Hephaestus by Helen Steadman was published in September 2022 by Bell Jar Books. My thanks to the author for sending me a copy of her book to review and Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.

Synopsis

Cast out of heaven at the hands of Hera and raised beneath the sea, this is the epic story of Hephaestus, god of fire.

In the palace of Zeus, a son is born to the greatest goddess, Hera. Withered and ugly, the newborn Hephaestus is hurled from the heavens by his repulsed mother. The unforgiving sea offers no soft landing, and the broken godlet sinks to the depths, where his little flame falters. But as darkness looms, he is saved by the sea witch, Thetis, who raises the outcast as her own.

The only Olympian whose injuries never heal, the god of fire endures eternal pain from his wounded leg, making him perhaps the most human member of the pantheon. As if his physical pain were not enough, Zeus punishes Hephaestus further by sentencing him to life with Aphrodite. Unhappily married to the adulterous goddess of love, he is fated to repeat his childhood pattern of rejection, stoically shouldering emotional agony as part of his everlasting burden.

With his foster-mother’s help, Hephaestus lays claim to his legacy and finds his saving grace: the ability to harness fire and create magical metal artefacts. Of course, the other gods waste no time taking advantage of his inventions. A silver mouse for Apollo. A girdle for Aphrodite. Armour for Athena. A bow and arrow for Eros. Winged sandals for Hermes. A throne for Hera. A golden mastiff for Zeus.

But the god of fire is nobody’s fool. The magic of Hephaestus has a shadow side, as gods and mortals learn to their cost when Zeus orders him to create Pandora and her infamous receptacle…

This retelling of the Greek myths is recommended for fans of Circe, Mythos, Pandora's Jar, Stone Blind, The Song of Achilles and The Women of Troy.

My Review

Firstly let me just say , that for all my life so far, I have not been a fan of Greek Mythology books, possibly due to the ones we were expected to read at school and also , to me , the high brow way in which they are generally written. Consequently I did not know a lot about the different Greek Gods.

God of Fire changed my perception with the first paragraph when Hephaestus( Heph as he is generally known throughout the book) is thrown out of Heaven by his mother, Hera, and is raised by Thetis and Eurynome under the sea. I feel that I need to give you the first paragraph here as this is what hooked me straight away.

" Less than an hour old, fatherless and despised by his Mother, this squalling infant fell from the heavens. Fell all day and fell all night through vast starry skies, on through the firmament, down to the humble blue and green orb below, until he landed on the sea with a sickly crack of breaking baby bones. The fallen God let out a scream that shook the world. Yet no one came "

God of Fire follows on with the fast pace of writing from start to finish and after the initial thirty pages ot so when I was trying to get my head around who is who etc I became deeply engrossed in the antics of the Gods, most of whom I never knew existed, along with who is Mother or Father to whom, if indeed there is one! and are their offspring mortal or immortal ? I consequently now have a stronger understanding and grounding of Greek Mythology to possibly pursue it further.

The atrocities the Gods commit and the goriness of their actions, most of which they find entertaining, is not for the squeamish or faint hearted through it does add to the allure of the story along with the varying characteristics of these immortal beings. however, the ending is incredibly emotive and definitely brings you down to earth and back to a reality of mortal life. I cannot say much more without giving part of the ending away and I would not want to spoil the readers enjoyment of the book.

The narrative that Helen uses i brilliant for a reader, like myself, as once I started the book I could not put in down as I was so engrossed as to what was happening in Heph's life. I also like the fact that Helen has told the story from Heph, the God of Fire's perspective, rather than one of the more well known Gods, as this allows the reader to develop their knowledge of the relationships to other Gods though his life, emotions and skills.

An absolute 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 read

About the Author

Helen Steadman's first novel, Widdershins and its sequel, Sunwise were inspired by the 1650 Newcastle witch trials. Her third novel, The Running Wolf is about a group of master swordmakers who defected from Germany to England in 1687. Helen's fourth novel, God of Fire, is a Greek myth retelling as seen through the eyes of Hephaestus, perhaps the least well known of all the Olympians. God of Fire is published on 13 September 2022.

Helen is particularly interested in revealing hidden histories and she is a thorough researcher who goes to great lengths in pursuit of historical accuracy. To get under the skin of the cunning women in Widdershins and Sunwise, Helen trained in herbalism and learned how to identify, grow and harvest plants and then made herbal medicines from bark, seeds, flowers and berries.

The Running Wolf is the story of a group of master swordmakers who left Solingen, Germany and moved to Shotley Bridge, England in 1687. As well as carrying out in-depth archive research and visiting forges in Solingen to bring her story to life, Helen also undertook blacksmith training, which culminated in making her own sword.