Review- Zeus: King of the Gods (Olympians #1) by George O'Connor

Title: Zeus: King of the Gods

Series: Olympians #1

Author: George O'Connor

Genre: Middle Grade, graphic novel, Greek mythology

Publication date: January 2010

Published by: First Second

Source: Own paperback

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Synopsis:

Here's Where It All Starts: the beginning of everything - the world, the gods, and even humanity. Might Kronos, the most terrifying of all the Titans, reigns as the unchallenged tyrant of the cosmos...until his son, the god Zeus, stands up and takes on his own father in a battle intense enough to shatter the universe! Who will emerge triumphant?

My rating: ★★★★☆
I LOVE Greek mythology, so the idea of Greek mythology graphic novels sounds amazing to me! It’s basically the myths in condensed form but with pictures! This series focuses on the main twelve gods AKA the Olympians. Hence the series name. Lol. I actually read a couple of the other graphic novels in this series, which is totally okay to read before this one because it doesn’t really tell a linear story, so they can be read as standalones.

This one tells the story of Zeus. It starts at the beginning with Chaos and the creation of the universe, then to the primordial deities Gaia and Ouranos and how they were overthrown by their children, the Titans, making Kronos the new king. Then it talks about how psychotic and an awful father Kronos was by eating his children.

No, seriously, that really happened.

And lastly, we see the Titan War and how Zeus overthrew his father to become the King of the Gods. Just deserts if you ask me. Lol.

Let me just get my one complaint out of the way, since I do love mythology and I like to think that I’m quite educated in the subject. Lol. I know there are many versions of the myths, but this graphic novel states that the Fates and the Furies are the same goddesses! Which, no! They’re totally different! The Fates were the goddesses, of well, fate! They spun a person’s thread of life, measured it out, then cut it as their time of death came. The Furies (aka the Erinyes) were winged goddesses of vengeance. They basically enforced the law, especially if it involved homicide. So, yeah, not the same.

Moving on! Lol.

One thing I really enjoyed about this was that Metis had such a huge part in everything! She is hardly ever talked about in anything. She was actually a wife of Zeus before he married Hera. Plus, she is technically the mother of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. When she became pregnant with Athena, it was prophesied that if Metis had a boy, he would overthrow Zeus just as he had done to his father, Kronos. So just to be safe, he tricked her into turning into a small insect and then he ate her, child and all! That’s why Athena was born from his forehead. Greek mythology is super messed up. Lol.

But overall, I really enjoyed it! It was a short, quick read with lots of fun pictures. It was also very funny! I really like this series! Plus it had a handy family tree inside cause the Greek pantheon is also super messy. Lol.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! :)