Wearing the Lion
core novel 2025 Wearing the Lion
Record
| First published | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.63 (1,570 ratings, collected 2026-09-15) |
| Page count | 376 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780756419547 |
Synopsis
Wearing the Lion, published by John Wiswell in 2025, reimagines the myth of Heracles from the perspective of the goddess Hera. When Hera discovers that her husband Zeus has fathered yet another demigod, this time with the mortal woman Alcmene, her fury sets in motion a scheme meant to ensure a different child inherits the throne prophesied for Zeus's son. Manipulated by her own entourage into an increasingly elaborate plot against the infant Heracles, Hera instead finds herself bound to him in an unexpected way as he grows into a young man who dedicates every one of his labors and triumphs to her specifically, treating his greatest enemy as his most devoted patron. Rather than the destruction Hera originally intended, the two find themselves locked in a strange, unwanted relationship that neither fully controls.
Where it sits
- Universe: Wearing the Lion
- Series: Wearing the Lion core; position 1 of 1 in the series' recorded order
- Author: John Wiswell
Awards (verified)
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2025: finalist; Confirmed directly via nebulas.sfwa.org's own nominated-work page and the SFWA finalist-announcement press release (61st Annual Nebula Awards, for works published in 2025); the winners announcement confirms it did not win (The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones won Best Novel).
Notes
- From the series record (Wearing the Lion): Standalone; Wiswell's third novel, The Dragon Has Some Complaints (2026, DAW), is a separate, unrelated standalone story, not a sequel to this world. Registered as its own standalone universe, following this project's established single-work/LOTR-analogy convention (as with Someone You Can Build a Nest In, Nettle & Bone, Ink Blood Sister Scribe).
Sources
- Wikipedia: John Wiswell
- Nebula Awards: Wearing the Lion (nominated-work page)
- SFWA: Nebula Awards Finalist Announcement (2026-03-15)
- The Nebula Awards: Introducing SFWA's 61st Annual Nebula Award Winners
- Penguin Random House: Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell
- John Wiswell on the Web: Announcing Wearing the Lion
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