7 Books for Fans of Hades the Game
My fiance bought me Hades this month, and I’ve been obsessed ever since I hit start. As the game transported me to the Underworld with Zagreus, it brought back feelings that I haven’t felt since I was a child reading the Percy Jackson series. Immediately, I wanted more books with a similar feel to this rogue-like game. If you’re in the same boat, you have plenty of options. Whether you’re in the mood for demigods, clever retellings, or more romps around the Underworld, these seven books like Hades are the perfect reads for those in love with the game.
XO Orpheus: 50 New Myths, Edited by Kate Bernheimer
Not sure which mythological retelling you want to explore next? With this anthology, you don’t have to choose.
These 50 short stories—from a Galatea retelling by Madeline Miller to a reimagining of Odysseus’s dog Argos by Joy Williams, and many more—reinvents mythological figures in ways that are both beautiful and strange.
The Dark Wife by S.E. Diemer
This queer retelling of the Hades and Persephone myth will bring you right back into the heart of the Underworld.
Persephone has lived a comfortable life, but not a free one. When she meets Hades, goddess of the Underworld, she is offered the first choice of her life: stay in Mount Olympus, or pursue her own destiny in Hades’s realm. But when Persephone descends to the land of the dead, she finds something as dangerous and fulfilling as freedom: love.
Oh My Gods by Alexandra Sheppard
Helen Thomas’s dad is an absolute dork. He’s also—along with her two half-siblings—a Greek god, which makes Helen a demigod.
After Helen’s mother dies, she moves in with her father, who now lives in London instead of Mount Olympus. When she meets a boy she wants to bring into her life, she struggles to keep her family’s identities a secret while trying to live a normal life.
Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
Athena always thought that the gods could never die, until she and others come down with mysterious afflictions. Desperately hoping to avoid a slow and painful death, Athena searches for the prophetess Cassandra—who she believes is her key to a cure.
But the goddess Hera has chosen a different path: killing other gods to prolong her own life and becoming an “anti-god.” The Goddess War has begun and Athena’s only hope of survival is to fight for it.
Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips
I love how Hades doesn’t take itself too seriously, much like this book.
What would it look like if the gods of Mount Olympus were living in modern-day New York City? Marie Phillips imagines Artemis as a dog walker, Dionysus as a DJ, and Apollo as a TV psychic. When a battle breaks out between two of the gods in their new home, it’s only a matter of time before humans get caught in the crossfire.
Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry
Sixteen-year-old Raya lives with her grandma in Texas. She is fascinated by Greek myths and a mother who left when she was young. The only person Raya trusts is her best friend and secret love Sarah—until they are both outed and sent to a conversion therapy camp. This retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth portrays the brutality of the Underworld and the two lovers’ escape through an emotionally powerful modern lens.
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
Maya was raised with the burden of a terrible curse on her shoulders: the promise of a marriage linked to death and destruction. She distracts herself with a quiet academic life while those around her both fear and resent her.
When she is married to the otherworldly King Amar, Maya is whisked away to Akaran—a world full of secrets that demand to be heard. To save the fates of those she loves, Maya must solve a centuries-old mystery that may put her own life on the line.
