Bonds of Hercules joins a significant contemporary literary trend of reimagining Greek myths to explore modern themes. In the 21st century, authors have increasingly turned to classical mythology as a framework for examining issues such as trauma, identity, gender dynamics, and systemic power. This resurgence, popularized by a massive readership on social media platforms like TikTok, often focuses on giving voice to marginalized or villainized figures. For instance, Madeline Miller’s novel Circe (2018) reframes the story of the infamous sorceress through a feminist lens, portraying her as a survivor of patriarchal abuse who discovers her own power and autonomy. Similarly, Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne (2021) critiques the heroic male figures of mythology by centering the narrative on the women they betrayed.

Mas’s novel participates in this tradition by recasting the traditionally masculine hero Hercules as a woman, Alexis, who must contend with a legacy of violence and a brutal, oppressive society. Like other modern retellings, the novel uses mythological figures to explore complex psychological states. Alexis grapples with her identity, and the trauma of a violent childhood has left her with permanent physical and emotional scars. The novel uses the high-stakes, fantastical world of Sparta to amplify contemporary anxieties about power and survival, reflecting a broader literary interest in using ancient stories to understand the complexities of the present.

Mas builds on this literary trend while incorporating elements of the dark-romance subgenre, which deliberately explores controversial themes and transgressive relationships. Unlike conventional romance, which focuses on mutual affection and healthy partnerships, dark romance utilizes morally ambiguous protagonists, significant power imbalances, and situations involving dubious consent to examine the nature of love, control, and obsession. Common tropes include forced proximity, such as kidnapping or arranged marriages, and anti-heroic or villainous love interests, both of which appear in the novel. The genre, which has found a large audience on platforms like Amazon Kindle Unlimited, has strong roots in fanfiction, a connection that Mas acknowledges in the book’s dedication “to all the people who spend their nights reading fan fiction about relationships that make them wonder ‘Am I okay?’” (vii).