McMullan, Kate: Have a Hot Time, Hades!

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Not too long ago Hades--that's His Royal Lowness, Lord of the Dead, King Hades to you--picked up a book on Greek mythology and discovered that his younger brother Zeus had tampered with the Greek myths in order to make himself look good (braggart and liar that Zeus tends to be). In order to set the record straight Hades set to work at once writing his own account of what really happened way back when. Have a Hot Time, Hades! is the first book to result from his labors, the initial installment in his Myth-o-Mania series, which is published pseudonymously, curiously enough, under the name of Kate McMullan.

Hades, as it turns out, can write pretty well. Have a Hot Time, Hades! is a charming, irreverent recasting of Greek myth as told from Hades' perspective, from his childhood spent dodging the refuse in his father's stomach (Cronus swallowed all but one of his children in their infancy) to his decision to adopt the Underworld as his realm. In the book we learn of the difficulties the Olympians (i.e., Hades and his siblings) had wresting power from the previous generation of gods. There are battles--well, very violent kickstone matches--with the Titans, some trouble with the monster Typhon, a talking-to from their grandmother Gaia. Nor are the Olympians themselves without their own petty squabbles, mostly arising from Zeus' habits of stealing credit from his siblings and begetting offspring with mortals.

Kate McMullan obviously takes liberties with her presentation of the Greek myths in Have a Hot Time, Hades!, but she does a tremendous service in introducing young readers in a highly entertaining way to the major figures in Greek mythology, their familial relationships, and their various areas of interest. (A handy family tree and glossary are included in the book.) The series is off to a great start. Next up is Phone Home, Persephone!, in which Hades will regale us with the true story of his marriage to Persephone.