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Book: “Lore Olympus: Volume 8” by Rachel Smythe
Publishing Info: Inklore, May 2025
Where Did I Get This Book: I own it.
Where You Can Get This Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | Indiebound
Book Description: “You have no authority here.”
Revelations rock Olympus as Persephone’s trial ends, threatening to throw the gods into a new war.
Though Persephone and Hades become closer than ever after she opens up to him about all she has endured, their peace is shattered when another truth is revealed: Apollo is Zeus’s son. The announcement shocks the pantheon, and the king of the gods realizes that the would-be usurper wants Persephone’s power to take the throne.
Zeus banishes Persephone to the Mortal Realm and, out of fear, cuts it off entirely from the rest of the gods. This decree succeeds in undercutting Apollo’s plan, but also inadvertently begins a decade-long divine cold war when Hades strikes back by shuttering the Underworld. With the gods scattered and weakened, Kronos uses the ensuing bedlam to finally escape his imprisonment and begin staging his own coup.
Persephone has only one choice when she discovers all the realms on the verge of collapse: Descend into the Underworld to try to defeat the power-hungry Titan, claim her rightful place as queen, and reunite with her one true love.
This edition of Smythe’s original Eisner Award–winning webcomic Lore Olympus features a brand-new, exclusive short story from creator Rachel Smythe and brings the Greek pantheon into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.
Review: After dropping the ball on reviewing the previous volume of “Lore Olympus” in a timely matter, I promised myself that I wouldn’t let that happen again. I mean come on, it’s one of my favorite series, how can I let it fall by the wayside?! So here we are with “Lore Olympus: Volume 8”, in a more timely manner and at not a moment too soon! Because things are really heating up with the gods and goddesses of Olympus, barreling towards a wrap up of a THRILLING story arc that has SO MUCH going on.
And what an action packed conclusion to this story arc it is. To really get into the nitty gritty, we have to get into some spoilers for this volume, so proceed with caution if you don’t want to know anything. This volume really shows the dysfunction of the hierarchy of the Olympians, with Zeus being fully in charge, and making panicked decisions that are more about protecting his own power versus what is good for everyone, culminating with him banishing Persephone to the Mortal Realm and cutting it off completely. Not because he thinks this is a fair punishment, but because he realizes that Apollo, newly revealed as his son, is plotting to overthrow him, and needs Persephone’s mysterious powers to do so. Which, of course, results in disaster. Not just for Hades and Persephone, who are now ripped apart and both devastated and traumatized by this, but for the entirety of Olympus, as Hades, in retaliation and rage, closes access to The Underworld, which separates the Gods and Goddesses even further, and opens all of them up to new vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, Persephone is doing her damnedest to appease Zeus, though she is pretty certain she will never be able to meet his demands by design, which sends her on her own mission to take matters into her own hands (more on that in a bit). All of the pieces that have been put into place are starting to come together, and it’s a fantastic set up with a really satisfying pay off. We have a bit of a time jump so that we can fully see how bad things are, and Smythe slowly reveals what all has happened in subtle and ingenious ways without the pacing falling out of sync (for example, we see that Daphne is no longer a tree), while also having brief flashbacks to the fallout from Persephone’s banishment. It’s a well done device, and it makes for a more engrossing way to tell the story.
But what I loved the most in this volume is that I feel like we finally got some payoff for the way the story has been slowly revealing Persephone’s strengths and powers, even though she herself hasn’t quite figured out her own abilities. I will say that one of my (mild!) criticisms of this series in the earlier books is that Persephone, while being AWESOME in her own right for lots of reasons, was a little bit infantilized or treated in a way like a manic pixie dream girl, at least to start. Yes, we get insights into some darkness, and as her story progresses we find out that she is a fertility goddess and has a bit of wrath inside of her, but it always felt a LITTLE bit like she needed protecting and guidance from Hades. But that has fully fallen away, as their romance, while still pivotal to both of their motivations, is put on the back burner here, as they are mostly separated in this book and Persephone has to figure shit out on her own. And it is here that we finally get to see her come into her own, stand on her own, and fully round out as a character, who has for literal millennia been a bit of a wallflower in her own story throughout many adaptations. This feels like Persephone finally gets to come into her own. And I love to see it.
And even with all the very intense moments in this volume as a huge arc wraps up with high, high stakes, we still get some genuinely hilarious scenes and interactions, whether it’s wink wink nudge nudge references to the original myths dynamics, or just clever banter and laugh out loud physical comedy moments. Smythe has such a gift for hitting a wide range of emotional beats in her stories, and honestly I still think that her humor is one of her strongest elements in this series.
What a great wrap up of a first major arc to “Lore Olympus”! The foundation for where Persephone, Hades, and all of the Olympians are going next has been laid, and I am so excited to see what happens next. I guess we’ll find out in the Fall! Can’t wait!
Rating 10: A fantastic conclusion to a riveting story arc, “Lore Olympus: Volume 8” dazzles with deep emotion, engrossing romance, and a lot of humor.
Reader’s Advisory:
“Lore Olympus: Volume 8” is included on the Goodreads list “2025 Mythology Releases”.
Previously Reviewed:
The Library Ladies 
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