Book Review :: Lore Olympus Vol 8 by Rachel Smythe

Lore Olympus: Volume Eight by Rachel Smythe
ISBN: 0593871987
Series: Lore Olympus #8
Also in this series: Lore Olympus: Volume One, Lore Olympus: Volume Two, Lore Olympus: Volume Three, Lore Olympus: Volume Four, Lore Olympus: Volume Five, Lore Olympus: Volume Six, Lore Olympus: Volume Seven
Published by Inklore
on 6 May 2025
Genres: Comics & Graphic Novels, Mythology
Goodreads

“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.

Last updated on 23 June 2025

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What is Lore Olympus Vol 8 about?

Lore Olympus Vol 8 by Rachel Smythe continues on from Vol 7 (surprise surprise), and while Persephone’s trial might be over, the fallout is anything but.

A bunch of secrets have come out of the woodwork, alliances are shifting, and the gods are teetering on the edge of another war.  Just as Persephone and Hades finally begin to find some peace, sharing truths, healing wounds, and growing closer than ever, another bomb drops: Apollo is Zeus’s son. Surprise! And he’s not just stirring the pot and eyeing up the power that Persephone has, and also the throne.

Zeus, in a classic panic move, exiles Persephone to the Mortal Realm and slams the door shut behind her. Apollo’s plans have been derailed somewhat, but the real consequences are much more dire. Hades retaliates against Zeus, the Underworld goes dark, and what follows is this huge divine standoff that drags on for ten years, while poor Persephone lives them out in the Mortal Realm. Kronos, sensing the chaos, makes his move, and he’s not playing nice.

Now, with every realm unravelling, Persephone has one shot to journey back into the Underworld, face down a Titan (😱), and finally claim what’s always been hers: her crown, her power, and Hades.

My thoughts on Vol 8 of Lore Olympus

Another great addition to the Lore Olympus series. If you’re new to this series, then head on back to my first review of Vol 1 here. But in short: Rachel Smythe treated Lore Olympus as a Webtoon comic and it took off. Big time. Then over the last few years, she’s been releasing that web-based comic as physical graphic novels.

I read a bunch online in 2019, I think it was, but then sort of lost track and also didn’t love reading it online. So when it was announced that she was going to be published in physical copies … I was well excited. And I’ve been keeping up with the graphic novel and the story that way ever since.

The story continues from Volume 7, and Persephone is banished to the Mortal Realm and it’s all very chaotic and wonderful.

One of the things I absolutely love about this series is that it brings together so many Greek myths, brings them to life a bit more, but Smythe also plays with the characters, gives them very unique personalities, looks, humour … it’s a lot of fun to read and I do get excited whenever another one is released.

I enjoyed Vol 8 more than 7, but that’s bound to happen – the ebbs and flows of a comic series that was originally released online. Some printed volumes are going to be more exciting or action-packed than others, simply by the way they’ve been split up and which episodes of the original comic have been included in each volume.

Volume 9 comes out in October 2025.

Have you been reading Lore Olympus as it comes out in paperback/hardback? Or did you read it online?