This is book 1 in the Hopeless Heroes series. This is series of portal-fantasy adventures in which a timid boy travels to the world of ancient myth by means of a magic vase, and learns to be brave through adventures with classical heroes. In this book we meet our protagonist, Tim Baker. We are initially informed that Tim’s mother works long hours to provide for her family, so he needs to help with the housework. While cleaning, Tim accidentally breaks a large Greek vase, decorated with a scene of a struggle between a man and a bull.

Suddenly a huge man appears in the room, and it appears that when Tim broke the vase he set free the heroic Hercules, who was trapped inside it for centuries. Hercules, who can only be seen by Tim, offers to help Tim with his chores and even goes to his school, causing various mishaps and incidents. Tim then succeeds in solving a riddle on the ancient vase and sends Hercules home. After Hercules is gone, Tim discovers that Hera and Hermes broke into his house but Tim refuses to give them the vase.

Quite early in the book we are told that Tim’s mother works long hours and that he stays home alone., which instantly enlists the readers’ empathy. Tim seems like a dependable boy despite his young age and also a character whom the readers hope will find happiness in his life, as it seems obvious he has been through some difficult times. A hint of this can be seen when the author describes the house: “It was like living in a museum. A reminder of better times, the jumbled collection now sat around gathering dust.” (p. 8). The dust recalls the past and is a sharp reminder of deterioration, from a wonderful life to the current more challenging reality. In later books we will find out that Tim’s father passed away long ago. We also learn that Tim is being bullied at school by a classmate called Leo. Therefore the empathy for this young hero grows, and the author prepares the ground for the rest of the series in which Tim will discover that he is a true hero and will learn to believe in himself and in his strength. His time with Hercules makes him more confident so that he is able to stand up to the class bully, and later Hermes, using his brains and his quick thinking.

The author makes fun of the knowledge of Greek myth, when Tim tries to remember if he saw Hercules in a cartoon somewhere. This series is obviously meant to teach some Greek mythology, but also plays on the reality vs. fiction theme; is Greek mythology just stories, as Tim thinks? On the other hand, Hercules is real, but then again, this is a fictional story. This meta-literary approach allows the young readers to fantasize that these myths could somehow be true. This theme is evoked once more when Tim’s mother arrives and sees the damage Hercules had caused to the garden, but she does not see Hercules himself. She does not believe Tim’s story either; “‘You know the difference between make-believe and the truth, don’t you?’ Mum asked. (p. 43). So we are left wondering; did Tim imagine everything out of loneliness? Is Hercules an imaginary friend? Yet Hercules has the perfect answer; only Tim can see him because he set him free. Thus the boundaries between reality and imagination are blurred. The adult mother does not see the mythical hero, raising the question of whether she stopped believing in the ancient stories. The important thing is that for Tim, Hercules is real, as he is for the readers; they, unlike his mother, share his secret and his adventure and can fully relate to it.

Hercules is revealed to be more brawn than brain, but he is also kind and caring. His character is built up as a father-figure for Tim. Most importantly, Tim is no longer alone when he is with Hercules, and Hercules is a miraculous friend to him. Interestingly, Tim breaks the vase as he rushes to answer the phone when his mother calls to apologize for running late. When Hercules then appears, it is as if his role is to replace Tim’s parent momentarily. He tries to help him and protect him and his presence emphasized by the absence of Tim’s mother. When Hercules then reveals to Tim that he felt that his own father was not pleased with him, Tim takes on the role of caring adult and encourages him, demonstrating that even a strong hero can have hidden hurts and anxieties and showing that Tim can also be a strong person.

It should be noted however that the reader is encouraged to be sympathetic towards Tim’s mother as well. Since Tim’s mother is a writer whose manuscript got rejected, there is clear influence here by the author, she is just sharing her own disappointments and making them part of the story as well. The author then combines the two narratives of the disappointed mother and the fiction-reality theme when Tim confides in his mother and tell her about his adventures with Hercules, which she decides is a wonderful idea for a story.

The entry is based on the Kindle 2018 edition.