FROM MICHAEL DAHL:

Dear Reader,

When I was a kid, every Saturday at noon I watched “Epic Theater.” I wouldn’t brush my teeth or take a shower until I had watched an adventure about the secret Sons of Hercules. Hey, I thought, maybe I was a Greek hero in disguise and didn’t know it! No such luck. No Medusa showed up at my door, no Hydra terrorized the neighborhood. So, I read every book on mythology in our school library, just in case Zeus sent me on a quest. But then I ran out of stories.

Recently, I asked some terrific authors I know to tell new adventures. They retell the exploits of my favorite heroes, like Hercules and Perseus and Jason, but in a totally different way. A gross and gruesome and disgusting way! Crack open a book from GROSS GODS, and you’ll be inspired to be an epic hero. You might also be inspired to take a shower and clean the gunk from between your toes.

READ ON!