He had everything — power, privilege, a future. One reckless decision cost him his name, his freedom, and everything he thought defined a man.
Sydney, 1829.
Ghikas Voulgaris was born to command — the proud son of a powerful Greek shipping family, raised to believe the world would bend to his will.
When he and his friends attack a ship supplying the enemy during the Greek War of Independence, it sets off a chain of consequences he can’t outrun. His punishment is swift and public: exile to the raw penal colony of New South Wales, half a world away from his island home, stripped of name and status.
In Australia, the man who once dreamed of captaining his own fleet now tends another man’s sheep and takes orders like a servant. His fellow workers don’t care who he was. And Mary — a fierce Irish orphan who will bow to no man — is everything he doesn’t want in a woman, and the one person who can see who he might become.
Ghikas believes he’ll survive his sentence, return home, and reclaim his birthright.
But the real fight is just beginning, not against iron chains, but against himself.
Inspired by a true story, Son of Hydra is a sweeping tale of love and loss, blending Greek and Australian history into a powerful work of fiction that explores pride, punishment, and what is truly the measure of a man.
Tell us where this novel is set. Answer: Sydney.
https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/competitions/free-february-18-son-of-hydra/Terms And Conditions
1. Entry is open to all residents of Australia and New Zealand from 18 February 2026 to 19 February 2026. 2. Employees and the immediate families of the promoter and agencies associated with this promotion are ineligible. 3. The judge’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into. 4. The first correct entries drawn from the competition in February 2026 will win the book. 5. The promoter accepts no responsibility for late, lost or misdirected mail. 6. The winners of the prize will be notified by email in February 2026.
Australian Competitions Club
