The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus)

by Rick Riordan

Reviewed by

Elizabeth Mosolovich

If, like me, you extremely enjoy the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, but disliked the idea of changing main characters in Mr. Riordan's add-on series, Heroes of Olympus, then this review is definitely for you.

First off, while three new characters are introduced and centered on (along with a cast of other never-before-seen characters, such as a son of Iris, other children of Aphrodite, and Hephaestus, and a son of Hypnos) there are some old and beloved characters still attending Camp Half-Blood, like Annabeth, Clarisse, and Chiron. And even though they don't play too much of a part, and we don't see Percy in the first book, be reassured that Annabeth and Percy have a huge role to play in the overall series. Heroes of Olympus, after all, is the fulfillment of the Second Great Prophecy from The Last Olympian.

The new trio, Jason, Leo, and Piper, are introduced to the magical world of monsters and half-bloods as rudely as Percy was, with monster attacks and some (well-intentioned by rather ineffective) advice from a satyr. Picked up and taken to camp, it's immediate something is wrong, especially with Jason, who both remembers none of the past 15 years of his life, and seems to know things already about the secret world of demigods — only with Roman styles and customs.  He should not be there; he belongs somewhere else — and finding out where and why he isn't there is part of the quest he and his new-found, only-slightly remembered friends, Leo and Piper. Traveling to Quebec on a metal dragon, fighting against demigod-hungry cyclopses, and uncovering another plot to destroy the gods keeps these new half-bloods on their toes in the first installment of Rick Riordan's second Olympian god series.

Whether you're a recurring fan, or the first Olympus book you've picked up is The Lost Hero, I'm sure you'll enjoy the humor and witty banter in this book. Told in three revolving, third-person voices, it's fast-paced and adventurous, and leaves on a cliff-hanger that will make you wide-eyed. Eventually, as the series goes on, it'll be hard to understand many things if you haven't read Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but the whole thing is still a good read anyway. I highly recommend it.