House of Hades

House of Hades by Rick Riordan, 597 pages

House of Hades is the fourth book in the Last of the Olympians series, and is the most recently released. House of Hades is like a final exam for a class. While Percy and Annabeth are trapped in *SPOILER* they encounter all kinds of monsters they faced in the previous three books. Some Riordan reminds you of who they are again but others he assumes you will remember and moves on. Luckily I read them all in a row so it was fairly easy to remember why said monster really wants to kill Percy. I however would pity anyone who read them as they came out and had no idea who some of the baddies might be.

While the above is happening the other five heroes continue the quest. Their story line is slightly less interesting as it doesn’t hold the same amount of tension. It also has the slaughter of an entire culture of a certain animal-monster thing which is very not cool. Sure they will come back eventually but since they are not from there originally will they come back there or where they were originally from?

Overall House of Hades was what I expected and I enjoyed reading it. Hopefully the upcoming final book will only be an ending point for this series much like the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series.

The Mark of Athena

Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan, 586 pages       

                            

The Mark of Athena continues Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series. The book opens with a bang and keeps the action coming throughout. We continue to learn about more mythological beings, giants, minor gods and history but at a slower and easier to digest pace then we were seeing in the first couple novels.

There is also more of an underlying theme of individuality then I recall seeing in the previous books. Here it’s not just the group of three or five heroes succeeding together, but also each one accomplishing major achievements on their own. Considering that some of the characters are becoming young adults now it makes sense that they would be wanting to not only go out on their own, but to also prove themselves.

I look forward to continuing this series especially with the cliff hanger Riordan ended Mark of Athena on.

The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, 521 pages

Book two of the Heroes of Olympus series and Percy Jackson has made his triumphant return. This book focuses on Percy as he meets the Roman equivalent of Camp-Half Blood. This camp is completely different and is divided into cohorts and is student run. There are also families living there and is more of a city than a summer camp.

Percy arrives at the camp after being chased by a pair of gorgons and is accepted into the fifth cohort. The fifth cohort is one of the worst and has the worst record in camp. Despite being on probation Percy ends up on a quest with Hazel, daughter of Pluto or Hades, and Frank, son of Ares or Mars. The quest introduces more new giants and mythological beings, see a pattern yet?

Where The Lost Hero touches on the different personas of the gods as seen from the Greek and Roman perspective, this book dives in almost overwhelmingly. As Percy is at the roman camp, the roman god names are used almost exclusively. This can make it difficult to follow at times but it’s worth sticking to it. My favorite character is the horse that eats gold and uses profanity.  

The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, 557 pages

The Lost Hero continues where the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series left off. It keeps some of the same heroes from the previous series, but also introduces some new fresh faces. The three main ones being Piper, the daughter of Aphrodite, Leo, the son of Hephaestus, and Jason, son of Zeus or more accurately son of Jupiter. The Lost Hero and The Heroes of Olympus series focuses on both the Greek and Roman gods.

While the two cultures have most of the same gods, they have some differences. The Lost Hero explores the two different personas and explains why the gods are seen differently in each culture. I am not as fluent in my Roman mythology so at times the crossovers were hard to follow. There are also some new titans, minor gods and giants that we haven’t met yet and to wrap it all up a giant bronze dragon…

The book is filled with excitement and action but it almost feels like Riordan is trying to incorporate too much mythology at once. That overload takes away from the overall story slightly but still worth the read, if you enjoyed his previous series.

The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan, 381 pages

This is the fifth and final book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I must say Riordan did a wonderful job of ending the series. Not only did make it a thrilling ending we were all hoping for, but he gave it just enough of a twist that helps us accept it. The book is filled with battles and action and reads very fast. It still has some of the humor the series started with, the giant pink flying pig in this one is a good example, but has developed a more serious tone that is needed.

After reading it however I wonder if Riordan has something against St. Louis or the Arch. In the first book he blows a hole in the top of it and in this book a monster destroyed most of the city. Maybe we need to have him come and do a book signing or something so he will have some happy memories form here and be less likely to destroy us in the future.

Sadly this concludes the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series, but it is not the end for most of the main character. Riordan continues the same themes in his new series Heroes of Olympus. Of course I will be reading them, so come back and read reviews for them in the future.

Battle of the Labyrinth

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan, 361 pages 

This is the fourth book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. Despite some setbacks Luke’s army is still trying to destroy Camp Half-Blood. While the magical barrier that surrounds the camp protects it from being invaded outright, there are still other ways to get in. One of those ways is through Daedalus’ Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is a dangerous place as it is designed to confuse and trap you. It is believed that only Daedalus or Ariandne’s string, which Daedalus has, can safely guide you through the maze of corridors. It then becomes a race against time to reach Daedalus before Luke.

There are numerous sub plots happening at the same time but all have spoilers so read the book if you want to know. Again we continue the theme of meeting more titans and more Olympians. There is also a ranch where we meet some of the creatures of mythology. Examples of those are Apollo’s red cows, flesh eating horses, and some giant scorpions featured earlier in the book. Again the heroes meet some of the same challenges that the heroes of old faced like mucking out the stables and wax wings.

I am really starting to enjoy the series and can’t stop reading them. I hope the final book will do the series justice and end in a satisfying manner.

The Titan's Curse

The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan, 312 pages

This is the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. The titans of old are gaining more power and are starting to emerge into the world. Percy, Annabeth, and Thalia are continuing their fight against Luke and his army of monsters. We meet some more modernized gods like Apollo and his twin Artemis. We also meet Artemis’ group of immortals known as the Hunters. They are a group of maidens that have pledged themselves to Artemis and sworn off all male contact. They never age and can only be killed in combat, or if they break their vow.

It is interesting how much mythology the books almost make you learn or remember. Did I know previously that Apollo and Artemis are twins, vaguely? But will I remember it now, at least for a little while. The demigod heroes also meet some of the monsters from the story of Hercules. This is possible because monsters never truly die; they just vanish for a while. As the heroes struggle to remember how Hercules banished the monster, I also find myself trying to recall the stories.

This series is starting to get better as more mythological figures are added. Again I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Sea of Monsters

Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan, 279 pages 

Having recently seen this movie and read The Lightning Thief I continued my reading of the Percy Jackson series. The first thing I noticed was the movie did not follow the book. There were a lot of differences that changed the story in major ways. It might be cliché but the book was far better than the movie.

Camp Half-Blood is protected by a magical barrier generated from a tree. Someone has poisoned the tree allowing monsters to attack the camp. In a quest to save the tree Percy embarks on a quest to find the Golden Fleece as only it has the ability to save the tree and camp. Percy also has a new half-brother named Tyson. Tyson is a Cyclops.

What follows is a hilarious quest that involved undead confederate soldiers, an ironclad steamboat from the civil war, monsters of all shapes and sizes, interfering gods, a satyr in a dress, drunken centaurs, and some carnivorous sheep.

This book was well worth the read and better than The Lightning Thief.

The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, 377 pages

My desire to read this book came from two sources. The first was my brother had read this book series and had enjoyed it enough to actually acquire copies of the books. Since he reads a lot but does not tend to buy books I knew this series was something special. My second motivation comes from the fact that they are making this series into movies. So far they have only made the first two books, but as far as know they intend to continue.

The series is basically a half-blood, half god and half human, named Percy is trying to save the world from destruction. In this novel the source of that destruction is a coming war between Zeus and Poseidon, Percy’s father. Percy’s quest takes him through Camp Half-Blood, which is the training site for all half-blooded creatures and people, the Underworld and Mount Olympus.

Through all this we meet a couple different gods and it’s strange to see them presented in a modern setting. An example is Ares the god of war is presented as a beefy biker instead of his armored, sword wielding look of old. The differences in perspectives make the gods seem almost comical at times. Percy also has a sarcastic trend that brings humor to a semi-serious book.

While I found it to be nothing special in terms of writing, it was enjoyable to read. I will likely read the rest of the series if nothing else for Percy’s sarcasm and to see how the rest of the gods are modernized