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When I first heard that Rick Riordan was setting another series in the same universe that he had created for Percy Jackson, I was both excited and a little wary. Excited because I had enjoyed that world and felt it had lots of potential for new adventures; wary because I feared the new series might not meet my expectations and that, if it didn't, it might somehow cast a pall over my affection for the Percy Jackson books. I need not have worried. The Lost Hero, the first book in that new series - the Heroes of Olympus - managed to meet all of my expectations and did so in a style that made me glad Riordan had gone ahead with the idea. While having read the Percy Jackson books is not a pre-requisite for enjoying The Lost Hero, I do think those who have done so will be able to immerse themselves in this world much more quickly and will enjoy the book more than those unfamiliar with Percy's story.
The Lost Hero introduces three new main characters - Jason, who has no memory of his life before page one of the story, Piper, a girl with "kaleidoscope eyes" (all together now - Lucy in the sky-yi with diamonds...) who has the gift of persuading people to give her things and Leo, whose clever and creative hands need to be always busy. As the story begins, the three are part of a group from a school for troubled kids on a field trip to the horseshoe shaped Skywalk that curves out over the Grand Canyon. Since the very existence of this Skywalk in real life kind of freaks me out (seriously, have you seen the pictures of it?), I wasn't particularly surprised when freaky occurrences ensued almost as soon as our new heroes stepped onto it.
Readers are pitched head-first into one of the first forays in a new battle the demi-gods will soon find themselves embroiled in. In short order we learn that the gods have gone silent and that Percy Jackson is missing. Jason, Piper and Leo are all having visions, dreams or reawakened memories, many of which revolve around Hera who, we discover, is being held prisoner. Along with a new Great Prophecy (Seven half-bloods shall answer the call/To storm or fire the world must fall/An oath to keep with a final breath/and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death), a new quest must be undertaken by the trio of newbies to find and free Hera.
I appreciate that Riordan continues to give us both strong female and ethnically diverse characters and that he seems able to hit many of the right notes in depicting teenage language, actions and emotions. For me, he has a knack for making his characters seem real and believable and, in The Lost Hero, he once again succeeds in making me care about them. My sympathy for and interest in the trio builds as details of their lives are revealed in the early chapters of the book (each chapter is told from either Jason, Piper or Leo's third person POV) and by the time they head off on their quest, I'm fully invested in seeing them through their adventures.
One of my favorite aspects of The Lost Hero is the inclusion of Roman mythology with the Greek that was the focus in the Percy Jackson series. I found the discussions of the subtle differences in the gods from one culture to the other really interesting and reading about them made me want to learn more about both.
Lastly, for those dying to know, Percy Jackson definitely plays a role in this series. How significant that role will be remains to be seen. Next up in the series is The Son of Neptune, due in the fall of 2011.
Highly recommended. Riordan has laid the groundwork here for another fun and exciting series and I'm already looking forward to the next book.
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