The Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (2010)

Bruce hesitated. “Annabeth’s okay. You gotta cut her some slack. She had a vision telling her to come here, to find a guy with one shoe. That was supposed to be the answer to her problem.”
“What problem?” Piper asked.
“She’s been looking for one of our campers, who’s been missing three days,” Butch said. “She’s going out of her ming with worry. She hoped he’d be here.”
“Who?” Jason asked.
“Her boyfriend,” Butch said. “A guy named Percy Jackson” (p 31).

The gods of Olympus are in trouble again. This time the demigods at Camp Half-Blood must work together with Jason, a demigod of Roman decent, to not only find Percy but to save Hera, Zeus’s wife and goddess of the hearth and family.

Riordan jumps right into the action, introducing readers to three new demigods in much the same fashion as their introduction to Percy in The Lightning Thief.

Jason wakes on a school bus with no memory, holding hands with Piper, his girlfriend. Leo, their best friend, is also aboard. Soon the trio is under attack from a venti, a storm spirit. Saved by their teacher and whisked away to Camp Half-Blood by Annabeth, the three learn the truth of their parantage.

Almost immediately, they set out to save Olympus. In the wake of the Titan’s War (Percy Jackson and the Olympian series), a greater evil has stirred – older even than the Titans.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Riordan has a winning way with middle grade readers and he’s stuck to his formula with The Lost Hero, introducing the Roman adaptations of the Greek gods and goddesses as well as new characters unique to Roman mythology. Some critics take umbrage at the liberties Riordan takes with the myths, but I see it as good fun.

While Percy is only mentioned and Annabeth has a small role, it is clear the two will play a much larger role in the sequel, The Son of Neptune, due out on October 11, 2011.

Riordan also has the ability to write well from both male and female perspectives. The chapters alternate between our three main heroes: Leo, Piper, and Jason. All are equally engaging (and perhaps that is due to the third person narration).

This is the first time I’ve split my reading of a book between text and audio. I noticed the audio gave the book a slightly campy feel.

Fans of Riordan’s other series, Percy Jackson and The Kane Chronicles, will enjoy this offering.

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