Series: Book 1 in the The Heroes Of Olympus series
Rating: Not rated
Tags: Fiction, General, Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic, Legends; Myths; Fables, Action & Adventure, Hera (Greek deity), Mythology; Greek, Camps, Gaia (Greek deity), Greek & Roman, Monsters, Lang:en
Summary
Gr 5-9-This book will delight fans of The Lightning Thief
(Hyperion, 2005) as Percy, Annabeth, and others play roles in
the new prophecy and its subsequent quest. A few months after
The Last Olympian (Hyperion, 2009) ends, Jason wakes up on a
bus filled with problem kids from the Wilderness School who
are headed to the Grand Canyon. He has no memory of his
previous life, but seems to be with his girlfriend, Piper,
and his best friend, Leo. The action takes off quickly: storm
spirits attack them and capture their coach, who turns out to
be a Satyr. Searching for Percy, who is missing, Annabeth
arrives and takes the three to Camp Half-Blood, where they
learn that they are demigods. Their parents are gods in their
Roman rather than Greek personae. By sunset of the solstice
in three days, the teens must rescue Hera, Queen of the gods,
or Porphyrion, the giant king created to destroy Zeus and
unseat the gods of Olympus, will rise. Their quest takes them
across the United States, sometimes flying on a mechanical,
60-foot dragon, as they use their power and wits against
Medea, King Midas, and the giant cannibal Enceladus. Riordan
excels at clever plot devices and at creating an urgent sense
of cliff-hanging danger. His interjection of humor by
incongruous juxtaposition-Medea, for example, heads up a New
York City department store-provides some welcome relief. The
young heroes deal with issues familiar to teens today: Who am
I? Can I live up to the expectations of others? Having read
the first series is helpful but not essential, and the
complex plot is made for sequels.-Connie Tyrrell Burns,
Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME (c) Copyright 2010.
Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media
Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Readers longing for a return to Camp Half-Blood will get
their wish in the first novel of the Heroes of Olympus
series, which follows Riordan’s popular Percy Jackson
and the Olympians series and includes some of the same
characters in minor roles. The new cast features Jason,
Piper, and Leo, teen demigods who are just coming to
understand and use their unique abilities as they learn how
much depends upon their wits, courage, and fast-developing
friendship. Setting up the books to come, the backstory of a
master plan to unseat the gods is complex but is doled out in
manageable bits with a general air of foreboding. Meanwhile,
the action scenes come frequently as the three heroic teens
fight monstrous enemies in North American locales, including
the Grand Canyon, Quebec City, Detroit, Chicago, Omaha, Pikes
Peak, and Sonoma Valley. Flashes of humor lighten the mood at
times, but a tone of urgency and imminent danger seems as
integral to this series as the last. With appealing new
characters within a familiar framework, this spin-off will
satisfy the demand for more. Grades 4-8. --Carolyn PhelanFrom School Library Journal
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