The Lost Hero/ Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. YA fantasy, adventure, greco-roman mythology. 576 pages

Rick Riordan has always been one of my guilty pleasure authors. Even though I am FAR too old for his books, I still find myself clandestinely checking them out because I enjoy his writing style. I read his best-selling "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series as a quick, low-stress read after finishing the lengthy thrill ride that was Stieg Larsson's "Millenium" trilogy. I obviously had to read them only at home because I couldn't even bring them to work or school with me to risk the powerful blow to my rep that would occur if I was seen reading one of them. What was great about this was that I returned to my childhood and found myself reading my flashlight under the covers like when I was a kid (Riordan's target audience in case you haven't figured it out). After finishing the first installment of Riordan's new semi-interconnected series "The Heroes of Olympus," I must say that while I am still embarrassed to bring a book like this to school, I know that my fellow library bloggers understand the magic that can occur when a book brings you back to your childhood like this one did for me.

The story itself is about three demigods, children of one mortal parent and one parent from the Greek (or Roman as it turns out) pantheon of gods. There are many children like this during the time of the story and all demigod children are retrieved and brought to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demigods by the time they are 13 in order to protect them from the monsters lurking around the country. This concept may seem reminiscent of Harry Potter, and to be perfectly honest, it kind of is, but that doesn't take away from the strength of the series.

The mythology of the story is excellent because it draws from pre-existing mythology. Anyone who is remotely familiar with ancient Greek mythology will find a plethora of references that they will enjoy. Riordan does an excellent job of inserting all of this wonderful pre-existing mythology into modern-day America in order to create a brand new view of the world that will intrigue and entertain readers (just think: the abandoned auto plants in Detroit are now home to a clan of angry cyclops). This being said, Riordan also comes up with plenty of his own wonderful mythology and many of the characters/monsters that were featured during the "Percy Jackson" series play minor roles in this story.

One thing that is new to this series is the choice to follow 3 narrators instead of just one like in his Percy Jackson series. While this style may seem strange at first, it quickly becomes a necessary plot element because although the three narrators are traveling together, each has secrets that can be shared with the reader but not with the other characters. Such insight into the characters creates a relationship between reader and character that would normally not exist until after a long franchise is underway.

If you enjoy YA fantasy and aren't afraid of looking like a total dork, I'd pick this one up. If this series does intrigue you, though, I'd recommend starting with "The Lightning Thief" the first volume of the Percy Jackson series, because while most of the Camp Half-Blood universe is explained in "the Lost Hero" it definitely rewards faithful readers of the Percy Jackson series by leaving a few important details out.