The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (reviewed by Samantha_kathy)

Quite a long review this time, but then again, it's a rather thick book. Let me know what you think, especially the plot summary. I didn't want to give too much away and it's hard not to tell things that are obvious to anyone who's read the Percy Jackson series. But on the other hand, this series is capable of standing alone, so I didn't want to spoil it for those not familiar with Percy Jackson.

Review:

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan – 4 stars

In this first book of Rick Riordan’s new series The Heroes of Olympus we return to Percy Jackson’s world. Three new heroes are introduced to us. First there’s Leo, who has a way with tools and a dark past. Then we have Piper, whose father is missing and in terrible danger, at least, according to her nightmares. And last, there’s Jason, who had no idea who he is or why he knows certain things. And what’s up with all the Latin?

These three are whisked away to Camp Half-Blood after they are attacked and learn more about their past and their destiny. Together, they are trust into a quest that signals the beginning of the next Great Prophecy. They have four days to complete the quest or the world is doomed. The clock is ticking…

I had hard time getting into the book. Perhaps it is because it’s not the much beloved Percy Jackson series but still feels the same, causing a bit of weirdness. Or it is because the main character in the first chapter is suffering from memory loss, since I have a record of not liking amnesia in a story. But as soon as I got past the first chapter I was drawn into the book just as surely as I was in the Percy Jackson series. From there on out it was a great adventure story with the same humor and excitement as I have come to expect from Rick Riordan.

There were times when as a reader of the Percy Jackson books I knew more than the characters. Especially in the first few chapters, allusions to events in the Percy Jackson books are made that I understood more than the characters. Still, I do not think that someone who hasn’t read the Percy Jackson books will be lost.

In contrast to the Percy Jackson series this book is written in the third person POV instead of the first person POV. This is probably done so that the story can be told from multiple POV, but even like this each character has their own distinct voice. It doesn’t take long at all to fall in love with these characters.

Something I dearly missed in this book were the clever chapter titles from the Percy Jackson books. Roman numerals depict the chapter number and the ‘title’ is the name of the protagonist you’re sharing the viewpoint with that chapter. There’s no set schedule for this, Rick Riordan has chosen to pick the best person to tell that part of the story instead of sticking to rigid schedule. Still, protagonists are equally important to the story, so it balances out pretty well seen over the whole book.

Overall, the thing I liked most in The Lost Hero was the fact that Roman mythology now comes into play as well. This book is very much about the likeness and differences between Greek and Roman culture and mythology. In the words of Clovis, one of the characters: “But even the major Greek gods – it’s not just their names that changed when they moved to Rome. Their appearances changed. Their attributes changed. They even had slightly different personalities.” (p. 102)

The Heroes of Olympus series has grabbed my attention. I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. The Son of Neptune will be out this autumn and I am already speculating over its contents, something I rarely do.

I think you did fine on the summary. I didn't fully understand it, but that is because I am unfamiliar with the series.

The third paragraph, sentence three reads funny. I think the comma and 'since' should be replaced with 'and'.

In the fourth paragraph you switch tenses. You start the paragraph with 'were' and 'knew', but in the second sentence it switches to present tense with 'are'.

In the fifth paragraph, first sentence, I would eliminate the first usage of 'POV' and a couple of the 'the's. I think this book is written in third person instead of first person POV would read better.

You use 'POV a couple of times in that paragraph. There's nothing wrong with that, but would suggest changing one of the usages to 'point of view' or 'points of view' just for the variation.

In the last sentence of the sixth paragraph, I'd drop 'seen'.

There's a few bits I didn't understand, but they all seem to be related to my not being familiar with the Percy Jackson books. As a whole, I think it's a good review. All my finds are just nitpicky stuff.

The paragraphs feel fragmented to me but that may be because I’m sitting in a workshop where the most boring powerpoint presentation is unfolding and it’s making my brain hurt. I tried making some suggestions but ended up reorganizing them. Incidentally, my Percy Jackson books are somewhere on Mt. TBR but I think it’s time dig them out and start reading them.

“In this first book of Rick Riordan’s new series The Heroes of Olympus we return to Percy Jackson’s world. Three new heroes are introduced to us. First there’s Leo, who has a way with tools and a dark past. Then we have Piper, whose father is missing and in terrible danger, at least, according to her nightmares. And last, there’s Jason, who had no idea who he is or why he knows certain things. And what’s up with all the Latin? ”
Add comma between “Olympus” and “we”
“Three new heros are introduced to us: Leo who has a way with tools and a dark past; Piper whose father is missing and, if her nightmares are to be believed, in terrible danger; and, Jason who has no idea who he is or why he knows certain things. And, what’s up with all the Latin?”
There’s no further reference to latin so I think this point needs some additional clarification.

” “These three are whisked away to Camp Half-Blood after they are attacked and learn more about their past and their destiny. Together, they are trust into a quest that signals the beginning of the next Great Prophecy. They have four days to complete the quest or the world is doomed. The clock is ticking…”
Who attacks them? If it’s not a spoiler, maybe that info could be included:
After they are attacked by _____, Leo, Piper and Jason are are whisked away to Camp Half-Blood to learn more about their pasts as well as their destinies. Together, they are thrust
or
After they are attacked, Leo, Piper and Jason ...

“I had hard time getting into the book. Perhaps it is because it’s not the much beloved Percy Jackson series but still feels the same, causing a bit of weirdness. Or it is because the main character in the first chapter is suffering from memory loss, since I have a record of not liking amnesia in a story. But as soon as I got past the first chapter I was drawn into the book just as surely as I was in the Percy Jackson series. From there on out it was a great adventure story with the same humor and excitement as I have come to expect from Rick Riordan.”
I had a hard time getting into this book. To me, it felt a little like the much beloved Percy Jackson series and I felt somewhat weird about that. Perhaps it could also be because, in the first chapter, the main character is suffering from memory loss and I have a record of not liking amnesia in a story. Nevertheless, as soon as I got past the first chapter, I was drawn into the story just as surely as I had been in the Percy Jackson series and from there on, it was a great adventure story with the humor and excitement I have come to expect from Rick Riordan.

“There were times when as a reader of the Percy Jackson books I knew more than the characters. Especially in the first few chapters, allusions to events in the Percy Jackson books are made that I understood more than the characters. Still, I do not think that someone who hasn’t read the Percy Jackson books will be lost. ”
Because I had read the Percy Jackson books, there were times I felt I knew more than the characters. In the first few chapters, I understood the allusions that were made to events which occurred in the PJB which the characters clearly did not. Nonetheless, I do not think that someone who hasn’t read the Percy Jackson books will be lost.

“In contrast to the Percy Jackson series this book is written in the third person POV instead of the first person POV. This is probably done so that the story can be told from multiple POV, but even like this each character has their own distinct voice. It doesn’t take long at all to fall in love with these characters. ”
In contrast to the PJS which is written from a first-person point of view, this book is written in the third person. I suspect that this is done to allow the story to be told from multiple points of view which draws attention to each character’s distinct voice.

“Something I dearly missed in this book were the clever chapter titles from the Percy Jackson books. Roman numerals depict the chapter number and the ‘title’ is the name of the protagonist you’re sharing the viewpoint with that chapter. There’s no set schedule for this, Rick Riordan has chosen to pick the best person to tell that part of the story instead of sticking to rigid schedule. Still, protagonists are equally important to the story, so it balances out pretty well seen over the whole book. ”
Something ... the name of the protagonist whose viewpoint is being presented in that chapter. There’s no obvious rotation of characters: Riordan chooses which character is best able to relate that particular part of the story but since each protagonist is equally important, this method of storytelling is well-balanced throughout the book.

“Overall, the thing I liked most in The Lost Hero was the fact that Roman mythology now comes into play as well. This book is very much about the likeness and differences between Greek and Roman culture and mythology. In the words of Clovis, one of the characters: “But even the major Greek gods – it’s not just their names that changed when they moved to Rome. Their appearances changed. Their attributes changed. They even had slightly different personalities.” (p. 102) ”
Overall, what I liked most in The Lost Hero is the Roman mythology which comes into play. This book is very much about the similarities and differences between Greek and Roman culture and mythology. In the words of one of the characters, Clovis, “...

“The Heroes of Olympus series has grabbed my attention. I enjoyed this book very much and highly recommend it. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. The Son of Neptune will be out this autumn and I am already speculating over its contents, something I rarely do. ”
The Heroes of Olympus series has captured my attention. I really enjoyed The Lost Hero and recommend it highly. The Son of Neptune will be released this autumn and I can’t wait to read it. I’m already speculating about its contents -- something I rarely do!