The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero is the first book in Rick Riordan’s new spin-off series, Heroes of Olympus. New characters are introduced as a new enemy surfaces intent on destroying the gods and readers are reunited with some familiar characters as well. One, in particular, is missing, but there is a reason for it as the author will reveal in time. The three new characters – Jason, Leo, and Piper are one part of the equation of heroes who must come and work together if they are to survive the coming fight.

The Lost Hero is a fascinating story that pulls readers in from the beginning. This book’s chapters alternate between the three main characters – Jason, Leo, and Piper as each of their stories is revealed piece by piece. Jason finds himself mysteriously in a bus in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of rowdy kids. He has no idea who he is or where he is. A girl next to him says that his name is Jason and that they are dating. He has no memory of it. Everything feels strange and wrong and things are only going to get weirder. His best friend Leo has a thing with tools. He’s crazy talented and can create lots of things, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. Piper believes she and Jason are in a relationship but are they really? She’s pretty good at persuading people to get things, but she does it simply to get her movie star dad’s attention. But now...she’s having dreams that he’s in danger. Something evil wants her to betray her friends in order to save his life in exchange. Jason needs answers, but they all need help.

I have to admit that when I realized that there was a spin-off series from the original Percy Jackson series I was excited to grab this book up as was my daughter. We were both eager to see what this author had conjured up and how it would all connect. I mean, the Titans had been defeated and locked away, so what new evil could there be? I love that the author takes things in a familiar direction, but with a new twist. It gives readers something just familiar enough to pique their interest with enough to grab them and pull them all the way in. New monsters, new gods, and new challenges to overcome. The questions arise – who is Jason? I mean...really? Who is he? Zeus claims him as his own, but it’s supposed to be that Zeus, in the previous series, vowed to have no more children. So how? The questions that plagued my mind are part of what pushed me to dive deeper into this book.

The storyline itself is good and kept me page-turning. The characters themselves are okay, but they are...a bit...I guess I’d call it...unstable. The author writes them as teenagers, but at times...for me, they act younger than teens. Occasionally they act more mature, but those moments are typically brief. This book is classified as suitable for older children and teens. In my opinion, this book is more appropriate for teens than older children. I say that because the author focuses a lot on Piper’s attraction and interest to Jason and then vice versa as well, but more so with Piper. I have to admit that I found it a bit annoying at times. I didn’t want Piper to be so heavily focused on “how cute Jason is” or “how good he looked wearing whatever.” Yes, he does it, too, but not as much and I don’t like how often it happens because it makes it seem like that is mostly Piper’s focus other than saving her dad.

Another instance is when Piper reveals her “secret”. She expects the guys to be upset with her, but they just act like it’s nothing. I know fully that this book is fiction, but the best types of fiction are the ones that give readers some realism as well. That particular situation...had little to no realism. The expectation arises that they should be upset with her on some level, but for them to just shrug it off? Not even a little. There are a couple of other scenes that I felt were played down a bit when they could have been enhanced more. Also, I’m curious as to what happened to a certain character who has a brief appearance in the beginning but never shows up again. Are they going to make an appearance in the next book or a future one?

This book is packed with lots of characters both familiar and new, thrilling situations, a new enemy, and some new gods as well. This book is a fun story to read, but I don’t feel that it’s totally appropriate for those who are younger than 13. It gets a bit heavy-handed, in my opinion, in the teen romance angle in comparison to the Percy Jackson stories in the beginning. I’m going to continue the series, but I’ll be doing a perusal before reading them further to my 10-year-old as bedtime stories. If you enjoyed the Percy Jackson series and are looking to check this series out then I highly encourage you to do so. Thrills and adventure await as an old being begins to awaken and threatens the world and all who call it home.