Skip to main content

The Lost Hero


The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus, Book 1)
by Rick Riordan
Hyperion, 2010. 553 pgs. Fiction.


I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the first book in Rick Riordan's new Heroes of Olympus series is a crackling good read, Riordan once again employing his breakneck/wisecracking mythological adventure formula to splendid effect. The bad news is that the next volume, The Son of Neptune, will not come out until Fall of 2011. Until then we will be left to wonder what will become of young Jason, a Roman hero with amnesia, who finds himself at Camp Half-Blood after a terrifying fight with storm spirits over the Grand Canyon. With him are two friends whom he doesn't remember: Piper, daughter of Aphrodite and my personal favorite, Leo, son of Hephaestus who can generate fire with his hands and can fix or fabricate anything with the help of us trusty magic tool belt, including Fetus, the mechanical dragon. Without revealing too much I can tell you that the three friends leave Camp Half-Blood almost immediately upon arriving, on a quest to save Hera/Juno from an unnamed captor who wants the gods to fall and the giants to take over. On the way they meet Aeolus as an Olympian weatherman; King Midas; Llycaon and his wolves. They also go shopping in at a mall which must be entered through the sewer which is run by one of the most evil women ever to live; namely . . . but you can figure that our for yourself. Though there is a fairly long line of people waiting to read Riordan's latest, it will be well worth your time, and the wait.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Display: Dino-mite Reads

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs By Mo Willems New York: Balzar + Bray, 2012. Picture Book. "Once upon a time, there were three hungry Dinosaurs: Papa Dinosaur, Mama Dinosaur . . . and a Dinosaur who happened to be visiting from Norway. One day--for no particular reason--they decided to tidy up their house, make the beds, and prepare pudding of varying temperatures. And then--for no particular reason--they decided to go . . . someplace else. They were definitely not setting a trap for some succulent, unsupervised little girl. Definitely not!" --Editor Smart Vs. Strong! Written by Jill Esbaum Illustrated by Miles Thompson New York: Simon Spotlight, 2021. Easy Reader. 64 pages. "When Thunder gets stuck in quicksand, Cluck uses his smarts to free his friend." --Editor How Dinosaurs Went Extinct Written by Ame Dyckman Illustrated by Jennifer Harney New York: Brown and Company, 2023. Picture Book. "When a child in a museum asks how dinosaurs became extinct, Dad co

Review: The Enigma Girls

  The Enigma Girls By Candace Fleming New York: Scholastic Focus, 2024. Informational. 371 pages. If you have an interest in little known aspects of history or in World War II in particular, this book is for you. The Enigma Girls tells the story of 10 young women who worked at Station X at Bletchley Park in England helping to break ciphers during World War II. Each of the girls grew up in different circumstances, and thus, each worked at in a different part of Station X cracking codes. The reader learns about how Station X worked through the stories of each of the girls. Whether it was transcribing the Morse code messages that the Germans were sending to their armies or decoding, translating, or paraphrasing messages, each girl had a part to play. The stories of the girls are intermixed with plenty of photographs as well as special chapters about how to decode various types of ciphers. Learning about Station X through the eyes of the girls that worked there helps the reader gain a huma

Review: The Hidden Dragon

The Hidden Dragon By Melissa Marr New York: Nancy Paulsen Books, 2023. Fiction. 161 pages. Three children, Otter, London, and Sophia, live in a fantasy world with dragons. Otter (short for Ottilie) is the daughter of a ship captain, and she loves the sea and its dragons. London is a stowaway boy, searching for a new life full of adventure. Sophia lives in a thief house with other children, all dedicated to helping each other and trying to make the kingdom better. As trouble begins to brew both on land and at sea, these three heroes realize that maybe it's up to the kids to make things right. Readers experience the book from multiple perspectives, and with a bit of mystery and adventure, this is an amazing fantasy read. With the inspiring message that children truly can make a difference, readers will enjoy how each character fights for what's right, even when it's inconvenient. The ending is resolved a little quickly, but this is a great read for all "hatchlings."