| Author | Rick Riordan |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy, Young-adult fiction, Thriller, Mystery |
| Publisher | Disney Hyperion |
| Published | 2010-2015 |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) Audiobook |
| Preceded by | Percy Jackson & the Olympians |
The Heroes of Olympus is a fantasy book series written by Rick Riordan and based on Greek and Roman mythology. It is the sequel series to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians pentalogy.
The first book, The Lost Hero, was released October 12, 2010. The second book, The Son of Neptune, was released on October 4, 2011. The third book, The Mark of Athena, is coming in Fall 2012. Some of the segments in the books are based on information from The Golden Fleece and The Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles by Padraic Colum.[1] There will be a total of five books in the series,[2] which will end in 2014.[3]
Contents |
This series, continuing with its predecessor's pattern, ultimately deals with a prophecy. Given out in the The Last Olympian, the prophecy of The Heroes of Olympus will serve as the backbone of this series' events as the main characters try to save their world while meeting the prophecy's message. It reads:
Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.
To storm or fire the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.
In The Son of Neptune it is revealed that the prophecy was previously known to the Romans, children and descendants of the Roman counterparts of the Greek gods, for many centuries. The Greeks, children of the Greek gods, are first made aware of the prophecy in the fifth book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, The Last Olympian.
After the events of The Last Olympian, Gaia has started to stir and she begins to bring the giants, her children, back to life to depose the gods. Zeus, having been embarrassed by needing the help of the demigods to defeat Kronos and the Titans, insists that the gods not interfere with the mortal world, as he thinks that their interference was the cause of Gaia's awakening.
The Roman aspects of the gods are explored; the gods in the Greek pantheon are, in this series, considered to be the same as the Roman gods(ex. Zeus is Jupiter and Jupiter is Zeus). The gods in this series have numerous children from both their Greek and Roman forms. These children, demigods or half-bloods, are born with a mutual mistrust of the other group and in the past, every time the Greek demigods and the Roman demigods encounter each other they would attack one another, the last time occurring during the American Civil War. During their last encounter with each other, it ended up as their bloodiest fight yet and it forced the gods to force the two apart. Attempting to reunify the two groups, Hera, or Juno, organias'ASLMlasamd;ZOPkl;SajsndlASRoman son of Jupiter) to the Greek camp, Camp Half-Blood, and Percy Jackson (a Greek son of Poseidon) to the Roman camp, Camp Jupiter, so that they can reconcile with one another and help defeat Gaia.
Set a few months after the end of the Percy Jackson series, this book introduces Jason, a teenager who is suffering from amnesia. Jason wakes up on a bus not remembering anything from his past, including his identity. Sitting next to him on the bus are Piper Mclean and Leo Valdez, who claim to be his girlfriend and best friend. On a field trip to the Grand Canyon, storm spirits attack the three while their supervising teacher, Coach Gleeson Hedge, reveals himself to be a satyr, and defends them from the spirits. Jason surprises himself by using a sword disguised as a coin to fight off the spirits and being able to withstand being struck by lightning. Coach Hedge is captured while defending them. After the storm spirits flee, two pegasi land next to them carrying two strangers: a girl named Annabeth, a daughter of Athena and a boy with a rainbow tattoo named Butch, a son of Iris. Annabeth is hostile toward Jason when they meet as she had a vision in which Hera gave her a clue concerning the whereabouts of her missing boyfriend, Percy Jackson. She was told to look for the "one with the missing shoe," but Jason, who had lost a shoe in the battle, has no memories of his own identity, let alone Percy Jackson's whereabouts.
Jason, Piper and Leo are taken to Camp Half Blood and are informed that they are demigods, children conceived from a god and a mortal. Upon arriving, Leo and Piper are claimed by their godly parents, Hephaestus and Aphrodite. Jason is revealed to be a son of Zeus and to have a sister, Thalia. He remembers Thalia while seeing a picture of her in Cabin One, the cabin of Zeus' offspring. Less than a day later, the three new demigods are sent on an urgent quest to rescue Hera, the queen of the gods who was being held captive by unnamed forces.
The three friends set off on the back of a giant robotic dragon, Festus, on a cross-country quest to save Hera. Their enemies are under orders from Gaia and are seeking to overthrow the Olympian gods after the defeat of her children, the Titans, in The Last Olympian. Along their way, Jason, Piper and Leo meet and confront: Boreas, the North Wind; a trio of cyclopes; the evil enchantress Medea; King Midas; King Lycaon and his pack of werewolves; and the master of the winds, Aeolus. Aeolus gives the trio an old drawing Leo had drawn which would later prove to be very handy.
At the end the heroes and their friends, the Hunters of Artemis, manage to save both Piper's father, who'd been held for ransom by Enceladus, and Hera, whose godly energies were being used to raise the giant Porphyrion. They temporarily stall Gaia's plans, but Porphyrion is able to escape. With part of his memory returned, Jason realizes that he is from the Roman counterpart to Camp Half-Blood that is located somewhere near San Francisco, and that Hera switched him with Percy Jackson, who is now at the Roman camp with no memory of his life at Camp Half-Blood.
The Son of Neptune opens with Percy Jackson being chased by two of the Gorgons. They intend to kill Percy in order to avenge the killing of their sister, Medusa. Percy, who has amnesia, does not remember anything about Medusa or killing her. He barely escapes down a hill and stumbles upon a goddess in disguise named June. June, who reveals herself to be Juno, gives him a choice: he can carry her across the highway, through the Caldecott tunnel, and across the Little Tiber river or he can retreat to the safety of the sea and live a long, happy life. She also warns him that if he chooses the former and crosses the river, he will lose the Mark of Achilles, making him feel pain, loss, and misery beyond anything he has ever known but he will slowly regain his memory.
Percy chooses to carry her, and when he gets to Camp Jupiter, the camp for Roman demigods, he meets two other demigods: Hazel and Frank. Percy saves Frank from the Gorgons by creating huge hands from the water of the Little Tiber, and then uses the current of the river to rip the monsters apart. Percy is taken into the camp. Reyna, the camp praetor, initially dislikes Percy because he had, unknowingly, ruined her home on Circe's Island resort in the Sea of Monsters years ago.
He is interviewed by the camp augur, Octavian, who descends from Apollo. During the war games, Percy impresses everyone by his battle skills and instincts. Mars, the god of war, then appears and informs Frank Zhang that he is his son, and that Frank is to go on a quest. Octavian complains that there has been no prophecy but Mars throws a grenade that transforms into a pen and writes a prophecy: Go to Alaska. Find Thanatos and free him. Come back by sundown on June 24 or die.. Mars insists that Percy must go on the quest in order for him to learn some respect, the third person to go on the quest is up to Frank. Frank requests that Hazel also come on the quest. Percy, Frank and Hazel start off with very little supplies for their quest, but they begin their way to Alaska, the land beyond the gods.
While traveling, Percy struggles to regain his memory. Hazel reveals that she had died, but that Nico di Angelo, a son of Hades, saved her from the Fields of Asphodel, while looking for his other sister, Bianca. When they finally get to Alaska they find Thanatos in chains. His chains cannot be broken, unless melted by the fire of life, Frank's stick of life. Percy defends Frank while he melts Thanatos' chains as Hazel attacks Alcyoneus, the giant born to oppose Pluto and Hades. Frank, Hazel, and Arion, Hazel's horse, take Alcyoneus over the U.S.-Canadian border, since he may not die in the land he was born, and into Canada. He charges Frank, who then transforms into an elephant, his family gift, and Hazel kills Alcyoneus. Frank and Hazel rush back to help Percy, but Percy was standing there unharmed after falling into the sea.
Percy regains his memory as they race back to Camp Jupiter. Knowing that the Camp is under attack, Percy takes charge and leads the Romans into battle with the help of his old friends, Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary. The morale of the Romans is recharged after discovering that Percy saved the golden eagle from Alcyoneus. Percy then challenges the giant, Polybotes, to a duel and calls to Terminus, the Roman border god, to help him defeat the giant. Percy eventually beats Polybotes by using the head of Terminus' statue as a weapon. The camp then named him a praetor, a leader of the Roman camp. The whole camp waits as the Argo II makes its way into the camp to begin the reunification of the demigods.
The third book of the series, The Mark of Athena, will be released sometime during the Fall of 2012.
In this series there are seven main characters, or half-bloods, who have been destined to fulfill a prophecy. Six have been revealed while the seventh has only been hinted at in the novels. As this is the sequel to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, it continues to have the main characters as being the children of either the Greek or Roman deities, who still exist in the modern world.
The revealed main seven characters are: Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon; Piper McLean, the daughter of Aphrodite; Leo Valdez, the son of Hephaestus; Jason Grace, the son of Jupiter; Hazel Levesque, the daughter of Pluto and Frank Zhang, the son of Mars. The seventh is currently unknown and will be revealed as the series progresses.
Main article: Percy Jackson
Percy is the 16 year-old son of Poseidon, and was the main protagonist and narrator of the first series and returns as one of seven protagonists in the second. Although mentioned throughout The Lost Hero, he does not make an actual appearance. At the end of the first book, Jason reveals that he has switched places with Percy, as they are both leaders of each others respective camp, who is now at Camp Jupiter in the Bay Area of California. On May 26, 2011, Rick Riordan released the first chapter of the book where it was revealed that Percy's memory has also been wiped and can only vaguely remember Annabeth, his girlfriend. Some of the chapters are told through Percy's point of view. In the second chapter of The Son of Neptune he finds Camp Jupiter and meets Frank, Hazel, Reyna, and other new Roman demigods. He is one of the seven demigods of the Second Great Prophecy, and was also part of the First Great Prophecy. His weapon of choice is his sword, Anaklusmos, or Riptide. He is described as having black hair and sea green eyes, and is a natural leader. He was made praetor of the Roman Legion after defending the camp from a giant. Phineas, an antagonist in The Son of Neptune, says that Gaia hates him, Percy, the most, except for maybe Jason Grace. When Phineas is killed, Percy's fate is revealed to be not very pleasant. He'll again have to make a decision that will save or destroy the world. Percy has accomplished many great things, and therefore many of the monsters he encounters have a strong hatred for Percy above all others. Percy regains his memory gradually after he drinks the blood of a gorgon.
Jason is a 15 year-old son of Jupiter, Zeus's Roman counterpart. He was first introduced in The Lost Hero as a boy who suffers from amnesia. He is revealed to be Thalia Grace's younger brother, but conceived when Zeus was in his Roman form, Jupiter. He was separated from Thalia when he was two, because his mother offered him as a peace offer to Juno, the Roman form of Hera. He was then raised by Lupa, the she-wolf and director at Camp Jupiter. As a son of Jupiter, Jason has control over lightning and the air currents, causing him to survive lightning strikes and to have the ability to fly. He wields a golden coin that can either turn into a sword or lance called lvlivs, which is destroyed at the end of The Lost Hero. He replaces his weapon with a gladius given by Juno. He is a very experienced and knowledgeable fighter, having trained to fight since he was two. Jason was described as having blond hair and blue eyes. In The Lost Hero he was revealed to be one of the seven demigods in the Second Great Prophecy. Amnesiac at first, he slowly regains his memory throughout the The Lost Hero and is able to remember some of his old friends. In the second book "The Son of Neptune" Jason was revealed to be the praetor of the twelfth legion, though Percy takes the title of praetor in the Son of Neptune. Jason is mentioned a few times, but he does not actually appear in The Son of Neptune.
Leo is a 15 year-old son of Hephaestus, and is armed with a magical tool belt. He is revealed to have the power to create and withstand fire, which is a very rare ability for the children of Hephaestus. He does seem to be a bit of a prankster, but is loyal towards his friends. As a child, he was watched over by Hera, under the name "Tía Callidia", who prepared him for his destiny of being a hero. During his childhood, Gaea confronted him in order to discourage him from fighting her and using his powers.
He considers himself as the lesser when compared to Jason and Piper. He is also somewhat insecure due to his troubled childhood and it is revealed in the first book that he accidentally killed his mother after starting a fire when he was visited by Gaea. He is one of the seven demigods of the prophecy. In the end of the Son of Neptune, Leo sends a message to Camp Jupiter, the Roman camp, and at the end of the message, Hazel and Percy notice the resemblances between him and Sammy, the boy from Hazel's past.
Piper is a 15 year-old daughter of Aphrodite. She debuts in The Lost Hero along with Leo and Jason as a troubled kid in the Wilderness School. At first she believes Jason to be her boyfriend, but that is later proven to be a side-effect of a substance called the mist. She is later heart broken after learning about the truth, though Jason does show signs of liking her back throughout the book. She has the ability to "charmspeak", which allows her to make anyone obey her by simply changing the tone of her voice. She portrays the "damsel in distress" part in the book, yet she is responsible for saving Leo and Jason's life numerous times in The Lost Hero. She is more down-to-earth than the other children of Aphrodite, and unlike them, hates spending time in front of her wardrobe. Like all Aphrodite children, she is described as being very beautiful, having chocolate brown hair cut in a choppy manner. Her eyes change color from brown, to blue, to green, just like a kaleidoscope. Piper is also of Cherokee descent. She is very rich, because her father is the famous movie star Tristan McLean. She hates her life, preferring a more simple life and is upset over the fact that her father is too busy to spend time with her. Her father is kidnapped by the giants in The Lost Hero; she, along with Jason and Leo, later saves her father at the end of the book. She has feelings for Jason Grace and has stated that she is ready to 'compete with his past.' In The Son of Neptune, she appears briefly alongside Leo, sending a video message to Camp Jupiter.
Frank Zhang is a 16 year-old Roman demigod who is thought to be one of the seven from the Second Great Prophecy, he is a son of Roman god Mars, yet he is also a distant descendant of Greek god Poseidon on his mother's side. His mother's family descended from the Prince of Pylos, Periclymenus, an Argonaut. Periclymenus descendants were among the "Lost Legion" of Rome, captured in Persia and later taken to China, settling in Li-jien.[4] Poseidon had blessed Periclymenus and all his descendants with the ability to shape shift into any living thing; Frank discovers how to do so in "Son of Neptune".
According to Juno, Frank's life depends on a stick of wood, that, if burned completely, will cause his death. He carries that stick everywhere he goes, and uses that stick of wood in the second book to free Thanatos, as "the chains of death can only be be melted by the fire of life". He first appears in The Son of Neptune, as a border guard for Camp Jupiter, where Percy saves him from the gorgon sisters, Stheno and Euryale. His last name means "Bow Maker," or "Master of the Bow" in Chinese. He is armed with a golden bow and arrows. Mars also gives Frank a golden spear with a dragon tooth for a spearhead and when the tooth is broken off in its summons a skeleton warrior called Gray. Frank is the only known demigod of both Greek and Roman descent.
Hazel is a 13 year-old Roman demigod and the child of Pluto. Born on December 17, 1929, she died in 1942 and was brought back by Nico di Angelo, her brother. She is requested to accompany Frank and Percy on the quest to free Death. She makes her first appearance in The Son of Neptune at Camp Jupiter when Percy arrives, although she is mentioned in Jason's memory in the The Lost Hero. She is one of the demigods in the camp who witnesses Juno and Percy's arrival. She has feelings for Frank Zhang, but had a significant other, by the name of Sammy Valdez, when she was in New Orleans.
She is from New Orleans. She likes the sun since she moved to Alaska after living in New Orleans. Hazel also likes shrimp gumbo and gets sea sick easily. Cursed treasure often appears at her feet, because her mother wished to her father that she could have all the treasure under ground. She blames herself for the eldest giants return, because she rose him from the ground with her powers, but she only did it to save her mom from Gaea's clutches. She sacrifices her life to put the giant back underground, where he will stay for many decades. Usually, animals are afraid of her, being a child of Pluto, except for horses. She finds Arion, the mythological horse and child of Neptune and Ceres, while wandering around in the Amazon's building. She is the only one who does not feel sick from riding fast on Arion. She is one of the seven of the great prophecy.
Reyna is the daughter of Bellona, sister of Hylla. They were on Circe's Island in The Sea of Monsters when Percy visited and, unintentionally, caused its destruction. She was mentioned by Jason in The Lost Hero, stating that he had an unclear memory of her and implying that he once had a relationship with her. She makes her full appearance in the second chapter of The Son of Neptune when Percy arrives at Camp Jupiter. She seems to know Percy, as she showed a reaction when Juno announced Percy to Camp Jupiter. Although when Percy asked her if she knew anything about his past, she lies and tells him she does not know him. She is the praetor of the Twelfth Legion. Percy tells her everything he can remember. Like Jason, she has a tattoo on her arm that spells "SPQR", which stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus, which roughly translates into "The Senate and the People of Rome". She wears a purple cloak over her golden armor and is said to wear many golden medals. She owns two automaton dogs which serve as her personal body guards and lie-detectors. Her dogs are named Aurum, which is Latin for gold, and Argentium, which is Latin for silver. Reyna, like Annabeth, uses a dagger.. Under the SPQR portion of her tattoo, Reyna has 4 lines meaning she has been at Camp Jupiter for 4 years. She states that praetors often become romantically involved and implies that she would have liked to have a relationship with Jason. Reyna also implies that, since Jason disappeared, Percy would make a good praetor.
Annabeth is a 16 year-old daughter of Athena, and was one of the main protagonists of the first series and is a major character in the second. In The Last Olympian, it becomes clear that she is interested romantically in Percy, and by the end of the book, they are together. She then appears in The Lost Hero frantically searching for Percy Jackson, her missing boyfriend, but instead finds three demigods: Jason, Piper and Leo. She was initially offered to go with Jason on his quest, but declined and instead spent her time throughout the book looking for Percy. At the end of the first book, Jason realizes where Percy is and Annabeth vows to accompany the trio on their next quest to find Percy and to defeat Gaea. It was revealed in The Son of Neptune that Percy remembers her name and that she is somehow related to San Francisco, but has no actual idea what role she played in his life and is bent on finding out who she was initially. She even appears in one of Percy's dreams telling him that she is coming for him. At the end of The Son of Neptune, she is on the warship descending, in peace, on Camp Jupiter. It is revealed at the end of The Son of Neptune that she will cause trouble for the mission to defeat Gaea.
Thalia, an immortal demigod daughter of Zeus and the leader of the Hunters of Artemis, is one of the main supporting characters from the first series. She is Jason's older sister, but was conceived while Zeus was in his Greek form, making her a Greek demigod; Jason was conceived while Zeus was Jupiter, his Roman form. At a young age she runs away and after many battles with monsters, and meetings with gods she, along with Luke and Annabeth, makes it to Camp Half Blood. Hades, who was furious that Zeus broke his oath, sent hundreds of monsters to kill her. She sacrifices herself for her friends, but before she dies Zeus has mercy and turns her into a tree. In Sea of Monsters she is revived by the Golden Fleece. After Zoe passes away on a quest to rescue Artemis, Thalia becomes Artemis' new lieutenant and as a result she ceases to age at age 15. She makes an appearance in The Lost Hero when she and Jason meet for the first time after years believing he was dead. Later she fights to save Hera along with Jason. Thalia has short black spiky hair and electric blue eyes. She is usually wearing punk clothes and currently wears a tiara, as she is the lieutenant of Artemis.
He is a 13 year old Greek demigod and son of Hades, and one of the main supporting characters from the first series. He is first seen in The Titan's Curse with his sister Bianca. After a series of events Bianca becomes a Hunter of Artemis and is off on a quest. Percy sneaks off to join the quest but, Nico makes him promise to keep Bianca safe. When Percy comes back however he tells Nico Bianca is dead. Nico is furious, and it is soon learned that his father is Hades. In "The Battle of the Labryinth" it is discovered that he found the Labryinth entrance and escaped to the underworld with the help of King Minos. Nico and Percy come to terms and fight together in the end, becoming friends in the process. At the end he says he has a plan to help Percy defeat Kronos next year.
In "The Last Olympian" it is learned that his plan was to have Percy take a dip in the River Styx, to bare the curse of Achilles. He takes Percy to Hades to learn about his past, but Hades then throws Percy in prison, Nico then helps Percy escape. In flashbacks, it is learned that Nico found out that while he and Bianca were little children, Hades tried to get Maria, Nico's mom, and his children to come to the Underworld to hide from Zeus, who wanted the children and Maria dead. Hades was able to save the children, but Maria is killed. Hades tells Alecto, his Fury, to clear their memory, and keep them in the Lotus Hotel until he tells her to take them out. In anger, Hades curses the Oracle to stay in its body until the children of Hades are accepted. He and Bianca stay in the hotel for decades until Alecto comes out and takes them to a school.
He makes an appearance in Son of Neptune, but pretends not to know or acknowledge Percy. He is the half brother of Hazel, and brought her back to life instead of his sister Bianca because she decided to be reborn in the underworld. Towards the end of The Son of Neptune it is hinted by Thanatos that Nico was captured by Gaea's minions and the answer to saving him may be in Rome.
Octavian is an 18 year-old descendent of Apollo and serves as Camp Jupiter's augur and has the ability to read the will of the gods by performing a ritual that involves sacrificing a teddy bear. It is implied that he was responsible for the killing of another camper named Gwen, who was able to return to life. He has an influential way with words, which makes Percy remark that Octavian is more powerful in the senate than Reyna, a praetor. It is also mentioned that he is blackmailing Hazel to gain her vote for praetor. Percy beat him in a debate while giving speeches about whether to accept or attack the arriving Greek demigods. Octavian, who seeks power, is obsessed with the Syballine books, a set of books that Ella the Harpy has memorized that contain many prophecies.
Ella is a Harpy, half-bird, half-woman. She has red hair and feathers, green eyes, and a bony structure. She has extensive knowledge about the Romans and their culture. She is very valuable to the enemy side as she might have extensive knowledge of several scrolls that depict Prophecies. She has memorized a lot of books, and often recites a few prophecies from the Sibylline books that Octavian wants badly. It is mentioned towards the end of The Son of Neptune that Ella was going to have to be hidden from Octavian because of her knowledge. She was one of the harpies that was tortured by Phineas. Near the end of The Son of Neptune, it is revealed that Tyson and Ella have mutual crushes on each other. Ella talks about herself in third person and often talks about off the topic subjects.
Thanatos is the Greek god of death. Thanatos is also a lieutenant of Pluto and serves as a patrol guard to stop souls from escaping. He was once chained by Sisyphus but saved by Mars. He is captured by the eldest giant in The Son of Neptune but he is rescued by Percy, Hazel and Frank. He also tells Percy, Hazel, and Frank how to open the Doors of Death, which requires travel to Rome. After he was freed by Frank, he returns to his normal duties in the underworld. In The Heroes of Olympus, Thanatos is considered to be the same as the Roman deity, Letus, although with some minor differences.
Tyson is a Cyclops, the half-brother of Percy and general of the Cyclops army. He is one of the main secondary characters in the first series. He is described as huge and amazingly strong, although he is mentally a child and cries often. He has one eye since he is a cyclops. He fights with a club and loves peanut butter. In "The Lost Hero," Annabeth says that he is looking for Percy, but he does not actually make an appearance in the book. In "The Son of Neptune," Percy has a dream where Grover and Annabeth tell him to stay where he is, because Tyson is near Percy's location. Percy has two dreams about Tyson, and by the time he has the second, he has regained enough of his memory to recognize Tyson and communicates with him through the dream. Percy tells Tyson to take care of the harpy, Ella, and to meet him at Camp Jupiter rather than follow him. Tyson fights in the battle to save Camp Jupiter and is at the camp when the ship from Camp Half-Blood, Argo II, arrives.
Coach Hedge is a satyr who works at the Wilderness School, Leo and Piper's school. He is the first to notice that Jason just appeared that day. He isn't easily fooled by the Mist. He is short and prone to violence. While defending Jason, Piper, and Leo from the storm spirits, he is captured and taken to Medea. Jason, Piper and Leo find him frozen in her department store where they rescue and thaw him. He goes with them to see Aeolus and to save Piper's father. He falls in love with Mellie, a wind aura who worked for Aeolus and lost her job helping them. Hedge, along with Mellie, now works for Piper's dad. The Lost Hero is his first physical appearance, he is briefly mentioned in The Last Olympian when Percy and Annabeth read a report he sent to Grover about monster attacks in Canada. He is 106 years old.
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