The Heroes of Olympus

The Heroes of Olympus

The logo for The Heroes of Olympus series
The Lost Hero (2010) The Son of Neptune (2011) The Mark of Athena (2012) The House of Hades (2013) The Blood of Olympus (2014)
Author	Rick Riordan
Cover artist	John Rocco
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Fantasy, young adult fiction, mystery, adventure, Greek and Roman mythological fiction
Publisher	Disney Hyperion
Published	2010–2014
Media type	Print (hardback and paperback) Audiobook
No. of books	5
Preceded by	Percy Jackson & the Olympians
Followed by	The Trials of Apollo

The Heroes of Olympus is a pentalogy of adventure, mythological fiction and fantasy novels by American author Rick Riordan that collectively form a sequel series to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series.^[1] This series details a conflict between Greek and Roman demigods and Gaea, the earth goddess. Riordan introduces Roman mythology into his sequel series as well as several new characters. The first book of the series, The Lost Hero, was published on October 12, 2010.^[2] The final entry in the series, The Blood of Olympus, was published on October 7, 2014.^[3]

Plot

The plot of the Heroes of Olympus is centered around a prophecy, introduced in The Last Olympian, that predicted seven demigods would unite to protect the earth from Gaea. Demigods from both the Greek camp, Camp Half-Blood, and a newfound Roman camp, Camp Jupiter, work together to save the world from being destroyed by Gaea. The prophecy 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.

Books

The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero, the first book in the Heroes of Olympus series, was released on October 12, 2010 as a hardcover, audiobook, and ebook.^[4] The initial publishing run consisted of 2.5 million copies.^[5] The book's official publication was preceded by several "sneak-peek" releases by Disney-Hyperion.^[6] A graphic novel version, adapted and illustrated by Orpheus Collar, was released October 7, 2014.^[7][8]

The novel begins by introducing Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez, three newly-discovered demigods who travel to Camp Half-Blood. In response to a prophecy, they set off on a quest to prevent the rebirth of the giant king Porphyrion and rescue Piper's father, who has been kidnapped by another giant, Enceladus. Jason, who has amnesia, also begins to remember pieces of his past throughout the book - most importantly, that he comes from a Roman camp for demigods called Camp Jupiter. Camp Half-Blood resolves to seek out this other camp both to gain allies in the fight against Gaea, the giants' mother and commander, and to locate the missing Percy Jackson.^[9]

The novel was a number one bestseller on the lists of The New York Times,^[10] USA Today,^[11] The Wall Street Journal,^[12] and Publishers Weekly.^[13]. Many critics praised the novel as a good follow-up to Riordan's previous series. A review by The Epoch Times commented, "If anyone was afraid that Riordan couldn’t top his Percy Jackson series—they can quit worrying. This new series, even though in the same genre as the Percy Jackson group, has fresh ideas, more mystery and magic and keeps the reader engrossed from start to finish."^[14] Despite this praise, some reviews were more mixed. Vicky Smith of Kirkus Reviews wrote, "[there are] far too many pages of stretched-out action, telling not showing and awkward dialogue...Unless Riordan tightens things up considerably by number five, [readers] may find themselves hoping that it does not end with a third Great Prophecy".^[15]

The Lost Hero won the Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2010 award and was a Massachusetts Children's Book Award Honor book for 2014, among other honors.^[16][17] Rick Riordan was named "Author of the Year" for the novel at the 2011 Children's Choice Awards.^[18][19] The book was also recommended by the ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults list of 2012.^[17][20]

The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune, the second book in the Heroes of Olympus series, was released on October 4, 2011.

The novel opens with Percy Jackson (stricken with amnesia) discovering Camp Jupiter and meeting several Roman demigods. After a prophecy from Mars, he, Frank Zhang, and Hazel Levesque travel to Alaska to stop the rise of the giant Alcyoneus and free the god Thanatos, whom the giant has captured. After successfully completing their mission, the group returns to Camp Jupiter to defend it from yet another giant, Polybotes, and his army. After repelling this invasion, the demigods from Camp Jupiter go to meet the delegation from Camp Half-Blood arriving in the flying ship known as the Argo II.^[21]

The Mark of Athena

The Mark of Athena, the third book, was released on October 2, 2012.

After the Argo II unintentionally fires on Camp Jupiter, the seven demigods of the "Prophecy of Seven" - Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez - rush to escape the angered Roman campers. They travel to Rome following the Mark of Athena, a magical talisman designed to lead children of Athena (like Annabeth) to the missing Athena Parthenos. During their journey, they hear that Nico di Angelo has been captured by the Aloadae, and go to rescue him. Although they successfully free the son of Hades and locate the statue, Annabeth and Percy are pulled into Tartarus and the rest of the group resolves to find some way to save them.^[22]

The House of Hades

The House of Hades, the fourth book, was released on October 8, 2013.

In Tartarus, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase travel towards the "Doors of Death" (the only exit to the mortal world) with help from Bob the Titan, hoping to escape and simultaneously stop more monsters from getting through. In the mortal world, the remaining demigods search for the mortal side of the Doors to help open them. They also meet with Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, a Roman demigod; she, Nico di Angelo, and Coach Hedge leave with the Athena Parthenos for Camp Half-Blood. Once reunited, the original seven sail for Greece, where they expect Gaea's main force will gather.^[23]

The Blood of Olympus

The Blood of Olympus, the fifth and final book in the series, was released on October 7, 2014.

While Reyna Ramírez-Arellano, Nico di Angelo, and Gleeson Hedge travel towards Camp Half-Blood (where the Romans are preparing to attack the Greeks), the seven of the quest travel to Athens. With help from the gods, the demigods defeat the giants in Athens. They then return to the fight on Long Island and Leo Valdez sacrifices himself to defeat Gaea and restore peace. In the final pages, Leo is resurrected by his bronze dragon Festus and goes to find his girlfriend Calypso. Unaware that he is alive, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter mourn his loss, determining to become allies and prevent such a deadly war from happening again.^[24]

Supplementary works

The Demigod Diaries

Released August 14, 2012,^[25] The Demigod Diaries is a collection of short stories. Similar to The Demigod Files, it contains some new stories with character interviews, illustrations, puzzles, and a quiz. The four stories include:

• "The Diary of Luke Castellan": Thalia Grace and Luke Castellan meet Halycon Green, Luke receives his knife, and the pair encounters Annabeth Chase. The events of the story take place roughly five years before The Lightning Thief, the first book of Percy Jackson & the Olympians.^[26]
• "Percy Jackson and the Staff of Hermes": Percy Jackson and Annabeth are sent by Hermes to retrieve his caduceus from the fire-breathing giant Cacus. The story takes place between The Last Olympian and The Lost Hero.^[26]
• "Leo Valdez and the Quest for Buford": Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, and Piper McLean confront a group of Maenads while searching for Buford the table, who has run off with an important piece of the unfinished Argo II. The story takes place at Camp Half-Blood between The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune.^[26]
• "Son of Magic": Alabaster Torrington, a demigod son of Hecate who fought on Kronos's side, finds himself in a fight to the death with Lamia. He is alone after being banished from Camp Half-Blood following Kronos's defeat in The Last Olympian and asks the mortal Howard Claymore for help. This story was written by Rick Riordan's son Haley Riordan..^[27][26]

Main characters

Greeks

• Perseus "Percy" Jackson: The 17-year-old son of Poseidon from Camp Half-Blood, Percy was the narrator and main protagonist of the preceding series. He suffers from amnesia in The Son of Neptune. He is the boyfriend of Annabeth Chase.
• Annabeth Chase: A 17-year-old daughter of Athena. Annabeth is highly intelligent and a gifted architect.
• Piper McLean: A 15-year-old daughter of Aphrodite. She can "charmspeak" (magically convince people to do what she says) and is very beautiful. She carries a knife called Katropris (purportedly owned by Helen of Troy) that shows her visions of the future. She begins dating Jason Grace during the series.
• Leo Valdez: A 15-year-old son of Hephaestus who can control fire (a very rare ability). He builds the Argo II. Leo begins dating Calypso in The Blood of Olympus after being stranded on Ogygia earlier in the series.
• Nico di Angelo: A 14-year-old Greek demigod, he is the only known son of Hades and also the only demigod who knew about both Camps before the war. He has power over the dead.
• Gleeson Hedge: An old satyr, formerly a coach at the Wilderness School. Hedge's first child is born during the final book of the series.
• Thalia Grace: Thalia is Jason's biological sister, but a daughter of Zeus rather than Jupiter.
• Tyson: Tyson is a cyclops, the half-brother of Percy
• Rachel Elizabeth Dare: Camp Half-Blood's oracle. Rachel is not a demigod or a legacy; she is a regular mortal human who was born with the gift to see through the Mist.
• Grover Underwood: Percy's best friend, a satyr; he and Percy have an empathy link that allows them to sense on another.

Romans

• Jason Grace: A 16-year-old Roman son of Jupiter who can fly, control winds and lightning, and create storms. He is a natural leader and was praetor before Hera took his memory and sent him to Camp Half-Blood.
• Hazel Levesque: A 13-year-old daughter of Pluto. She originally lived in the 1940s before dying to stop the rise of Alcyoneus and later being revived by her half-brother Nico di Angelo. She can control precious metals and stones, navigate underground, and manipulate the Mist.
• Frank Zhang: A 16-year-old son of Mars and a descendant of Poseidon on his mother's side. Frank can shapeshift.
• Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano: A 16-year-old daughter of the Roman goddess of war, Bellona. Reyna can lend her useful abilities (like her courage, strength, and leadership ability) to other demigods.
• Octavian: An 18-year-old Roman descendant of Apollo, he serves as the camp's augur. Octavian is power-hungry and takes control of Camp Jupiter after Reyna goes looking for the Athena Parthenos. He is largely responsible for the Roman Camp attacking the Greeks'. He dies in the final book.

Follow-up series

A sequel pentalogy series titled The Trials of Apollo is currently in-development, with the first installment, The Hidden Oracle released on May 3, 2016. The second installment, The Dark Prophecy, was released on May 2, 2017.^[28]

References

External links

• The Heroes of Olympus series site from publisher Disney (readriordan.com)
• Rick Riordan Myth Master at publisher Penguin Books (UK)
• Rick Riordan at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database