The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Ahh, here it is: the continuing saga of the half-bloods. I thought the Percy Jackson series was decent, and I did think Rick Riordan found some clever ways to incorporate Greek mythology into a children’s fantasy/adventure series. And I was also ever-so-grateful when he stopped his series at a definitive five instead of dragging it out for ten when it was better told in five.
So when I found out that he was planning a new series that would cross over with the Percy Jackson series, my curiosity was piqued. And I knew that I could count on my buddies JN and BN to lend me the books when they came out.
The Lost Hero is the first installment of The Heroes of Olympus. The hero of our story is not the one who is lost; it’s Jason Grace. He finds himself sitting in the back of a bus, holding hands with his girlfriend, Piper McLean, and joking with his best friend, Leo Valdez. The only problem is that Jason has no idea how he got there or who Piper and Leo are. He can’t remember a thing.
It’s unfortunate that Riordan felt the need to start his book on such a false note because the rest of it was plenty of fun, and filled with adventure. But this was a lame, lame way to start a series.
Look, if I suddenly found myself on a bus with an unexplained case of amnesia, I wouldn’t just sit there and yammer about what to do. I’d FREAK OUT. I’d start go nuts, and I’d certainly draw the attention of whatever authority figures were nearby. And if my boyfriend suddenly couldn’t remember who I was, then I wouldn’t just look crestfallen and try to speculate about ways in which this could have happened. Once again, I’d FREAK OUT. I’d demand that he be taken to a hospital right away so that he would REMEMBER ME. Then, maybe we could go back to holding hands.
Mmm, Bourne.
But, no, the kids on the bus just keep things under wraps until, of course, the monsters show up. Jason (are you sure your last name isn’t Bourne?) seems to instinctively know how to handle himself in battle, and he’s good with his weapon. But not good enough, apparently, because it takes a li’l deus ex machina in the form of Annabeth Chase, a son of Iris named Butch, and some pegasi to get them out of their mess.
As it turns out, Annabeth’s boyfriend, who is none other than Percy Jackson, the hero of Percy Jackson and the Olympians, is missing.
As usual, Riordan drops plenty of broad hints to his reader along the way. By the time that we actually find out the truth about Jason’s heritage, we’re like, “I GET IT. Just spit it out, already!!”
Riordan does a decent job of incorporating mythology into his story; that’s really where the strength of these series lies. Apparently, he decided to write this series because there was still so much mythology that he hadn’t explored in his first series.
This book was a fun li’l adventure, aside from the lame beginning. I’d be willing to read the rest of the series.
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