So, The Heroes of Olympus. It’s the second series based on the idea that all of the Greek (and now Roman) myths were true. The gods/demigods/et al live in the ‘center of the Western world’ (read: America). It’s actually a really neat idea and a really neat world. It turns out, those old myths are really weird.

But herein lies the main problem I had with The Lost Hero. We’ve already been there / done this. The Lightning Thief did it and did it better. If you only read one of the two, I would honestly suggest that one. On the other hand, if you loved the Percy Jackson books and want to read more? You could do far worse.

Other than that, I had a few gripes. How in the world did they (the sort of general they) keep such a secret for so long? Especially given how everyone they meet seems to know? Why does it fall time and again to a small handful of children to save the world? How do they always have only a handful of days?

On the strengths, I really do like how different the new characters are. Leo is a lot of fun. Piper’s godly parent is an interesting addition, not at all one of the ‘big three’ but surprisingly powerful nevertheless. Frank makes the world feel just a little bit larger.

On the other hand, the older characters (Percy, Annabeth, et al) feel a little strange. We already know their story and they’ve already saved the world. Now they’re doing it again? And once again the fate of the world rests on a smile pile of children? All righty then.

Anyways, long story short(ish): I’m glad I read them. It was a fun series, although I doubt I will reread them any time soon. If you like this sort of book (and specifically already read the The Lightning Thief et al), check them out.