The Lost Hero

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Title: The Lost Hero

Author: Rick Riordan

Series: The Heroes of Olympus, #1

Publisher: Puffin Books

Release Date: October 12th 2010

Rating:

The Number one, bestselling title in this new spin-off series from Percy Jackson creator, Rick Riordan.

Old enemies awaken as Camp Half-Blood’s new arrivals prepare for war.

When Jason, Piper and Leo crash land at Camp Half-Blood, they have no idea what to expect. Apparently this is the only safe place for children of the Greek Gods—despite the monsters roaming the woods and demigods practising archery with flaming arrows and explosives. But rumours of a terrible curse –and a missing hero –are flying around camp. It seems Jason, Piper and Leo are the chosen ones to embark on a terrifying new quest, which they must complete by the winter solstice. In just four days time. Can the trio succeed on this deadly mission—and what must they sacrifice in order to survive?

– Blurb courtesy of goodreads.com

My Thoughts On…

…The Plot

“I have lightning and wind powers,” Jason reminded him. “Piper can turn beautiful and charm people into giving her BMWs. You’re no more a freak than we are. And, hey, maybe you can fly, too. Like jump off a building and yell ‘Flame on!'”
Leo snorted. “If I did that, you would see a flaming kid falling to his death, and I would be yelling something a little stronger than ‘Flame on!”

When Jason wakes up he has no idea who he is, where he is, or who the girl holding his hand is. Despite Leo and Piper telling him he’s been there for months, part of a school trip to the Grand Canyon, Jason knows he’s never seen either of them before he woke up a few minutes previously. However no one seems to realise that, except for Coach Hedge, grumpy that he has a third demigod to try and protect now Jason has dropped in from nowhere.

When Leo, Jason and Piper are attacked by storm spirits, Venti, and Coach Hedge is taken by them the extraction team from Camp Half-Blood arrives. Annabeth believes that Jason is the key to finding Percy, who disappeared a few days previously, but when Jason arrives at Camp Half-Blood he finds there are more questions than answers. Despite being a demigod Jason knows he doesn’t belong at Camp Half-Blood.

“You’ll find your destiny, and your hard journey will finally make sense. But first you must face many sorrows. I regret that, but heroes cannot be shaped any other way.”

As Jason, Leo and Piper head across the country on a quest to find and free Hera before the Summer Solstice all three are battling with their own thoughts and fears. Jason starts trying to piece together his memories, Piper battles with her guilt over possibly betraying her friends, and Leo fears his powers which are seen as a bad omen by others at the camp. The further they get in, chased by storm spirits, vengeful witches, long dead Kings, minor Gods and giants, the more they start to realise that Hera is playing a dangerous game with the demigods that could result in civil war.

It’s been a year since I first read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and The Lost Hero is a very different story. Written in third person, with three very different POVs, there is no Percy at all in this book, just small references made to him. Despite all the differences I was still hooked from the first page, I didn’t realise until I was reading The Lost Hero how much I missed the world Rick Riordan has created. The plot is fast paced with plenty of danger for our three heroes as they work to a fast approaching deadline, the fate of the world in their hands.

…The Characters

“Please excuse Jason from eternal damnation. He has had amnesia.”

Jason may have no memory of who he is or where he came from but he knows he doesn’t belong at Camp Half-Blood, and despite the fact that Piper and Leo are his friends he knows he’s not the same as them. Still those differences don’t matter to Jason; if the demigods are in danger, if his new friends are in danger, Jason is going to do everything he can to protect them. The answer to his missing memories is at the end of his quest and that, more than anything, is what drives Jason at the beginning of his journey.

“New dress, new makeup, glowing pink aura, and boom: suddenly people liked her.”

Piper is determined to forge her own path, no matter how difficult that path may be to walk. Before Jason arrived she had no idea she was demigod but she knew there was something more to her, something which has put her dad in horrible danger. There aren’t many people Piper cares about, less she can rely on, but she does she is willing to do anything for. With a voice whispering in her ear that the only way she can save her father is to betray her friends Piper struggles with the guilt, unsure what to do.

When Jason appeared, in Piper’s mind, the mist made him her boyfriend. Now, even knowing that it was just a trick, the memories are still there and knowing they’re false doesn’t help Piper put them behind her, not when she’s travelling and working closely with Jason on this quest. Jason admires Piper, he’s sees something more to her that most people seem to miss when they discover who her Godly parent is. However without knowing his past he can’t really open up to her, not knowing what or who he may have left behind.

“I try very hard to be annoying. Don’t insult my ability to annoy.”

Leo at first glance can easily be discounted by people as the comic relief, the odd-man-out to Piper and Jason’s pseudo-romance, but there is a lot more to his character than that. He is incredibly intelligent and despite his fears he doesn’t hesitate to run headfirst into the battle to save his friends. He may not be as skilled at battle as Jason is but he is incredibly skilled when it comes to machines and uses his talents to fight battles in his own way.

“One look from Jason, and all three of them knew the game plan. When had that happened, that they could read each other so well?”

All three characters worked really well together, and there wasn’t an imbalance of power between them. Despite Jason being the son of Zeus, and logically the most powerful and rightful leader, it was an equal partnership between the three demigods. Piper saved Leo and Jason when they needed help and Leo saved Jason and Piper when they needed help, each having their own skills which better suited them to the situation they were fighting. They take each other’s secrets and fears, guilt and shame without judgment or question, and after all is done only form a closer partnership than before.

…The Setting

“Child of lightning, beware the earth,
The giants’ revenge the seven shall birth,
The forge and the dove shall break the cage,
And death unleash through Hera’s rage.”

One of the things I loved the most about the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series was the way Rick Riordan wove his retellings and reimagining’s of Greek myths into the stories. Unlike that first series The Lost Hero doesn’t centre around one Greek myth retold in modern times more than any other. Instead it’s a brand new story with different characters and myths peppered into the overall story and overall series arc. With the introduction of Jason’s character, and the revelation of where he came from, it feels like the world of the demigods is opening up, becoming a lot bigger and more dangerous, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next.

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This was an incredible start to The Heroes of Olympus series. Despite the differences in the writing format I loved The Lost Hero just as much as I did the books in the first series; it was fast paced and tense, with engaging characters and plenty of Greek myths and legends. However as much as I loved Leo, Jason and Piper I’m even more excited to read The Son of Neptune, simply to see Percy again.

What did you think of The Lost Hero? Was it a favourite of yours or could you just not get into the story? Let me know.