The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, #1) in Addicted to YA

Jun 26, 2012 Sasha added it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, dnf

This is the first of my Did Not Finish books that I’m attempting to review, as I made it to about halfway through the book before I gave up and therefore I feel I owe it to myself to explain why I could not go on. The reason I decided to give the book a try was because I liked the Percy Jackson movie very much, but was hesitant to read the source material because it was clearly geared towards ten-year-olds. However, the Heroes of Olympus books were supposedly written in a more mature writing sty This is the first of my Did Not Finish books that I’m attempting to review, as I made it to about halfway through the book before I gave up and therefore I feel I owe it to myself to explain why I could not go on. The reason I decided to give the book a try was because I liked the Percy Jackson movie very much, but was hesitant to read the source material because it was clearly geared towards ten-year-olds. However, the Heroes of Olympus books were supposedly written in a more mature writing style, so someone recommended to me that I start there.

The Lost Hero starts out with a bang. A young teenage boy finds himself on a bus with a whole bunch of strangers from a behavioral correctional program in the wilderness. The catch? He has no recollection of who he is, or how he got there. He doesn’t even know his own name, Jason. And all of a sudden, he and the other kids are attacked by venti, evil wind spirits with an agenda, and Jason quickly realizes that there is much more to him—and his friends Piper and Leo—than meets the eye.

The narration is told from three points of view—Jason’s, Piper’s, and Leo’s. While at first, this provides the reader the advantage of getting to know each of these three protagonists, the cycle repeats itself too quickly to fully appreciate these characters at length. Additionally, the internal commentary that each of the characters underwent was annoying, as it explained every little thing in a seeming step-by-step process, as if to aid the reader in deducing what each character felt and when. For a younger reader, this style of narration may be necessary, but I personally found it onerous and clunky.

The cast of characters is quite diverse, which is always welcome, and I liked that Riordan took a step back from the Greek mythology to include a bit of Roman mythology as well. If you’re aware of Greek and Roman myth, you’d know that the Romans took many Greek gods and adopted them into their own. Zeus is Jupiter, Poseidon is Neptune, and so on. According to this book, the two gods are one and the same, just in different disguises. As Jason is (view spoiler) I found his development the most interesting of the three lead characters, which isn’t saying much, because I found them all difficult to identify, or even sympathize, with.

By the middle of the book, The Lost Hero lost all of its steam. Each chapter was duller than the last and even as our heroes went on quests to save the world, I found myself wishing that the book was over. The plot dragged on and on and finally I just had to give up, the prose too simple and the characters too bland. Because the reading level was a below what I preferred, I think that a middle-grade reader will appreciate this story much more.

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Oct 18, 2017 Kate H rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: goodreads-yajuvenile

I love Rick Riordan's writing style and The Heroes of Olympus series is my second favorite of all his series. I love mythology and he does a great job of bring any and all mytholgy to life in a fresh and new way. I find the characters to be engaging and to feel really real. I love how he weaves the mythology into modern times so you feel like you are learning something as you are being entertained. ...more

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Jul 26, 2014 Melanie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

These books just keep getting better and better. I adore this second series so much and not only was it enjoyable but it had me brushing up on my mythology as well. His books have that affect on me. I love researching the myths that fit into his stories.

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